Scholarships from Partner Organizations

Our Lady of Tepeyac High School partners with the following scholarship organizations, and we encourage students to explore these opportunities to help make a Catholic education affordable.

• Big Shoulders Fund: bigshouldersfund.org
  Please contact the principal of your local Big Shoulders Fund school to discuss your scholarship eligibility and the application process.
• Madonna Foundation: https://www.madonnascholars.org/apply
• Chicago Lights: chicagolights.org
• HFS Chicago Scholars: hfschicagoscholars.com
• Horizons for Youth: horizons-for-youth.org
• LINK Unlimited: linkunlimited.org
• PEAK: Partnership to Educate and Advance Kids: peakchicago.org · email PEAK 

Tax Credit Scholarship

The State of Illinois has created a tax credit scholarship program called the “Invest in Kids Act.” This state program provides scholarships for low-income students enrolled in private schools. Scholarships will cover up to 100 percent of tuition and eligible fees. Students will be given equal priority in the application and award process if they meet one of these four requirements:

• Renewal Scholars (received a tax credit scholarship for the 2018-2019 school year)
• Siblings to a Scholarship Recipient (a sibling received a tax credit scholarship for the 2018-2019 school year)
• Student resides in a Focus District (all of the city of Chicago is considered a focus district)
• Adjusted Gross Income at or below 185% of the Federal Poverty Level Guidelines (please see the chart below)

Application Process

The application process will be managed by Scholarship Granting Organizations (SGOs). Tepeyac has partnered with two SGOs in the City of Chicago and we strongly encourage families to apply to all SGOs to increase your chances of being granted a scholarship. All students wishing to receive a tax credit scholarship must apply, regardless of whether you already receive a tax credit scholarship the previous school year.

• Big Shoulders Fund: Applications Open January 14, 2020, at 8 a.m.
• Empower Illinois: Applications Open January 15, 2020, at 6:30 p.m.

Income Guidelines

Required Information for Application

We strongly encourage you to have all documents scanned and ready to attach as PDF files to your application. The SGOs are encouraging families to apply via mobile device. To scan your documents to create PDF files using your smartphone, please download the Adobe Scan app.

Household Information

• Parent/guardian contact information (e.g. address, city, zip, etc.), including an email address (required) along with supporting documentation for the household address (e.g., utility bill, driver’s license, etc.)
• Number of people in your household
• School district in which your household resides
• Federal adjusted gross income (AGI) with a copy of your federal 1040 (first two pages) or signed verification that your family was not required to file a 1040 (signed by parent/guardian)

Student Information

• Student name and birth date
• Grade for the coming school year
• Siblings for which the household will apply under the tax credit scholarship program

School Information

• Identify the non-public school being selected by the student in the household
• Identify whether the student is already enrolled at the selected school

If you have any questions, please email ldelaluz@ourladyoftepeyac.org