We believe every student should have the opportunity to receive a Christian Education.
ACSTO exists to give students the opportunity to attend a private Christian School. We have the privilege of being able to do this by transforming tax credit donations into valuable tuition scholarships—helping families afford a private Christian Education for their children.
OUR VISION
We see a future where no Arizona family can say, “We wish we could put our children in a Christian School, but we just can't afford it.”
Everything we do is geared toward making Christian Education affordable for families. We are committed to going above and beyond to make that happen.
We strive to make the process as easy as possible by partnering with you—whether you're a donor, a family, or a school. That's why one of our pillars is to always be available. Tax credits can be confusing, that is why we are here to serve you—call us, email us, or ask an ACSTO School Coordinator.
It's not enough for us to just award scholarships—we want to equip parents with what they need to fully take advantage of the Private School Tax Credit Program. We're constantly developing new resources for you to utilize. Our Marketing Team is available to provide Parent Workshops, attend school events, answer questions, as well as brainstorm new ways to support all our partners.
Above all, we are committed to being a good steward of our resources. Arizona law requires that 90% of all donations be awarded as scholarships. To better serve our families, we award 92% of all donations as scholarships, using the remaining 8% for our operating expenses and reinvesting into generating even more donations for our schools through education and resources.
WHY ACSTO?
Parents, schools, and donors have trusted us for 25 years to help make Christian Education affordable for everyone. Why? Because we operate on biblical principles, exercise transparency, and go to great lengths to protect a parent's right to choose the best educational option for their child.
- We are distinctly Christian
- We protect the Private School Tax Credit Program
- We are good stewards
- We have excellent customer service and resources
HISTORY
Since ACSTO began in 1998 as the first school tuition organization (STO), we have awarded over $352 million in scholarships to 46,000 students attending Arizona Christian Schools. More than 99,000 visionary Arizona taxpayers have made this possible by donating to ACSTO and taking advantage of Arizona's unique opportunity to receive a dollar-for-dollar credit against their state income tax obligation.
We have tirelessly championed the tax credit program from the very beginning. Initially, the constitutionality of the Individual Scholarship Tax Credit was upheld by the Arizona Supreme Court in 1999. However, when litigation from opponents continued, ACSTO took the lead and, working alongside the Institute for Justice and Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), we held our ground to continually defend the tax credit program for more than 12 years—finally prevailing when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in our favor in ACSTO v. Winn. In addition, for the past 25 years, ACSTO has supported key legislation expanding and refining the tax credits available in Arizona.
Today, we are excited to see how far school choice has come—not just in Arizona—but across the United States. Arizona's Private School Tax Credit Program was America's first; many states have followed suit with similar programs of their own. We're proud to be Arizona's largest STO for the Individual Scholarship Tax Credits, but that doesn't mean that we're going to slow down ...
