Brophy Foundation supports improvements in tax credits.

We’ve been reading with interest recent news focused on Arizona tax credit programs. The Brophy Community Foundation and several school tuition organizations in Arizona have administered this critical K-12 educational funding in the spirit of the law’s original intent since implementation in 1997. We have never permitted student-named donations, and more than 90 percent of our tuition aid benefits families at or below 342 percent of federal poverty guidelines. Our administrative costs average 5 percent, leaving funding for more students. Independent review of Arizona STOs ranked our foundation highest two years in a row. Donors contribute to us because they believe a choice for quality education is critical to Arizona’s students, and they feel certain their money is improving educational opportunities for financially struggling students in the 30 schools we serve. We support initiatives to improve tax credit program outcomes with priority to eliminate student-named donations, and thereby help ensure that money donated to STOs is spent as it should be: improving access to quality education for families with verified financial need.

—Genny Matteucci and Dawn Kennedy, Phoenix Matteucci is executive director of the Brophy Community Foundation. Kennedy is director of corporate tax credits.

Source: The Arizona Republic