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The passage of the Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) has opened doors for families and schools across the country. For the first time, individual taxpayers can direct federal tax dollars toward scholarships — creating a brand-new stream of funding that has the potential to reshape private education. But here’s the reality: ECCA is not just about fundraising. Yes, donors matter. Yes, building pipelines of individual givers is essential. But if your school views ECCA strictly through the lens of raising money, you’ll miss the bigger opportunity. The schools that thrive in this new era will be the ones that prepare across fundraising, marketing, and admissions — aligning all three to attract, enroll, and retain more students. 1. Fundraising: Building the Engine At the core of ECCA readiness is the ability to engage individual taxpayers. Unlike corporate tax credit programs, this is about volume and relationships. Hundreds of small- and mid-sized donors, giving year after year, fuel the program. What schools need to do: Develop donor pipelines now. Parents, alumni, parishioners, and community supporters are your base. Educate them. Most people don’t understand how tax credits work. Schools must provide simple, clear resources. Invest in systems. Donor tracking, receipting, and stewardship can’t be handled on spreadsheets anymore. But raising dollars is only step one. To maximize the impact, those dollars must flow seamlessly into enrollment growth. That’s where marketing and admissions come in. 2. Marketing: Owning the Narrative ECCA dollars expand access — but only if families know about them. Parents who’ve never considered private education before will be curious, cautious, and hungry for information. Schools must be ready to meet them with a strong, consistent message. What schools need to do: Update your website. Clear ECCA information should be front and center. Families should see at a glance how scholarships make your school accessible. Build campaigns. Use social media, email, and print to reach your community with targeted messaging. Tell stories. Highlight students whose lives were changed by scholarships. Humanize the impact of choice. Train staff as ambassadors. Every teacher, coach, and administrator should be able to explain ECCA simply and confidently. Marketing is about visibility. If your school isn’t proactive, another school will capture those families first. 3. Admissions: Removing Barriers ECCA will drive more inquiries. But if your admissions process is outdated, slow, or complicated, families will walk away. A scholarship only matters if it translates into enrollment. What schools need to do: Simplify applications. Families new to private education need a clear, welcoming process — not red tape. Respond quickly. Speed matters. A 24–48 hour turnaround on inquiries builds trust. Coordinate with fundraising. Admissions staff should know when scholarship dollars are available and how to connect families to them. Track data. Monitor where inquiries come from, how families move through the funnel, and what roadblocks prevent enrollment. Admissions is where the promise of ECCA becomes real. Without an efficient, family-friendly process, scholarship dollars risk going unused. 4. Integration: The Schools That Win The schools that benefit most from ECCA will not be the ones with the biggest donor list or the flashiest campaign. They will be the schools that integrate fundraising, marketing, and admissions into one strategy. Imagine this cycle: Fundraising brings in ECCA dollars from individual taxpayers. Marketing tells families those dollars are available and makes your school visible in the community. Admissions converts that interest into enrolled students, filling classrooms and strengthening the school’s future. Each part feeds the next. Schools that align all three will grow. Schools that silo them will struggle. 5. The Time to Prepare is Now ECCA officially launches in 2027, but the runway is short. Schools that start preparing today — building donor systems, updating marketing, and modernizing admissions — will be the ones that thrive from day one. Waiting until the law goes live means you’ll already be behind. Donors will be claimed. Families will have chosen. The first-movers will dominate. The Bottom Line ECCA is bigger than fundraising. It’s an opportunity to transform your entire advancement and enrollment model. Schools that treat it as a comprehensive strategy — fundraising + marketing + admissions — will not only unlock new dollars, they’ll grow enrollment, strengthen sustainability, and expand their impact for years to come. At RedefinED, we’ve spent years building the systems schools need to succeed in this exact environment. We’ve proven that when fundraising, marketing, and admissions work together, schools don’t just raise more — they grow more and do more. The schools that are ready will win. The time to prepare is now. Return Home

When it comes to expanding school choice, two major tools often come up in conversation: education vouchers and tax credit scholarships. While they both aim to give families more options in choosing the right school for their child, they work very differently. Understanding the distinction is key—especially with the upcoming Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA), which will operate as a tax credit program, not a voucher system. What Are Education Vouchers? Education vouchers are direct government-funded certificates that parents can use to pay tuition at private schools instead of public schools. Essentially, a portion of the taxpayer money that would have funded a child’s education in the public system follows that student to the private school of their choice. How vouchers work in practice: Funded directly by the state. Parents receive a set dollar amount toward tuition. Public school dollars are reallocated to private education. While this approach gives families flexibility, it often sparks debates around whether public school funding is being diverted. What Are Tax Credit Scholarships? Tax credit scholarships work differently. Instead of pulling dollars out of the public system, they incentivize private donations by offering tax credits. How tax credits work in practice: Individuals and businesses contribute to scholarship organizations. In return, they receive a percentage of their contribution back as a tax credit. The scholarship organizations then use those funds to provide tuition assistance for families. This model shifts the focus from government spending to private giving, empowering donors to directly support educational opportunities while keeping public school funding intact. Where Does the ECCA Program Fit? The Educational Choice for Children Act (ECCA) is a federal tax credit scholarship program set to launch in 2027. Here’s why that’s important: It’s not a voucher. No federal or state education dollars are being redirected. It’s fueled by private contributions. Donors will receive a tax credit for contributing to scholarship-granting organizations. It expands access. Families who may not have been able to afford private education will gain new opportunities. In short, the ECCA combines the best of both worlds—encouraging private philanthropy while opening doors for students to attend schools that best fit their needs. Why the Distinction Matters Confusion between vouchers and tax credits is common, but the distinction matters because: Policy debates differ. Critics often focus on voucher programs’ impact on public school budgets, while tax credits avoid this tension. Donor involvement increases. Tax credits bring private dollars into education instead of redistributing existing funds. Public perception shifts. Framing ECCA as a tax credit scholarship program helps clarify that it’s about creating opportunities through giving, not cutting public school support. Final Thought The upcoming ECCA program represents one of the most significant expansions of school choice in U.S. history. By leveraging tax credits instead of vouchers, it ensures that families gain access to new educational opportunities while strengthening a culture of giving. At RedefinED, we’re here to help schools prepare for this landmark program—so they can raise more, grow more, and do more for their students. Return Home