Find Answers To Your Questions

Do you want to know more about eligibility, the renewal process, our 150+ partner schools, or something else? We can help.

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Lottery Applicants
Schools
Lottery Winners
Current Families

Lottery Applicants

Lottery applications are submitted online via our website during the application season from mid-September through March 1st every year. Each year, CSFP awards approximately 2,000 new scholarships to students.

To increase your chances of being selected, apply before the November 15 priority deadline for consideration in both lotteries. Those who apply before November 15 have the opportunity to find out if they were selected as early as December, so apply early!

Registration instructions for December and March lottery winners will be sent via email.

All CSFP applicants must:

Families can submit one lottery application for up to three children per year. All duplicate lottery applications are deleted so there is only one entry per family in our system when the lottery is conducted. The lottery system recognizes duplicates based on address, phone number, email address, student name, and date of birth.

Yes! CSFP provides support in the school finding and selection process. It is ultimately the responsibility of the parent/guardian to research, apply to, and enroll their child(ren) in a CSFP-partner school, but we can help! Please fill out our Find a School Form for assistance.

After you’ve applied, the next step is to find a school. While you are waiting to hear if you’ve been selected, CSFP recommends you begin researching the school you’d like to send your child to by using our School Finder Tool.
Next, wait to hear if you’ve been selected. All lottery winners will receive registration instructions via email in December or March. If you are not selected in December, your application is automatically rolled into the March lottery. If your application was not selected, you will receive an email notification after the March lottery is conducted.

CSFP’s scholarships will be one of 3 flat rates: $1,250, $2,500, or $3,350. Please note that scholarship awards will not exceed tuition charged, so the scholarship award amount may vary. Scholarship tiers will be determined based on the family’s annual household income and household size. CSFP scholarships can only be used for tuition costs (not costs like uniforms, fees, or activities).

Families are required to contribute a minimum of $500 per year toward tuition, though the average contribution is $2,300 per year. Families are responsible for finding additional financial aid and/or paying the balance of any remaining tuition themselves. It is important for families to ensure they will be able to pay their portion of tuition.
Our income guidelines are based on the combined taxable and non-taxable income for all adults living in the household. Income may include but is not limited to:
  • Employment
  • Public Assistance (SNAP/TANF/SSP)
  • Child Support (voluntary and court ordered)
  • Social Security
  • Unemployment or Worker's Compensation
  • Any subsidized income (foster, adoption, pension, VA benefits, etc.)
If your total income from all sources (excluding welfare) is less than $8,000, you will be required to provide additional information to determine your family’s eligibility. This requirement is in place to ensure that families are able to pay their portion of the school tuition.
Families can have up to three K-8th grade children receiving a scholarship at one time. All scholarships are lottery based. While it is not guaranteed to siblings, CSFP makes every effort to prioritize siblings when conducting the lottery.
Scholarships last through 8th grade, provided eligibility requirements continue to be met. These requirements include:
  • Your family remains financially eligible according to CSFP income requirements. (The scale may increase slightly each year according to the rate of inflation).
  • No money is owed to the school for last year’s tuition
  • You continue to reside in Philadelphia.
  • Your child remains in K-8th grade for the new school year.
CSFP scholarships may be used at any one of 150+ active CSFP partner schools. CSFP does not provide scholarships for public, charter, cyber schools, or homeschooling; and CSFP scholarships can only be used for tuition. Explore the full list of approved CSFP partner schools.
CSFP scholarships can be used at schools in the Greater Philadelphia area, in Pennsylvania only.

CSFP keeps a list of families who enter the lottery and were not initially selected, but this list is kept for that application season only. If you are not selected for the December lottery, your application will automatically roll into the March lottery.

All CSFP scholarships are available on a first come, first served basis. Families who complete the registration process after the deadline has passed will be placed on a waitlist for consideration. As scholarships become available, families on the waitlist will be notified.

Scholarship funds are disbursed directly to schools in two payments during the school year. After a family is selected in the lottery, they will be provided with detailed instructions on how to register for their scholarship(s) and confirm school enrollment. While award amounts become available to schools during the spring, CSFP cannot dictate how schools collect tuition and apply scholarships. If you have any questions about billing and payments to your child(ren)’s school you must contact the school admissions or tuition office directly.

Schools

At Children’s Scholarship Fund Philadelphia (CSFP), our primary goal is to ensure that every K-8 student in Philadelphia receives a high-quality education. While each of our partner schools is unique and reflective of its school leadership and respective student body, collectively, they reflect a shared foundation of high expectations, commitment to students, and focus on results. Our school approval policy serves this important purpose. Therefore, we need to ensure that our funds are going to schools that perform at high-quality levels.

In order to secure approval for CSFP scholarship funding for the upcoming school year, your school must meet the following criteria:

  • Have a physical building and charge tuition
  • Have a website and/or full profile with Great Philly Schools
  • Be registered with the PA Dept. of Education
  • Enroll a minimum of 50 students in K-8th grade (< 50 acceptable for Special Education & PreK,-K schools only)
  • Administer a PA-approved annual standardized test and provide scores to CSFP upon request
  • Provide full-day classroom instruction with an approved curriculum
  • Be accredited by one of the following Nationally recognized accrediting bodies:
  • Middle States Association (MSA)
  • PA Association of Independent Schools (PAIS)
  • Association of Christian Teachers & Schools (ACTS)
  • Association of Christian Schools International (ACSI)
  • American Montessori Society (AMS)
  • National Association of Private Catholic Schools (NAPCIS)

If your school can meet these requirements, please contact us.

CSFP scholarship funds are always paid directly to schools — not to families. Schools will receive split payments for each scholarship recipient, the first half at the end of November and final portion at the end of April. Schools are required to complete an online Student Verification Report (SVR) for each individual student prior to receiving any payments. Instructions for completing the online forms are sent to CSFP’s main contact at the school.

Yes. CSFP scholarships are paid based on the amount of time a student attended the school. In some cases, if a student leaves the school before the end of the semester but after the semester’s check has been issued, the school will need to reimburse CSFP for the amount paid for a time in which the student was no longer attending. CSFP will make the necessary calculations and contact you about reimbursement.

Tuition rate information is submitted directly to CSFP to be updated in civicore annually during the winter/spring. School Commitment Forms (SCF) cannot be completed to confirm enrollment and determine scholarship awards for any student prior to submitting tuition schedules to CSFP.

As of September 2024, CSFP uses a tiered scholarship system. All students will receive an award of $1,250, $2,500, or $3,350 based on their total household income and household size. Families are still responsible for contributing a minimum of $500 towards tuition. An individual student scholarship may be lowered/vary from the tiered amounts if:

  • The tuition being charged to the student is less than the tier they would be eligible for based on household size and income.
  • The tuition amount minus additional financial aid leaves the family with a remaining balance of less than $500.
  • The total tuition responsibility for the family is less than $500. In families with multiple students, the required $500 family contribution minimum will be deducted from the scholarship award for the youngest student in the family.

Scholarship amounts become available on a rolling basis depending on when the school finalizes and submits its tuition schedule to CSFP and when the family completes their financial registration. For all new families, registration closes by the end of May. Renewal registrations are always due the first Friday in June. Unfortunately, there is no way to guarantee registration is complete and award amounts will become available prior to a family beginning tuition payments for the next school year.

All CSFP Partner Schools receive access to our shared scholarship database (civicore). There, designated school personnel may complete all of CSFP’s required forms as well as track CSFP families and payments.

Lottery Winners

An email titled “Complete Your CSFP Registration” containing your registration link is sent to the email on your lottery application. Your unique email will contain full registration instructions and detailed information about what to submit.

After a student is selected in the lottery and receives a scholarship, they remain eligible through 8th grade as long as the family continues to meet CSFPs eligibility requirements. To remain eligible, families must continue to reside in Philadelphia, enroll in a CSFP partner school for K-8th grade, and submit a financial registration annually showing the family continues to meet CSFP’s income requirements. Families automatically become ineligible if they move outside of Philadelphia.

You must complete the scholarship registration within our scholarship database (civicore). You will be required to submit documents that show your household income. All documents can be uploaded directly to your online registration as photos or PDF files or can be faxed or emailed (please choose only one method). If the online registration is not fully completed, with documents, by the given deadline you will forfeit the scholarship opportunity.

  • Proof of income – All taxable and non-taxable income is required for all adults in the household. Income includes, but is not limited to, Federal 1040 Tax Returns (no W2s), public assistance, child support, social security, unemployment, worker’s comp, retirement or VA benefits, foster/adoption subsidies, etc.
  • Proof of address – A current lease/mortgage is required if the address on any documents is outside of Philadelphia.
  • Proof of guardianship – Birth certificate or custody order required for any child in the household not claimed as a dependent on the federal tax return. Custody orders are required for any non-biological child of the registering adult.

CSFP has a minimum income of $8,000 that is not SNAP and TANF. This requirement is in place to ensure families can pay their portion of tuition and other fees without sacrificing household expenses. The maximum income varies based on household size. Income requirements can be found on the Scholarships page.

Any adult who reports $0 income or not filing taxes will be required to submit a Wage & Income Transcript from the IRS. This is needed to confirm income for those who do not file and acts as proof of no income for adults who do not work.
A staff member will follow up and attempt to work with families in this category as much as possible. Families will be required to submit an Under Income Questionnaire, a Wage & Income transcript from the IRS to confirm there is no income, and other documentation to show how the parent/guardian plans to support tuition costs. Please be aware that families who do not meet the $8,000 minimum may be ineligible.
Please allow at least one week for CSFP to review and process your registration form and documents. Families receive an email with follow-up instructions if something is missing and/or once the registration is marked as complete. You can also check your status via your online account under “Financials”
Check My Status

Scholarships can be used at any one of our 150+ private, parochial, or tuition-based partner schools. Selection in CSFP’s scholarship lottery does not guarantee acceptance into a private school. It is the parent/guardian’s responsibility to apply, complete the enrollment process, and notify CSFP staff of enrollment for all scholarship recipients by the required deadline.

For assistance finding or selecting the school you’d like to send your child to, explore CSFP’s School Finder Tool.

If you would like your children to attend a school not currently on our list, please contact us. The team will review and contact the potential new partner about next steps. Please keep in mind, if you enroll your children in a non-partner school, you risk forfeiting the scholarship opportunity.

Families can have up to three K-8th grade children receiving a scholarship at one time. Scholarships cannot be transferred from one student to another if any child leaves the scholarship or graduates 8th grade.
All scholarship awards are lottery based. While CSFP does prioritize siblings, additional scholarships are not guaranteed. If a parent would like to receive an additional scholarship, an application to the general lottery must be submitted on behalf of the new student(s).

Each student is eligible to receive a scholarship of $1,250, $2,500, or $3,350 per year based on household size and income. All families are required to contribute a minimum of $500 per year toward tuition.

Scholarship amounts may differ from the above tier amounts if:
  • The family contribution is less than $500 after all financial aid has been applied.
  • The tuition charged to an individual student is less than the tiered scholarship award amount based on household size and income. Scholarships can only be used toward tuition and CSFP will not pay more than what is owed for any individual student.
Award amounts become available on a rolling basis (beginning in April) after financial registrations are completed by each family and enrollment in school is confirmed for each child by the child’s school. When your award amount is available it can be found under Award Letters in your scholarship account.

Current Families

The renewal process helps CSFP confirm that recipients continue to meet eligibility requirements, as well as understand if adjustments to scholarship amounts need to be made.

Scholarship amounts may change from year to year, but will remain one of 3 flat rates: $1,250, $2,500 or $3,350. Please note that scholarship awards will not exceed tuition charged, so the scholarship award amount may vary.

You must meet ALL of the following criteria:
  • You do not owe any money to the school for last year’s tuition.
  • You are financially eligible according to CSFP income requirements. (The scale may increase slightly each year according to the rate of inflation).
  • You must continue to reside in Philadelphia.
  • Your child must be entering K-8th grade for the new school year.
CSFP will send you detailed instructions about how to renew in February each year. Renewals are due in June.
Families can renew individual students through 8th grade as long as eligibility requirements continue to be met.

CSFP will work with families to maintain scholarships from year to year as much as possible but “holds” are not guaranteed. If a parent needs to forfeit the scholarship for any period of time, please contact CSFP directly to discuss options.

Yes, in most cases, you may transfer your scholarship to another partner school at any time. If you are interested in transferring your student(s) to a new CSFP partner school, please contact CSFP before you start this process to discuss your options.

Scholarships may not transfer for individual students if there is a balance owed, the student has been expelled, or the scholarship was awarded through CSFP’s partnership with Independence Mission Schools (IMS).

All scholarship awards are lottery based. While CSFP does prioritize siblings, additional scholarships are not guaranteed. If a parent would like to receive an additional scholarship, an application to the general lottery must be submitted on behalf of the new student(s).