SGO Learning Center
A clearer path from questions to action.
Understand Scholarship Granting Organizations. Plan your next step. Build the knowledge to move your mission forward.
Explore practical guides, state resources and current guidance for starting and operating an SGO—all in one place.
Starting an SGO
Understand the model, choose a starting point, and organize the work.
- What is a Scholarship Granting Organization?
Start with the people, scholarship flow and federal essentials.
- Could you start a Scholarship Granting Organization?
Explore your community mission, founder responsibilities and free preparation tools.
- I want to start an SGO. Who should I talk to first?
Plan conversations with advisers, board members and community partners.
- Talk with the founder — no account or purchase needed
Discuss your SGO idea, formation questions or collaboration.
- How to start an SGO
Follow the formation path from mission and governance to launch.
- Formation and existing nonprofits
Explore practical questions about structure, timing and professional help.
- SGOone Verified: an early participation milestone
Learn what Verified means and how the Prep Survey and Formation Journey fit.
Section 25F
Explore the federal scholarship tax credit and the conditions behind it.
- The 2027 federal credit and SGO Launch Initiative
Understand the donor opportunity, credit-versus-deduction examples and initiative.
- The 90% scholarship-spending requirement
Distinguish the statutory minimum from proposed measurement rules.
- Eligible students and education expenses
Review the statutory baseline and October's proposed details.
Operating an SGO
Connect everyday work with oversight and a sustainable budget.
- How a healthy SGO works
Follow the cycle of fundraising, scholarships, records and reporting.
- Banking, separate accounts and financial controls
Understand the federal account requirements and proposed operating treatment.
- Boards, staffing and compensation
Read the existing governance and staffing answers.
- Donor records, acknowledgements and reporting
Prepare for the temporary contribution-reporting procedures.
- Annual reporting and proposed audits
See which October operating requirements remain proposed.
- Why SGOone: independent scholarship organization management
Explore the platform approach, organizational independence and technology efficiency goal.
- Pricing and sample operating budgets
Explore SGOone costs and planning illustrations, not legal spending calculations.
States
A state's existing scholarship program and its federal participation are separate questions.
- Find your state's participation and requirements
Use the state hub and its individual state pages with official agency sources.
- State listing and IRS registration
Understand the separate steps without treating state election as organization approval.
Updates / Current Guidance
Check the date and legal status of guidance before relying on it.
- SGO & Section 25F Updates
Follow concise federal, state implementation and deadline updates with official sources.
- October 2026 Section 25F regulations
Read the dated update with primary sources and clear temporary/proposed labels.
- What is statute, temporary regulation or proposal?
Start here to understand the status and applicability of the October release.
Videos / Resources
Choose a short introduction, a specific answer or a program to explore.
- SGOone video library
Watch introductions to SGOs, formation, 2027, the initiative and Verified.
- SGO frequently asked questions
Browse or search the existing questions about starting and operating an SGO.
- Founding Cohort opportunity
Explore the program, potential support and participation conditions.
From learning to doing
Give your next steps a place to happen.
The guides explain the work. The SGO Prep Survey identifies your starting point, and My SGO Formation Journey organizes personalized tasks. These are account-based tools; sign in or create an account to use them.
SGOone Verified is a separate participation milestone, not government certification or legal qualification.
Start SGOone VerifiedAlready committed and looking for hands-on help? Optional SGO Launch Services support branding, websites and practical launch preparation. Explore the free tools first; no package is required.
SGOone guides are educational planning resources. Statute, temporary regulations, proposals and state rules have different roles; follow the primary sources and dates in each resource.