The purpose of CSF-Charlotte is to provide low-income families with partial tuition assistance so they can send their children to schools of their choice. The goal is to provide these families with educational opportunities that they would not otherwise have.

Only residents of Charlotte or Mecklenburg County are eligible to receive scholarships. Each family’s annual income must also fall within the income guidelines listed on the application, and is based on the Federal free and reduced lunch programs for public schools. Eligible children in a family are those who will be entering kindergarten through eighth grade in their first year of the scholarship. School-aged children may be currently enrolled in a public or private school.

Scholarship amounts vary from child to child, and are based upon family size, family income and tuition amount. Our average scholarship is more than $1,700 per year, with a cap amount of $2,150 for kindergarten through the eighth grade. For families and students who fulfill our program requirements, the program runs until the eighth grade.

Yes. All families must contribute a minimum of $500 per child per year.

We hold a random lottery each year in November, and choose approximately 50 new families, resulting in approximately 100 new students. If a family’s name is drawn, all children in that family from kindergarten through eighth grade are eligible to receive scholarship assistance. We currently have a limited amount of funding and therefore cannot provide scholarships to all qualifying families, only those selected in the lottery.

We accept lottery applications for the November lottery from February until October 1st. Eligible families should apply during the preceding school year. Families must apply before October 31st for the following school year (example: a family who applied in July of 2009 would be eligible for tuition for the school year beginning in the fall of 2010. This allows the new CSF –Charlotte families plenty of time to research and apply to the schools they are interested in.

Click on the 'To Apply' link at the top of the page. This will take you to the on-line application. Follow the directions to submit your application on-line. You may also call our Program Administrator at 704-973-4534 to have an application mailed to you. You may return the application by mail or by fax. There is no advantage to choosing one application method over another. Please submit one application only: multiple applications from the same family are automatically discarded.

The scholarships can be used at any school approved by the state of North Carolina, including those outside Mecklenburg County. Scholarships may also be used at approved boarding or day schools outside North Carolina. There are currently over 90 independent schools in the Charlotte area. Families may also choose the option of homeschooling their children, and CSF-Charlotte will help with those expenses.

Yes. A CSF-Charlotte family may switch schools at any time by filling out an Exit Form and obtaining a School Commitment Form from the new school. Families must be in good standing, with tuition payments current, before a transfer.

Yes.

As long as one child is currently enrolled, all children in the kindergarten through the eighth grade that are members of that family are automatically eligible for the CSF program.

No. You will need to reapply each year before the October 31st deadline.

By making a donation! Our assistance is dependent upon the generosity of individuals, corporations and foundations. With more funding, we would be able to help more of the families currently on our waiting list. Please click HERE or on the 'To Donate' link on the top of the page. You can also contact our Director of Development at 704-373-2378.