Methodology
How organizations get into SGO Index, where our data comes from, how lists are ordered and what each badge means. These rules apply to every SGO the same way.
How an SGO gets listed
- It appears on a participating state's official list for the federal scholarship tax credit. We don't list SGOs from states' own tax-credit programs. States send their 2027 lists to the IRS by Feb 15, 2027.
- We match it to its IRS record by EIN (its federal tax ID). Where a list has no EIN, we match by name, state and city, and a person reviews anything that isn't an exact match. We never guess.
- Its IRS status is active. If the IRS revokes its tax-exempt status, the listing comes down.
- If a state drops it from a later list, the listing stays but loses that state, and its page says when it was last listed.
- Before states publish their lists, an SGO can ask to be listed early. Our staff check the request against the organization's website, and the listing goes up only once its EIN is active with the IRS. Until a state's official list includes it, it is labeled “Not on a state list yet”, the states it serves are marked as reported by the organization, and it is listed after every SGO that is on a state's list.
- Also before states publish their lists, we list an SGO when a news report says a state approved it, or when the SGO's own website says it will take part in the federal credit. We link that report or page, with the date we checked it, and the listing goes up only once its EIN is active with the IRS. If the SGO hasn't said which states it will serve, its page says so and it appears in the directory but on no state page. It is labeled and ordered the same way as an early request, and moves onto a state's list when that state's official list includes it.
- Our staff can also add an SGO themselves: one on a state's official list or the IRS's federal list of SGOs (made from the states' lists, and treated the same way), one a news report says a state approved, or one applying to a state that hasn't approved it yet, which its page says. We link the page we checked; when there isn't one, the page says SGO Index added it, with the date. As with every listing, it goes up only once its EIN is active with the IRS, and until a state's list includes it, it is labeled and ordered as above.
We never copy listings or descriptions from other directories, and we never use AI to fill in facts. Until an SGO writes its own description, its page shows a plain line built from the sources below.
Where our data comes from
Every fact on the site sits next to its source and the date it was last checked. When our staff enter a fact without a page to link, we name ourselves as the source.
| Source | What it gives us | Refreshed |
|---|---|---|
| Official state SGO lists for the federal program | Which organizations each participating state approved, for which tax year | Checked weekly; imported when a list appears or changes |
| News reports of a state approving SGOs, and SGOs' own websites | Before a state publishes its list: which organizations it approved, or which states an SGO says it will serve | When we find one; replaced by the state's official list once it is published |
| IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File | EIN, legal name, address, ruling year and latest reported revenue | Monthly |
| IRS automatic revocation list | Organizations that have lost their tax-exempt status | Monthly |
| NCES school directories (CCD 2025-26 public, PSS 2021-22 private) | Every school's name, address, grades and type | When NCES publishes a new release |
| SGOs themselves (status API or signed-in updates) | Mission, description, contact details, logo and banner, the states they serve, links, application and donation status, scholarships and schools served | Whenever the SGO sends or saves an update; we ask SGOs every 30 days to confirm status set by hand |
Which schools a scholarship covers comes only from the SGO that offers it. A school can confirm a link or tell us it's wrong, but can't add an SGO's scholarship itself.
How lists are ordered
On state pages and in the directory, SGOs are listed in this order:
- SGOs on a state's official list (or on the IRS's federal list, which is made from the states' lists) come first. SGOs listed before a state's list includes them (at their own request, from their own website, from a news report of a state's approval, or while they apply to a state) come after every SGO that is on one. SGOs that haven't said which states they will serve appear only in the directory, not on state pages.
- Then status freshness: SGOs with live status (sent through our status API and accepted within the last 72 hours) come first, then SGOs whose own staff set or confirmed their status within the last 90 days, then everyone else.
- Within each of those groups, SGOs are listed alphabetically by name.
Search results are ordered by how well they match your search first, then by the same rules. Filters narrow a list; they never reorder it.
No organization can pay for placement. There are no sponsored or featured listings. If that ever changes, paid placements will be labeled “Sponsored”, kept apart from other results and explained on this page.
What the badges mean
Any SGO can earn every badge through a public process. No badge depends on which software an SGO uses, and listings never say what software that is.
| Badge | Earned when |
|---|---|
| Verified by SGO Index · <date> | Our staff checked the organization directly: its EIN is active with the IRS, someone from it has claimed and manages the listing, and we confirmed that person's details with the organization (documents, or its own published contact details). Any SGO that has claimed its listing can ask for it. Staff can remove it, giving a reason. It never changes the order of a list. |
| Not on a state list yet | No state's official list includes the SGO yet. It is listed because it asked us to list it early and our staff checked its request, because its own website says it will take part in the federal credit (in a state it names, or before it has said which states), because a news report says a state approved it, or because our staff know it is applying to a state and hasn't been approved yet. We link that page or report, or say our staff added it, with the date; and its EIN is active with the IRS. The label goes away when a state's list, or the IRS's federal list, includes it. |
| Live · updated <time> | The SGO, or software it uses, sent its status through our status API and we accepted it within the last 72 hours. Any SGO that has claimed its listing can create a key in its dashboard. The API and its terms are the same for every SGO and every software vendor. |
| Claimed by the organization | At least one person from the organization has signed in, claimed the listing, and been approved by our staff. |
| On <State>'s <year> SGO list | The SGO appears on that state's official list for that tax year. The badge links to the list. |
| Accepting applications / Accepting donations | The SGO's current status says applications or donations are open, and that status hasn't expired. Status sent through the status API expires 72 hours after the last accepted update. Status set or confirmed by the SGO's staff, or by ours, expires after 90 days; we email the SGO every 30 days to ask whether it is still accurate. The badge shows the date it was last confirmed. |
A status past its expiry shows as “Not known”. Being listed is not an endorsement or accreditation, and we don't publish ratings or reviews.
Ownership and independence
SGO Index is owned by sgoguide.com. Listing order and badges follow the rules on our Methodology page, and no organization can pay for placement.
Data sharing with sgoguide.com, any commercial relationship and any SGO's software vendor have no effect on the order of listings or on badges.
Data on this site is shared with sgoguide.com. SGO rankings here are independent.
Because SGO Index is owned by sgoguide.com, the site owner may share any information this site holds about SGOs, schools, scholarships and states with sgoguide.com, at the owner's discretion. Family alert sign-ups are never shared with sgoguide.com.
Corrections
If something is wrong, report a problem. We check every report against the sources above. SGOs and schools can also claim their page and keep it up to date.