Diocese of Wilmington launches campaign pressing Gov. Meyer to opt Delaware into the federal Scholarship Tax Credit

The Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, which covers all of Delaware plus Maryland's Eastern Shore, has become the first organized faith community to mount a dated, state-specific campaign pressing its governors to join the federal Scholarship Tax Credit (FSTC / ECCA / §25F). In a pastoral letter published May 19, 2026 in The Dialog, the diocese's official news outlet, Bishop William E. Koenig implored “all leaders and people of good will” to support the program and to contact their elected officials directly. The diocese also stood up a dedicated advocacy page at cdow.org/fstc carrying an explicit call to action: “Tell Governor Meyer to OPT IN For Delaware's Kids!” The campaign names both Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer and Maryland Gov. Wes Moore, and the diocese confirms that, as of its writing, neither governor had made a decision on participation. This is the most concrete Delaware-specific 25F development to date, and it is distinct in character from the political and budget questions surrounding Maryland's own pending decision under Gov. Moore: here the engine is a grassroots, faith-based opt-in push organized inside Delaware itself.

The stakes the diocese describes track the program's federal mechanics. The credit, which takes effect January 1, 2027, lets a taxpayer claim up to $1,700 per return for donations to qualifying Scholarship Granting Organizations that fund K-12 scholarships for families under 300% of area median income. Crucially, a state must affirmatively opt in for its students to be eligible, and Bishop Koenig framed a December 31, 2026 deadline for the governors to elect in for tax year 2027 scholarships (the campaign page phrases the same window as opting in “by January 1, 2027”). The diocese's warning is pointed: absent a Delaware opt-in, the federal scholarship dollars that Delaware donors generate do not stay home but instead flow to students in states that have elected to participate. That framing, which treats non-participation as a net export of charitable capacity rather than a neutral pass, is exactly the calculus a growing number of states are weighing. Readers can review the opt-in mechanism in our explainer on the governor opt-in process.

The campaign also throws Delaware's current status into relief. The state is absent from the IRS's June 8, 2026 notice (IR-2026-76) listing the 27 states that had elected to participate, and the Defense of Freedom Institute's tracker still classifies Delaware as undecided. There is no Delaware General Assembly bill addressing a 25F opt-in or an SGO list introduced as of mid-June 2026, and the governor's official news page carries no 25F press release. In other words, the diocese is operating in a vacuum of formal state action, which is precisely why an organized outside campaign matters: in Delaware, the opt-in decision currently rests with the executive and the legislature, neither of which has moved. Our Delaware state page reflects that pending status, and the broader state-by-state tracker shows how Delaware compares to the 27 states already on the IRS list and to neighbors still deciding.

For Scholarship Granting Organizations and prospective donors, the Wilmington campaign is a useful signal even though it changes nothing legally on its own. A pastoral letter and an advocacy website do not enroll Delaware in the program, and the diocese itself is careful to note that the governors retain the decision. But the effort demonstrates that faith-based school networks, which stand to be among the largest beneficiaries of 25F scholarships, are beginning to organize state-level pressure rather than wait on rulemaking in Washington. If Delaware does elect in before the year-end deadline, the organizations positioned to receive donations will need to be on the state's approved SGO list and compliant with the program's structure from day one. Diocesan school systems and independent operators evaluating that path can review the SGO directory and our guide on how to start an SGO. For now, Delaware's participation remains an open question, and the Diocese of Wilmington has made itself the loudest voice asking Gov. Meyer to answer it.