How to become an SGO in Alaska
Alaska is taking applications for its 2027 SGO list until December 1, 2026. You need your IRS determination letter to apply. If your nonprofit is incorporated in another state, Alaska's fees to get listed come to $90.
Deadline
December 1, 2026
Pending 1023 OK?
No, IRS letter required
Application fee
Free
State fees from out of state
$90, then $53/yr
How to apply in Alaska
Email SGO@alaska.gov a letter of interest signed by an authorized representative, attesting that the organization meets and will continue to meet the federal requirements, plus a copy of its IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter. There is no form and no fee, and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
Contact: SGO@alaska.gov (Alaska Department of Education and Early Development)
Alaska’s requirements, in full (1)›
- Apply by emailing SGO@alaska.gov a letter of interest, signed by an authorized representative, attesting that the organization meets and will continue to meet the federal §25F requirements, plus a copy of its IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter. Applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
What it costs in Alaska
For a nonprofit incorporated in another state. If you’re incorporated in Alaska, skip the registration line: your articles already cover it.
| What | Paid to | Once | Each year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alaska SGO application | Alaska Department of Education and Early Development | Free | |
| Certificate of AuthorityRegisters your nonprofit to do business in Alaska | Alaska Division of Corporations | $50 | |
| Biennial report$25 every two years ($30 late) | Alaska Division of Corporations | $25 every 2 years | |
| Charitable organization registrationRenews every September 1. Exempt only while you have no paid staff and raise $5,000 or less from 10 or fewer people | Alaska Department of Law | $40 | $40 |
| Registered agentOnly if you have no Alaska address of your own. Commercial agents’ published prices. | A registered agent company | $100 to $160 | |
| Alaska state fees | $90 | $53 | |
The same wherever you apply: $600 to the IRS for Form 1023 ($275 for the EZ version, if you expect $50,000 a year or less in receipts), and a yearly audit once you’re listed, which Treasury estimates at about $10,000 at $500,000 or less in receipts and $30,000 above. Every state’s fees →
Fees checked October 20, 2026.
Your checklist for Alaska
Steps 1 to 5 are the same in every state, and you can do them now. Step 6 is Alaska’s application. Tick them off as you go; this browser remembers.
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Track it with an account in the free SGO Builder →1.Be a 501(c)(3) public charity
The IRS has to recognize you as a 501(c)(3), and you can't be a private foundation. Alaska wants your IRS determination letter, so you can't apply while your Form 1023 is pending.
2.Register in Alaska
Treasury's rules count you as "located in" Alaska if you're authorized to do business there and follow its charity laws. You don't need an office or staff there. If you're incorporated in another state, you register with the Alaska Division of Corporations ($50) and for charitable solicitation with the Alaska Department of Law ($40). You'll also need a registered agent with a Alaska address.
3.Open a separate bank account for Alaska
Gifts for the credit go into an account that holds nothing else. If you're on more than one state's list, you keep one account per state and donors pick the state.
4.Put the §25F rules in your bylaws and policies
A new nonprofit has no track record, so the state reads its documents, and a promise to "follow the law" isn't enough. They have to require each rule: at least 90% of your income goes to scholarships, scholarships go to at least 10 students who aren't all at the same school, you verify household income, past recipients come first and then their siblings, no donor can earmark a gift for a particular student, and no scholarships go to insiders.
5.Register in the IRS SGO portal when it opens
Treasury asks every SGO to register in the IRS portal, ideally before a state lists it. The portal gives you the donor-number format your receipts use. It hasn't opened yet.
6.Apply to Alaska by December 1, 2026
Email SGO@alaska.gov a letter of interest signed by an authorized representative, attesting that the organization meets and will continue to meet the federal requirements, plus a copy of its IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter. There is no form and no fee, and applications are reviewed on a rolling basis.
7.After you're listed
Send each donor a written acknowledgment by January 31 and report the gifts to the IRS by February 28. Under Treasury's proposed regulations, which you can rely on for 2027, you also file a yearly certification and report (with a copy to every state that lists you), get a yearly audit, and spend at least 90% of each year's income on scholarships by the end of the next year.
Where Alaska is in the process
Aug 20, 2026 · Applications opened
Letter of interest and 501(c)(3) letter, by email
Oct 2, 2026 · First 20 organizations approved
Applications stay open on a rolling basis
Dec 1, 2026 · List to the IRS (state's plan) (expected)
Completes Alaska's 2027 election
Feb 15, 2027 · Federal deadline for 2027 state lists (expected)
Sources
- Alaska DEED: Scholarship Granting Organizations
- Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy: Alaska Opens Applications for K-12 Scholarship Granting Organizations (Aug. 20, 2026)
- Office of Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Oct. 2, 2026 (as published by the Alaska Watchman)
Questions about getting listed in Alaska
How do I become an SGO in Alaska?
Be a 501(c)(3) public charity, register to do business in Alaska and follow its charity laws, open a separate bank account for Alaska's gifts, and put the §25F rules in your bylaws and written policies, then file Alaska's application by December 1, 2026.
How much does it cost to become an SGO in Alaska?
Alaska's application is free. A nonprofit incorporated in another state pays $50 to register in Alaska and $40 to register for charitable solicitation. All in, that's $90 in state fees to get listed, then about $53 a year. Add a registered agent with a Alaska address if you don't have one (about $100 to $160 a year). The IRS charges $600 for Form 1023 wherever you apply.
What is Alaska's deadline for the 2027 SGO list?
Alaska plans to send its list to the IRS by December 1, 2026. Every state's 2027 list is due to the IRS by February 15, 2027, and a state can't add anyone to its 2027 list after that. A gift made in December 2027 earns the credit only if the nonprofit made the 2027 list.
Can a nonprofit from another state get on Alaska's list?
Yes. Under Treasury's temporary regulations, you're located in Alaska if you're authorized to do business there and follow its charity laws. You don't need an office or staff in Alaska, and Alaska has to list every qualifying nonprofit located there that asks. Scholarships from your Alaska account go to students who live in Alaska.
Can we apply in Alaska while our 501(c)(3) application is pending?
Alaska wants your IRS determination letter, so you can't apply while your Form 1023 is pending.
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