How to become an SGO in Indiana

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. Indiana wants your IRS determination letter, so you can't apply while your Form 1023 is pending.

2.Register in Indiana

Treasury's rules count you as "located in" Indiana 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 Indiana Secretary of State ($20). A charity soliciting on its own behalf doesn't register in Indiana. You'll also need a registered agent with a Indiana address.

3.Open a separate bank account for Indiana

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 Indiana by December 31, 2026

Apply through the Indiana Department of Education's online Indiana Scholarship Granting Organization Application and Agreement for Certification, linked as the State + Federal SGO Application on its Scholarship Granting Organizations page. One form covers Indiana's state SGO program, the federal §25F list, or both: choose Federal, or Both if you're already an Indiana state SGO. It asks for your EIN, the student populations and expense types you plan to fund, and whether you operate as an SGO in other states, and you upload your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter, your articles of incorporation or other proof you're organized to grant school scholarships, your SGO policies and procedures, and your program materials, including eligibility criteria and application forms. An officer signs a certification under penalty of perjury. To be on Indiana's 2027 federal list you must have applied and been approved by December 31, 2026; once approved, you don't reapply each year. Questions: sgo@doe.in.gov.

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.