How to become an SGO in Kentucky

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

2.Register in Kentucky

Treasury's rules count you as "located in" Kentucky 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 Kentucky Secretary of State ($90) and for charitable solicitation with the Kentucky Attorney General (no fee). You'll also need a registered agent with a Kentucky address.

3.Open a separate bank account for Kentucky

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 Kentucky by November 30, 2026

File the one-page Declaration of Scholarship Granting Organization with the Secretary of State's Office of Business Filings, with your IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter (a pending exemption application is not accepted) and the $15 filing fee payable to the Kentucky State Treasurer. An officer signs it under penalty of perjury, affirming the §25F operating rules and that the organization is not a private foundation. Declarations are due by November 30 before the first year you want to be listed. The governing regulation (30 KAR 1:060) is still being finalized, so confirm the current terms on the Secretary of State's page.

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.