Building Pennsylvania's federal scholarship channel.

1 Abacus Fund is a pre-launch Scholarship Granting Organization built specifically for the federal Education Freedom Tax Credit. We are the channel built for Pennsylvania donors, employers, and families, grounded in the existing PA EITC ecosystem our team has worked in for years.

What we're building.

A small set of things, done well, before we attempt anything else: a free EFTC capacity calculator that returns a dollar-figure answer (sharper than any competitor's tool); a working employer giving program in a single pilot market; a trust-floor page (the one you're reading on How We Operate) that explains our structure honestly rather than borrowing credentials we haven't yet earned; a PA EITC + EFTC stack landing page for employers; and the operational backbone — receipting, accounting, SGO compliance — that a federal SGO requires.

The pilot — Blair County, Pennsylvania.

1 Abacus Fund's first market is Blair County, Pennsylvania (Altoona). The pilot is an 18-month program (six months of partner onboarding from July through December 2026, then twelve months of active payroll deductions from January through December 2027, then evaluation in early 2028). The three target pilot partners are: an anchor employer (target: Sheetz, Inc., headquartered in Altoona), a religious congregation (target: the Diocese of Altoona-Johnstown and its school network), and a public school community (target: Altoona Area School District's PTO council). The pilot's minimum success criteria are a 20% employee enrollment rate at the anchor employer, 90%+ of donors successfully claiming the credit, 70%+ retention into Year 2, and at least $100,000 in total annual scholarship funds generated.

The three-year vision.

At the federal cap of $1,700 per individual (or $3,400 per married couple), only about 6,000 donors are required to generate $10 million in annual scholarships. Recurring giving's high retention rates compound the trajectory year over year.

2027 (Pilot Year): 1-3 employer partners. 100-300 individual participants. $100,000-$400,000 in annual scholarship funds. One market (Blair County).

2028 (Scale Wave 1): 15-25 employer partners. 1,000-3,000 participants. $1M-$4M in annual scholarship funds. Three to five Pennsylvania markets.

2029 (Scale Wave 2): 50-100 employer partners. 5,000-15,000 participants. $5M-$20M in annual scholarship funds. Statewide PA plus adjacent states.

DRAFT — needs review

Leadership.

1 Abacus Fund is led by FundEDU's founding team and 1 Abacus Fund's independent board (forming, 3-5 members). We will publish full leadership biographies, including the names and backgrounds of the FundEDU partners and the 1 Abacus Fund board members, alongside the IRS 501(c)(3) determination letter. Until then, we describe the organization by what it does and how it is structured rather than by personality. Contact information for media or partnership inquiries is on the Contact page.