JEFFERSON CITY – Missouri State Treasurer Scott Fitzpatrick announced the Treasurer’s Office is accepting 2023 Educational Assistance Organization (EAO) applications for the MOScholars program. Current EAOs may submit applications for renewal. Applications will close Monday, October 31 at 5:00 p.m.
An EAO is a nonprofit organization that, after approval by the Missouri State Treasurer’s Office, can receive qualified contributions from individuals and businesses to establish MOScholars scholarship accounts for eligible Missouri students. The EAO establishes and maintains relationships with eligible schools to create a network of schools students may use scholarship funds to attend.
Per statute, the Treasurer’s Office can certify up to ten EAOs per year, with no more than six having their principal place of business in any of the following: Greene County, Jackson County, St. Charles County, St. Louis County, or St. Louis City.
The Treasurer’s Office certified six EAOs from across the state for 2022. These EAOs have awarded over 900 scholarships to students in all eligible regions of the state since the program launched four months ago.
In 2021, the Missouri General Assembly passed HB349 and SB86 which established the Missouri Empowerment Scholarship Accounts Program, MOScholars. The law provides state tax credits for contributions to approved, non-profit EAOs. These EAOs use the contributions to award scholarships to Missouri students with Individual Education Plans (IEPs) and students living in low-income households.
EAO applications and information about the program can be found at https://treasurer.mo.gov/MOScholars/