Step Up For Students
Step Up For Students is a Florida-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit designated by the state as the Scholarship Funding Organization to administer school choice scholarships (FTC, FES-EO, FES-UA, PEP, New Worlds, Hope) for PreK-12 students, having funded 1M+ scholarships since 2001.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2001
- HeadquartersJacksonville, United States
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Step Up For Students does
Step Up For Students is a Jacksonville, Florida-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2001 and designated by the State of Florida as the Scholarship Funding Organization (SFO) to administer state-authorized school choice scholarship programs. The organization administers a portfolio of scholarship products including the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC), Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO), Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA), Personalized Education Program (PEP), New Worlds Scholarship, Hope Scholarship, and a Transportation Stipend, serving PreK-12 Florida students across private school, home education, unique abilities, and public school transfer segments. Average scholarship awards range from $750 (transportation) to approximately $10,000 for standard private school and unique abilities scholarships, with high-need unique abilities students eligible for $22,000-$34,000.
The underlying technology consists of the Education Management Application (EMA) for online scholarship application, account management, reimbursement processing, and provider coordination, complemented by the MyScholarShop marketplace for purchasing pre-approved educational products and services with scholarship funds at negotiated pricing. The organization also operates the NextSteps and inspirED content platforms for education choice commentary. Revenue is derived from three streams: corporate Florida Tax Credit Scholarship donations (dollar-for-dollar tax credits), individual and corporate charitable giving, and administrative funding as the state-designated SFO. Funding is geographically restricted to Florida, with 98.9% of received funds directed to scholarships, indicating a lean administrative cost structure. The organization has funded 1 million+ scholarships since inception and celebrated the FTC scholarship's 25th anniversary in July 2026.
Step Up For Students firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Step Up For Students
- Legal name
- Step Up For Students
- Website
- https://stepupforstudents.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2001
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Step Up For Students is a Florida-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit designated by the state as the Scholarship Funding Organization to administer school choice scholarships (FTC, FES-EO, FES-UA, PEP, New Worlds, Hope) for PreK-12 students, having funded 1M+ scholarships since 2001.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Step Up For Students industry classification
Industry- Product category
- K-12 Scholarship Administration
- NAICS
- Educational Support Services (611710), Educational Support Services (6117)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Scholarships, Grants & Education Benefits Administration (Financing-adjacent) (FSAKAEAM)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Title I & Compensatory Education Programs (EDAJAGAJ), Scholarship, Financial Aid & FAFSA Support Platforms (EDAFAMAF)
Keywords
Where Step Up For Students is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Jacksonville
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Step Up For Students business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Donations: Corporate donors contribute to the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship program in exchange for dollar-for-dollar tax credits, providing the primary funding mechanism for scholarship distributions to students
- Charitable Giving: Individual and corporate charitable donations supporting scholarship programs through various giving options including donor advised funds, planned giving, vehicle donations, and workplace giving
- Program Administration: As the designated Scholarship Funding Organization (SFO) by the State of Florida, the organization receives administrative funding to manage state-authorized scholarship programs including FES-EO and FES-UA
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Other | Annual | Private School Scholarship (FTC/FES-EO): ~$8,000 average award |
| Other | Annual | Unique Abilities Scholarship (FES-UA): ~$10,000 average award |
| Other | Annual | Personalized Education Program (PEP): ~$8,000 average award |
| Other | Annual | Transportation Stipend: $750 per household |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Step Up For Students product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Step Up For Students administers Florida's state-authorized K-12 scholarship programs, including the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC), Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO), Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA), Personalized Education Program (PEP), New Worlds Scholarship, Hope Scholarship, and Transportation Stipend. The organization distributes scholarship funds as education savings accounts to eligible Florida families and operates the EMA platform for application/account management and the MyScholarShop marketplace for purchasing approved educational products and services.
Product overview
Step Up For Students is a nonprofit organization administering Florida's state-authorized scholarship programs. The organization operates a portfolio of scholarship products including the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC), Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO), Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA), Personalized Education Program (PEP), Transportation Stipend, New Worlds Scholarship, and Hope Scholarship. These programs function as both standalone offerings and interconnected platform with shared infrastructure including the Education Management Account (EMA) for account management, MyScholarShop marketplace for purchasing approved educational products and services, and NextSteps news platform for education choice awareness. Scholarships range from $750 (transportation) to over $22,000 (Unique Abilities for high-need students), serving PreK-12 students across Florida.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Private School Scholarship (Florida Tax Credit Scholarship - FTC)
Quantifiable outcome
- 98.9% of funds received are used for scholarships, demonstrating highly efficient program administration
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Step Up For Students
Customer profileNamed customers5 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Step Up For Students technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature2 records
Step Up For Students partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Six partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.
- Americans for Prosperity Foundation-FloridaminorCo-host of Southwest Florida School Choice Fair held in Fort Myers, Florida, connecting families with educational options and scholarship organizations during National School Choice Week 2025.
- National School Choice Awareness FoundationminorPartner for National School Choice Week events, providing national platform and resources for school choice fair programming across Florida.
- Florida Department of EducationcoreDesignated Scholarship Funding Organization (SFO) by the State of Florida to administer state-authorized scholarship programs including Florida Tax Credit Scholarship and Family Empowerment Scholarships.
- Florida Private SchoolscoreNetwork of private schools participating in scholarship programs, enrolling scholarship students and receiving tuition payments through the EMA system.
- Service Providers (Tutors, Therapists, Specialists)coreEducational service providers approved to serve scholarship students, including tutors, therapists, and specialists who receive payment through the scholarship system.
- Product VendorscoreCurriculum providers, educational material suppliers, and product vendors listed on MyScholarShop marketplace offering pre-approved products for scholarship purchases.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Step Up For Students competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- AAA Scholarship Foundation: Another Florida-based approved Scholarship Funding Organization administering tax-credit and K-12 scholarships with comparable programs (including the Gardiner/FES-UA successor and home-education scholarships). It is the closest direct competitor for Florida SFO designation and corporate tax-credit contributions.
Others
- American Federation for Children: A national school-choice advocacy organization actively lobbying for ESA and tax-credit scholarship programs across multiple states. It is a strategic partner in expanding the policy environment that enables SUFS's growth but does not itself administer scholarships.
- National School Choice Awareness Foundation: The organizer of National School Choice Week with 27,000+ events nationwide and a co-marketing partner of SUFS at Florida school choice fairs. Adjacent in mission (school-choice awareness) but functions as a non-profit advocacy/media partner rather than a scholarship administrator.
- EdChoice: A national school-choice research and advocacy organization producing policy research, polling, and state-by-state school-choice rankings. It is thematically aligned with SUFS's mission and supports ESA/scholarship policy but does not administer scholarships directly.
- GreatSchools: A non-profit K-12 information platform providing school profiles, ratings, and parent resources that families consult alongside SUFS resources when choosing schools. It is an adjacent ecosystem player rather than a direct competitor.
Emerging players
- Khan Academy: A major non-profit educational platform offering free K-12 tutoring, test prep, and learning content that families purchase with SUFS scholarship funds via MyScholarShop. It is an emerging player in the educational content and tutoring ecosystem that SUFS helps families access.
- Hillsdale Charter Schools: A growing network of tuition-free, classical liberal-arts K-12 charter schools affiliated with Hillsdale College. It represents an emerging K-12 choice delivery model that competes for the same families served by SUFS scholarships.
Broad incumbents
- FACTS (Follett): A leading K-12 school administration platform handling tuition management, financial aid assessment, and enrollment for private and faith-based schools. Comparable in serving the private-school financial workflow that SUFS touches through the EMA platform and MyScholarShop marketplace.
- Blackbaud: A large enterprise software provider for nonprofits, schools, and foundations offering fundraising, financial management, and tuition management solutions. Comparable as a broader technology incumbent in the education/nonprofit software space where SUFS's EMA platform sits.
- Stride (formerly K12 Inc.): A large for-profit online K-12 education provider and tuition/education services operator that intersects with the K-12 choice and ESA landscape. It is a broad incumbent in the alternative K-12 delivery model that SUFS scholarships help families access.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Step Up For Students social profiles
Digital presenceStep Up For Students financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Step Up For Students leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Step Up For Students funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Step Up For Students M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Step Up For Students
What does Step Up For Students do?
Step Up For Students administers Florida's state-authorized K-12 scholarship programs, including the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC), Family Empowerment Scholarship for Educational Options (FES-EO), Family Empowerment Scholarship for Students with Unique Abilities (FES-UA), Personalized Education Program (PEP), New Worlds Scholarship, Hope Scholarship, and Transportation Stipend. The organization distributes scholarship funds as education savings accounts to eligible Florida families and operates the EMA platform for application/account management and the MyScholarShop marketplace for purchasing approved educational products and services.
Is Step Up For Students a public or private company?
Step Up For Students is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Step Up For Students founded?
Step Up For Students was founded in 2001. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Step Up For Students based?
Step Up For Students is headquartered in Jacksonville, United States, in the North America region.
How does Step Up For Students make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Donations are the primary driver. The others are charitable Giving and program Administration.
Who are Step Up For Students's main competitors?
AAA Scholarship Foundation is listed as a direct peer. Others are American Federation for Children, National School Choice Awareness Foundation, EdChoice and GreatSchools. Emerging players are Khan Academy and Hillsdale Charter Schools. Broad incumbents are FACTS (Follett), Blackbaud and Stride (formerly K12 Inc.).
Does Step Up For Students have an API?
No public API is recorded for Step Up For Students.
What industry is Step Up For Students in?
Step Up For Students's product category is K-12 Scholarship Administration. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAKAEAM, Scholarships, Grants & Education Benefits Administration (Financing-adjacent), with a secondary code of EDAJAGAJ, Title I & Compensatory Education Programs. Its NAICS code is 611710 and its SIC code is 8200.