What Arete Scholars does

Arete Scholars Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2010 that administers need-based K-12 scholarships for low-income and minority families (household income at or below 250% of the federal poverty line). The organization operates as a School Tuition Organization in Georgia and Louisiana, channeling corporate and individual donations through state-sanctioned tax credit programs — Georgia's Qualified Education Expense Tax Credit (dollar-for-dollar) and Louisiana's Tuition Donation Rebate Program (95% credit) — with 95% of donations flowing directly to scholarships. Maximum awards are $4,000 per student in Georgia and $4,900 in Louisiana, allocated on a first-applied, first-awarded basis; families pay a $45 third-party application processing fee. Arete reported nearly 25,000 cumulative scholarships worth more than $100 million distributed since inception, with 3,000+ scholars served in 2025-26 across a network of approximately 300 partner private schools.

The organization's revenue model is donation-driven: corporate partners (Atlanta Falcons, Chick-fil-A Foundation, WM, Sonic, Synovus), high-net-worth individuals, CPAs, and wealth advisors contribute through zero-to-low-cost tax credit programs, supplemented by a recurring monthly giving club ($15/month "15 for 15 Years of Opportunity Giving Club"). Beyond core scholarships, Arete runs wraparound programs including Arete Foundations (character development for grades 6-10 using VIA Institute on Character strengths curriculum), a Junior Achievement career-readiness partnership, an Intern for a Day workplace shadowing program, ACT prep via Studyville, and a National WWII Museum Leadership Academy scholarship. Operations are supported by third-party tools — TADS for applications, Givebutter for donations, and Double the Donation for employer matching — with no proprietary technology platform. The organization is headquartered in Suwanee, GA, operates leanly with 14 employees, and maintains state-based teams in Georgia and Louisiana.

Name

Arete Scholars

Legal name

Arete Scholars Fund

Website

https://aretescholars.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Arete Scholars is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 2010 that provides need-based K-12 scholarships to low-income families in Georgia and Louisiana, funded through state tax credit donation programs and distributed across 300+ private partner schools.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

K-12 Private School Scholarship Administration

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Educational Support Services (611710), Grantmaking Foundations (813211)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

College Access, Scholarships & Student Success Nonprofits (BPAGADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Scholarship & Fellowship Foundations and Trusts (EDADAHAC), Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK)

Keywords

• K-12 scholarship programs
• Tax credit donations
• Private school tuition
• School choice funding
• Education nonprofit services

Headquarters

HQ city

Suwanee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Charitable Donations - Tax Credit Programs: The primary revenue stream is charitable donations through state tax credit programs. In Georgia, donors receive a dollar-for-dollar state income tax credit for approved contributions. In Louisiana, donors receive a 95% state tax credit via the Tuition Donation Rebate Program. Donations are used exclusively to fund K-12 scholarships for low-income students. The organization states that 95% of every tax credit donation goes directly to scholarships.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Arete Scholars Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that administers need-based K-12 scholarships funded primarily through state-sanctioned tax credit donation programs in Georgia, Louisiana, and Alabama. The organization enables low-income families (≤250% of the federal poverty line) to send their children to participating private schools by channeling charitable contributions from individual and corporate donors, while providing supplementary character development and college/career pathway programs to scholarship recipients.

Product overview

Arete Scholars is a nonprofit organization offering a unified K-12 scholarship program that empowers lower income parents to choose private schools that best meet their children's needs. The core offering is need-based K-12 scholarships funded primarily through tax credit donation programs in Georgia and Louisiana. Beyond scholarships, Arete provides supplementary programs including Arete Foundations (character development for middle/high school students), a Junior Achievement partnership (career readiness), Intern for a Day (workplace experiences), and the $15 for 15 Years monthly giving club. The organization operates through state-specific tax credit programs where donors receive tax benefits (Georgia: dollar-for-dollar credit; Louisiana: 95% credit).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• K-12 Private School Scholarships Need-based scholarships that enable parents from low-income households (≤250% of federal poverty line) to send their children to participating private schools. Awards cover tuition, books, registration, transportation, uniforms, and testing, and follow the student to any eligible participating school. Maximum award is $4,000 in Georgia and up to $4,900 in Louisiana.
• State Tax Credit Donation Programs Charitable donation programs structured to allow individual and corporate donors to direct contributions to K-12 scholarships while receiving state income tax credits. In Georgia, donors receive a dollar-for-dollar state tax credit via the QEE Tax Credit Program; in Louisiana, donors receive a 95% state tax credit via the Tuition Donation Rebate Program; 95% of each donation funds scholarships directly.
• Arete Foundations Character Development Program Supplementary character development program for middle and high school Arete scholars (grades 6-10) that builds social and emotional strengths to help students overcome challenges inherent to childhood poverty. Includes weekly classroom lessons, character inventories, and family time activities using the VIA Institute on Character Strengths curriculum.

Quantifiable outcome

• 100% high school graduation rate among Arete scholars vs. 79% for low-income peers nationally
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• StudyvilleminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2024Partnership with Studyville to offer ACT prep courses to Arete scholars. An Arete student who took the course raised her ACT score by four points and qualified for a state scholarship.
• The National WWII MuseumminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2023Arete Scholars partnered with The National WWII Museum to offer full scholarships to the museum's summer Leadership Academy program in New Orleans for Arete students.
• Chick-fil-A FoundationcoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2015Chick-fil-A Foundation has provided donations to fund K-12 scholarships for Louisiana students through the Tuition Donation Rebate Program. Executive Director Rodney Bullard has been a vocal advocate for Arete's mission. The Foundation's donation helped fund more than a dozen students for an entire school year.
• Junior AchievementcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014Partnership with Junior Achievement (JA), one of the nation's largest career readiness programs for K-12 students. JA volunteers visit Arete partner school classrooms to deliver programs on work-readiness, entrepreneurship, and financial literacy. The partnership addresses areas beyond academics that are central to future success.
• Atlanta FalconscoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 January 2013The Atlanta Falcons have been a long-term partner since 2013, hosting the 'Intern for a Day' program for Arete scholars, contributing donations for scholarships (70+ scholarships funded since 2013), and providing Falcons Legend Day shadowing opportunities for high school students. The Falcons organization has provided behind-the-scenes experiences and career exposure in professional sports.
• Sonic Drive-InminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSonic Drive-In is a corporate partner providing testimonial support. Tax Director Jennifer Adair stated: 'We are proud to partner with educational organizations like Arete that share our vision for inspiring youth to reach their greatest potential.'
• WM (Waste Management)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerWM (Waste Management) is a corporate partner. VP Tax Mark Lockett stated: 'WM proudly supports organizations, like Arete, whose work fosters future success through access to quality education, empowers families and helps communities thrive.'
• SynovusminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSynovus sponsored Arete's Christmas toy drive in Georgia in 2025, providing holiday gifts to Arete students at partner schools.
• Atlanta Gladiators / Gas SouthminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Atlanta Gladiators and Gas South gifted 19 Arete families an evening at Gas South Arena for a hockey game event, providing community connection and memorable experiences.
• Atlanta BravesminorGTM or Marketing PartnerThe Atlanta Braves organization provided Arete Scholars and their families tickets to a Major League Baseball game, creating an experiential event for scholarship families.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• ACE Scholarships: ACE Scholarships operates as a School Tuition Organization administering K-12 tax-credit scholarships in multiple states, including Louisiana — the same core market where Arete operates. Arete's current president Arthur Dupré previously led ACE's Louisiana operations, underscoring how directly comparable the two organizations are.
• Step Up For Students: Step Up For Students is one of the largest U.S. scholarship-granting organizations, administering Florida Tax Credit Scholarships and the Florida Empowerment Scholarship. It is a direct peer in the state-tax-credit K-12 scholarship space, operating at materially larger scale than Arete.
• AAA Scholarship Foundation: AAA Scholarship Foundation administers tax-credit scholarship programs across multiple states (including Georgia and Florida), serving low-income K-12 students at private schools — the same operating model and donor/tax-credit mechanism that Arete uses.
• National Education and Scholarship Foundation (NESF): NESF is a multi-state STO administering tax-credit K-12 scholarships similar to Arete's model in Georgia and Louisiana — directly comparable in mission, mechanism, and target beneficiary.
• Children's Scholarship Fund: Children's Scholarship Fund is a national K-12 scholarship organization providing need-based private school scholarships to low-income families. It shares Arete's mission, family-served demographic, and school-choice orientation.
• School Choice Scholarships: School Choice Scholarships (formerly NCSE) administers K-12 scholarship programs in North Carolina and other states, serving low-income families seeking private school access. Comparable model of state-tax-credit-funded need-based scholarships for K-12 students.

Emerging players

• National School Choice Awareness Foundation: National School Choice Week and the affiliated National School Choice Awareness Foundation promote school choice broadly and intersect with Arete's mission of expanding K-12 educational options for low-income families.

Broad incumbents

• Scholarship America: Scholarship America is one of the largest U.S. private scholarship organizations, administering need-based and merit-based scholarships. While broader in scope (including higher education), it overlaps with Arete on the K-12 scholarship administration function and corporate-sponsored giving programs.
• EdChoice: EdChoice is a national school choice advocacy and research organization that both shapes the policy environment Arete depends on (tax credit scholarships, ESAs) and operates adjacent scholarship/research programs.
• Hillsdale Charter Schools / Barney Charter School Initiative: While Arete funds scholarships and Hillsdale's K-12 initiative operates charter schools directly, both share the broader school-choice/educational alternatives space and overlap in serving families seeking non-traditional public-school alternatives.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arete-scholars-fund

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Arete Scholars