Arizona Private Education Scholarship Fund

What Arizona Private Education Scholarship Fund does

Arizona Private Education Scholarship Fund (APESF) is a Scottsdale-based 501(c)(3) scholarship-granting organization (SGO) founded in 1998 that administers Arizona's Private School Tuition Tax Credit program under A.R.S. § 43-1089. The organization receives dollar-for-dollar state tax-credit donations from individual and corporate Arizona taxpayers — who may recommend specific students — and disburses those funds as K-12 private school tuition scholarships to qualifying Arizona families.

APESF operates a web-based digital platform that supports online scholarship applications, personalized Family Donation Pages with embedded explainer videos, a Digital Backpack toolkit (financial need calculator, school year calendar, sample messaging templates, social media graphics), and a Family Records portal for application and award tracking. Distribution is conducted through a partner network of Arizona private schools, with families applying through APESF and awarded scholarships remitted to the partner school. APESF charges no fees to families, has 1-10 employees, and holds a Charity Navigator Four-Star Rating.

The business model is donation-driven rather than fee-based: APESF stewards incoming tax-credit-eligible donations, applies its operational capacity to administer scholarships and steward donor recommendations, and is positioning for the Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (FSTC/EFTC) program scheduled to begin January 1, 2027. Founder Mark Moerkerke is identified; the organization is governed independently without parent or institutional equity ownership.

Name

Arizona Private Education Scholarship Fund

Legal name

Arizona Private Education Scholarship Fund, Inc.

Website

https://apesf.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

APESF is a Scottsdale-based 501(c)(3) scholarship-granting organization founded in 1998 that administers Arizona's K-12 Private School Tuition Tax Credit program, channeling individual and corporate tax-credit donations to private school tuition scholarships for qualifying Arizona families.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Private K-12 Education Scholarship Administration

NAICS

Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Need-Based Grants & Bursaries (EDAIAOAB)

Keywords

• Scholarship granting organization
• Private school tuition assistance
• Tax credit donation administration
• K-12 education choice
• Nonprofit scholarship fund

Headquarters

HQ city

Scottsdale

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Tax Credit Donation Processing: APESF receives tax credit donations from Arizona individual and corporate taxpayers who redirect a portion of their state income tax liability to the organization. Donors may recommend specific students but cannot restrict scholarships solely based on their recommendation. The donations are used to award tuition scholarships to K-12 students attending Arizona private schools. APESF operates as a qualified School Tuition Organization (STO) under Arizona law (A.R.S. § 43-1089).

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

APESF administers Arizona's Private School Tuition Tax Credit program, channeling dollar-for-dollar state income tax credit donations from individual and corporate taxpayers into K-12 private school tuition scholarships. Families apply online, build personalized donation pages, and use the Digital Backpack toolkit to attract donor recommendations, after which APESF stewards donations and awards scholarships to qualifying students attending partner private schools.

Product overview

APESF is a Scholarship Granting Organization (SGO) facilitating Arizona's Private School Tax Credit Program. The organization offers a digital platform enabling families to apply for scholarships, manage donation pages, track records, and access educational resources. Key offerings include Personal Family Donation Pages for donor outreach, a Digital Backpack with tools like calculators and social media graphics, Family Records management, and participation in the upcoming Federal Scholarship Tax Credit program. The organization also runs promotional programs like the Stars, Stripes, and Selfies summer photo contest that awards scholarships.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Arizona Private School Tax Credit Program (SGO administration)
• Online Application System
• Personal Family Donation Pages
• Digital Backpack toolkit
• Family Records System
• Federal Scholarship Tax Credit (FSTC/EFTC) program participation
• Stars, Stripes, and Selfies '26 Summer Contest

Quantifiable outcome

• Over $100M directed to tuition assistance for low-income families, students with disabilities, and foster care students through business tax credit donations.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Others

• EdChoice: National school-choice research and advocacy organization tracking tax-credit scholarship programs, including Arizona's. Adjacent ecosystem player — not a competing SGO but influential in shaping the policy environment that determines APESF's operating conditions.

Direct peers

• AAA Scholarship Foundation: Multi-state 501(c)(3) SGO that administers tax-credit K-12 scholarships in multiple states including Arizona, Florida, Georgia and others. Directly competes with APESF for Arizona tax-credit donations.
• BLOCS (Bridging Local Outstanding Cents for Students): Pennsylvania-based regional SGO administering K-12 private school scholarships through Pennsylvania's tax-credit programs. Closely comparable in mission, regulatory structure, and family-facing donor outreach.
• Step Up For Students: Florida's largest scholarship-granting organization, administering tax-credit-funded K-12 private school scholarships under the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program. Operates a near-identical donor-to-family-to-school model to APESF and serves as the most direct analog by scale and program design.
• Children's Scholarship Fund: National K-12 private school scholarship organization funding tuition assistance for low-income families across multiple states. Mirrors APESF's donor-funded tuition-scholarship model at a national scale.

Regional players

• School Choice Arizona: Arizona-based advocacy organization promoting K-12 school choice including private school options. Operates in the same Arizona market and donor ecosystem as APESF but as an advocacy group rather than a direct scholarship grantor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/ArizonaPrivateEducationScholarshipFund
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/arizona-private-education-scholarship-fund
• Instagraminstagram.com/apesf

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Arizona Private Education Scholarship Fund