Scholarship Funding Organization
Step Up For Students is Florida's largest scholarship funding organization and one of the most impactful school choice nonprofits in the nation. Created through a merger of Florida P.R.I.D.E. and Children First, the organization was founded by Tampa Bay businessman John Kirtley to provide low-income, bullied, and special needs students with scholarships to attend private schools or access other educational options. Step Up administers several major scholarship programs including the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC) and the Family Empowerment Scholarship (FES). Step Up For Students has awarded more than one million scholarships since its founding, serving over 150,000 students annually through five distinct scholarship programs. The organization empowers PreK through 12th grade students with educational options ranging from private school tuition assistance to funding for tutoring, textbooks, and therapies. Through the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program, donors receive dollar-for-dollar tax credits while directly funding K-12 students' futures, making Step Up a powerful engine for educational opportunity in the state of Florida.