Step Up For Students provided scholarships to more than 250,000 students during the 2022-23 school year. We anticipate funding about 350,000 student scholarships in the 2023-24 school year, and we expect this level of growth to continue for the next two to three years as families continue seeking more influence over how their children are educated.

With this extraordinary growth, we have embraced the challenge of maintaining excellent customer service. We hired about 100 additional employees over the last year, including some outstanding leaders who have experience managing rapidly growing organizations. We also invested heavily in technology to better serve our families, schools, and other educational providers. We have strengthened our relationship with excellent external IT and customer service partners, added board members with extensive IT and customer service experience, and re-emphasized our commitment to delighting our customers.

Information is the lifeblood of all markets, and nowhere is that truer than in public education, where families are continuously making life-changing education decisions for their children. If education choice is going to significantly improve student achievement, Step Up must effectively help families accurately assess their children’s needs and find the best learning option for each child out of thousands of choices.

This year’s success, as well as all of our previous accomplishments, are possible only with the incredible support of our partners in the corporate community. Corporate tax credit contributions have funded over a million student scholarships since 2002. The Florida business community’s decades-long commitment to improving public education, by giving families and educators more influence over how and what students are taught, is generating great results. Florida’s public education system is consistently ranked in the top five nationally, a primary reason families across the country are moving to Florida.

As you browse this year’s annual report, please take a few moments to read the students’ stories. Their journeys are inspiring and a constant reminder of why our work is so important. Thank you for supporting Step Up and the families we serve.

Sincerely,

Doug Tuthill

President, 2022-23