ATLANTA—GRACE Scholars helped thousands of students to attend some three dozen Catholic schools since it opened its doors 16 years ago. Now, the same mission is being picked up by Georgia GOAL Scholarship Program Inc.  

During the summer, the Archdiocese of Atlanta program focused on putting Catholic education within reach of working-class families was sunset as supporters were directed to the larger scholarship program, which serves more than 200 private schools.  

GRACE Scholars was founded by Cardinal Wilton Gregory, former Archbishop of Atlanta, and Bishop J. Kevin Boland of Savannah in 2008 as a student scholarship organization. Some 34 schools in the Archdiocese of Atlanta and the Diocese of Savannah have accepted GRACE scholarships. 

Since its founding, the GRACE program distributed $42 million to a total of 12,848 students. In the 2023-2024 school year, some 1,115 students received the scholarships. 

However, financial figures show how taxpayer donations to GRACE are forecast to decline. The donations peaked at around $5.4 million in 2020 and declined some 24% in June 2023. Overall, the program received since 2009 nearly $58 million from more than 27,000 donors. 

Archdiocesan officials announced its closing in May.  

Archbishop Gregory J. Hartmayer, OFM Conv., said in a letter GRACE had been “instrumental in furthering the mission of Catholic education in Georgia.” School staff have been tirelessly promoting the GRACE Scholars program through the years, he said. “Your efforts have not gone unnoticed.” 

With a larger administrative program, GOAL “possesses the resources and infrastructure to enhance our scholarship management,” said the archbishop.  

Current GRACE scholars will continue to receive scholarships in the future, as long as they continue to be eligible.  

GOAL received nearly $57 million this spring from taxpayers for scholarship money. It has already been home to independent Catholic schools, such as Cristo Rey Atlanta Jesuit High School, Christ the King School and Marist School.   

Leaders at archdiocesan schools will now be working with GOAL staff to connect eligible students with scholarships and assist donors to contribute to scholarship funds. The school administrative directors will encourage donors to earmark gifts to individual schools.  

GOAL serves Georgia private schools of any faith tradition. To ensure Catholic values are being implemented, school leaders and the archdiocesan school superintendent will continue to set guidelines to utilize the scholarship fund.  

GOAL will process tax credit gifts and allocate funds to students with financial need, while the school leaders will set the criteria for scholarships to support Catholic values, said Brad Wilson, the archdiocesan chief financial officer.  

A selling point for the transition has been GOAL’s lower administrative costs and a robust online presence to ease tasks for school leaders, scholarship applications and donors. Lower costs suggest more money will be available for additional scholarships. School staff will have a toolbox of marketing materials and a database to identify giving trends. Donors have a portal that keeps key tax records. Parents will find web resources to apply for scholarships.  

According to its website, GOAL has awarded 82% of its scholarships to families with an adjusted gross income of less than $48,000 and some 46% of scholarships have been awarded to students of color.