
A group of parents and children who heard the news that they were awarded a scholarship fund. Photo from the Children’s Scholarship Fund of Philadelphia.
Applications for the Children Scholarship Fund of Philadelphia (CSFP) are now open for the 2025-2026 school year, presenting another opportunity for children across the city to enter a lottery system that grants families financial assistance to get into a private school of their choice.
CSFP was established in 2001 as a non-profit branch of the Children Scholarship Fund’s national organization. Since then, over 70,000 scholarships have been awarded to over 30,000 children across the city, with funds totaling up to $125 million, according to the CSFP.
“[It was founded] to provide [Pre-K-8] grade scholarships for students who, in particular, are living in neighborhoods where there aren’t many educational options that parents consider quality,” said the President and CEO of CSFP, Keisha Jordan. “Also specifically serving lower-income families.”
According to Jordan, they have grown to become Pennsylvania’s largest Pre-K-8 private school scholarship program.
Every year, the application period is open from September to March 1. Thousands of applicants are drawn in the lottery and become recipients at two points within a year: once in March and then again in December. During the 2024-25 school year, 6,209 students were awarded scholarships, with over 6,000 students being served yearly.
In its last draw last month, 3,200 kids received the news that they were awarded a scholarship that will change the trajectory of their educational future. Scholarship amounts are either $1,250, $2,500, or $3,350, depending on a family’s household income, which makes for an annual average award of $2,400 per student.
The CSFP is partnered with 150 private schools in the city and serves as the financial bridge to make enrollment at reputable institutions more accessible for families with limited financial resources.
Eight of the partner schools reside in Germantown, consisting of Germantown Friends School, Lotus Academy, Saint Athanasius School, William Penn Charter School, DePaul Catholic School, Greene Street Friends School, The Waldorf School of Philadelphia, and the Excelsior School of Philadelphia.
According to CSFP data, since its inception, CSFP has helped fund the education of 1,283 families in Germantown, with a total investment of approximately $18.2 million dispersed across the recipients in the area.
Germantown resident, CSFP board member, and parent ambassador Kamesha Callands received a scholarship in 5th grade and is now the mother of a recipient.
Her daughter was awarded when she began kindergarten and went on to attend Our Mother of Consolation School in Chestnut Hill.

Alongside the educational factor, Callands says there’s more to what the experience can provide to a child.
“Being in this private school really helped with diversity as well — it really opened my daughter up to different cultures, races, and even religion,” Callands said. “I’m a one-parent household, so it would’ve been difficult to keep the tuition going.”
To qualify for the lottery, a family must meet income guidelines presented in a detailed chart on the organization’s website. However, the median household income for families awarded throughout CSFP’s history is $43,182.
An awarded scholarship does not cover the full tuition cost; a winning recipient’s family must still contribute at least $500 toward tuition every year.
Even with the CSFP heavily contributing to educational expenses, students must still find a school that interests them and follow the school’s particular application process.
“We really choose to target families that need help the most, and we stay by them through 8th grade,” said the President and CEO. “Once a family picks a school, and we do help them with that, and once they become part of the CSFP community, then all they have to do is show us documentation, tax return, and proof of income so that we know that they still qualify.”
Once a child is made a recipient, they stay in the organization’s network and can attend the same private school or transfer to another partnering school for more than one year. Families can also receive scholarships for up to three people in their homes at once.
Also, if applicants don’t win a scholarship in the December lottery, they don’t need to apply again; CSFP keeps applicants in its database and automatically enters them into the next lottery in March.
Callands expressed her appreciation to this point, saying, “I love that it goes to 8th grade because you have that financial security. My child can and will be able to stay in this school, and I don’t have to keep scrambling to look for other schools.”
For more information on applying, visit www.csfphiladelphia.org/apply/ or call 215-670-8411.
Note: This story was updated for accuracy. In the past we had kindergarten as the starting age, when it was actually pre-kindergarten.