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Step Up for Students, the state-approved, nonprofit that manages the Florida Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Credit Election Program (formerly known as The Hope Scholarship), recently recognized the South Florida Automobile Dealers Association (SFADA) and its dealer members today with its Partners For Hope Award for supporting the program since its inception in 2018. Collectively, SFADA’s dealer members have collected $64,687,846.00 in state sales tax contributions from vehicle purchases to fund K-12 Florida Tax Credit (FTC) Scholarships.
The Hope Scholarship, established in 2018, merged into the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship (FTC), broadening the scope and impact of automotive sales tax donations. The K-12 Florida Tax Credit (FTC) Scholarships are funded through a $105 sales tax election the state offers to customers who purchase or register a vehicle in Florida. Tax elections are at no cost to customers because the $105 is collected from the state sales tax customers already owe from purchasing or registering a vehicle in Florida.
“We are honored to have members of the South Florida Automobile Dealers Association as a partner in our mission to empower families to pursue and engage in the most appropriate learning options for their children,” said Bill Ussery, Senior Development Officer at Step Up For Students. “It is because of the support of these South Florida dealerships that more than 616,000 customers agreed to make a sales tax election contribution. Because of the support of SFADA’s dealer members, thousands of Florida public-school students are attending a school of their choice with a new outlook on life and learning.”
“Our dealer members have supported the worthwhile efforts of many organizations throughout the years,” said Debra Koebel, president of the South Florida Automobile Dealers Association. “By supporting the Florida Tax Credit (FTC) Scholarship, they are truly making a positive difference in the lives of children in our communities.”
“On behalf of the state of Florida and the FTC Scholarship Program, I was pleased to present the Partner for Hope Award to the SFADA. Critical to this program’s success is the support from the SFADA and its nearly 200 new car dealer members throughout Monroe, Miami-Dade, Broward, and Palm Beach counties,” Ussery added. “These dealerships, along with their finance and business managers, have demonstrated a strong commitment to support Florida education by actively informing customers about the Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Credit contribution and providing the sales tax election form. We also recognize the efforts of each dealership’s accounting staff for their work in collecting and reporting customer tax elections to the Department of Revenue and submitting the funds to Step Up For Students.”
About the South Florida Automobile Dealers Association
The South Florida Automobile Dealers Association began in 1933 and originally was formed to share marketing opportunities and control costs. Today, the Association comprises more than 190 dealerships in Miami-Dade, Broward, Palm Beach, and Monroe counties, making it larger than some state-wide auto dealer groups. For more than 40 years, the Association has donated over $7 million to numerous charities that also include Joe DiMaggio Hospital, YMCA, Alzheimer’s Association Sheridan House, Museum of Art, American Cancer Society, Historic Society of Fort Lauderdale, and others.
About Step Up For Students
Step Up For Students is the state-approved nonprofit Scholarship Funding Organization (SFO) that administers several scholarships for Florida schoolchildren, including the Florida Tax Credit Scholarship Program (FTC). The donor-funded FTC scholarships help students by assisting with private school tuition, transportation costs to a public school other than the one assigned, or customized education at home. This year, more than 500,000 students are utilizing the state’s K-12 scholarship programs to access learning options of their choice, which makes Florida the nation’s leader in education options.
For more information, visit www.StepUpForStudents.org.
