Are you a New or Recurring Donor?
New Donor
Recurring Donor
Have you already activated your MyTax account with the Illinois Department of Revenue?
Yes
No
Did you reserve your credits and have your certificate?
Yes
No
Do you know which scholarship organization you want to contribute through?
Yes
No
Donors
Donors who have activated an account with the Illinois Department of Revenue and have already reserved their tax credit can donate through Big Shoulders Fund and Empower Illinois.
While there are a number of Scholarship Granting Organizations in Illinois, our schools and donors work with only two of them; Big Shoulders Fund and Empower Illinois. There are two primary considerations when choosing an SGO: what works best for the donor and what works best for the school and their students. For donors that prefer to donate using a credit card, Big Shoulders Fund does accept credit cards at no additional charge. While their service departments are distinctly different, both strive for excellence. As far as schools go, there are a variety of considerations from payment schedules to award cycle deadlines and student application waitlists that determine which SGO is preferable to the school and their students. It is recommended to contact the school’s administrative office (or the Agudah STC Desk) to find out which SGO works best to achieve your goals.
Register
- If you already have an account, enter your username and password to verify
Click on ‘Request a Letter ID’
This is in the Individuals section.
Enter your Social Security #
On the next screen, enter your social security number, and press Enter.
Enter Additional Information
Enter your Illinois driver’s license number, IL-PIN, or prior-year adjusted gross income. Click on the blue Submit button on the bottom right.
Enter Your Email
Enter and confirm your email address; then click ‘OK’ to submit and receive your confirmation.
Letter ID Will Be Sent
Your Letter ID will be mailed to the address on your last year’s tax return. You should receive it within 7–10 business days. It will come in a nondescript envelope from the Illinois Department of Revenue.
Activate
Once you have received your Letter ID, you are ready to activate your account.
Have your Letter ID on-hand.
Activate with SSN
In the top right section under the login fields, click Sign Up . Select how you want to activate your account (for example, using your social security number or license number) and fill it in. Hit Enter .
Activate Account Question
Select Yes to the question: “Are you trying to activate your My Tax Illinois Account for Individual Income Tax?” Once you click Yes , the screen will expand with additional fields.
Enter Your Information
Enter your Letter ID and your IL PIN.
- Your Letter ID is located in the middle of the letter you received in the mail and begins with “CNXXX”.
- On the top right of the Letter ID you received in the mail (“MyTax Illinois Account Access Request”), you’ll see “Account ID”. Your IL-PIN is those 8 digits, not including the P.
When the screen expands, enter:
- Your contact information
- A username and password
- A security question and answer
- Confirmation of your email and password;
and then click submit.
Confirmation
- Click the blue Submit button in the bottom right corner to complete the form.
- You will see a confirmation pop up informing you that you are the account’s primary user. Click OK .
- You will see a confirmation page. Print it if you’d like.
- Click OK and you’ll be directed back to https://mytax.illinois.gov
Do you know which scholarship organization you want to contribute through?
Yes
No
Donors
Donors who have activated an account with the Illinois Department of Revenue and have already reserved their tax credit can donate through Big Shoulders Fund and Empower Illinois.
While there are a number of Scholarship Granting Organizations in Illinois, our schools and donors work with only two of them; Big Shoulders Fund and Empower Illinois. There are two primary considerations when choosing an SGO: what works best for the donor and what works best for the school and their students. For donors that prefer to donate using a credit card, Big Shoulders Fund does accept credit cards at no additional charge. While their service departments are distinctly different, both strive for excellence. As far as schools go, there are a variety of considerations from payment schedules to award cycle deadlines and student application waitlists that determine which SGO is preferable to the school and their students. It is recommended to contact the school’s administrative office (or the Agudah STC Desk) to find out which SGO works best to achieve your goals.
Did you reserve your credits and have your certificate?
Yes
No
Reserve
Authenticate
You’ll be asked to either use an Authentication App, or receive security codes by Email. If you feel comfortable using an authentication app, feel free to select that option. The following instructions will be for the “Email” option.
- Click Add Email .
- Enter your email and click Save .
- An email with a six-digit verification code will be sent to the email address you provided. Open that email, and enter the code and click Confirm
Go to “Contribute to Invest in Kids”
On the right side of the white “Account” rectangle, click the third link that says View more account options. On the next screen, on the left side under “Account Options”, click the third link that says Contribute to Invest in Kids .
Acknowledge Federal Tax Restriction
You will need to acknowledge that you are not permitted to take state tax credit for any contributions that you claim as a federal deduction. Click the checkbox on the bottom left to indicate you understand the restriction. Click the “Next” button in the bottom right corner.
Fill Out Contribution Information
- Select your region and Scholarship Granting Organization of choice and the amount you plan to donate.
- Note: this is the total amount you plan to donate in this region. You will get a tax credit of 75 percent of the donation.
- Tick the authorization checkbox and enter your email address.
- Click the blue Submit button on the bottom right.
- Re-enter your MyTax password and click OK.
- A confirmation page will appear telling you that your application has been successfully submitted.
- Click OK and you’ll be redirected to your MyTax Illinois “More account options” page.
Access Your Contribution Letter
- On your MyTax Illinois “More account options” page, on the right side under “Letters and Messages”, click the top link that says View Account Letters .
Under “Letters”, click on the bolded Invest in Kids Contributn Appl link. - The file should have 2 pages:
- Page 1 is an approval of your application for a Contribution Authorization Certificate (CAC).
- Page 2 shows your donation details, including authorized contribution amount on the right, and your 10-digit certificate
number located on the 2nd line on the top left. Keep your certificate number handy, as you’ll need it again later.
- Download the file and save it in a place where you’ll be able to find it in the future, such as your Desktop.
- Name it “Contribution Authorization Certificate” or “CAC” with today’s date so you can easily identify it.
Donate
Donors who have activated an account with the Illinois Department of Revenue will be able to reserve a Tax Credit. Visit mytax.illinois.gov and login.
Big Shoulders Donation Process
Email your Contribution Authorization Certificate to sgo@bigshouldersfund.org and copy stc@agudahil.org. In the email, indicate which school(s) you want to direct your donation to, and, if donating to more than one school, indicate how much you want to earmark for each school. Once you have received your reply, choose one of the payment methods below.
Check
Check made out to Big Shoulders Fund
Mail to: 212 W Van Buren, Suite 900
Chicago, IL 60607
Credit for the development of these updated instructions goes to JDBY-YTT who graciously gave permission for their directions manual to inform this guidance.