Donations can be directed to schools that are recognized or in the process of being recognized by ISBE. However, only schools recognized by ISBE are eligible to receive donations to be used for scholarships under the Invest in Kids Act. Schools in the process of being recognized by ISBE are marked with “PENDING RECOGNITION” on the Empower Illinois website. If a school marked with “PENDING RECOGNITION” is not recognized by the earlier of (1) August 1st, 2018 or (2) a date specified by the state of Illinois, donations directed to any such school will be recharacterized as undesignated donations for the same region in which the school marked with “PENDING RECOGNITION” is located and made available to eligible students on a first come, first served basis. There can be no guarantees as to whether a school marked with “PENDING RECOGNITION” will be recognized by ISBE in the future and be eligible to receive scholarship money under the program.