Every year high school coaches and players have to find a way to raise money for their respective athletic programs. Some programs sell chocolate, some sell coupon cards, but in Arizona you can participate in the Extracurricular Activity Tax Credit.

The ECA Tax Credit is another way individuals can help raise money for high school programs/activities.

You do not need to have a child attending the school toward which you would like to send the tax credit.

Dobson assistant varsity boys basketball coach Jorge Pierce prefers this method of fundraising over more conventional methods.

“It is a great way to raise money for programs, and I never feel uncomfortable about asking people to donate because they get the money back,” Pierce said. “It is just deciding where a small amount of your tax money goes as opposed to giving it to the state.”

Although it is a great alternative to more modern versions of fundraising there are limitations to this method. 

“Single people can donate $200 and married $400 per year and then they are given that credit on their Arizona state tax,” Pierce said. “If I owe $0 for the year then I will be sent a check for $200”

Dobson boys basketball coach Rick McConnell likes the tax credit because he and his players and focus more on basketball and less on raising money.

“What’s good for us is we don’t have to get involved with fund-raising,” McConnell said. “I don’t have kids that have to come up with a lot of money.

The financial benefit for the program you choose to send the money to could easily exceed normal fundraising amounts.

“We haven’t done a ton of it, but I can see where it’s really valuable because if you get three or four people you could raise a couple thousand dollars, and that’s so much faster than doing a car wash” McConnell said.

The money donated through the tax credit goes straight to the program of the donor’s choice to aid with certain expenses.

“The money donated through the tax credit typically goes toward paying our coaching staff and expenses for equipment,” Dobson assistant girls basketball coach McKenzie Parcell said.