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Children's Scholarship Fund earns kudos

Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia, a nonprofit that distributes financial aid to help low-income families send city children to nonpublic schools, has earned kudos from Charity Navigator.

Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia, a nonprofit that distributes financial aid to help low-income families send city children to nonpublic schools, has earned kudos from Charity Navigator.

The independent, national charity evaluator said the fund scored a perfect 100 on its assessment for financial health, accountability, and transparency.

The scholarship fund was one of only three educational charities in the country to score 100.

Charity Navigator, based in Glen Rock, N.J., said that less than 1 percent of the thousands of charities it rates each year earn perfect scores.

It said charities scoring 100 carry out their missions in a fiscally responsible way and follow best practices to minimize the chances for unethical behavior.

"We are honored that Charity Navigator rated CSFP so highly for such important measures," Ina Lipman, the fund's executive director, said in a statement.

"This score truly attests to our organization's commitment to efficiency, transparency and responsibility to generous donors who have made it possible for deserving low-income children to get a great K-8th grade education," she said.

The fund also was named to Charity Navigator's list of Top 10 charities that rely on private contributions.

Founded in 1998, Children's Scholarship Fund Philadelphia is privately funded and serves 5,300 K-8 students at more than 160 nonpublic schools, where the average tuition is $4,000. Scholarships average $1,960.

Scholarship winners are chosen each year by lottery from among qualified Philadelphia applicants.

The deadline to apply for the 2017-18 school year is March 1. Information is at: http://www.csfphiladelphia.org/

martha.woodall@phillynews.com 215-854-2789 @marwooda