TAX AND EITC VOLUNTEERS NEEDED

Volunteers are the backbone of a national movement to provide free tax filing and access to Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low-income working Americans. Through EITC, families making below $40,000 annually can receive up to $5,028 when they file their tax returns. EITC may increase a family’s income as much 40% and bring millions of federal dollars to under sourced communities.

And volunteers play a major role in every step of the process. Prior to the filing season, volunteers do outreach to potential beneficiaries informing them about the services and opportunities available. At the tax sites, volunteers do intake and screening, help with tax preparation, provide translation and help with child care. In addition, volunteers can expose families to other valuable programs and services such as financial literacy courses, credit counseling, savings accounts, individual development accounts (IDAs) and more. These programs and services can open the doors to financial independence and a better future.

Before the Tax Season

Since its inception thirty years ago, EITC has become the largest and most successful anti-poverty program for working families in the United States. Sadly, those who need the most often do not know about EITC or how to file for it. The IRS estimates that approximately 20% of eligible families do not claim EITC. Volunteers can play an important role in the outreach and education of potential customers ensuring that low-income working families get the full refund they have earned. Potential volunteer activities include the following:

• Develop outreach materials: flyers, stuffers, brochures, posters, bus cards, billboards, grocery bag art, tray liners, etc. explaining eligibility criteria for EITC, services offered, locations of tax assistance sites, dates of financial literacy programs, and so on.
• Conduct meetings or outreach events with large employers to encourage promotion of EITC to employees earning low wages.
• Speak about free tax filing and EITC at places of worship, schools and community centers where potential clients congregate.
• Set up and staff an EITC Hotline that residents may call to get basic information including eligibility and directions to filing sites.
• Produce community newsletters or media public service announcements.
• Recruit other volunteers particularly trusted people from the community who can serve as cultural as well as language translators.
• Develop information for the web site to share activities and opportunities in your community.
• Plan media events to kick-off filing season activities.

During Filing Season

Volunteers do virtually all the functions at the filing sites including the following: 

• Greeters 
• • Greet customers and make them feel at ease. Create an friendly and orderly atmosphere 
  • Manage traffic flow to help assure sufficient time available to assist the customer
• Screeners
• • Screen all customers to determine the type of assistance needed
  • Ensure that the customer has brought the necessary information
• Child Minders – help take care of the children while the parents are working with the tax preparers
• Interpreters – provide interpretation and translations services
• Instructors
• • Teach basic tax law
  • Teach Tax Wise software
• Tax Preparer
  
• • Prepare basic 1040 tax returns
  • Answer tax questions
  • Prepare accurate return
  • Provide and explain a completed return to the customer
  • Maintain confidentiality of customer information
• Site Coordinator
• • Establish quality review process for the site
  • Ensure all volunteer tax preparers are aware of quality review procedures
  • Provide feedback to preparers regarding errors
  • Develop and maintain a schedule for volunteers
  • Perform other administrative duties
• Savings Promoters
• • Encourage customers to save part of their refunds
  • Connect customers to financial resources like financial education classes, credit counseling and IDAs. 

On-Going Activities

• Some United Ways play an on-going leadership role in local tax coalitions – groups of nonprofit and government agencies that come together to provide tax, EITC and other financial services to the community. They may also have on-going programs that help people move toward financial self sufficiency. Individual Development Accounts (IDAs) are an example of these programs. IDAs are matched savings accounts. For example, each participant saves at least $20 per month and attends financial literacy workshops working toward a defined goal. Upon completion of the program, each participant receives the money they saved, as well as the matching funds contributed by coalition organizations to be paid toward the realization of the individual’s defined goal (e.g., college tuition, home ownership.) 

• Other on-going roles include the following: 
• • Credit Advisors: Assist taxpayers in accessing and analyzing their credit reports.  
  • Financial Coaches: Offer financial coaching around five key areas: credit advising, budgeting, banking information, benefits screening, and referral assistance.  

EITC is a vitally important program both for individual low-income families and for the communities where they reside. Volunteers are the engine behind this program, promoting it, providing services and building upon its successes to provide a better future for working families.

Contact the United Way near you to learn how you can help.