Today is Giving Tuesday, and while you’re probably getting a lot of requests, we’d like to share why support is vital to Prosperity Now at this time.

When the pandemic hit our nation back in early March, we found ourselves in the height of tax season. Our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) partners were well on their way to processing over 1.5 million free, quality returns across the country. Many of these returns included much needed tax credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit, which allow low-income families to save for emergencies and the future.

As the country socially distanced, our VITA partners were faced with a lack of technology and ability to reach and communicate with their clients, as many households relied on in-person service. In addition, the government was now providing stimulus checks to qualifying households, provided they filed their taxes. With increasing job loss, our mission as the backbone to the 6,500-member Taxpayer Opportunity Network became crucial. Our main goal has been to ensure that we could support our partners across the country to file as many returns as possible and get cash into the hands of the most vulnerable families to help them better weather this crisis.

To immediately respond, we depended on flexible unrestricted funding. Funding that was provided by your previous support, and allowed us to:

• Hold listening sessions to fully understand the challenges and needs of our partners, instead of prescribing top-down solutions.
• Pivot our research to arm our partners with data on the disproportionate impact of the virus on communities of color.
• Lead advocacy efforts nationally and extend the tax deadline by three months and increase federal funding support to the VITA program.
• Liaise with the IRS on behalf of our partners.
• Provide technical assistance to our partners to ensure they could keep their doors open and serve their communities with alternative tax preparation methods.
• Connect our Network to technology platforms and tools to help them pivot their service delivery in this time of transition and continued safety measures.

That is why your donation matters today. When you make an unrestricted gift to Prosperity Now, you’re not just giving towards operational funds, you are giving us the ability to ensure we can support our partners when they need it the most.

On this #GivingTuesday, will you donate to help support low-income families across the country?

Your donation can make all the difference as we continue to navigate the current crisis and begin to rebuild.

With gratitude,

P.S.- You can do more!  Start a fundraiser on Facebook today and select Prosperity Now as the beneficiary. Facebook will match up to $7 million in donations (until the match runs out).