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Dear John,
It’s hard to believe the halfway point of the filing season is already upon us, but that also means it must be March and we get to tell you all about our plans for VITA Awareness Day on Wednesday, March 16! Each year, the community tax prep field engages in this campaign to show the world how VITA programs across the country help low- to moderate-income families make ends meet by connecting them to valuable tax credits, refunds and other financial resources. Below, you’ll find our VITA Awareness Day toolkit which contains materials for partner organizations to use, including sample social media posts, shareable images and state datasheets. Make sure to join the conversation on March 16 using #VITAAwarenessDay and tagging @ProsperityNow. Keep reading for information about our #VITAAwarenessDay social media contest!
Lastly, we want to make sure everyone is aware of the Tax Roundtable listserv, an 800+ member strong community of some of the most knowledgeable community tax prep experts across the country, and the perfect place to get real-time answers to your tax prep questions, inform the field about your upcoming event, or get feedback on challenges you are facing. Sign up now!
Many Happy Returns!
Graham O’Neill
Tax Strategist, Prosperity Now
Spotlight: Join Us for VITA Awareness Day!
We’re excited to share our 2022 VITA Awareness Day toolkit with you! Inside, you’ll find social media messages, graphics, and datasheets to help raise your #VITAAwarenessDay messaging.
At the same time, Prosperity Now is running the #VITAAwarenessDay social media contest where we are asking partners of all kinds (including you!) to collect
video stories from their VITA sites and share them on social media using #VITAAwarenessDay and tagging @ProsperityNow. This can include a video of a VITA site coordinator, a volunteer or yourself. You can also snap a photo of yourself and put your story in the caption if you’re video shy! The entry with the most likes by 12 am ET on March 17 will win a $50 gift card.
We have also included an example VITA story video from Justin Chu, Program Manager at Prosperity Now. Check it out!
A Conversation with Pennie Clayton from United Way of Tarrant County
With tax season well underway, VITA organizations across the country are working to increase the number of filers, continue their outreach efforts and ensure the families in their community receive their tax benefits. Many programs continue to navigate a complicated landscape created by the health concerns and economic uncertainty caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, utilizing both in-person and virtual tools to successfully reach their clients. To hear more directly from the tax prep field, we sat down with Pennie Clayton, the VITA Program Manager at United Way of Tarrant County. Read More.
Updates from the Network
Make the Marketplaces Your Allies | Prosperity Now
A recent piece from Brad Martin, VITA Program Coordinator of United Way of Southwest Alabama, provides some best practices for navigating Marketplace with your clients at tax time. Read the full piece here.
Three Burning VITA Questions for Prosperity Now’s Newest Tax-time Pilot Program | Prosperity Now
As our community tax preparation veterans know, each new year and each filing season bring unique challenges, and this year is no different. In partnership with the Citi Foundation, Prosperity Now will support five sites in a VITA pilot focused on serving first-time or lapsed filers. Read more.
Tools and Information for the Field
Resources from the Network
Resources for Taxpayers having issues with the IRS | Center for Taxpayer Rights, LITC Support Center
The Center for Taxpayer Rights is offering new resources for clients to address IRS related issues. These resources provide taxpayers with some helpful suggestions for what to expect in some common disputes with the IRS, how to do some self-help actions, and when and where to seek help from others.
VITA-Train | Prosperity Now
VITA-Train includes streamlined VITA training modules to make things easier for you and your volunteers to become certified. Each module is available to download in either PowerPoint or pdf format.
Virtual Advocacy Toolkit| Prosperity Now
Want to get started on virtual advocacy, but don’t know how to start? To find resources for effective advocacy at every level, visit our Prosperity Now Advocacy Toolkit.
Alternative Service Delivery Case Studies| Prosperity Now
These case studies were written as part of the Ensuring and Expanding Access to Tax Preparation Services in Underserved Communities project to demonstrate how VITA programs can successfully implement and serve taxpayers through alternative tax preparation methods when facing technology and other access barriers.
Get It Back Campaign Outreach Materials | Center on Budget & Policy Priorities
EITC, CTC and Tax Filing outreach toolkits from the Get It Back Campaign that provides messaging, social media, call/text scripting, and several other useful tools to help you reach your community about and of these interrelated subjects.
CFPB Resources| Consumer Financial Protection Bureau
Your Guide to Filing Your Taxes in 2022: These resources include all things tax from the expanded Child Tax Credit, Economic Impact Payments and ways to file. These are ideal as a client-facing resource so check it out today.
Resources from IRS/SPEC and TaxSlayer
IRS SPEC Partner Webcast Schedule
Click here to get the full 2022 schedule for IRS SPEC Partner Webcasts to ensure that you stay up to date on the latest news and resources from IRS SPEC.
TaxSlayer Support Information
Phone: 1-800-421-6346
Email: [email protected]
Blog: Be sure to check out the TaxSlayer VITA/TCE Blog for important software updates.
Share your thoughts or ideas on how TaxSlayer could be improved using the VITA/TCE Suggestion Box. Your feedback is needed for both federal and state returns, as well as reporting.
Learning
Opportunities
Upcoming Events
Mapping the Road Towards Increased Accessibility to the Child Tax Credit
March 22 at 2 pm ET
Prosperity Now is hosting this virtual event as we kick off our Expanding Economic Opportunity Through Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) cohort, with generous support from the Rockefeller Foundation. Over the next several months, we’ll work with five community-based VITA organizations to support their work implementing innovative outreach and messaging strategies alongside alternate service delivery methods to reach first time and lapsed filers.
2022 Prosperity Now Summit – Call for Proposals
The 2022 Prosperity Summit will be held from September 19-21 in Atlanta Georgia. We invite you to showcase the innovative and transformative work you’re leading by submitting a proposal to be a conference presenter by March 25. We hope to see you there!
If you have ideas for future learning events, stories or resources, contact us at [email protected].
