Looking Back at NCTC's Thought Leader Circle II
The second of three Thought Leader Circles was held on July 28th in New York City. A component of the Sustainable Models research project, funded by the Ford Foundation, the circles bring together leaders in the tax preparation field to participate in a robust research initiative exploring sustainability issues. These learnings will help inform the future direction of the community tax preparation field in service delivery, revenue generation, and policy.
Catherine Ro is Project Manager at the National Community Tax Coalition. She can be reached at cro@tax-coalition.org
The National Community Tax Coalition held its second Thought Leader Circle, Community Tax Site Alternative Revenue Models, at the Ford Foundation, New York, on July 28, 2011. The Sustainable Models research project is NCTC's initiative, funded by the Ford Foundation, to identify current and future practices and trends in the community tax preparation field. Findings from the three circles and supplementary original research will be disseminated in early 2012, providing guidance to organizations in future strategies and tactics to enhance sustainability.
With budget cuts left and right and limited funding streams, free tax preparation programs struggle to provide safe, affordable tax prep services to hardworking families. This second Thought Leader Circle brought together leaders from the community tax preparation field, paid preparer field, financial institutions, and funders to share information on possible alternative revenue models and their implications. A wealth of information was exchanged and a number of alternative approaches were brought to the table to help guide policy recommendations for the next Thought Leader Circle.
The third and last Thought Leader Circle, presenting service and revenue models and exploring their implications for the future of the field, will be held with the Internal Revenue Service in Atlanta on October 18, 2011.
Catherine Ro is Project Manager at the National Community Tax Coalition. She can be reached at cro@tax-coalition.org
