Catholic Charities USA

In many ways, Catholic Charities USA is similar to other organizations in our field. Members of the organization provide free tax preparation services, financial education, asset building services and more. Like most NCTC members, serving the most vulnerable of our society is at the core of the organizational mission.

But Catholic Charities USA is not your typical NCTC affiliate.  Like NCTC itself, Catholic Charities USA is a membership organization, serving low-income clients by empowering their members through training, networking, resource sharing, technical assistance and developing best practices.

With more than 1400 branch offices across the nation, Catholic Charities USA has been serving disadvantaged individuals for more than 100 years. Most of these offices take a holistic approach to their work, offering a wide range of services to families in need. Its 170 member agencies served more than 9 million individuals in 2009.

Even with such a wide reach, Catholic Charities is ever expanding. One of  CCUSA’ s member agencies newest initiatives is a volunteer tax assistance program in New Orleans after the devastation of Hurricane Katrina. Existing agencies are always expanding their services, including volunteer tax preparation, financial education services and matched savings programs.

As part of this holistic approach, one of Catholic Charities members, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County, participated in NCTC’s Financial Aid U program this year. In addition to providing free tax service, the agency provided free FAFSA preparation services for both traditional and non-traditional students. In its first year, Catholic Charities of Santa Clara County exceeded their goal, completing more than 125 FAFSA forms for low-income students.

Having a diverse membership with a wide range of services is not without its challenges, of course. “Our agencies run multiple programs and therefore need to do more coordination, not just with outside partners, but also internally to ensure that their tax preparation and financial education programs are integrated and reaching out to a wide array of consumers,” said Jane Stenson, Senior Director for Poverty Reduction Strategies at Catholic Charities USA.

Not all Catholic Charities members offer free tax preparation services, but many have recently added this to their services. “A great proportion of our network is very involved in financial education, with several running IDA programs and other asset building efforts,” said Stenson.

Stenson said Catholic Charities is not alone in maintaining such a vast network of services. “Our most important partner is the IRS. They have been very supportive in providing education and resources to our network.” Other partners include the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and the National Endowment for Financial Education. “Our national partners have provided significant support to our network around tax preparation and financial education.”

As for the future, Stenson sees a continuation of the expansion of the services the organization has seen in the recent past. The organization also continues to be a strong advocate for policies that reflect the interests of their members and clients at the federal level.