Kentucky Domestic Violence Association
KDVA's Kentucky Asset Success (KASI) is a broad-based collaborative effort dedicated to promoting economic self-sufficiency for low-income families in Kentucky. In addition to operating Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites, member agencies offer a variety of asset-building services, including financial education, free credit reports and counseling, and matched savings accounts. KASI is operated by the Economic Justice Project of the Kentucky Domestic Violence Association (KDVA).
2010 was KASI’s best year yet, serving more families in need than ever before. 10,298 families had their taxes prepared at our sites throughout Kentucky, receiving $13.5 million back in federal refunds. The free sites saved families $2.2 million in preparation fees and refund-anticipation loans – an average of $215 per return. With a Median Adjusted Gross Income of only $13,416 for KASI filers, the impact of these savings is significant for each family. Not only are individuals and families seeing the benefits of the VITA program, so are businesses throughout the state - the refunds received by KASI’s filers in 2010 generated $21.7 million of economic activity in Kentucky communities.
A KASI volunteer assists a client in filing their tax return.
Constance Adams, a married mother of four who works as bus driver, will be returning to KASI’s Frankfort site for the third year in a row. “At other tax places, you get the runaround; they’re out to make the extra buck,” she says. “But the volunteers are there to help make it easier on you. They keep you informed, and they work with you.” Other filers have expressed relief that by going to one of KASI’s sites, half of their refund does not go toward preparation fees, and that they can apply those funds to pay off bills or pay for long-needed car or home repairs.
In 2011, KASI is offering free tax preparation at 64 sites that serve at least 60 counties across Kentucky. More than a dozen banks, corporations, foundations and other entities have provided support to fuel KASI's growth, and partnering agencies coordinate sites and coalitions, recruit volunteers, conduct outreach, and offer other financial education and asset-building services. With strong community support and increased demand for our services, KASI is poised to reach more low-income Kentuckians in the coming years.
KASI began its campaign to increase awareness about the EITC in southeastern Kentucky in 2004, when several of the nation’s poorest counties are located in this region of rural Appalachia. With funding from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, KASI began its work in three eastern Kentucky Counties where IRS data showed that as many as a quarter of eligible residents were not claiming the credit.
The following year KASI added a project in western Kentucky – the Owensboro-Daviess County Asset Building Coalition (now the Green River ABC) -- and added several rural counties to the southeastern Kentucky projects. In 2007, KASI expanded its reach in western Kentucky by opening tax sites in Bowling Green as well as Warren and Barren counties, where IRS data also indicated a need for increased EITC education and outreach. In 2009 the Central Kentucky Economic Empowerment Program, serving the city of Lexington and surrounding counties, joined KASI.
For this year, the new Purchase Area Asset Building Coalition has joined KASI and will be serving taxpayers in the far western region of Kentucky. Additionally, the Bluegrass ABC will be filing taxes in rural counties throughout central Kentucky, while the Northeastern Kentucky ABC is reaching out to more communities in rural Appalachia. With funding from an IRS VITA grant (received in 2008, 2009, and 2010) KASI has expanded its service area each year, and looks to increase outreach to Latino taxpayers in the coming years.
