Maine CA$H Coalition

In 2002, 9 Maine community organizations came together to form the Maine CA$H Coalition (the Coalition). During their first tax season, the Coalition operated 2 VITA sites which served 122 taxpayers and generated $306,606 in federal refunds. Since that time, the Coalition has greatly expanded and is now making a statewide impact. During the 2009 tax season, the Coalition grew to include more than 50 organizations which operated 26 sites, served over 2,800 working families, and generated more than $4.5 million in refunds for these families.

A Statewide Collaboration

This impressive growth is due in part to the collaborative efforts of the 7 local and regional coalitions that make up the Maine CA$H Coalition. These coalitions include: York County CA$H Campaign, Greater Portland CA$H Coalition, Lewiston-Auburn Tax Credit Awareness CA$H Coalition, Western Maine CA$H Coalition, Midcoast Maine CA$H Coalition, CA$H of Eastern Maine and Central Maine CA$H Coalition. These seven coalitions forming the Maine CA$H Coalition work together to improve volunteer recruitment, EITC outreach, partnership development and asset building services. Across the state, the Coalition worked together to train 95 IRS certified tax preparers and 75 asset building coaches.

With Volunteers in Tax Assistance (VITA) sites across the state, the Maine CA$H Coalition is also able to effectively illustrate their statewide impact. This allows the Coalition to share resources, present a unified voice for their advocacy efforts and build important statewide partners. While the Coalition convenes a statewide meeting twice a year, they also come together to host an annual press conference at the state capitol’s Hall of Flags for National EITC Day. Furthermore, the Coalition members came together around securing funding – as a Coalition they were awarded the IRS VITA grant for the 2009 tax season.

Outreach to Target Populations

The IRS VITA Grant allowed the Coalition to outreach to IRS target populations, including English as a Second Language clients, Native Americans, EITC-eligible families and the disabled. During the 2009 tax season, each regional coalition undertook at least one activity to extend its outreach to one or more of the target populations. For example, the Greater Portland CA$H Coalition hosted an American Sign Language (ASL) Tax Day in February; the Eastern Maine Coalition established tax sites on the Passamquoddy and Penobscots’ Indian reservation; and the Lewiston/Auburn Coalition partnered with the Maine Migrant Health Project to outreach to ESL clients.

Building Advocacy Capacity

In addition to facilitating Marketing, Volunteer Outreach and Asset Building Committees; the Maine CA$H Coalition recently formed an Advocacy Committee. The committee is dedicated to strengthening the advocacy voice of the statewide Coalition at both the state and federal level. While the Maine CA$H Coalition has worked with local, state, and federal legislators over the years; the Advocacy Committee is now able to perform more strategic and collaborative outreach to elected officials. Through the Advocacy Committee’s work, the Maine CA$H Coalition participated in the 2009 NCTC Day of Action. Coalition leaders met with the district staff of Senator Snowe and Senator Collins on October 21, 2009. They shared information about the statewide impact of community VITA, the challenges facing their clients, and the need for additional opportunities for working families to gain financial stability.

The Maine CA$H Coalition serves as a positive example for other VITA coalitions around the country that are looking to strengthen their impact through collaborative efforts.