United Way of the Southern Tier
More than 70% of all tax filers in Steuben and Chemung Counties in New York make less than $50,000. Despite so many EITC-eligible filers, only one organization provides free tax preparation services for individuals under the age of 60. The United Way of Southern Tier knows this role makes their services vital – and has been delivering them successfully since 2002.
Located in the rural Finger Lakes Region of upstate New York, United Way of the Southern Tier (UWST) serves as the program administrator for the area’s CA$H (Creating Assets, Savings and Hope) campaign. In 2011, CA$H completed nearly 4,000 tax returns bringing more than $6.5 million in refunds back to community families and individuals.
While the vast majority of clients come from Steuben and Chemung Counties, customers came from 111 different zip codes and multiple states. “In addition to free tax preparation services, UWST believes strongly that Financial Education and Asset Building (FEAB) has the potential to greatly impact the long-term financial stability of the VITA target population,” said CA$H Program Manager Judy Prentice.“ CA$H has begun blending the FEAB with programs’ tax services. The implications of this are exciting!”
Prentice counts her volunteers as their most valuable asset. “More than 80% of program volunteers come to use with a professional background, including paid preparers, a tax law professor, a TCE trainer/site coordinator, HUD-certified housing counselor, college students, bankers, investment counselors and accountants.”
Technology is among the biggest challenges for UWST. Being a rural area – the nearest metropolitan area is more than two hours away – consistent access to broadband internet is not possible. A $12 million fiber optic network project is being developed, but is still years away.
Already leader for the EITC in New York, UWST continues to explore new ideas and ways to serve clients. UWST will participate in the PaperlessPLUS pilot with CCH/TaxWise, in which programs will use scanners to automatically populate TaxWise fields with information from tax documents (e.g. 1099, W-2, etc.).
UWST will also pilot a program to provide Free Assisted Self-Service Tax (FAST) preparation services as kiosks at tax sites. In keeping with IRS’ desire to provide more self-assistance capacity at sites, clients will file their own taxes in a computer lab at partner sites.
On a larger level, UWST works in concert with the United Way of New York State on policy issues. Prentice said they continue to work on “issues that advance the United Way’s mission to improve lives, in areas such as early childhood education, income and financial stability, health, basic needs, 2-1-1 information and referral and not-for-profit sector issues such as prompt contracting and the tax deductibility of charitable contributions.”
