REI NETWORK WEBINAR: A HIGHLIGHT OF TOOLS AND RESOURCES FROM CFED'S TAXPAYER OPPORTUNITY NETWORK December 2, 2015 3:00 4:00 pm EDT
Moderator Michael R. Roush, M.A. Director, Real Economic Impact Network National Disability Institute
Listening to the Webinar The audio for today s webinar is being broadcast through your computer. Please make sure your speakers are turned on or your headphones are plugged in. You can control the audio broadcast via the audio broadcast panel If you accidentally close the panel, you can re-open by going to the Communicate menu (at the top of the screen) and choosing Join Audio Broadcast 3
Listening to the Webinar, continued If you do not have sound capabilities on your computer or prefer to listen by phone, dial: 1-650-479-3207 1-855-244-8681 (Toll-Free Number) Meeting Code: 664 060 140 Note: You do not need to enter an attendee ID. 4
Captioning 5 Real-time captioning is provided during this webinar. The captions can be found in Media Viewer panel, which appears in the lower-right corner of the webinar platform. If you do not see the captions, you may need to open the Media Viewer panel by selecting the Media Viewer button in the upper right corner of the webinar platform. If you want to make the Media Viewer panel larger, you can minimize other panels like Chat, Q&A, and/or Participants.
Submitting Questions For Q&A: Please use the chat box or Q&A box to send any questions you have during the webinar to Michael Roush or Nakia Matthews and we will direct the questions accordingly during the Q&A portion. If you are listening by phone and not logged in to the webinar, you may also ask questions by emailing questions to mroush@ndi-inc.org. Please note: This webinar is being recorded and the materials will be placed on the National Disability Institute website at www.realeconomicimpact.org 6
Technical Assistance If you experience any technical difficulties during the webinar, please use the chat box to send a message to the host Nakia Matthews, or you may also email nmatthews@ndi-inc.org. 7
National Disability Institute A national research and development organization with the mission to promote income preservation and asset development for persons with disabilities and to build a better economic future for Americans with disabilities. 8
NDI s Real Economic Impact Network An alliance of organizations & individuals dedicated to advancing the economic empowerment of people with disabilities. Consists of more than 4,500 members located throughout the United States. Includes non-profits, community tax coalitions, asset development organizations, financial education initiatives, corporations & privatesector businesses, federal/state/local governments & agencies, and individuals & families with disabilities. All partners join forces to embrace, promote & pursue access to & inclusion of people with disabilities in the economic mainstream. Learn more about the REI Network at www.realeconomicimpact.org/rei-network.aspx 9
Taxpayer Opportunity Network Resource for VITA TCE and LITCs
Today s Speaker JC Craig Director Taxpayer Opportunity Network CFED J.C. has been a VITA practitioner for 15 years and managed VITA sites in Illinois, Maryland, Virginia and Washington, DC.
What is? CFED (Corporation for Enterprise Development) empowers individuals and families to build and preserve assets by advancing policies and strategies that help them go to college, buy a home, start a business, and save for now and for the future. We combine the vision of a think tank with real-world experience to: Identify Good Ideas: CFED s research finds ideas with potential for making the economy work for everyone, particularly those on the margins Develop Partnerships: CFED works in partnership with diverse organizations across the country to promote lasting change Bring Ideas to Scale: CFED brings together community practice, public policy and private markets to achieve the greatest economic impact.
What is the Taxpayer Opportunity Network
VITA Community Based Tax Assistance Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Low income Taxpayers TCE Tax Counselling for the Elderly Taxpayer over age 60 LITC Low Income Tax Clinics Taxpayer with Tax Controversies
Community Tax Assistance is Critical! Increase income through tax credits and avoiding high-cost tax preparation services Avert deepening financial insecurity caused by failing to file tax returns or using an unethical or unqualified preparer Increase financial capability through financial education & access to the financial mainstream Protect income and savings by accessing health insurance Increase civic engagement by fulfilling responsibilities and advocating for fairer policies
Clara s Story Clara, a retired DC school employee from Silver Spring, Md +legal guardian of her greatgranddaughter. Attempted to file her taxes, but learned of an error on her taxes related to her greatgranddaughter's Social Security number, which caused the return to be rejected. Called the Montgomery County (MD) information line and found out about VITA program VITA team was able to see her on April 15 and clear up the problem with her return.
Impact: Making Taxpayers Financially Building Capacity of Members to Deliver Quality Service Elevating the Voice of Tax Programs, Volunteers and Taxpayers Connecting Tax Program Leaders with Each Other Over 500 members and growing Lift up innovations from the field Represent the Interests of tax programs it the IRS Secure
TON Learning Opportunities Webinars Live learning events Feature TON Members sharing promising practices National experts on aspects of delivering Tax Assistance Learning.cfed.org Online Training Self paced training for TON Members Available 24 hours a day. 7 days a week. Intake and Interview Training Quality Reviewer Practice More to come! Archives of Learning Events All webinars are recorded and available for review Most presentation materials are available to download Presentations and materials shared by other VITA programs are also available
The Tax Roundtable Listserv Peer-to-Peer sharing and idea exchange through email plus: TON shares time sensitive updates from the IRS and others (CFPB and CMS) TON monitors and shares trending issues from the field with the IRS Any posted question is likely to generate two or three helpful responses from experienced VITA practitioners.
Tax Opportunity Network Resource Library Online trove of printable materials shared by VITA programs and others Tip Sheets Affordable Care Act Handouts Press release Templates Facilitating Self-Preparation Site Forms Site Management And More
Monthly Update to Network Members Spotlight: A topics of interest Activity Updates: News and information from Members, to Members; essential reading; IRS notifications Tax Prep Dispatch: links in case you missed one. Learning Opportunities: Upcoming webinars and virtual events; featured recordings
Tax Prep Dispatch By Barbara DelBene Easy to Real World Understand Examples Explanations Timely & Topical For People like You Practical Advice Weekly: January to Tax Day - Monthly: The rest of the year
Elevating Your Concerns and Advice to the IRS TON maintains two-way communications with the IRS and provides a unifying voice for Community Based Tax Assistance: Collecting, prioritizing and sharing Network member concerns/recommendations with the IRS Connecting IRS to members with appropriate expertise to provide effective advice Placing members on IRS Advisory panels
Leadership Opportunities Taxpayer Opportunity Network National Steering Committee Federal and State Advocacy Advisory Group Quality Assurance Working Group Financial Capability and the Tax Moment Working Group Self-Preparation Working Group Volunteer Management Working Group
Nationwide Marketing and Outreach Tell the story of your taxpayers and volunteers. Sharing through our story bank Leverage national media opportunities EITC Awareness Day Jan. 29 VITA Awareness Day March 9 Tax Day April 18 Messaging, media releases, social media kits making free media easy to leverage
State Policies: VITA funding & State EITC Supporting current activities to expand state EITC Reviewing State and local VITA funding Identifying successful funding strategies Engaging member in efforts to increase State and local funding
CFED s Assets Learning Conference September 28-30, 2016, Washington, DC Over1,300 leaders from VITA\TCE and other financial capability programs will attend Network: With leaders from across the nation including policymakers, service providers, researchers, philanthropists. Learn: What is new with tax assistance and other financial capability strategies through workshops, roundtables and plenaries. Engage: With other to do more for the taxpayers you serve
Join us! It s Free! Participate in learning and advocacy opportunities Learn about the latest developments in the field Access valuable resources for volunteers, program managers and site coordinators Engage with others in Taxpayer Opportunity Network to make the lives of Taxpayers better! To join or learn more, go to: cfed.org/programs/taxpayer_opportunity_network
FREE TAX PREPARATION TOOLS
TaxAccess The Tax Access project is designed to provide a safe place where free tax preparation volunteers can ask questions and find resources focused on how to serve people with disabilities more effectively. The Tax Access project focuses on disability issues related to VITA services including facility access, program accessibility and customer service. http://www.adasoutheast.org/taxaccess/
Virtual Toolkit NDI's Virtual Toolkit provides partners across the country with access to tools and resources that will assist in building an inclusive community of practice for free tax preparation. Disability Awareness Training for VITA Volunteers Information on "What is a Disability? Identifies different types of disabilities Provides an understanding of "people-first language Provides tips to communicate with people with disabilities Explains what service animals are and how to interact
Effective Strategies Selecting a Qualified Sign Language Interpreter Accommodation Requests for Taxpayers with Disabilities Why the Disability Question at VITA Sites? Marketing Free Tax Prep to People with Disabilities Disability Access Statements for VITA Events, Publications and Web Pages Disability Statistics You Can Use Impact of Tax Refunds on Federally Funded Benefits Diversify Your Disability Outreach
Virtual Toolkit You can access the tools and resources in the Virtual Toolkit at: www.realeconomicimpact.org/taxes-and-tax-preparation/virtual-toolkit
Join the MyFreeTaxes Portal If you haven't registered this season, sign up now to be a partner by visiting www.myfreetaxes.com to promote MyFreeTaxes in your workforce community. 1. Click the "Partner Login" text on the left in the blue box 2. Click "Create an Account" 3. Complete the registration form Once you register, you will receive an automated verification email. Click the link in the email to activate your account. Log-in on www.myfreetaxes.com.
QUESTIONS? 35
Join the Movement! NDI s Real Economic Impact Network Sign-up at bit.ly/ndi-sign-me-up 36
Join us for our next webinar: Wrap-Up & Thank You Wednesday, January 13, 2016 at 3pm ET More information about this webinar will be sent out the the REI Network list via email in the coming weeks. Check out future webinars and archived webinars (such as today s recording), www.realeconomicimpact.org 37
Find us at: www.realeconomicimpact.org twitter.com/realeconimpact facebook.com/realeconimpact youtube.com/user/realeconomicimpact flickr.com/photos/realeconomicimpact/ realeconomicimpact.tumblr.com 38