Agenda - 04-01-1997 - 8g - Laserfiche WebLink

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11 Programming for Impact: Getting Things Done 5 - Element Planning Statement RSVP/Community and Economic Development/Tax Consulting/Counseling( 729 5 Key Elements Element Descriptions Community Need Based on statistics from the 1990 Census, approximately 10,480 Orange County households have incomes between $0 and $17,500. Some residents with tow-middle income, including the dis- abled and/or elderly,and non-English speaking,may not file and receive the tax refunds due them because they are unable to pay for assistance or because they are physically unable to leave their homes. Many will not file because they do not understand the forms. In addition,IRS offices are down-sizing and many taxpayers will be referred elsewhere for assstance. Service Activity Trained RSVP volunteers will serve the target population as VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance) tax preparers. VITA does not have specific income guidelines. Each situation is evaluated by the volunteer to determine if assistance should be provided or if the taxpayer should be referred to a paid preparer. Volunteers are trained to file fed- eral/state returns,many special schedules/forms and electronic filing. The RSVP-VITA program will be offered county-wide at 5 sites during the tax season(2 senior centers-2 days/wk, 1 health center-1 day/wk, 1 hospital-1 day/week, 1 handicap employment pro- gram 3 days/season). February 1-April 15: 5 sites will be open approximately 25 hours weekly. Sites operate on different days (Monday - Saturday) and time schedules vary in order to accommodate the taxpayer. The service will be offered the rest of the year on an as-needed basis. Some sites will provide walk-in service and others will provide service by appointment only. Volunteers will ask taxpayers to complete a short survey depicting their level of satisfaction with the service and taxpayers will be asked to make suggestions for improvement. Volunteers will record the type of service provided, ages of clients, number and amount of refunds, and number of those not receiving refunds. All services are provided free of charge. Input 30 RSVP volunteers will attend a-week long 40 hour training session on preparing state and federal tax returns and a 2 day workshop on electronic filing. Volunteers will serve approximately 4 hours per week for 10 weeks totally an estimate of 1,200 hours for the tax season. The IRS and State Division of Taxation will provide the training at an es- timated value of $100/trainee totaling $3,000 (in-kind). Volunteer CIMA insurance coverage is provided at approximately $5/volunteer/year totaling $150; annual recogni- tion cost is $10/volunteer totaling $300; donated site space estimated prorated value is $4,000_calculated at $13 X 1500sq ft; staff support, copy machine use, computers, pa- per, and supplies are donated or provided by RSVP (estimated value $3,200). RSVP staff will coordinate the training, develop sites, set volunteer schedules, publicize the service weekly through 23 media contacts and distribute fliers, accumulate data and keep records,monitor sites, transmit and process returns submitted for electronic filing, and provide a special recognition/training event after the tax season. RSVP staff will work with local county agencies (Meals-on-Wheels, Social Services, Health Dept., Housing, Aging, Nutrition Sites, etc.) working with low to middle income residents to get the VITA publicity to their clients. RSVP staff and key volunteers will work to get loaned or donated computers/printers from local computer companies and the local sponsor. Some computers and printers will be purchased based on funds available. Accomplishments It is estimated that 700 of the target population will have received volunteer tax assis- (Antieipated) tance resulting in accurate on-time filings and refunds. The actual accuracy level will be determined by computerized results provided by the State and IRS assessing the ac- curacy of the trained VITA Volunteers. Impact Calculated at the average commercial filing charge($75.00),the volunteers will pro- (Anticipated) vide over$52,500 annually in free services and savings to the target population. This will result in an additional infusion of approxim$ 70,000 into the community if each of the 700 taxpayers receives an average refund of$100. PAGE 13-U