Over $23 million in tax refunds were returned to local families, thanks to the Regional Volunteer Tax Assistance Collaborative which provided free tax preparation services and Earned Income Tax Credit outreach. Collaborative partners include United Way of Greater Cincinnati, Internal Revenue Service, AARP, and the Ohio Benefit Bank.
More than 19,700 returns were prepared for local families at 88 sites across Cincinnati, Northern Kentucky and Southeast Indiana.
“The Regional Volunteer Tax Assistance Collaborative is a tremendous help to families struggling to make ends meet,” says Lucy Crane, Community Impact Director, United Way of Greater Cincinnati. “Thousands of local families and individuals are more financially sound, thanks to this service. The EITC is our nation’s largest anti-poverty tool. It reduces the tax burden on low-wage workers, supplements wages, reduces income inequality and helps families build assets.
Volunteers from around the region helped hardworking, low-income families file their income tax, receive refunds due to withholding, and determine whether they qualified for EITC and other tax credits that return more money to taxpayers. Volunteers saved individuals and families an average of $200 per return in tax preparation costs.
Local companies also supported the effort by volunteering, hosting and adopting tax preparation sites. EY recruited corporate volunteers and provided extensive training and support. GE Aviation hosted a site at St. John United Church of Christ and Kroger hosted a site at the Houston Conference Center. Fifth Third Bank supported the Cincinnati-Hamilton County Community Action Agency, Huntington Bank supported the Price Hill site at Elder High School, and Park National Bank supported a site at Ohio Means Jobs of Clermont County.
Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, the University of Cincinnati and Miami University sponsored self-file sites on their campuses. Macy’s and IRS processing center volunteers ran sites to assist their employees. Not including training time, altogether these companies and their employees donated more than 2,000 volunteer hours.
“Our free tax prep sites are vital for those in the community who can’t afford professional tax services,” said Crane. “In addition to individual volunteers we are grateful for the corporate groups provided by EY, GE, Kroger, Fifth Third, Park National and Huntington Bank whose employees donated countless hours to help file returns at community sites.”
Non-profit organizations leading the work included Legal Aid, Center for Great Neighborhoods, Urban League, Santa Maria, Brighton Center and four Community Action Agencies in Hamilton, Butler and Clermont counties and in Northern Kentucky.
Funders for the initiative include United Way of Greater Cincinnati, Internal Revenue Service, Walmart, PNC Bank, SC Ministry and Republic Bank.
Since United Way began participating in the EITC regional initiative, the collaborative has been instrumental in returning over $120 million to the community.
This fall, United Way and its partners will begin recruiting and training volunteers for the 2015 tax season.
From United Way
