A client came to The Neighborhood Developers (TND) in Chelsea, Massachusetts 12 years ago to get help applying for SNAP benefits. In the years that followed, the client returned to the NeighborWorks network organization again and again: First to visit after they had gotten a job earning $13 an hour. Then for a visit to meet with a financial coach. Then to attend a workshop on creating a household budget.
“For a 10-year span, you see a story that’s telling itself in these touchpoints with this person and our organization,” said Joe Aponte, director of TND’s CONNECT program. Most recently, the client came back for another workshop this one on purchasing a home.
“This is the impact,” said Aponte. “From ‘Let’s get you started in food stamps’ to ‘Let’s get you started in buying a house.’”
Finding touchpoints can make all of the difference, said Laura Ospina Jaramillo, manager of Financial Capability for NeighborWorks America. And one big touchpoint for network organizations is the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Both Aponte and Ospina Jaramillo spoke last week at a peer learning session about the volunteer IRS program, which has operated for 50 years. In FY 2024, 39 network organizations provided tax services to their communities, preparing a total of 58,320 tax returns.
“Tax preparation is a great way to build trusting relationships with customers,” Ospina Jaramillo said. “Trust is important in coaching and our taxes are sensitive documents. Getting helpful, responsive service at a time like this really leaves a mark on people.” This free tax help serves as an introduction to other financial programs that the nonprofits offer – a way to create integration with the organizations and also a way to begin one-on-one connections with customers.
Erika Leos, director of Prosper Programs at Foundation Communities, said her organization always asks the clients who use VITA services – last year it was close to 17,000 – if they want to know more about the organization’s other financial services and opportunities. A good number of them say yes.
“Financial education, asset building – that’s where financial capability and coaching all come into play,” agreed Rebecca Grant, program manager of Asset Building and Financial Capability Programs at Penquis Community Action Program, Inc. “When tax filers come in, it’s an opportunity for us to promote these services to them – services they may not have known about.” Penquis also points tax filers to services in the community – not just within the agency.
Foundation Communities uses the VITA program to connect clients with tax-time savings incentives, encouraging them to save $50 or more to receive a grocery gift card. The program, in partnership with a local bank, works well. Last year, more than 1,000 taxpayers saved $2.1 million of their refunds. “We take that as a huge win,” Leos said.
During the 90-minute conversation, organizations considering VITA tax programs listened to a range of advice and lessons learned.
- Opportunity Guides – the name given to volunteers at Penquis who are trained to refer customers to local services – can provide resources and information about programs such as Family Development Accounts and Rainy-Day Savings Accounts, said Grant. They also have conversations about the importance of saving tax returns, having emergency savings, creating a budget and more.
- A tax refund can be the biggest influx of money a family receives all year. Grant encourages clients to save their return refund or use it to pay off debt. As one participant shared: “Some of our foreclosure clients have taken advantage of our VITA services for using refunds to get back on track in case they haven’t qualified for a modification.”
- Pay attention to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). “The Earned Income Tax Credit is one of the largest anti-poverty initiatives,” Leos shared. A refundable tax credit for low-and moderate-income working families, the EITC brought families an average of $2,743 in the 2023 tax year nationwide.
- The FDIC recommended building partnerships and robust local networks comprised of government agencies, nonprofit organizations and insured depository institutions “to reach individuals where they live and work.” The FDIC also recommends increasing the number of volunteers at VITA sites and pairing tax services with providing access to banking services. The FDIC provides guidance for banks, tax time resources and account opening information that VITA providers and other intermediaries can offer clients during tax time and all year long.
- Organizations that want to establish collaborations with banks, including VITA partnerships for the 2026 Spring Tax Season, should develop an outreach plan well in advance, the FDIC said. Staff members are available for questions on their Tax Time & Savings Initiative at [email protected].
- A key goal of the VITA program is “to put money back in people’s pockets,” said Aponte. “Having a comma in a bank account is a big deal.” He reminded the group that even as VITA serves as an introduction to other programs, those other programs can also remind clients to use the free tax service.
- Resources are available outside of the VITA program, too. The Get It Back Campaign, works to expand access to programs, including tax benefits. “To have people guide you through and make it more accessible means the world,” said Get It Back’s Roxy Caines. “VITA sites represent champions for economic stability.”
- Asking for help is difficult, Aponte reminded the group, encouraging them to understand the reasons behind eviction, behind displacement, behind homelessness. “We’re not going to change the world, but we are going to change a lot of people’s worlds; we’re going to change lives in the services we offer.”
