Forward Alliance Workgroup Ginny Powell & Ed Leahy Omaha EITC Coalition.
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Transcript of Forward Alliance Workgroup Ginny Powell & Ed Leahy Omaha EITC Coalition.
Forward Alliance Workgroup
Ginny Powell & Ed LeahyOmaha EITC Coalition
Goodwill’s InvolvementGoodwill’s Mission: Goodwill Changes Lives and Strengthens Communities through Education, Training, and Work.
Services & Programs• Customer Connect: customer service training program for
unemployed and underemployed adults
• Workforce Solution Center: Through Heartland Workforce Solutions, provides assistance to youth, adult, and dislocated workers seeking training and employment
• Work Experience: on-the-job training for high school youth with disabilities
• R.E.A.D.Y. : Job readiness classes and 1:1 assistance open to all
• Ability One: Supportive employment for persons with significant disabilities
Goodwill Industries
•Relationship to Coalition▫Goodwill Industries is an agency partner in
the Omaha EITC Coalition▫Goodwill staff serve as an Advisory Board
member, subcommittee chair, volunteer trainer and tax preparer
▫Give and receive complimentary, not competing services
▫Provide meeting space for Coalition meetings, subcommittees, and special events
• Mission: The Omaha EITC Coalition promotes the claiming of tax credits through quality volunteer tax return preparation with a goal of providing educational tools and community resources for family asset development.
• Vision: The Coalition promotes financial stability through empowered customers who use tax credits and tax refunds to own and maintain assets.
• Values: Inclusiveness, Non-partisanship, Customer Empowerment, and Quality Service
Omaha EITC CoalitionBuilding Assets One Taxpayer at a Time!
VITA Impact in the Metro Area
Turning a Transaction into a Relationship
Came Last YR
Media Family/Friend
Referred
Walked By
Other0
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
Site Recognition
201020092008
White22%
Native Amer-ican2%
Black21%
African7%
Latino45%
Asian2%
Pacific Islander0%
Multi-ethnic1%
2010 Ethnicity
Caucasian 43%
Hispanic30%
African
Amer-ican 20%
Native American5%
Other 2%
Figure 2- Race
An individuals minority status can effect their income. The median weekly earnings of full time white
workers is $850, however, African Americans make a median of $633, Asians $936, and Latinos $560.
As these statistics indicate although people of all races are long-term unemployed the minorities are
likely to have a smaller income, resulting in less ability to save for hard times such as unemployment
white
Native American
Black
Latino
Multirace
18003
6463
15974
18151
4842
Figure 3- Average AGI by Race
Ethnicity for Persons with DisabilitiesWhit
e33%
Black41%
Latino
26%
2008 2009 20100
200
400
600
800
1000
1200
1400
1600
1800
2000
Banked un-Banked
Two-Year Comparison of Banked PWD
2010
2009
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
BankUn-Banked
White Black Latino0
100
200
300
400
500
600
700
800
Bank Participation
BankedUnbanked
Bank on the Heartland
•Coalition was a founding partner •VITA provides the most meaning outreach
of the effort to connect people to banks and credit unions
Utility Pay Day Loans
Student Loans
Mort/Rent0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
Troublesome Bills
WhiteBlackLatino
Cu
stom
ers
PWD Troublesome BillsPast due utility bills
16%
Credit cards7% Back child support
1%
Medical bills8%
Car loan2%
Student loans2%
Mortgage or back rent7%
Not having trouble w/bills58%
Student Loan Debt by School
UNO
UNL
UNK
Wesylan
Creighton
Wayne State
5.3
2
3.6
1.4
1.5
6.4
Nebraska Colleges & Universities Student Loan Debt
White Black Latino Disabled0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
Refund Use by Group
Pay BillsSave itSpend, Save, Invest
PWD Refund Use
Paid
Bills
Saved
it
Bough
t a ca
r or a
maj
or a
pplia
nce
Recre
atio
nal u
se o
r vac
atio
n
Spent
it
Spent
som
e, sa
ved
som
e, a
nd/ o
r inv
este
d so
me
Did n
ot g
et a
refu
nd
Owes
IRS
0
50
100
150
200
250
300
350
400
450
500
20092010
Tax Year 2010 PWD Refund Use
Pay d
own
cred
it ca
r or a
loan
Pay h
ouse
/rent
Pay u
tiliti
es (e
lect
ric, g
as, p
hone
)
Catch
up
on h
ouse
pay
men
ts/a
void
fore
clos
ure
Put in
exis
ting
acco
unt
Put in
C.D
Open
new s
avin
gs a
ccou
nt
Put in
oth
er in
vest
men
ts
Buy a
car o
r a m
ajor
app
lianc
e
Recre
atio
nal u
se o
r vac
atio
n
Spent
it
Spent
som
e, sa
ved
som
e, a
nd/ o
r inv
este
d so
me
Will
not
get
a re
fund
Owes
IRS
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
20050
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
Tax Prep GrowthN
um
ber
of
Retu
rns
2006 2007 2008 2009 2010
Split
Ref
und
Bonds
Benefi
ts
Debit
Drugs
Bank
Acct
Credi
t
Amer
ica
Save
sID
A
Fin. E
d.
Coach
ing
Volun
teer
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Money Menu Services
VITA’s 2011 Value to Omaha
Service Process Value
Savings on Tax Prep Fees
5072 returns x $220 (average tax prep fee)
$1,115,840
EITC Refund Impact $2,467,084 x $1.50 (estimated economic impact per EIC dollar)
$3,700,626
Total Refunds Most often spent to reduce debt, pay bills, or buy a major appliance.
$8,261,321
Volunteer Hours 6159 hours x $21.36 (value of volunteer time)
$131,556
Credit Report Counseling
196 x $100 (cost to pull score, counsel client)
$19,600
Bank Accounts $100 x 85 accounts $8,500
ITIN Applications $75 x 126 accounts $9,450
Total $13,246,893
Intersection of Tax Preparation and Taxpayer Education
Educational Interview &
Personal Financial
Goals
Significant Taxpayer Involveme
nt at Every Step
Promotion of Services, Referrals,
and Broader Financial Education
Using Tax Credits to Increase Financial StabilityShow me the Money!...and how to make the most of it
Non-Refundable Credits Defined
•Non-refundable credits are sums of money for eligible taxpayers who have certain expenses, conditions, or contributions that reduce tax
•The credits figure based on income tax ▫No tax=no credit
•The skill of the tax preparer can help manipulate the credits to maximize the refund
Refundable Credits Defined•Refundable Credits are sums of money for
eligible taxpayers who have certain expenses, conditions, or contributions that reduce tax and are applied as payments to any tax owed
•The remaining difference between tax and payment is added to the refund
•Sometimes, these amounts can be in the thousands of dollars
We Look for Every Credit, Every Dollar for Working People
• Additional Standard Deductions (age, blindness, disability)• Itemized Deductions and Adjustments to Income to reduce tax• Foreign Tax Credit• Credit for Elderly and Disabled• Credit for Dependent Care• Retirement Savings Credit• American Opportunity Education Credit• Lifetime Learning Education Credit• Child Tax Credit• Residential Energy Credit• Adoption Credit• Earned Income Credit• Refundable American Opportunity Credit• Refundable Child Tax Credit
Talking the FactsPolicy Outreach on issues of importance to our customers
The Knowledge Economy• A marketplace demand for employees to demonstrate a
variety of skills and document the training and education level necessary to meet the job description before an employment offer is made
• A degree of acceptance that long-term unemployment will be a feature of the next few years of transition into the full implementation of the knowledge economy model which indicates a shift from government-driven economics to market-driven reliance on necessary public policy changes
• An emerging battle against traditional economic protections that have been a hallmark of the labor market including, but not limited to, the suppression of unionism, easing of environmental regulations, and favorable tax laws to allow for large-scale business development
Knowledge Economy (cont)
•A demand for quality amenities in public spaces at the expense of local governments such as recreation areas, sporting venues, quality restaurants, clubs, and entertainment venues.
•Many of these changes can be seen in Omaha:▫Convention center ▫3 major sport and entertainment facilities
Job training • Job training outside of the formal education venue is not
only essential, but must reflect some of the priorities of the knowledge economy to give middle to low wage earners the best opportunities to succeed.
• While some are comfortable repeating the Scriptural phrase, “The poor you will always have;” we are not. Instead, we believe that as jobs begin demanding more skills, closing the resulting economic gap will increasingly require employees to provide documentation of quality multi-skills.
• “I have an engineering degree but one of the many barriers I face is that I recently graduated into a suffering economy. I’m not saying it’s impossible, but it’s definitely much harder to get a job right after you graduate.”-Omaha EITC Coalition Focus Group participant
Long-term Unemployment •Defined as being out of work for 6 months or
more. •45% of the those currently unemployed are
long-term unemployed. •Majority of those have been out of work for
over a year.•“When I apply [for a job] they look at me and
think, ‘Why have you been out of work so long?’ I think it puts a flag by my name”
-Leslie, EITC Customer
But all is not bleak…• The midlands has over come many barriers faced
in other parts of the country • Solutions are at hand:
▫Bridge Programs ▫LB 1144 ▫School grading revisions to include “employability
factors” such as in Council Bluffs based on: Participation Work Completion Behavior Working with others
Solutions• We advocate for more financial and
technological education into job training programs.
• The changing economy offers many challenges• Low to middle income individuals need
assistance to learn how to navigate these changes
• There are several job training programs in place that offer a good start, but changes are necessary to effectively help our community during this time
Forward AllianceWork group on persons with disabilities
Forward Alliance Campaign• Raise Awareness of the Needs of Persons with Disabilities
▫ Sensitivity Training for our Members▫ Public Outreach at VITA Sites
• Persons with Disabilities are a year-round focus▫ Over 5 years, 10% of our customers are Persons with
Disabilities▫ Research shows 83% of Persons with Disabilities never
filed for a tax credit• Connect Taxpayers with Resources
▫ Free tax preparation▫ Screening for Public Benefits Eligibility▫ Awareness of Drug Assistance Programs▫ Housing Programs & Education
Asset Poverty
• 23% of Americans (18% of Nebraskans) live in asset poverty
• 14% of Americans (12% of Nebraskans) live in extreme asset poverty = ZERO assets
Accessed from: http://scorecard.cfed.org/state_data/nebraska.php
Asset-Poverty in Persons with Disabilities•Unemployment rate: 17% in persons with
disabilities ▫versus 9% of general population.
•Income gap of $22, 600.
•30% are unbanked.
•60,000 persons with disabilities living in Douglas County.
Our Asset Definition
The Omaha EITC Coalition understands asset development to be a universal process whereby people of all income levels aspire to accumulate, maintain and preserve economic resources to build lasting wealth and participate fully in the community as empowered and educated owners with increased financial knowledge and capability, access to credit, savings and investments
Persons with Disabilities Campaign
What we’ve learned:• Service providers overwhelmed with caseloads
and attending to basic needs.▫Asset-building not always on their radar.
• Fear of losing federal benefits with finding work or declaring taxes.
• Lack of service coordination of financial services.
Public Benefits EligibilityAccess Nebraska
Prescription Drug AssistanceEvery penny counts
Campaign-Action Steps• Improved Volunteer Training on Disability
Issues
• Incorporated outreach activities year-round
• Increase VITA sites in disability agencies
• Formalized Forward Alliance Committee, developing a more intentional relationship with NDI, and expanding membership in Forward Alliance
You: A Solution
•Refer Your Clients!▫Who you gonna call?: 2-1-1
•Refer Volunteers
•Join the Coalition and/or Forward Alliance
•Help plan an Asset Summit
At Your Service
Ed LeahyDirectorOmaha EITC Coalition3605 Q StOmaha, NE 68107C: (402) 250-9781O: (402) 546-1013, ext. 6210F: (402) [email protected]
www.fhasinc.orgwww.facebook.com/OmahaEITC
Ginny PowellCustomer Connect ManagerGoodwill Industries4805 N 72nd StreetOmaha, NE 68134O: [email protected]
www.goodwillomaha.org