Volunteer Opportunities Financial Empowerment Partners

Lead Organization

United Way of Santa Barbara County

Financial Literacy Education Partners:

Housing Authority City of Santa Barbara

Montecito Bank & Trust

Primerica

Union Bank

Financial Products & Services Partners:

Bank of America

Bank of the West

Community West Bank

Montecito Bank & Trust

Primerica

Union Bank

Wells Fargo Bank

Outreach Partners:

American Indian Health Services

Community Action Commission

Santa Barbara Foodbank

Santa Barbara Neighborhood Clinics

SurfMedia Communications

Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Partners:

AARP

Carpinteria Children’s Project at Main

Carpinteria High School

Dos Pueblos High School

Housing Authority City of Santa Barbara

IRS

Isla Vista Youth Projects

Santa Barbara High School (Don’s Net Café)

Santa Ynez High School

Contact Information:

Melinda Hodge

Community Impact Coordinator

Phone: (805) 965-8591 x121

mhodge@unitedwaysb.org

320 E. Gutierrez Street

Santa Barbara, CA 93101

Current volunteers come from:

High School Students

College Students

Seniors

Community Volunteers

Financial Literacy Education

If you have a passion or special interest in helping

families achieve financial stability, please consider

volunteering with us as a financial literacy educator.

We are looking for compassionate, enthusiastic

individuals with experience at all levels to who are

willing to help families achieve positive financial

behaviors. And yes, we are always in need of Spanish

speaking volunteers!

Taxes

You do not need to have formal tax, accounting, or

finance education to volunteer. UFFE offers a training

delivered in a three part series workshop in January.

(Self-guided online training is also available.) As a

volunteer you are supported by a network of

knowledgeable volunteers that include retired IRS

agents, retired CPAs, & controllers.

Be a VITA Site Greeter

Become an IRS certified Tax Preparer

Become an IRS certified VITA Reviewer

Become a marketing volunteer to drive more

clients to www.myfreetaxes.com

A United Way of Santa Barbara County

Power of PartnershipTM

Project

www.unitedwaysb.org/UFFE

Goals

What is United for Financial

Empowerment

5. Taxes

1. Financial Literacy Education

2. Bank Accounts

United for Financial Empowerment (UFFE) is

committed to helping low to moderate income families

become more financially empowered and stable.

To achieve this goal UFFE delivers 5 key services

with 5 community goals through public-private

partnerships:

1. Financial Literacy Education

2. Bank Accounts

3. College & Career Saving Plans

4. Retirement Accounts

5. Taxes

United Way asked thousands of local individuals and

organizations to share their desired ten year goals for

the future of Santa Barbara County. Along with

Education and Health, the community identified

Financial Stability as one of the top three focus areas.

Our goal for Financial Empowerment is to increase by

50% the number of lower income families who are

financially stable. We will do this by empowering

families with five building blocks to grow long-term

financial assets:

Every year, from February 1 through April 15, UFFE

sponsors free tax preparation for low to moderate

income taxpayers. Free tax preparation is available

in 2 ways:

Free, online tax preparation with phone and

online support. Go to

www.unitedwaysb.org/taxes to get started.

In person tax preparation through Volunteer

Income Tax Assistance (VITA). Through UFFE

IRS certified volunteers assist clients with tax

preparation and filing.

UFFE delivers bilingual, high quality, community

based financial literacy education to family and

student audiences. UFFE provides financial literacy

classes through workshops and financial literacy

fairs.

Workshop Curriculum Topics include:

Budgeting

Credit/Debt

Savings

UFFE develops and presents financial literacy

education workshops to approximately 120 working

families. UFFE is working hard to build awareness in

the community of services that are available to low

and moderate income families.

Research has shown that savings make it easier to

address for life events such as college, retirement, and

unforeseen emergencies. However, many low income

households face barriers to accessing affordable

financial products & programs. UFFE helps to remove

these barriers and provide access to vital services.

Emergency Savings Accounts: UFFE provides

clients with opportunities to create and use emergency

savings accounts to reduce frequency & usage of

“payday” loan services.

Saving for Postsecondary Education: UFFE

encourages clients to save for higher education with a

Coverdell Education Savings Account or 529 plan,

useful for: community college, four year college,

vocational and technical schools, etc.

Saving for Retirement: UFFE encourages clients

to enroll in a retirement savings plan their employer

may offer. If this option is not available UFFE

Partners are available to assist in choosing the best

option for their family.

Any family can get started on their own individual

retirement account (IRA) with a small amount of

money.

3. College & Career Saving Plans

4. Retirement Accounts