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Update- National Preparedness Month

September 2, 2009 By Leave a Comment

checklist_page_1In order to make sure that everyone is prepared for disaster, the Department of Homeland Security and the Ad Council have launched a new series of Ready Campaign public service advertisements designed to encourage all Americans to take the necessary steps to prepare for emergencies kicking off September’s National Preparedness Month.

The Ready Campaign encourages Americans to take three simple steps to prepare for emergencies: (1) Put together an emergency supply kit; (2) Make a family emergency plan; and (3) Get informed about the types of emergencies that could take place in their communities and appropriate responses.

In addition to outreach via traditional media, Ready also provides a series of social media tools to help Americans prepare for emergencies, including a downloadable family emergency plan, an interactive widget that provides users with updates on emergency situations, emergency kit checklists, and preparedness guidelines.

To view the PSAs and for more information on the Ready Campaign, visit www.ready.gov.

To find out the very latest, follow us on twitter.

Filed Under: Road to Recovery Tagged With: , , , ,

Taking Control of Your Own Future

July 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment
(Image © Janet Leadbeater)

(Image © Janet Leadbeater)

Erin felt stifled in her job at Goodwill’s Fillmore Street store in San Francisco. She didn’t see any way to make things better, “unless I took the step to become manager—and that was too scary.” So she resigned herself to a job that didn’t challenge her.

This is a common situation that many low-wage workers find themselves in–unsure how to move forward in their careers to achieve self-sufficiency.  In response, United Way grantee Springboard Forward has developed a fundamentally new model called Engaged Employment™, which inspires low-wage workers to develop a long-term vision for career mobility. The program begins with the job they currently have and uses that job as a springboard for improving their future.

“I just didn’t believe in myself. I was bored, but I didn’t know what else I could do.” She found herself feeling increasingly irritated at work, which affected her productivity on the job and made her daily interactions with customers and co-workers more charged than they needed to be. Conversations with her manager left her feeling unheard and, at the same time, she was weighed down with grief at the death of a close family member and a sense that she hadn’t fully processed that loss. She felt stuck and increasingly bitter, and saw no relief ahead of her.

Erin and her Springboard Forward coach worked on personal and professional issues that were keeping her stuck and in that irritated frame of mind. Immediately after the first coaching session, she approached her manager and shared some of the things she had been struggling with, and asked for his help to improve them.

Through role playing and planning with her coach, and leveraging the support of her supervisor, Erin was promoted to the manager position she was once afraid to pursue within just three months of beginning Springboard Forward’s program.

She now runs a different Goodwill store. “[My coach] showed me the potential that I have.” The promotion from store employee to store manager has been a challenging transition for Erin.  Her responsibilities have increased exponentially, and because of the Springboard Forward program, she now has strategies and tools to continue her positive momentum.

She’s finding that she draws upon the Engaged Employment™ Program in many aspects of her work and personal life—applying them to improve her communication style with employees, support employee development, and even find support around losing weight. She has a solid plan for becoming a better manager today and moving further up the ladder at Goodwill in the future—and she feels good about her accomplishments. “I am handling situations I never thought I would. Overall this has been one of the best experiences of my life!”

Filed Under: Road to Recovery Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Another Record-Breaking Year for Tax Refunds

July 15, 2009 By 1 Comment

2009-eks-regional-resultsThis year, United Way’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It! saw another increase in the amount of money it returned to the community. This year, more than $47 million dollars was returned to hard-working people across seven Bay Area counties. The program, which is in its seventh year, provides free tax assistance for low- to moderate-income families and individuals, helping them avoid commercial tax preparation fees and claim tax credits, such as the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

With the tax season behind us, we at United Way offer our sincerest gratitude for the hard work and commitment of our volunteers, partners and funders. Your collective energy helped thousands of Bay Area residents get the refunds they deserve.

Earn It! Keep It! Save It! Co-Director Vanessa Muniz spoke with us about the program’s success, especially in deterring filers from costly “rapid refund” loans.

United Way: What accounts for the $11.4 million increase in total refunds?

Vanessa: This year we did a much better job of reaching our target population – households earning less than $45,000 a year. As a result, we had a large increase in filers who qualified for federal tax credits, which led to the increase of total refunds.

The economic downturn also played a huge role:  people just couldn’t afford to go to paid preparers, so clients were looking for cheaper alternatives.

Finally, and maybe most importantly, I think the reputation of the program  is spreading around Bay Area communities, which is a great thing!  Unfortunately, our program only is servicing about 3-5% of all eligible tax filers in the Bay Area.  Most still use paid preparers, and a large percentage of those tax filers are taking out high-cost, predatory loans called “Refund Anticipation Loans” or “Rapid Refunds.”

United Way: What is the problem with Rapid Refunds?

Vanessa: Rapid Refunds or Refund Anticipation Loans (RALs) are heavily promoted by many commercial tax preparers as a way to get your tax refund quickly. However, they really are just high-priced loans. What tax-preparation companies don’t tell their customers – except in the fine print – is that the loans can cost as much as one third of their total refund in interest and fees. Worse yet, they can force a borrower into greater debt by over-estimating a family’s refund, so that they owe the tax preparation companies a large chunk of money.  Unfortunately, victims of the fast-refund pitch are often the poorest taxpayers.  In fact, more than 26% of all tax filers from San Francisco’s Bayview neighborhood used RALs in 2007.

United Way: How has Earn It! Keep It! Save It! been able to combat them?

Vanessa: People trust us since we’ve been active in their local communities for seven years now, and we have a huge coalition of partners which includes nonprofits, local government, local churches, and the IRS. They’ve done a good job with outreach to the community, and educating taxpayers about hidden costs of that quick money.

Also, since many of our free-tax sites offer extra services like financial education classes or credit repair, we’re actually providing a lot of extra value.  Therefore, people really believe us when we say that you can get your whole tax refund back quickly with no fees of any sort. Also, by opening sites in late January, we’re able to help people who need their refunds in a hurry.

United Way: What were other notable aspects of this year’s tax season?

Vanessa: The average income of our tax fliers was a little bit higher. This is probably because more people were losing jobs toward the end of the 2008 and into 2009. And they were no longer able to pay to have their taxes prepared.

We also saw the fallout from the surge in foreclosures. Our tax-site coordinators requested and received special IRS training so they could better help families handle the tax issues raised by foreclosures.

United Way: Which county really stands out this year?

Vanessa: Alameda did a fabulous job. They had an almost 20% increase in the number of tax filers assisted – more than any other county! The partners there are very committed to Earn It! Keep It! $ave It! They do year-round outreach and advertising and have built up many trusted word-of-mouth referrals. In addition, the City of Oakland placed billboards in key neighborhoods.

View County by County Results
Alameda
Contra Costa
Marin
Napa
San Francisco
San Mateo
Solano

Filed Under: Road to Recovery Tagged With: , , , , , ,