United Way of the Bay Area Blog » EKS

The Right Thing at the Right Time

Olu Johnson — Tue, 10 Aug 2010 18:37:47 +0000

Last year we returned more $57 million dollars to Bay Area families

For Anna Jackson-Hill – a college student juggling tuition, housing expenses and books – free tax help was exactly the break she needed. Rather than paying for taxes, she was able to leverage United Way’s’ Earn It! Keep It! Save It! program, which provides free, high-quality tax help to low-income workers.

“For the past three years, I have been a faithful client to H&R Block,” Anna said. “Unfortunately, on more than one occasion, I was either dissatisfied with the services or contacted by the IRS because of incorrect information. It was extremely frustrating to spend money I didn’t have, to get bad service.” A family member told her about Earn It! Keep It! Save It! Anna worked nearby and gave the service a shot.

“The tax service was exactly what I needed. I received excellent service and got my biggest return yet,” she said. “They answered every question I asked and put my mind at ease. The process of doing my taxes had never been that simple and successful.” This year, Earn It! Keep It! Save It! helped 51,963 Bay Area workers get back more than $57 million in tax

refunds.

These amazing results were possible only with the help of 4,000 trained volunteers who ensure each client takes advantage of every tax credit for which they are eligible, including the education tax credit for students like Anna. Anna is planning to recommend the program to everyone she knows .

“They have changed the way I do taxes for the better,” she said. “I look forward to seeing them next year.”

Speaking the Language of Taxes

Ed Oh — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 11:26:26 +0000

Last year more than $47,000 million was returned to Bay Area tax payers

When Earn It! Keep It! Save It! said they needed translators fluent in Spanish, Cantonese, Mandarin, and Vietnamese, United Way Community Project MatchBridge was more than happy to respond.

Earn It! Keep It! Save It!, a community project of United Way of the Bay Area, is a free, tax-preparing service offered to qualifying individuals and families. Earn It! Keep It! Save It! (EKS) operates more than 180 free tax sites across the Bay Area, where volunteer tax preparers help individuals and families claim their maximum tax refund.

With so many sites across the ethnically dense Bay Area, the need for translators was high. With all the talented young adults at MatchBridge looking for part-time work, the partnership made perfect sense.

Twenty-seven of MatchBridge‘s youth members came into the orientation to potentially offer their services as translators. EKS, United Way, and MatchBridge staff held interviews and fluency tests that many of the members passed with ease. Earn It! Keep It! Save It! partners with hundreds of community organizations and free tax preparation providers, such as Tax-Aid, to process almost 50,000 tax returns each year. They also provide low- to moderate-income households with access to public benefits, low- or no-cost bank accounts and financial education. Most importantly they make sure that eligible taxpayers claim the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) which can amount to as much as $5,600 per family.

Due to the complex nature of the free financial services that Earn It! Keep It! Save It! offers, translators play an essential role in serving the families and individuals who have limited English fluency.

If you are a Spanish speaker and you’re interested in being a translator, MatchBridge and Earn It! Keep It! Save It! are still recruiting. Leave a comment with your email.

"I Can't Get Enough"

Olu Johnson — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 02:50:48 +0000

A few weeks ago, during our event at the Commonwealth Club, Director of PR Maria Stokes, caught up with Corrin Buchanan, the Community Programs Director at the Women’s building in San Francisco. According Corrin, there is a lot of demand for their free tax services, and she noted that a lot of people who’ve made appointments had used paid preparers in previous years. She also highlights the other services they offer including helping people get bank accounts, learning how to read their credit reports and more. The Women’s Building is a long time partner of Earn It! Keep It! Save It!.

Get Free Tax Help Today!

Olu Johnson — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 01:23:44 +0000

Recently Kelly Batson, Regional Director of Earn It! Keep It! Save It! was featured on Comcast talking about her love of taxes, and more importantly, helping low income families get the largest refund possible. It’s their money, they earned it! Watch the video and let your friends and family know about Earn It! Keep It! Save It! today!

Volunteers Unearth Hidden Treasure in Taxes

Olu Johnson — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:08:46 +0000

(image: Alain McLaughlin)

Every year about 25 Mechanics Bank employees spend weeks immersed in 1099s, 1040s, and W-2s. And they love it.
They are part of a six-year effort to help low-wage workers get the tax refunds they deserve. In 2008, volunteers filed more than 46,900 tax returns resulting in $35.6 million back into the hands of deserving families.

All of this is made possible by Earn It! Keep It! $ave it!, a United Way-led coalition comprising more than 160 tax sites as well as dozens of additional community partners. The program has returned more than $107 million to the community since its inception in 2003.

In addition to helping people discover the tax credits they may be able to receive, volunteers also work with people to manage debt, increase income and build savings for the future.

“I enjoy doing this,” said Erwin Reeves of Mechanics Bank, who organizes the volunteers every year. “Over time we’ve been able to watch as people learn how they can use this money as a foundation for their future.”

Even though being a volunteer tax preparer is a big job that requires commitment, Erwin never has any problems recruiting volunteers.

“Everyone has such a good time, and they don’t think of it as though they are giving up a Saturday,” he said. “They’re just having fun and helping people take advantage of opportunities they didn’t know they had.
Tax site volunteer in Alameda County.

To find out how you can volunteer visit: www.uwba/eks today.