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One Bay Area

October 8, 2009 By Olu Johnson Leave a Comment
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WOC09f-494The 19th annual Week of Caring was a tremendous success, and now that we’ve had time to catch our breath, we’d like to update everyone with the numbers. More than 8,000 employees from all across the Bay Area took place in what is the largest corporate volunteer event in the country. In all more than sixty companies took place and completed almost 700 projects at local nonprofits. And nonprofits couldn’t be more appreciative of the effort. Without this event many projects wouldn’t be done or would be a much bigger hardship.

One example of this is Opportunity Junction, a Contra Costa County organization which needed new desks for its computer lab. They submitted the request to us and through Week of Caring a team of employees from Chevron Marketing Solutions responded and got to work. They were able to finish the job and even added an extra task two, as the team leader rounded up friends and family to complete the task over the weekend.

This year, Wells Fargo & Co. had the most volunteers this year with almost 3,300 people doing everything from serving meals at Glide, packing and prepping food at the local food bank, working senior at On Lok to even helping out young people at Larkin Street Youth Services. Thanks to them, and to all of our volunteers who gave us a bit of themselves. Along the way, a lot of lives were touched and the volunteers had a great time, but the nonprofits were even more thankful.

Hope to see you out there in the community next year when we celebrate 20 years of making it fun and easy for the Bay Area to LIVE UNITED!

See photos from this year’s event – maybe even see yourself here.

By the Numbers:

  • 8,000+ Volunteers
  • 700+ projects
  • 150 nonprofits helped
  • 60+ Companies
  • 7 Days
Filed Under: Road to Recovery, United Way Partners Tagged With: , , , , ,

Another Record-Breaking Year for Tax Refunds

July 15, 2009 By Olu Johnson 1 Comment
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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: , , , , , ,

Volunteers Creating Big Returns

May 18, 2009 By Olu Johnson Leave a Comment
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Misty Halstead (right), one of the many Ropes and Gray LLP, volunteers that donated almost 300 hours of volunteer time to Earn It! Keep It! Save It! (image: Kelly Batson)

Earn It! Keep It! Save It! free income tax preparation program is on pace to return more than last year’s $35.6 million to Bay Area working families. This United Way-led coalition depends on volunteers to prepare returns for thousands of families. This year we had more than 1,500 volunteers from all across the Bay Area. Misty Halstead, a lawyer with Ropes & Gray LLP, agreed to answer a few questions (via email) for us about her experience.
United Way of the Bay Area: Describe a highlight of your experience with the Homeless Prenatal Program’s Earn It! Keep It! Save It! tax preparation site.

Misty: Assisting a family or an individual to obtain available tax benefits can have a long lasting impact by increasing educational opportunities or other means to achieving financial stability.  In one instance, a college student who I helped obtain a tax refund was so thankful to be able to afford his educational expenses that he sought me out at the site to personally thank me.

United Way: What would you tell a friend about this volunteer experience?

Misty: The staff and volunteers at the Homeless Prenatal Program’s make all volunteers feel welcome, and they are particularly dedicated to serving their clients.  The tax preparation assistance program is a significant resource for the community, providing the opportunity for clients to access tax benefits to which they are entitled.

United Way: Did this volunteer experience help you understand why it is so important to give to United Way?

Misty: Volunteering and donating to United Way contributes to much needed programs for community development.  The Earn It! Keep It! Save It! Coalition benefits low income communities around the Bay Area by increasing access to financial resources.

United Way: So working with Earn It! Keep It! Save It! is an example of why you enjoy living in the Bay Area?

Misty: The Bay Area is a socially and culturally diverse region home to many organizations dedicated to a range of social justice causes.  The dedication and inspiration of the Bay Area residents is an invaluable characteristic of the community.

United Way: Why is volunteering important to Ropes & Gray LLP?

Misty: The public service tradition at Ropes & Gray LLP, is rooted in the example set by the firm’s founders nearly a century and a half ago. Since 1865, the firm has focused on combining legal skills of the highest order and a commitment to address matters of public concern. The public service commitment of the firm’s founders has remained a hallmark of Ropes & Gray LLP and its lawyers ever since.

United Way: What does LIVE UNITED mean to you?

Misty: It’s the way United Way brings together people and organizations to support long lasting change in local communities.  My volunteer experience with Earn It! Keep It! Save It! is an example of how one individual can have a direct impact on the development of financial stability in local communities.

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