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The Campaign for Working Families was started in May 2004 by a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, given to the Community Foundation of East Central Florida for the purpose of bringing together a coalition of community service agencies, governmental, and corporations who wanted do something about poverty. A coalition was formed to bring together resources and people to put more money back into the pockets of low-and-moderate-income families in Volusia and Flagler Counties. The campaign's primary goals are:
1) to increase the resources available to the working poor, primarily through providing free tax preparation; and
2) to provide free financial literacy training so they can begin to build assets and become financially secure, basically giving people the tools to succeed.
OUR SUCCESS!
Free Tax Preparation, EITC and Child Tax Credits
This past tax season, Campaign for Working Families continued to provide free tax preparation at eight Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites in Volusia and Flagler Counties. In addition two new mobile sites traveled within the counties to reach underserved areas. With 96 dedicated volunteers and approximately 7,100 hours of time donated, they were able to provide a valuable service to the community.
¨ 2,998 Tax Returns filed (double 2006)
¨ $2,791,614 in Tax Refunds (39% increase from 2006)
¨ $1,565,296 in EITC and Child Tax Credit Refunds (38% increase from 2006)
The 2007 tax refund’s economic impact to Volusia & Flagler communities multiplied at rate of 2.5 amounted to $6,979,035. In addition, savings for each tax filers using a VITA site is approximately $150, adding $1,124,250 to the economic impact; for a total economic impact of $8,103,285.
Financial Education & Savings Campaign
During the year the Campaign again utilized the FDIC Money Smart Program as its financial education program. Volunteers were trained and facilitated 16 classes in the community with a total of 120+ students. Fifty plus classes were also facilitated by the One-Stop Employment Centers in Daytona and DeLand serving 400+ individuals.
All of the above was in thanks to the generosity of the community partners, sponsorship by our supporters and with the help of over 100 volunteers in Volusia and Flagler County.
Also this year we initiated our Savings Campaign. The program is based on the philosophy of taking small steps in order to reach an attainable financial goal. We used the Money Savvy Piggy Bank as a visual way to incorporate the idea of “Save, Spend, Donate, and Invest.” The Savings Campaign provided information at our VITA tax sites regarding splitting refunds, establishing savings and checking accounts and free financial education classes. In addition, thanks to a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation, we were able to provide US Savings Bonds to some 60 graduates of the 2008 Money Smart Community Classes. These individuals set a six month personal savings goal. Each will be contacted to check in to see if they have met their goal and if so will qualify for an additional bond.
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