IRS-SPEC Partner Coalition FY-09
Please Check One: Existing [ X ] Emerging [ ] TERRITORY NAME: Philadelphia
FORMAL NAME OF COALITION: Delaware EITC Campaign Coalition Website: www.nehemiahgateway.org
Key Coalition City/State: Wilmington, DE Coalition Chair's Name and Organization: Nehemiah Gateway CDC Coalition Chair's e-mail address/Phone #: jmcmanus@nehemiahgateway.org
Date Coalition Started and Geographical Area Covered: 2002 covers entire state of Delaware Strategies - briefly define each strategy, if applicable Outreach Strategy: To provide information about the EIC to those who are eligible to receive it, including outreach to those of limited English proficiency
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Tax Preparation Strategy: Provide free tax return preparation to the low-income community. Sites are strategically placed in high EIC areas, including mobile vans equipped with computers. Several sites are established in areas with high volumes of Spanish-speaking taxpayers.
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Asset-Building Strategy: Provide individuals with the tools necessary to adequately manage their finances and savings. Partner provides free credit report with scores, ability to open savings accounts and high interest yielding CDs, and financial counseling.
Partners: (List Core Planning Group, then Sub-Committee Members, then others if applicable)
Add or delete rows by right-clicking on line number below where row is needed, then Insert or Delete.. Core Planning Group AICPA Governor State of Delaware JP Morgan and Bank of America Nehemiah Community Development CDC Shiloh Baptist Church SPEC/IRS Wilmington Mayor's Office Other Coalition Members Boys and Girls Clubs Delaware Dept of Health & Human Services State Service Centers First State Community Action Agency Goodwill-DE State of Delaware Chamber of Commerce University of Delaware, Delaware State Univ., and Delaware Technical Community College Significant Coalition Activities: (List major items only, using bulleted style) Providing free credit reports with scores and offering a full credit counseling program through additional partnerships. Developing an accredited Accounting course with university coalition members whereby interested students can receive 3 college accounting credits by completing the tax law training, passing the IRS certification test, and perfoming an agreed-upon number of hours of volunteering in the coalition sites. Partnered with United Way of Delaware and other Delaware non-profit agencies to establish a coalition to promote the Disability Initiative in Delaware Coalition offered a free debit card for interested clients to use. They partnered with Advanta Financial who developed a special reloadable debit card for the coalition to offer clients who wanted quick access to refunds, but were not interested in a formal direct deposit to a bank account. There was no fee to receive the card and the up to $2,000 in federal income tax refund was available within 10-days (similar to the formal direct deposit refund timeframe). Planned Future Activities: ( Summarize major plans, using bulleted style) To develop Super-Sites throughout Delaware to concentrate the assets-building/tax return preparation activities at these sites. It will allow the program to run more efficiently and serve more taxpayers simultaneously. Continue working with Delaware Department of Labor, United Way, and other non-profit organizations to reach the disabled individuals and families with disabled persons to disseminate asset-building and tax information.