On Monday evening, Brigade leaders and members attended an EITC Information Workshop to learn about the importance of the Earned Income Tax Credit (and associated credits), and how to get involved in a nationwide collaboration to help in your own community. We wanted to make sure you have access to the following five (count 'em, FIVE) actions you can take to engage with this effort:
1. Stay Connected: Join the Slack channel
Join the #cfa-vita-folks channel in the Code for America Slack. If you’re not already a member of the CfA Slack, you can join by filling out this form: slack.codeforamerica.org. Join there and tell us what you’re thinking about this work. What are you interested in? What are you working on? What can we help with?
2. Doodle: Join the EITC working group
Let’s get a meeting scheduled to periodically check in with each other. We will use this time to share project updates, come up with ideas for how we can get involved, and collaborate.
Fill out this Doodle to join the working group:
3. Share the Workshop recording & slide deck with your Brigade Members
We just posted them to the Discourse thread for the Workshop.
Check it out here:
Please share these with anyone at your Brigade who’s interested in engaging on this effort.
4. Engage With Your Local VITA site
You can use our product to find your nearest VITA site: VitaTaxHelp.org. From there, you can investigate getting involved as a VITA volunteer. If you fall within the VITA program requirements, you might also consider scheduling an appointment with your local VITA site to get a firsthand perspective of the experience.
5. Get VITA certified
To participate in VITA or to directly help clients claim their refunds, you will need to be an IRS-certified volunteer. You can learn more about the verification process, and get started, by creating an account on the VITA/TCE Central website: Link & Learn - Home
Okay, that’s it for now. Once again, thank you all for your interest in this important project!