The COVID-19 public health crisis disrupted the filing season, causing hundreds of Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) programs to have to quickly adapt to alternative and virtual forms of service delivery to continue to meet the needs in their communities. Unfortunately, having non-contact forms of service delivery has presented a unique set of challenges. Many communities do not have adequate access to the internet, and there are many VITA programs that do not have the capacity to pivot their services to reach clients that are most in need. These challenges especially impact populations that live in underserved areas, such as rural communities, limited English-speaking communities and more. 

Prosperity Now understands these constraints, which is why we announced the Ensuring and Expanding Access to Tax Preparation Services grant last month. The grant was made possible by generous funding from Blue Meridian Partners.  

Twenty-five groups received $20,000 each to support their organizations’ efforts to pivot their service delivery methods through support of outreach, volunteer recruitment, general operations, technology and more. The funds will also help VITA programs expand their reach to the most underserved communities to ensure eligible households receive tax credits, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC) in the next filing season. 

Here are the 25 VITA programs that are receiving the Ensuring and Expanding Access to Tax Preparation Services Grant: 

• Arkansas Community Institute  
• Capital Area United Way (Baton Rouge)  
• CARE Community Center  
• CFORM Inc. Covenant Community Development Corporation  
• Circles of Mercy, Inc.  
• Community Action Agency of Southern New Mexico (CAASNM)  
• Community Action partnership of Utah  
• Experiment in Self Reliance  
• GECU Foundation  
• Goodwill Industries of Southwest Oklahoma & North Texas, Inc.  
• Goodwill Industries of Tulsa  
• La Casa de Esperanza  
• Life Transforming Ministries  
• NAACP  
• Polk Prosperity Campaign Inc 
• San Juan College  
• Southern Bancorp Community Partners  
• United Way of Central GA  
• United Way of Greenville County  
• United Way of Greenwood and Abbeville Counties  
• United Way of Southern Cameron County  
• United Way of the Lowcountry, Inc. (Lowcountry Area VITA Coalition)  
• United Way of the Mid-South  
• United Way of the Ouachitas  
• United Way of the Wine Country  

To learn more about alternative and virtual VITA services, and to not miss out on future grant opportunities, sign up for the Taxpayer Opportunity Network today!