Working Groups

One of the ways that you can get involved in the work that the National Community Tax Coalition does is to join one of the working groups. By being a member of the working groups, you will have a chance to have your voice heard and to influence the products developed by the NCTC and the position NCTC takes on the issues. Currently, the NCTC has four major active working groups, and some have subcommittees underneath them.

The goals of each working group are listed below. If you are interested in joining a working group, contact Judy Wemhoff at
jwemhoff
@centerforprogress.org,
and indicate which working group you’d like to be involved in.

Scale & Sustainability Working Group:

• Provide a forum for NCTC and the field to explore and develop an understanding of the Scale & Sustainability construct.
• Develop a working definition of “scale” for the field to use as a quantitative background.
• Develop a working definition of “sustainability” for the field to use as a quantitative background.
• Create a forum to develop and discuss ideas and to vet and share best approaches to creating scale and sustainability in the field.

*This working group includes two subcommittees: 1) Data Collection and Standardization; and 2) Corporate Partnerships. You can also join these subcommittees individually.

Quality Working Group:

• Increase accuracy of tax returns prepared at free tax preparation sites.
• Investigate ways to analyze tax return quality nationwide.
• Improve effectiveness of training for preparers and staff.
• Emphasize site operations that improve quality.
• Expand and enhance resources related to quality.

Asset Building Working Group:

• Enrich the asset building initiatives of free tax programs working with LMI clients by gathering and sharing information regarding lessons learned.
• Seek opportunities to influence the design of asset building products and programs.
• Facilitate and promote research regarding LMI preferences for asset building products and programs (using surveys, evaluation, pilot programs, etc.)
• Identify and share the latest updates on topics such as refund splitting, the sale of savings bonds at tax sites, and technology that facilitates and streamlines access to bank accounts and financial products.

Advocacy Working Group:

• Increase the number of NCTC affiliates involved in an array of federal and state advocacy activities.
• Raise the visibility of NCTC in federal tax issues discussions and policy updates.
• Expand the influence of NCC throughout the policy making process.
• Develop and push a comprehensive policy advocacy agenda.