Northside Community Weed and Seed, Birmingham

March, 2007

Why would the Department of Justice fund free tax preparation? Why would a retired 33-year veteran of the IRS take a modest stipend to work at a VITA site? How could five volunteers run a free tax preparation site for the whole season? Northside Community Weed and Seed, Birmingham, discovered the answers in 2006, their first tax filing season.

Getting Started

Northside Community Weed and Seed was officially recognized as a Weed and Seed site in January 2002, receiving $225,000 in grant funds from the Department of Justice the next year. The Northside Community consists of Central City, Druid Hills, and Norwood neighborhoods, which has approximately 10,300 residents and 4,300 households.

The Weed and Seed strategy involves a two-pronged approach: law enforcement agencies and prosecutors cooperate in "weeding out" violent criminals and drug abusers and public agencies and community-based private organizations collaborate to "seed" much-needed human services, including prevention, intervention, treatment, and neighborhood restoration programs. A community-oriented policing component bridges the weeding and seeding elements.

Northside Community Weed and Seed’s venture into free tax preparation was the result of a partnership between the Department of Justice and the Internal Revenue Service in which numerous Weed and Seed programs were selected to become part of the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. The Department of Justice provided hardware, software and technical assistance, and the IRS provided training on TaxWise.

Terrie Lee-Burrell, the Director of Northside Community Weed and Seed, could tell that there was real need for a free tax preparation service. Refund Anticipation Loans ads peppered every corner of the locality

In their first year, 2006, the VITA program was given the target of preparing 100 tax returns. They had no funding, no experience, and no staff. Lee-Burrell learned by trial and error, with advice from the local SPEC office. They recruited five volunteer tax preparers from a local bank and college, and the Community Action Agency. Local residents volunteered as greeters, answered the phones, and scheduled appointments.

In no time at all, they were overwhelmed. The City of Birmingham distributed flyers about the VITA program to all 99 neighborhoods in the city, not just the three that the VITA program covered. The phone would not stop ringing. People from all over the city wanted to know about the EITC, about VITA, whether it was really free, and did they take appointments?

Yes, they did schedule appointments, but they would also take walk-ins if a tax preparer was free. The service was open for 3 days during daytime hours, and in the evening for another day. Yes, it was free indeed.

Lee-Burrell soon realized they did not have enough volunteers to staff the site for all those hours. However, the volunteers persevered to the end of the season, and all five returned in 2007. And they completed 115 federal returns! In addition, they opened15 bank accounts on site, and held two financial education classes.

What made the effort worthwhile, according to Lee-Burrell, were the clients. 90 percent were single parents, and  85 percent rented.  For many of them, this was the first time anyone has suggested that their tax refund could be the basis for changing their economic circumstances, rather than just a temporary windfall. Volunteers took the opportunity to counsel people on home ownership, to refer them to Individual Development Accounts (IDAs), and to educate them on other possibilities. Many of those people are repeat customers in 2007. "We're really treating the whole person, really building an economic asset," Lee-Burrell said. "Owning your own home is a possibility, and we can show you how."

Lessons Learned

What advice would Lee-Burrell offer a new VITA program, now that she has been through the start-up herself? Plan a year ahead!  Make sure you have volunteers who are well trained, who understand the scope of program, and who know the other services the program offers. Write up job descriptions for volunteers, and have them sign volunteer agreements. Make sure you have enough people to cover the center every day of the tax filing season. Get the Form 8453s (signatures for electronic filing) to the IRS on time, and make sure they are signed. And make sure there is a play space for children at the site.

The tax site is one of the safe havens of the Northside Community Weed and Seed program, helping connect taxpayers with other weed and seed programs.  Assisting  a person to restore their financial situation, and build personal assets, fits into the “seed” aspect of the Department of Justice program.

Lee-Burrell mentions an older couple that came to have their taxes prepared last year. They had always paid $250 to file their tax returns at a commercial preparer. They talked about the things they could do with their refund, about being able to split the refund, and to save money. In the past, they would get a RAL, not understand what the fees were for, and just happy to get a refund.  Now they don’t mind waiting 10 days to get a direct deposit. This year, when the site was closed for several days from lack of heat, the couple kept calling each day to ask when it would reopen, and turned up with their paperwork as soon as it did.

Easier the Second Time

This year is off to a good start, with some free media. Not only did the same five volunteers come back this year, but the program obtained some funding which was split among two seasonal staff. Eva Carter, a retired dean of business at Lawson State Community College, has worked in VITA for 25 years, and is now the Site Manager. Carolyn Hatcher, the Quality Reviewer, is a retired Internal Revenue Service employee. Both say they still get excited when a client walks in.

Such as the young woman who received a $5,600 refund last year. The single mother had rented for 10 years as single parent, and never considered home ownership. After Lee-Burrell referred her to the Community Action Agency for home ownership counseling she learned about IDAs and started to dream about owning her own home.

Story by Don Wedd
Photo from Northside Community Weed and Seed