Nashville Wealth Building Alliance, Nashville, TN

March, 2008

Getting low-income clients to think about building their assets can be a real challenge. Most low-income workers are trying to just get through the day or the week, and often aren’t able to plan for the future. The Nashville Wealth Building Alliance in Nashville, Tennessee has been developing innovative programs to help clients think ahead and tackle their financial problems for the long-term.

The Nashville Wealth Building Alliance celebrates EITC Day with clients, partners, and elected officials.  L-R: Nerissa Aquino (EITC recipient); Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell; Jessica Farr (Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta-Nashville Branch); Pam Quayson (IRS Spec Territory Manager); TN Department of Human Services Commissioner Gina Lodge.

Alliance partners
The Nashville Wealth Building Alliance began in 2004 when several partners such as Nashville Mayor’s Office, Congressman Jim Cooper’s office, and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta’s Nashville branch began an initiative to help low-income workers in Nashville. In 2005, The United Way of Metropolitan Nashville stepped in as the fiscal agent, and the Alliance has taken off from there. One of the largest and most successful programs that the alliance runs is free tax preparation. Last year, they completed 6,200 returns at their tax sites, totaling $9 million in federal refunds, and $3 million in EITC. This year, they are running 15 tax sites, and hope to beat last year’s numbers.

Employer partnerships
While they have had great success with their VITA program, the Nashville Wealth Building Alliance is always looking for innovative ways to reach new clients and to help them plan for the future. One way they do this is by partnering with large employers in Nashville, such as Tyson Foods, to run tax sites for their employees. The Nashville Wealth Building Alliance provides support and training for Tyson employees to certify as tax preparers. Tyson then pays the employees to prepare returns and run the tax site. Tyson is able to offer tax preparation services in 9 languages to their 2,000 employees. The program started in 2007, but as of March of 2008, they have already surpassed the total returns prepared at their site for all of 2007.

The Nashville Wealth Building Alliance is looking to expand this model to other large employers in the Nashville area, but it can be a challenge to convince employers of the benefit of running a tax site for their employees. In order to persuade employers to sign on, the Alliance has targeted several large employers in the area, and is bringing mobile tax sites to them. By doing so, they can gather data to present to the employers on the benefits of a site to their staff, including how many of their personnel had returns prepared, and how much they got back in refunds.

Mobile site
The Alliance has also tried to find ways to assist extremely low-income individuals, who are difficult to reach and often pass under the radar. With help from a grant from the Tennessee Department of Human Services, the Alliance now runs a mobile tax site that visits homeless shelters, transitional living facilities, and other locations where the extremely low-income might seek services. While statistics show that the average adjusted gross income (AGI) of the Alliance’s clients is about $20,000, the average AGI of clients that this site serves is a mere $11,000, showing that they’re successfully reaching this population in need.

My Money Plan
In addition to innovative free tax preparation models, the Nashville Wealth Building Alliance has pioneered programs to help low-income clients plan for their financial future. The My Money Plan, a program designed to put clients in touch with financial counselors and advisors, is an especially promising program. By dialing the United Way’s 2-1-1 number, clients can schedule a 1 to 1 ½ hour budget counseling session with a financial expert. This expert helps them to create an action plan, which includes a budget and financial goals. The client can also get a referral to resources that can help them on a long-term basis. The Nashville Wealth Building Alliance partners with and trains non-profit organizations, banks, and credit unions to provide the counseling. Because of the Alliance’s relationship with United Way, clients trust the service, making them more likely to utilize it. This program fills a real need in Nashville, because while there are many financial experts in the city, the people who really need their help often don’t know how to get in touch with them.

While the My Money Plan is a new program, it has proven to be a great success so far. Last year, the Alliance set a goal to serve 85 clients in 2008 with the program. It is only March, and they have already received 50 requests! The Alliance has also made the planning tool available to other non-profits to use with their clients and programs. One local organization is committing to provide 350 My Money Plans with their clients in 2008-2009.

Nerissa's story
Nerissa Aquino knows exactly how much Nashville Wealth Building Alliance’s services can help low-income workers. Nerissa is a single mom who makes barely enough to scrape by. She used to spend precious money getting her taxes prepared every year, and didn’t have any idea she was eligible for the Earned Income Tax Credit. Last year, Nerissa saw a sign advertising one of Nashville Wealth Building Alliance’s VITA sites, and she decided to stop in and see if she qualified. Not only did she qualify for free tax services, be she received such an unexpected windfall in the EITC that she was able to pay off her credit card debts and put some money into a savings account. Nerissa says that when she found out about the EITC, she felt “an overwhelming sense of relief.” Not only had she saved the fees she would have spent at a paid preparer, but she also received a large credit she never knew existed. Nerissa asserts that because of the Alliance’s services, she is now better able to manager her money. Her experience has been so positive, that she now volunteers her time at an Alliance VITA helping other low-income clients. She exclaims, "Now I have the opportunity to be a volunteer and give back to the community!"

With volunteers like Nerissa, and innovative programs that help pull clients out of debt and plan for the future, the Nashville Wealth Building Alliance plans to continue to give back to the community for many years to come.