The Campaign for Working Families and AmeriCorps*NCCC

June, 2005

This was the third year that the Campaign for Working Families provided free tax services for the residents of Philadelphia . What was different in 2005 was the presence of an AmeriCorps*National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) team.  A team of 12 volunteers arrived from Washington , DC on January 18th and spent eight weeks doing taxes almost non-stop from the moment they finished their TaxWise training.  This team not only mastered taxes, but acted as mentors to other volunteers at its sites, provided administrative support to its site managers and greatly improved the capacity of each site they served.

Hundreds of local volunteers for The Campaign for Working Families boosted the paychecks of thousands of low-wage workers this tax season, bringing $19.9 million in tax credits to Philadelphia families. Pictured here are volunteers from the Campaign’s 20 free tax preparation sites located throughout the City. Photo by Third Eye Production.

The Campaign has been extremely successful in three years, bringing more than $42.2 million to low-wage families, including the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and other state and federal credits.

Jean Hunt , Executive Director of the Campaign for Working Families, believes that “current economic and tax polices are actively hurting low income workers.  Bad public policy, combined with predatory financial services that target these households, results in the loss of real income at tax time.  The privatization of services designed to help these people may actually be having the reverse effect .  A fair and progressive tax system is necessary if families are going to move into the middle class,” she said.   However, with the funding of the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare, the City of Philadelphia and 1 6 partners , the Campaign for Working Families hopes to counteract these problems within its local area.

Tim Mullins, an AmeriCorps*NCCC team member, describes the work of his team in providing free tax preparation services with the Campaign:  “On this project, our team was divided into two groups in the mornings, with one group working at Temple University and the other with the IRS at the Federal Building in Center City.  In the afternoons we broke up into groups of two or three and headed via public transportation to a variety of sites around the city, including churches, libraries and community centers. 

“By far the best part about working for the Campaign has been seeing people immediately affected by our work. In AmeriCorps*NCCC, we do a lot of direct service for communities, but we rarely see it impact people as quickly and directly as when we tell a first-time EITC applicant that they are getting a refund of thousands of dollars and that they owe us nothing. 

“I have found the hardest part of the job occurs when I tell someone that they either owe money to the government or are not getting back as much as they had expected.  It is one thing to smile and tell people they are getting back money, but quite another thing to have to look them in the eye and try to explain to them something no one wants to hear.  However, it is in these instances that I fully appreciate how much I have learned about taxes during this project, as I find myself explaining to clients the bell curve of the EITC and the importance of keeping an accurate W-4.  I feel that if I am able to explain to clients why their return turned out the way it did so that they can understand, then I have provided them with a service that will be with them even longer than if their return came back exactly as they had assumed.”

This year, the Campaign experimented with onsite credit reports connecting interested tax payers with more intensive home counseling services.  This was part of an effort to deepen the connections between its tax customers and other resources that can bring them more money and help them build assets.

The Campaign attempted to reach out to immigrants by recruiting bilingual volunteer preparers, then advertising to immigrant advocacy and service organizations which sites had specific language capacity. Their outreach to the deaf community was through the Pennsylvania School for the Deaf. 

Information technology support was provided to all 20 sites by an IT team that consisted of interns from accredited IT programs and two VISTA volunteers.  The team was supervised by a skilled, experienced IT consultant.

Local media ran stories publicizing the work of the Campaign. Stories on TV such as “ Fast IRS Refunds Could Cost You,” and news items in the Philadelphia print media warned people of the high interest rates from Refund Anticipation Loans, while pointing them to Campaign sites where they could get quick refunds for free.

The Campaign’s existing relationship with the Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO (they are founding partners) has deepened due to the development of mobile tax sites at union halls. This worked very well for low-wage union members. The union local publicized the tax site and made appointments. The Campaign provided experienced tax preparers with laptop computers on designated days. 

Taking the long view, Hunt knows that there is still much work to be done. “The key to building a middle class in this country consists of jobs with full benefits, a higher minimum wage, creative policies that promote new businesses, etc.  However, families can still access existing resources that can make a real difference in their economic situation through the Campaign.  If they improve their credit, use money wisely, receive all of the public benefits to which they are entitled, receive all of their money at tax time, invest in IDA’s, etc., they can begin, step by step, to stabilize their household income. The Campaign sees its mission as providing access to these services, as well as impacting the marketplace that delivers tax services to low-wage families throughout Philadelphia.”

Even eight weeks preparing taxes for the Campaign has changed Mullins, the AmeriCorps*NCCC volunteer. “Aside from the practical knowledge of taxes I have learned, I now also have a far greater respect for the many working people of this country fighting to make a better life for themselves and their families.”

Twelve Corporation for National Service/NCCC volunteers came to Philadelphia for eight weeks to help the Campaign.  They dramatically increased tax returns at many sites, including Temple University, where they increased total refunds by 99%!

Written by Tim Mullins, AmeriCorps*NCCC and Don Wedd , National Community Tax Coalition, with contributions by Jean Hunt and Crystal Jacobs of the Campaign for Working Families.