Tax-Coalition.org - Connecting Working Families to Tax Benefits

Creating Change: Building a Future, Leading a Movement

Regional Learning Summit: Scottsdale, AZ, July 2008

Scholarships

National Community Tax Coalition, a project of the Center for Economic Progress is able to provide a limited number of scholarships for community-based tax preparation programs. The scholarships may be provided in the form of discounted or complimentary registration, full or discounted hotel accommodations, travel support, or a combination of one or more of these areas, as merited and available. Please note that the National Community Tax Coalition is partnering with a number of supporters to provide scholarships to the field, however NCTC cannot guarantee that all scholarship requests will be granted. Also, due to the fast turn around required, NCTC will review and approve scholarships as applications are submitted within one of the two deadlines mentioned below. Please pay particular attention to the application criteria and the fast-approaching deadlines.

Criteria

The criteria that the National Community Tax Coalition will use to determine successful scholarship applications are the following:

Applicant is a paid affiliate of the National Community Tax Coalition; or
Applicant is a student concentrating on economic development in low-moderate income communities; or
Applicant represents a community-based tax preparation program that actively participates in National Community Tax Coalition activities (e.g. training or advocacy conference calls, advocacy campaigns, working groups); and
Applicant can show proof of financial need (i.e. organization budget; project budget);
Applicant must participate in a 30 minute, scholarship recipient session on Thursday, July 24, 2008;
To qualify for air travel assistance your application must be submitted by 9am (Central) on Friday, June 27, 2008; or
Not traveling by air, to qualify for mileage reimbursement, completed applications must be submitted by Thursday, July 3, 2008.

Scholarship Awardee Profiles

Consuelo Alvarado, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Coodinator, City of Mesa

Barbara Aquilina, Social Worker, State of Arizona, Community Partnerships and Innovative Practices, Family Connections
Our program is a voluntary program which assists families in becoming self-sufficient. The families that we serve are the families being targeted by the summit. Thus, I hope to gain more knowledge in how to better serve them.

Nancy Beltran, Case Manager, Casa Familiar

Allen Carlson, Asset Development Partner, Tempe Community Council

Rose M. Ceballos, Program Director, Bayside Community Center
Bayside Community Center has worked with immigrants for over 70 years in San Diego. Community residents come in for a variety of services ranging from food/utility assistance, health insurance access, income tax help, case management services and in home parenting programs. We are here today to listen and learn about programs and strategies provided through the NCTC to help us better assist our community.

Zoraida Colmenero, Case Manager, Casa Familiar

Angela Davidson, Accountant/Loan Officer, Aneth Community Development Corporation
As the Loan Officer for the corporation, I work with native entrepreneurs that have amazing ideas, but lack the financial knowledge to successfully run a business. Many are not properly reporting income or revenue from their businesses and I would hate to see them run into tax trouble. I want to help make an impact on my native people through financial education to help them become financially independent. I want to learn how to reach out to my native people and teach them financial education and help them to learn to save by avoiding the “border town” tax preparation places and to open bank accounts.

Margaret Etsitty, VITA Site Supervisor, DNA-People’s Legal Services, Inc.

Ruth Key, Resident Services Coordinator, White Mountain Apache Housing Authority

Caitlin Maynard, IDA Program Coordinator, International Rescue Committee
As a non-profit refugee resettlement agency, our VITA site prepared 319 free tax returns for refugee clients this past season. We offer IDA programs for home buying and business assets, a MicroEnterprise program to help refugee clients start and expand businesses, a Financial Education program, and a FARM program to help clients in agriculture. The Summit will help deepen our knowledge base to provide ever better service to our clients.

Melanie McFalls, Revenue Clerk, Walker River Paiute Tribe Tax Department

Kelly McGowan, Program Service Evaluator, Arizona Department of Economic Security
Our Department is a VITA program that provides free e-file tax return preparation services to our community. Since this is my first time attending this summit I’m anxious to see what types of opportunities are available for clients and to see what other resources are out there that are available to improve or better my services to our community.

Paul Leggett, Asset Development Director, Utah Community Action Partnership Association (UCAPA)
UCAPA, in partnership with United Way and dozen of community partners, facilitate Utah's statewide Earn It. Keep It. Save It. (EIKISI) coalition, including rural initiatives, and Salt Lake City's Growing Assets and Income Now (GAIN) coalition providing opportunity and hope to help low-income households establish long-term financial stability through the utilization of EITC, VITA and asset building programs. In our efforts for tax season 2008, 656 volunteers prepared over 15,500 free tax returns totaling approximately $5.3 million of EITC and $14.5 million of total refunds distributed. We look forward to not only learning from community leaders focusing on similar efforts in nearby states, but to share our experiences with others.

Bricen Moritsugu, Program Specialist IV/Island Representative, ALU LIKE, Inc. - Multi-Services Program
ALU LIKE is a 501c3 community based non-profit in the state of Hawaii that primarily services the Native Hawaiian community. Some of the projects include information and referral, Individual Development Accounts (IDA), financial education for youth and adults and VITA. Financial education and VITA are provided for the community at-large and anyone seeking those services. I believe the summit will help service providers such as myself better target the low-income communities in getting those communities motivated and excited about services such as free tax preparation so that they take advantage and keep coming back year after year.

Kelly McGowan, Program Service Evaluator, Arizona Department of Economic Security
After graduating with a Master’s in Social Work in 2007 from Arizona State University I began working on special projects for the Arizona Department of Economic Security. Currently, the focus of special projects unit is financial literacy and asset building services for low-income families. In addition to opening VITA sites in local offices throughout the state, we are working on implementing financial education courses for clients and staff and exploring the possibility of designing an IDA program. I’m hoping that this conference will provide me with some best practices and asset building strategies that are helping low-income individuals and families become financially stable and self-sufficient.

Sahara Navarro, Manager, Community Development, Orange County United Way

Raul Pickett, Chief Executive Officer, El Futuro Credit Union (CDFI)
El Futuro Credit Union is community development credit union serving immigrant farm workers in Central California. We were originally established over 42 years ago by the immigrant community in response to a general lack of access to traditional financial institutions. Although we are a small financial institution, we offer our members a full spectrum of financial services at costs that are far below the market rates. Our loan programs include consumer loans, real estate financing, and micro-enterprise loans. We also provide an array of development services such as financial literacy counseling, assistance with ITINs, and asset building opportunities through our VITA program. The former program was first offered during the 2006 income tax season, serving over 300 local residents, and processing of over 100 ITINs. During 2007, we completed over 450 returns as well as numerous ITINs. The most recent VITA program was offered in partnership with our local high school academy, the local Junior college and the adult school business program.

Elnora M. Ragland, Project Manager - Tax Preparation and Financial Services,
Broad Spectrum CDC
In our tax preparation and financial services program at Broad Spectrum CDC, we provide free tax services for low and moderate income individuals and some small businesses. We provide workshops and seminar presentations on financial literacy with bookkeeping tips to facilitate growth and proper taxes records keeping for small businesses. We encourage our clients to save as well as offer them tax tips to keep their tax filings current.

Kori Shaw, Asset Development Coordinator, Utah Community Action Partnership Association (UCAPA)
UCAPA, in partnership with United Way and dozen of community partners, facilitate Utah's statewide Earn It. Keep It. Save It. (EIKISI) coalition, including rural initiatives, and Salt Lake City's Growing Assets and Income Now (GAIN) coalition providing opportunity and hope to help low-income households establish long-term financial stability through the utilization of EITC, VITA and asset building programs. In our efforts for tax season 2008, 656 volunteers prepared over 15,500 free tax returns totaling approximately $5.3 million of EITC and $14.5 million of total refunds distributed. We look forward to not only learning from community leaders focusing on similar efforts in nearby states, but to share our experiences with others.

Diane Shurley, VITA Site Supervisor, DNA-People’s Legal Services, Inc.

Teresa Smith, Program Manager, Home Start Inc.

Michael Stone, Executive Director, Waco Community Development Corporation
Waco Community Development serves a distressed neighborhood through housing, financial literacy, and economic development. We are very much interested in seeing what other organizations are doing to help the families that they serve. We expect to receive good information to make our services sharper and more effective

Annabelle J. Talk, Tribal Employment Rights Office Director for the Ute Mountain Ute Tribe, Ute Mountain Ute Tribe
As Coordinator my Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) starts as early October with community awareness, recruiting, testing ordering supplies for Income tax season. Majority of the people still utilizing fast return services, and starting to realize they looking their hard earned money and starting to utilize the free services, so I would have to say to see how other organizations handle their sites and more information how I can start financial literacy in our community. I am excited to attend this summit and thank you for the scholarship.

Evangeline Touchine, Regional Manager, HELP-New Mexico, Inc.
I have been in the Workforce Development and Social Services field for the last 18 years. I enjoy helping people and sharing resources with them, this allows them to grow as an individual or as a family. The conference in Scottsdale will allow me to grow in my profession and the information I gather there will definitely be shared with my clientele. Thank you for this opportunity.

Bonnie Faye Weber, President, Realities Focus, Larimer County, Colorado
Our organization is just beginning to tap into collaborations with the community, and we need all the guidance we can get. We are an all volunteer organization, served more than 3000 clients with about 100 volunteers. I have been the technical coordinator, instructor, overall coordinator and a tax preparer. Free tax assistance has been available in our area since 1969, and has been evolving with the IRS programs throughout the years. We coordinate with senior housing, disabled organizations, foreign student population, and have outreach into the rural areas surrounding us.


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