VITA Volunteers Provided $19.8 Million to 12,200 Families in 2013 Volunteers needed to help working individuals and families with free tax preparation.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. —Volunteers often list the desire to make a difference, help someone in need, and expand professional skills as reasons why they give their time. Fortunately for volunteers in Nashville, there is an opportunity where they can achieve all three goals. United Way of Metropolitan Nashville has begun volunteer recruitment for the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, a service that provides free tax preparation to working individuals and families in Middle Tennessee.
United Way is actively recruiting volunteers to help with this service in 2014, one that returned $19.8 million to Nashville residents in 2013. Watch a video of VITA volunteers sharing their experience here. “People who volunteer for VITA are providing a much-needed service to thousands of Nashville residents,” said Erica Mitchell, Senior Director of Community Impact at United Way of Metropolitan Nashville. “Becoming a VITA volunteer means providing someone with a quality service with no hidden costs. VITA volunteers not only save an individual an average of $200 in filing fees, but they are trained to find every possible refund and tax credit for which the client is eligible.”
The VITA program provides this free service to working individuals and families in Middle Tennessee who make $57,000 or less annually. VITA volunteers help to improve the community not only for individuals and families, but overall, because tax refunds and credits are spent in Nashville and help the local economy. One unique quality of this volunteer opportunity is that no prior experience is required—there are roles available for all skill levels. Volunteers will learn to help people file returns as tax preparers, or they can serve as greeters, recruiters, site coordinators and more. For those volunteers working with clients, United Way provides the IRS training and certification for free.
On average, over the course of one tax season, one VITA volunteer could return as much as $20,000 per week back to the Nashville community in tax refunds and credits. With tax season running for 12 weeks, the impact of one volunteer amounts to $252,000. In Davidson County alone, the Nashville Alliance for Financial Independence (NAFI) estimates that $25 million in tax refunds are left unclaimed each year. VITA volunteers are trained to detect every refund and credit for which a client is eligible, especially the EITC, a credit that paid preparers often overlook or charge extra for.
The VITA program is a free service and volunteers are trained to ensure families receive every credit they are entitled to, without adding fees for filing the credits or additional forms.
“We are helping families keep more of the money they work so hard to earn,” Mitchell said. “Volunteers experience first-hand the impact they have on working families, so they are motivated to ensure that each client walks away with the funds that will help them lead financially healthy, stable lives.” For more information and to sign up to volunteer, visit www.VolunteerForVITA.org.
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About United Way of Metropolitan Nashville: United Way of Metropolitan Nashville impacts the local community by managing programs and partnerships in the areas of education, financial stability and health in order to create pathways to success and stability. United Way Family Resource Centers, Read to Succeed, Imagination Library of Middle Tennessee, Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA), the 2-1-1 Helpline, and Outcome-Based Investments move people from dependence toward independence. Last year, United Way produced a direct and identifiable impact of $60.4 million in Nashville.
For more information about United Way of Metropolitan Nashville’s powerful work in the community, visit www.unitedwaynashville.org.
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United Way of Metropolitan Nashville
250 Venture Circle | Nashville, TN 37228
615.780.2486 (office)