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| Community Budget Issue Requests - Tracking Id #1894 |
| Central Florida Tax & Benefit Access Center |
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| Requester: |
Stephanie Porta |
Organization: |
American Institute for Social Justice |
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| Project Title: |
Central Florida Tax & Benefit Access Center |
Date Submitted |
1/3/2008 4:03:05 PM |
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| Sponsors: |
Siplin |
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| Statewide Interest: |
| ACORN Institute will assist low income community residents with our free tax preparation center to complete EITC (Earned Income Tax Credit) and other tax returns. Our program will ensure that the largest possible volume of EITC dollars arrives in the pockets of the families who have earned them. The free tax site will provide an easily-accessible alternative to commercial tax preparation services for most EITC and low-income filers and, because we will use the IRS electronic filing system, taxpayers will receive their refunds quickly, generally within 7 to 10 days.
In addition, the Tax & Benefits Access Center will strive to achieve maximum eligible participation in a variety of programs designed to help families increase income, build and sustain savings, improve health & nutrition, and achieve long-term economic independence. Using sophisticated software, trained specialists will offer clients personalized tax preparation, benefits screening, program enrollment & and a variety of financial services.
Specifically, the Tax & Benefits Access Center will transform Central Florida by:
1. linking qualified families to earned-income tax and child tax credits
2. helping eligible clients apply for food stamps, child care, Medicaid, energy bill assistance and more
3. directing millions of dollars to the local economy where families live, work & shop
4. providing a menu of other services, from financial literacy & credit awareness workshops, to foreclosure avoidance counseling & help opening bank accounts.
Families are bombarded with expensive, impractical and oftentimes destructive methods to do their financial business-from payday loans & high cost check cashing services to high cost refinance mortgages. We are faced with a situation where the neediest must spend the most to get the financial services they need for day-to-day life.
Therefore our Tax & Benefits Access Center will not only provide free tax preparation, generating millions in tax return dollars that will be reinvested in the community, but will also tackle the problem of predatory lending by providing community outreach and education and offering referrals to first time home buying programs and foreclosure avoidance. |
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| Recipient: |
American Institute for Social Justice |
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Contact: |
Stephanie Porta |
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120 E. Colonial Drive |
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Contact Phone: |
(407) 592-4784 |
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Orlando 32801 |
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Contact email: |
flacornorro@acorn.org |
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| Counties: |
Orange, Osceola |
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| Gov't Entity: |
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Private Organization (Profit/Not for Profit): |
Yes |
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| Project Description: |
| The overall goal of this project is to increase the financial literacy of low -income residents of Orange County, as well as to decrease the reliance on fringe financial services and increase the use of mainstream products and services.
We will accomplish this through the following services:
Community Outreach and Education- We will conduct a door to door canvass that connects families to all of our services and provides basic literacy information in easy brochure format about the hazards of payday loans, high cost check cashing services, and predatory and/or adjustable rate mortgages.
Free Tax Preparation- We will have a free tax site open with three tax preparers. This is in partnership with the IRS as a VITA site.
Financial Justice Classes- We will offer classes twice a month where families will receive their credit report and information about credit repair from trusted community leaders. These classes are designed for families who want to improve their credit, are facing financial difficulties and have questions about getting back on the path to wealth building. These classes offer basic information and we will refer families to more in depth counseling as needed. The topics covered are avoiding financial pitfalls, including what to look for in a good loan and a bad loan, how to find responsible lenders and banks, consumers� rights with bill collectors, what to look for when buying a car or house, and other topics.
Foreclosure Avoidance Classes�We will offer classes twice a month where families will receive information about avoiding foreclosure & preparing for resetting Adjustable Rate Mortgages. These classes are designed for families who are in foreclosure, in default, or concerned about possibly heading into foreclosure. The topics covered are how foreclosures work, how to get a loan modification, and other alternatives to foreclosure. |
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| Is this a project related to a federal or state declared disaster? |
No |
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| Measurable Outcome Anticipated: |
| We plan to reach over 10,000 households through our outreach activities.
We will prepare taxes for 1,500 families, focusing our outreach on EITC or Child Tax Credit recipients in Orange County.
We will hold at least 12 Consumer Financial Safety Workshops throughout the year, with a total of 200 people attending.
We will hold at least 12 Foreclosure Avoidance Classes throughout the year, with a total of 300 people attending.
We will have at least 5 community leaders trained at seminars. |
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| Amount requested from the State for this project this year: |
$50,000 |
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| Total cost of the project: |
$75,000 |
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| Request has been made to fund: |
Operations |
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| What type of match exists for this project? |
Local, Private |
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Cash Amount |
$40,000 |
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In-kind Amount |
$20,000 |
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| Was this project previously funded by the state? |
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No |
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| Is future-year funding likely to be requested? |
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No |
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| Was this project included in an Agency's Budget Request? |
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No |
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| Was this project included in the Governor's Recommended Budget? |
No |
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| Is there a documented need for this project? |
Yes |
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Documentation: |
IRS National Data; National Energy Assistance Directors Assoc; US GAO; Urban Institute; RealtyTrac.c |
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| Was this project request heard before a publicly noticed meeting of a body of elected officials (municipal, county, or state)? |
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Yes |
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Hearing Body: |
Orange County Board of County Commissioners 2006 |
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| Is this a water project as described in Section 403.885, Laws of Florida? |
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No |
