Problem Solving
This report offers solutions to five challenges that United Ways may face during EITC campaigns. Challenge No. 1: To ensure quality tax preparation, sites can hire professional tax preparers to review returns completed by volunteers.
This report — the result of a United Way of America survey and working group — reflects the organization’s staunch commitment to helping vulnerable families utilize the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC). It offers field-tested advice, square-one strategies and EITC program facts as part of a larger effort to help United Way sites across the country support local EITC campaigns.
In 2003, the EITC lifted five million Americans out of poverty while returning a combined $36 billion to 20 million low-wage workers. Despite the program’s success, the Internal Review Service estimates that four million eligible families fail to file for the credit each year.