Growing Virtually: Extending the Reach of Your Virtual VITA - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Growing Virtually: Extending the Reach of Your Virtual VITA Program!

August 29, 2017 1-2:30 pm ET

Welc lcome

Carm Carmen Sho Shorter

Senior Manager for Learning, Field Engagement Prosperity Now

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Keys to Success on Today’s Webinar

• Join from a quiet space
• Grab a coffee or snack and settle in
• Engage! Send us your questions and

comments as you listen

• Create a watch party with your

team to listen & learn together

Prosperity Now’s mis ission is to ensure everyone in

• ur country has a

clear path to financial stability, wealth and prosperity.

Our Unique Promise

We ope

• pen doo

doors to to opp

• pportunity for those who have been kept off the

path to prosperity. We he help lp peo people bu buil ild wea ealt lth by making sure they have what they need to build a better future. We ena enable mea eaningful mob

• bili

lity through research, policies and solutions.

To connect, strengthen and inspire community tax programs so that they can …  More effectively & efficiently deliver critical tax assistance  Couple that assistance with other financial capability services  Advocate for fairer tax policy

• Welcome from TON
• Virtual VITA Background & Overview
• Tech-Enabled Virtual VITA
• Virtual VITA
• Drop-off Method
• Q & A
• Close

What’s in store for today?

Today’s Speakers

Reb ebecca Th Thom

• mpson

Program Director Taxpayer Opportunity Network

Le Lee Da Davenport

Principal Davenport Consulting

And Andy Ni Nieto

Associate Director of Tax Services Food Bank of New York City

Today’s Speakers

Gr Greg eg Mc McDon

• nald

ld

Regional Coordinator, VITA Program Community Action Partnership of Utah

Su Suzanne Yeom eomans

Financial Stability Program Officer, VITA Program United Way of the Wine Country

Welc lcome from TON

Reb ebec ecca Th Thompson

Project Director Taxpayer Opportunity Network

Prosperity Now

Vir irtual VIT ITA In Introduction

Le Lee Da Davenport

Principal

Davenport Consulting

CLIENT CENTERED TAX PREPARATION

Services Place People

THINKING BEYOND TRADITIONAL VITA

Facilitated Self Assistance

∆ Volunteer Engagement  Financial Mainstreaming  Client Empowerment ∆ Quality Assurance

Virtual VITA

∆ Volunteer Engagement ∆ Volunteer Effectiveness  Convenience  Client Wait Time

8/29/2017 15

Tech-Enable led Vir irtual VIT ITA

Andy Nie ieto

Associate Director of Tax Services Food Bank of New York City

The Food Bank For New York City

Innovative use of Technology for VITA

Food Bank’s Free T ax Program

• Since program inception in

2002, we have filed tax returns for more than 600,000 low-income New Yorkers, and secured over $1 Billion in tax refunds for

• ur clients.
• We were able to reach

these numbers assisting filers through:

– Traditional VITA – FSA-Facilitated Self Assisted – Virtual VITA

Traditional 56% FSA 23% Virtual 21%

Program Platforms

Traditional VITA – 24,402 FSA - 9,771 Virtual VITA – 9,035

Food Bank’s Virtual VIT A Program?

• It’s an innovative model

within the Food Bank’s VITA Program utilizing technology to connect the volunteer and the tax client.

• The clients are not in the

same location as the volunteers who actually prepare the returns.

• This is accomplished by

separating the intake from preparation site.

2016 Virtual Tax Intake Sites Map

The Preparation Site

Intake: 15 Minutes

Prep Site: Call Within 72hr

Interview and QR process: 15 Minutes Authorization: 10 Minutes Return is Electronically filed

Intake Site

OR

Virtual VITA needs

• Small Scale:
• 1 to 5 intake sites
• Up to 300 returns
• Fax Machine or physical Transport
• List Tracking(Paper or Excel sheet)
• Use of F14446 and must follow the

Quality Site Requirements including intake interview and quality Review process.

• Medium Scale:
• 6 to 15 intake sites
• Up to 2K returns
• Online file sharing service ( Drop Box,

Google Drive, One Drive, etc.)

• Folder tracking, some might feature

Messages.

• Use of F14446 and must follow the

Quality Site Requirements including intake interview and quality Review process.

• There might be a cost involved.

Food Bank’s Virtual VITA Secure Platform

• Security and data Encryption
• Complies and exceeds IRS

minimal required of user authentication with password, 128-bit encryption, and audit trail capability

• Secure document upload
• Secure E-Signature
• Electronic signature integration
• Different Level user accounts
• Project Administrator
• Site Coordinator
• Quality Reviewer
• Tax Preparer
• Intake Volunteer

Food Bank’s Virtual VITA Secure Platform

• Benefit Screening capable
• Basic screening
• Advanced screening
• Multi service screening
• Data collection
• Custom reporting
• Dashboard Creation
• Multi tax year capable
• Client Relationship keeps records
• f prior year filings
• Case management features
• Status indicator on return progress
• Call log and case diary notes
• Case updates alerts and follow

up Queues

Thank You.

Andy Nieto Associate Director Tax Services Anieto@foodbanknyc.org German Tejeda Vice President for Anti-Poverty Programming Gtejeda@foodbanknyc.org

Vir irtual VIT ITA Method

Greg McDonald

Regional Coordinator, VITA Program Community Action Partnership of Utah

Virtual VITA in rural Utah

Communit ity Action Partnership ip VITA His istory

• 9 Community Action Agencies and Association of

Government Agencies

• 8 have a VITA Regional Coordinator with off season

responsibilities.

• Utah completes 21,000 returns each year.
• 50% of returns completed by Community Volunteers
• 25% by College/University programs
• 25% My Free Taxes
• Utah is constantly figuring how to serve more clients within

financial boundaries and are finally a presence in all counties and 9 CAPs.

• 73% of Utah’s population live on 4.5% of available land
• 11 of 39 counties have less than 2 people per square mile

Earn it

• it. Keep it
• it. Save it
• it. Chall

llenges

• 4 of 9 CAPs have reasonable travel to cover Tax sites
• 5 can travel up to 3 - 4 hours.
• CAPUtah is looking at cost per return for each CAP,
• How to reduce costs and how to serve more?
• Is a voucher to a paid preparer cheaper than our total cost in

providing a “free” tax return?

• No, but a model we can use to compare/improve.
• Funders with specified rural targets:
• Rural disabled, Native Americans, Rural Low/Low Middle Income.
• To achieve targets encompasses much time/travel for few return

numbers.

• Virtual VITA is an approach we have used for 8 years.

VIR IRTUAL VIT ITA

• Virtual Tax Preparation - Earn it. Keep it. Save it. Utah
• video of Virtual Live VITA.
• Used in 3 areas to help sites cut travel for preparers or areas lacking

preparers.

• Live, real time.
• A volunteer, not certified but has passed Stds. of Conduct, greets clients,

has them fill out intake sheet and scans all documents into Fileworks.

• Preparer, 200 miles away, opens up Fileworks and on a split or two

screen system shares the Taxslayer screen while looking at documents and able to talk to clients.

• Second Preparer completes QR and submits to Fileworks and Greeter
• pens and has client(s) sign. Return is then submitted.
• If we have a preparer but not a second, we do Virtual QR. If that

preparer is not comfortable with a return they hand off to a more experienced volunteer.

Vir irtual l VIT ITA Pla lans in in Utah

• Remote (Native American reservations for example) sites to

serve as front end and University or businesses to be preparers.

• Less populated regions move to a centralized tax prep

model.

• Salt Lake preparers do returns for 4 Corners area, 400 miles away.
• Move from live virtual to one week time delay (NYC model).
• “Your return will be completed in 7 days, come back for QR and your

copy.”

• Find Virtual Volunteer Tax Preparers
• “Volunteers like to do Traditional VITA or MFT or Virtual model. Most

do not like to switch models and tend to stay with the model they were introduced to.”

• Lee Davenport

Greg McDonald greg@caputah.org 801-433-3025

Drop Off Method

Suzanne Yeo eomans

Financial Stability Program Officer, VITA Program United Way of the Wine Country

• Capacity Limitations
• Finite # of sites and volunteers every year with increasing IRS goals
• Time Constraints
• Some clients who can’t get an appointment for weeks might seek paid tax

prep

• Extend Training
• Reduces volunteer overwhelm and not feeling “ready” in first weeks of tax

season

• Provides more practice time
• Volunteer Comfort Level
• Some volunteers would prefer to complete returns without client present/ or

volunteer not available at site open times

Why Drop-off?

• Volunteer Management
• Gives Site Coordinators a redirection of difficult volunteers to still

participate, e.g. Volunteers that do not get along well with others

• Year-Round Tax Prep
• Provides the ability for season-long opportunities to deepen skill-base
• f volunteers
• “Plan B”
• For system outages or other unforeseen circumstances

Benefits of Drop-off

Q & A

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