In April 2022, the Foundation held two tax preparation days designed to support access to the federal 2021 expanded child tax credit, which was expiring at the end of 2022. Volunteers from AARP joined us in this effort, and in total we helped 59 community members complete and file their 2021 tax returns. This outreach effort targeted underserved populations who normally don’t file tax returns or were unaware of tax credits they were eligible for in 2021. This included immigrant and refugee populations, people for whom English is not their first language and low- income family members who don’t typically owe tax.
The events were held at Vizionz-Sankofa, which advocates for African refugee and immigrant populations, and Homewise,
which helps create successful homeowners and strengthen neighborhoods. Food trucks provided free lunches for participants and volunteers, and children were entertained with arts and crafts, games, a balloon animal artist and face painters. Spanish language translators also assisted volunteers.
The average adjusted gross income was $27,596 per tax return, and the average refund was $2,160. A total of $71,274 in refunds were obtained for the 59 taxpayers, which included $27,600 in expanded child tax credits, $17,306 in earned income credits, $4,250 in child tax credits, $3,095 in education tax credits and $612 in premium tax credits, among others.