Rafi Efrat, Director, CSUN VITA Clinic
I am pleased to report that powered with over 230 student volunteers, the CSUN VITA Clinic has far exceeded our results from last year by over 18%. During the just concluded tax season, students at the clinic have offered in person and virtual tax preparation services to over 7,300 low-income taxpayers. This is more than 18 times as many taxpayers served compared to the tax season in 2015, when less than 370 taxpayers were served.
The impact we have made in the lives of the taxpayers we have served and the community they live in is impressive. For example, as a team we have:
- Saved local residents an estimated $1.3 in tax preparation fees. This is money the taxpayers can use to divert to other basic necessities.
- Brought over $8.8 million in federal and state refunds back into our community, thereby boosting our local economy.
- Helped workers claim more than 2.6 million in federal and state earned income tax credits, thereby empowering people to move out of poverty.
Most dramatically, the CSUN VITA Clinic was ranked as the top VITA site among over 690 sites in California. CSUN VITA Clinic served far more taxpayers than all 4-year universities in the state combined. And for the first time in our 51 years history, CSUN VITA Clinic was ranked the top VITA program in the nation (6,600 VITA sites operated nationally this past tax season). From Jan. 23 through April 18, dedicated volunteers were available six days per week and up to 12 hours per day.
This year we re-launched the CSU5 Plus VITA Collaboration. This initiative fosters unique collaborative arrangement for the 5 CSU campuses in Los Angeles County along with several community colleges to cultivate student civic engagement, advance their clinical skills, while making a difference in the lives of countless individuals throughout Los Angeles County. A transformative two-year $200,000 grant from Wells Fargo Bank has infused a critical source of support for the offering of the tax preparation and community outreach services year-round. It also enables us to make long term planning to further expand and enrich the clinic’s operations. Finally, it infuses the CSUN VITA Clinic with resources needed to institutionalize the CSU5+ VITA initiative.
Financial help from the Department of Water and Power has enabled us to offer assistance to people who cannot get a social security number by furnishing them with an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), which is a tax processing number the IRS issues. Also, with the help of City National Bank, the CSUN VITA Clinic was able to offer Spanish interpretation services at all of its seven sites.
Our success was made possible by the dedication, commitment and hard work of our student volunteers. Thanks to the endowment created by Harriet and Harvey Bookstein several years ago, we recognized the exceptional work of 5 volunteers with $1,000 scholarships each.