Real Economic Impact Tour 2010

New Conversations, New Collaborations and New Innovations

By:  Michael R. Roush, MA, National Program Director, Real Economic Impact Tour, National Disability Institute 

Contributors:  Elizabeth Jennings, Judy Stengel, and Dr. Johnette Hartnett, Real Economic Impact Tour, National Disability Institute

In 2004, a conversation began with the Internal Revenue Service and the National Disability Institute and together in 2005 we began visits to 11 cities in what was then called the TaxFACTS Campaign.  From that conversation, the Real Economic Impact Tour was formed and for the past five years, that conversation has grown to include 100 cities throughout the United States.  The mission of the Real Economic Impact Tour (REI Tour) is devoted to building a better economic future for millions of low-income individuals with disabilities and their families nationwide.  The REI Tour is also dedicated to the development of a roadmap out of poverty and to capture the power of collaboration and innovation.  Goals for the 2009-2010 Real Economic Impact Tour include:  1) expanding EITC outreach and access to free tax-preparation assistance to EITC income-eligible taxpayers with disabilities, 2) increasing accessibility of current tax sites, 3) identifying asset building opportunities that support taxpayers with disabilities and 4) creating/supporting/building a sustainable disability workgroup within existing tax coalitions.

The Real Economic Impact Tour (REI Tour) Mayor’s Leadership Academy was held in December of 2009 in Jacksonville, Florida to kick-off the 2010 season of the Tour and to highlight the goals.  The Leadership Academy was attended by over 50 REI Tour cities and included federal, state, local and corporate partners that allowed an opportunity for the attendees to network, share best practices, and to identify new activities to implement in the 2010 tax season.  Since the Leadership Academy, the REI Tour team has been traveling throughout the United States to witness first-hand the amazing work that local partners are doing within their communities to increase outreach on VITA services and EITC awareness to the disability community.  “We are awestruck by the amazing work that is taking place and how the conversation that started in 2004 continues to grow and strengthen the REI Tour mission to capture the power of collaboration and innovation,” stated Dr. Johnette Hartnett, Director of the Real Economic Impact Tour.  The following is a sample of collaboration and innovation at its best:

• Rural Dynamics in Great Falls, Montana hosted an REI Tour Workgroup meeting.  Collaboration was evident as new opportunities in distributing materials and new partnerships between the tax coalition and disability organizations were discussed.  The following video, gives insight from partners who attended that meeting.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A6i5qglt_TY
• United Way of the Bay Area hosted REI Tour Workgroup meeting in San Francisco, California where directors of the tax coalitions came together to create a strategy to increase participation from the disability community into the work of the tax coalitions that exist in the area.  The leaders of the tax coalitions and representatives from IRS plan to host an Asset Development Summit later this year to support the efforts.  Kelly Batson, Regional Director, Earn It! Keep It! Save It! United Way of the Bay Area talks about the collaborative efforts taking place in the Bay Area.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e3reuwKiCMQ
• Louisiana Workforce Board hosted an REI Tour Workgroup meeting in Baton Rouge and new collaborative efforts are taking place between the Internal Revenue Service, Medicaid Infrastructure Grant Program, Protection and Advocacy, and the Louisiana Workforce Board’s Disability Program Navigator Initiative in identifying  training opportunities and how to incorporate IRS resources into already existing programs. 
• United Way of Southwest Alabama hosted a conversation with disability organizations and non-disability partners in Mobile, Alabama.  Partners included Goodwill, Easter Seals, The Arc, Retired Seniors Volunteer Program, Regions Bank, and Boy Scouts of America.  Through this conversation, new partnerships were formed with the RSVP program in the area that has committed to train their volunteers to be tax preparers to provide free tax preparation specifically at the local Arc.  The Arc will provide office space for the RSVP volunteers to do this activity – a new VITA site is created. 
• United Way of Central Alabama hosted an REI Tour Workgroup meeting in Birmingham, Alabama that highlighted opportunities to increase outreach on VITA Services, EITC and asset building activities.  The United Way of Central Alabama began offering debit cards as an option to offer to individuals who do not have a bank account.  This allows individuals the opportunity to take advantage of getting their refund faster by  having their refund direct deposited.  Hear more about this from Judy Allen, United Way of Central Alabama.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X929alJJqKI.
• The Community Council of Greater Dallas co-hosted the REI Tour Workgroup meeting in Dallas, Texas at the Reading and Radio Resource Center to a room of over 30 partners interested in expanding their outreach for customers with disabilities. The Community Council of Greater Dallas is piloting a transportation program that is assisting low to moderate people in need of transportation to take advantage of the various services in Dallas including free tax filing. The Council assisted over 600 people with free tax filing in 2009 up from 100 in 2008.
• The Boston EITC Campaign and Morgan Memorial Goodwill Industries hosted the REI Tour Workgroup meeting at Morgan Memorial Goodwill. Over 25 community leaders attended including Bank of America the sponsor for the REI Tour in Boston and learned about the statewide Disability Ambassador pilot being developed to expand the messaging of the Tour. In addition, Boston EITC began plans for a statewide Asset Summit to be held in the Summer of 2010.
• The Neighborhood Services Department of the City of El Paso, Texas hosted an REI Tour meeting in early February.  Not only was the meeting well attended, but the community partners agreed to chair an all-day asset summit in El Paso in June 2010.
• Internal Revenue Service hosted the REI Tour Workgroup meeting in New Orleans that identified new groups and opportunities for collaboration.  The meeting identified representation from the disability community to serve on the tax coalition and identified a representative from IRS to participate on the disability coalitions.
• Tampa Bay Financial Stability Initiative facilitated by the United Way of Tampa Bay is implementing a financial coaching program that will include outreach to vocational rehabilitation counselors and Medicaid waiver coordinators to provide education on financial education and resources that they can use with the individuals they support.
• The State of New York showed unprecedented support this year by using their Federal Medicaid Infrastructure Grant dollars to support EITC outreach to New Yorkers with disabilities through the REI Tour.  As a result, New York has ten new REI Tour grantees; for a total of fifteen across the State.  With three EITC opportunities in New York (Federal EITC, State EITC and a New York City EITC) expanding the conversation to include New York’s 1,000 000+ residents with disabilities (28% of whom live in poverty) is a smart investment.

These are only a sample of the conversations that are taking place across the country, local partners are working together to make a Real Economic Impact for persons with disabilities.  We invite you to become a part of the conversation and share your best practices on how you and/or your organizations are making a Real Economic Impact.  

“The NDI team is proud to be a part of the conversation and the collaborative efforts and innovative ideas will truly build a better economic future for persons with disabilities,” stated Michael Morris, Executive Director of the National Disability Institute.

As the Real Economic Impact Tour moves through April, we will be expanding the conversation from tax preparation and EITC awareness to financial education and asset building opportunities for persons with disabilities.  The Real Economic Impact Tour will be hosting seven Asset Development Summits for persons with disabilities across the United States.  The Asset Development Summit model will help communities to expand opportunities through the work that has been started by the tax coalition.  We will be hosting Asset Development Summits over the summer of 2010 in El Paso, Texas; Birmingham, Alabama; Charleston, West Virginia; Detroit, Michigan; San Francisco, California, Pensacola, Florida and Boston, Massachusetts.

To see if we will be coming to a city near year, go to our calendar of the events page at www.reitour.org.  To learn more about the partners across the county, you can visit the Real Economic Impact Tour website at www.reitour.org, join our monthly blog at http://realeconomicimpact.wordpress.com/ and join our facebook page to see our next Video Blog – it might be you.