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Coordinators Coordinator Survival Guide
Coordinator Survival Guide
2012 VITA Site Coordinator Survival Guide
This is a great resource for site coordinators! Our hope is that this guide will help provide answers to questions you may have, direction on how to operate your site and work with your volunteers, and provide best practices on topics that are relevant to your work.
Client Outreach Tools:
Newsletter Announcement Script: Most newsletter announcements need to be limited to just the bare minimum of information. Use this script to formulate a script for your site in any local neighborhood or organization newsletters.
Public Service Announcement Script- English and Spanish: While the coalition tries to coordinate a general radio PSA for the 7 county coalitions, you may have an opportunity to run a PSA for your site. Use this script to help formulate that PSA.
Single site flyer samples: Many of the marketing materials listing all free tax preparation sites in the county are designed and printed by the United Way. However, many sites find the need to have a flyer with just their site information included. Use these examples of how site have advertised in the past. United Way will be providing your site with customizable flyer templates as well.
Marketing efforts tracker: As you begin your distribution and outreach plan, you should track your efforts with a spreadsheet. In this spreadsheet there are two tabs to help you plan; a county outreach plan and a mailing and distribution tracker. (Hint: this makes a handy tool to begin your plan for the next year as well)
Letter template for new clients: Many VITA sites mail a letter to potential clients through other programs at their organization or other mailing lists. For example, in Marin County, the CalWorks Department mails a letter about free tax preparation to all CalWorks recipients in the county. You can use this letter template as a guide to draft a letter specific to your VITA site.
Letter template for past clients: If your site collected email addresses from your clients, you can email them when your site has established its new schedule, encouraging them to come in or make an appointment. Use this email message sample to formulate your email message.
Board of Supervisors sample resolution: Each county coalition lead has gone to a Board of Supervisors meeting and asked for the support of the Board through a resolution supporting the Earn It! Keep It! Save It! coalition in that county.
Reminder postcard label template: When you send out the reminder postcards to your past clients, use this template to populate the postcard with your site's information. The label that you will need to use is Avery US Letter, 5196 3-1/2 Diskette Labels.
Site Operations Tools:
Appointment Checklist: This checklist can be used as a screening tool when taxpayers call in to make an appointment. This particular example is used as a preliminary intake sheet for each taxpayer. Keep one on file with the name, contact information and appointment time on the bottom and you will know just what the taxpayer’s situation when they come in for their appointment.
Screening Tool: Here is another example of a screening tool as callers try to make an appointment. This one is just meant to be a script and has a special focus on ITIN requirements.
How to make an appointment Instructions: This is a good overview of all the concepts that you need to know to be able to make an appointment – very useful if your appointment taker is not familiar with the program or tax law. There is also sample appointment schedule included.
Client Sign-In Sheet: Believe it or not, it has taken years to perfect this sign in sheet. Use this sheet for clients to sign in when they arrive at your site.
Letter Template for Rejects: Use this letter to send to clients if you cannot get a hold of them, but their return has rejected and you need some action on their part.
Printable Address Labels: These printable labels are a great tool to have readily available when clients have a balance due, need to mail documents to the IRS, Franchise Tax Board etc.
Volunteer Coordination Tools:
Student Volunteer Recruitment Flyer: Here is a sample flyer that you can use as a guide when recruiting students to be volunteers. This flyer highlights the relevant benefits that a student would most likely be interested in; building their resume, learn a new skill etc.
VITA Volunteer Job Description: A complete description of the VITA volunteer position consisting of an overview, main responsibilities and duties. This can be useful when recruiting volunteers from the Internet such as Craigslist.org.
Email Messages for Volunteers: Here are two examples of recruitment messages you can send to your past and potential volunteers. These can be especially helpful in email format. Check them out!
Volunteer Inquiry Form: This form is helpful when you need to gather more information from your volunteers; contact information, availability, position preference, languages spoken etc. This is a great tool to use for people who are interested in working at your site and returning volunteers. This would need to be used and filled out before the tax season starts. This is just an example, please make it your own.
Volunteer Response Letter: This is an email that can be used in response to an interested volunteer. Please read through it as it's only a sample and will need to be modified. It covers all the necessary information a volunteer will need along with the next steps for them to take.
VITA Volunteer Name Badges Template: If you need a little organization or your volunteers are still getting to know each other then use these helpful name badges. The template is already set up for you, all you have to do is type in your volunteers name and voila! Use Avery template 74556 or something similar.
EKS Volunteer Recruitment Articles and Blurbs: Use these when you are recruiting volunteers. There is a short and long version that will work great in a newspaper or as an ad on Craigslist.org
Resource Development Tools:
Donation Request Letter: Use this letter to ask for in-kind donations.
Tips to writing a Letter of Inquiry for Grant: Use these tips to help you write a letter of inquiry to apply for a grant. Not all funders require a letter of intent and may only require an application. Ask the prospective funder for details.
Thank you letter for funder/donor: Send this letter to your funder to thank them for their support.
Champion Letter: In many cases, your donation will come in the form of support or advocacy. Here is a letter that you can use to ask a community figure or local elected official to support your site and raise awareness of your program in the community.
Improving Quality Tools:
Quality Tips and Tricks: These are tips that the site coordinators put together during last year’s Regional Mini-Conference
Quality Review Checklist from EITC Platform: This checklist can be used in addition to the IRS required checklist
VITA Site To-Do Checklist: This checklist will help you think about quality all year long. The preparation you put into your VITA site will improve each and every tax return you prepare
Greeter's Desk Guide: This desk guide also acts as a general guide to the intake process for taxpayers visiting a tax site. You can use this to train your greeters (and even your screeners). Remember , if your greeter or screener is answering any tax law questions – they need to be certified!
ITIN Services Tools:
ITIN Process Sheet: The ITIN Process Sheet is used as a cover sheet for a tax preparer. The W-7 preparer fills out the process sheet and hands the entire application over the client to the tax preparer. The process sheet includes a temporary number (used to create returns in TaxWise), space for first, middle and last names as well as contact information for the taxpayer. This helps the tax preparer determine who will be on the tax return, what temporary numbers to use and who will need an ITIN application. It also has some application details that have proved useful for record keeping purposes.
W-7 Quality Control Checklist: The quality review checklist can be used after the W-7 is completed to check for any errors or double check procedural requirements. It is a useful tool to ensure a correct W-7.
W-7 Instructions: This document shows what to write in each line of the W-7. While it may seem straightforward, the IRS is very picky about the way it is filled out. There are two versions of the instructions – a line by line and a superimposed version.
Outreach Flyer: The Outreach Flyer is used specifically to advertise ITIN/Tax Prep events. It is useful because it includes all the requirements for the ITIN application as well as some educational information in what an ITIN is.
Helping Taxpayers with Disabilities
Please visit our Helping Taxpayers with Disabilities section for more information
Asset Building at your VITA Site
Assets for Independence - A federally funded program that helps clients move toward financial stability. Grants can be applied for.
Financial Services at Tax Time: Integrated Program Models, Outcomes, Evaluations and Best Practices - Integrated program models, outcomes, evaluations and best practices.
Price-Linked Savings- Making saving FUN - Make savings FUN!- Ideas on how to incentivize savings at tax time.
Umpqua Community Development Corporation Success Story - If they can do it, so can you! A story of how IDA program assists residents to save for homeownership and education.