UW NEXT Webinar: Volunteering Via VITA (Volunteer Income Tax Assistance)

In this installment of our General Learning series, UW NEXT is proud to welcome Lissa Clayborn and Valerie Gillcrese. Lissa's a UW NEXT member & her UW journey started in 2023 as the VITA Program Coordinator at United Way of Bradford County. Nearly 3 years later, she recently served as the Director of Community Outreach, now Executive Director, and oversaw various projects including the VITA program. For the last two years, Valerie supported Lissa as a Senior Stakeholder Relationship Tax Consultant for the IRS, specializing in stakeholder partnerships, education, and communication (SPEC). Together, Lissa and Valerie shared how starting and running a VITA site is one of the most impactful ways a local organization can serve its community and how UWBC's sites doubled from 5 to 10 in just one year. During this 60-minute session, participants walked away with a deeper understanding of: • How they can start or expand their VITA program • The training and expectations for VITA volunteers • The benefits & community impact of a VITA program • How financial stability transforms lives • What makes a VITA site successful Facilitated by Engage & Exchange Work Group volunteer Jenny Palazio, this session also covered: • The difference between Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) & Tax Counseling for the Elderly (TCE) • SPECs mission within the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) • How SPEC accomplishes their mission & the why behind it • Benefits of being a VITA/TCE partner or volunteer • Stakeholder Partnerships, Education, & Communication opportunities • What partnering with SPEC looked like for a local United Way • The challenges UW of Bradford County faced • Who they serve & why they needed additional VITA sites • Steps they took before expanding • How they showed engagement & appreciation • 4 key takeaways about VITA programs • How many hours volunteers typically served in a week • The best volunteer training strategies & resources What's NEXT? 💙 Join a community of United Way professionals at https://www.unitedwaynext.org/become-... 💙 Register for an upcoming event at https://www.unitedwaynext.org/upcomin... 💙 Follow us on social media!   / uwnext     / uwnext     / unitedwaynext   Special thanks to our Event Programming Sponsors FrontStream, Third Sector Company, BoardBuild, and Upic Solutions as well as our Mentorship Program sponsor Mutual of America and our Event Series sponsor GivePulse! It's thanks to their continued support that we can provide a wide-range of programs and events to our members 🫶🏻