For many individuals and families in Franklin County, wages have not kept pace with the rising cost of housing, healthcare and education and a slow economy has provided little opportunity to get ahead financially.  The Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) is a refundable tax credit that supplements wages and has the potential to increase the annual income of a low- to moderate-wage worker by as much as 25 percent.  Each year, it lifts nearly  5 million Americans above the poverty line.

Recognizing the EITC's potential benefit to individuals, families and communities, a group of nonprofit, business and government organizations formed the Franklin County EITC Coalition in October 2006.  Its purpose is to raise awareness of the EITC, to provide access to free, high-quality tax assistance and to connect people to financial education opportunities.

The Franklin County EITC Coalition works collaboratively to maximize community resources that promote economic self-sufficiency.  Cooperation benefits the taxpayer, partner organization and the community alike by creating a network of supportive services accessible by each client the Coalition serves.  In addition, collaboration reduces the duplication of efforts and allows partners to draw upon one another for support.  Specifically, the Coalition:  

• Coordinates a consistent county-wide marketing and outreach campaign
• Recurits, trains and places qualified volunteers at tax assistance sites
• Establishes and supports tax assistance sites in strategic locations
• Refers tax clients to other resources and financial education opportunities, and 
• Raises funding to support the overall work of the Coalition