by Bradley Parsons
Staff Writer
Working with the IRS, local non-profits and private donors, the City’s Prosperity Campaign helped low-wage workers grab millions in tax return dollars.
The campaign offered free tax preparation at 10 sites around Jacksonville. This year, the campaign helped file 2,474 returns, up more than 900 from last year. That effort returned more than $3.7 million to Duval county taxpayers, and much of that money ended up in the hands of people who needed it the most.
“It’s really a great story to tell this year,” said Kaye Schmitz, the campaign’s program director. “We really made an effort going through grass–roots organizations so we could get the word out to our target audience.”
The campaign is focused on low-wage workers who qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit. The credit can be worth up to $4,000, depending on income and family status. Last year, only about half of the qualifiers in Duval County claimed the credit, leaving about $10 million on the table. Enlisting the help of their employers and non-profit organizations, this year’s campaign sought out the qualifiers, educated them about the credit, and offered free tax preparation.
Those efforts helped boost the number of filers to 819 this year from just 285 last year. Although the campaign tripled the number of credits claimed, Schmitz said the campaign could do better next year. She said an earlier start next year should translate to a greater reach. This year’s campaign started in November.
Even with a relatively late start, Schmitz said the tax–return money was equivalent to a multi-million-dollar federal grant.
“We brought in millions of federal dollars into the community,” said Schmitz. “Those people have money to pay their debts or put toward a new house, and it didn’t cost Jacksonville anything,” she said.
The end of tax season doesn’t mean the end of the campaign. In fact, Schmitz said the most important work is still ahead. The campaign will now start a series of financial education modules open to the same low-income earners and designed to help them learn how to manage their money.
“The real focus of the campaign is financial literacy,” said Schmitz. “Instead of spending every dime, these modules teach people how to start saving some of it, putting it to work for them.”
The Northeast Florida Prosperity Campaign is led by the Human Services Council and funded by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund.