It’s the beginning of that time of the year again — tax season. Filing your taxes is not always a fun, but no need to worry, there are tax prep and filling services for qualifying (if you make less than $50,000 a year) individuals and families, available at no cost. United Way for Greater Austin’s vision is to create a thriving community for all, so with the help of Foundation Communities, we have complied a list of FREE tax preparation and filing services around town that can help make filing your taxes less stressful: South Austin Community Financial Center – 2600 West Stassney Lane, Austin, TX 78745 (corner of Stassney and West Gate) – 1st floor. Services available January 14th through April 18th. IDEA Allan – 1701 Vargas Road, Austin, TX 78741. Services available January 26th through April 18th. East Austin Lifeworks East Office – 835 N. Pleasant Valley Rd., Austin, TX 78702 – 1st floor. Services available January 19th through April 18th. Round Rock Round Rock Public Library – 216 E. Main Street, Round Rock, TX 78664 – Computer Lab. Services available January 20th through April 18th. North Austin Community Financial Center – 5900 Airport Blvd., Austin, TX, 78752. Services available January 16th through April 18th. Asian American Resource Center – 8401 Cameron Road, Austin, TX, 78754. Services available January 27th through April 18th. How to schedule an appointment? You will soon be able to schedule an appointment for tax preparation – stay updated by visiting the Foundation Communities tax prep page. […]
Read MoreTwo-Generation Pilot Project Shows ESL As Biggest Need
Ascend is a policy program of The Aspen Institute, an educational and policy studies organization that aims to pass on economic security and educational success from one generation to another. They emphasize a two-generation approach in every thing they do, meaning that they want to create opportunities for both the parent and child living in disadvantaged situations. UWATX received a grant from The Aspen Institute Ascend Fund in order to develop and test a two-gen pilot project of our own. United Way for Greater Austin engaged two researchers from the University of Texas’s Ray Marshall Center to measure impact through an evaluation that used multiple methodologies, including participant focus groups, individual interviews, surveys and pre- and post-skill tests. At the onset of the pilot, UWATX met with community partners to discuss project strategies to test an adult education care model for parents with children already engaged in high-quality early education. With Austin Independent School District (AISD) and Uphaus Early Childhood Center, UWATX developed an outreach plan to reach potential participants. After several weeks of dedicated outreach, UWATX reached over 100 parents and learned some valuable lessons. Over half of respondents cited English as their primary need and interest. Those who were interested, qualified and eligible for job training had diverse interests, making it difficult to form a cohort. At the same time, UWATX learned most of the job training families had reliable transportation and could access the existing training centers, while the Spanish-speaking families struggled with isolation. All of this […]
Read MoreSavings Program Pilot Shows Positive Results
Did you know that one-third of Austin residents are classified as low-income? United Way for Greater Austin’s Financial Stability program helps those who are struggling get the guidance they need through three targeted core strategies: learning, saving and thriving. We recognize that in order to create community-wide changes, individuals and families struggling to become financially stable need the help and support of agencies, social workers and volunteers. The national Corporation for Enterprise Development (CFED) supports UWATX’s Financial Stability program and sought to develop a workplace-based savings program for low-wage employees. The savings program helps them save a portion of their paychecks through direct deposit through their employer. UWATX partnered with Open Door Preschools to implement a pilot of this workplace-based savings program and then worked with consultants from OpportunityTexas and Raise Texas to help evaluate the program. The goals of the pilot program were to get employees to sign up for a savings account if they did not have one and to also sign up for direct deposit. Although the savings program is still ongoing at Open Door Preschools, the pilot phase was eight weeks long and had three components aimed to decrease barriers to signing up: 1) Employees were prepared – Employees initially learned about the savings program through an email from their executive director. The email included information on what the employees needed to bring to prepare for the meeting. 2) Employees attended a facilitated meeting – Through a facilitated kickoff meeting at each preschool location, the executive director gave employees an opportunity […]
Read MoreDecker Students Learn About Financial Stability with Chase Volunteers
Getting students thinking about making financial decisions at such a young age can be a challenge, but having knowledgeable and friendly volunteers makes it much easier! “Camp Raven” is UWATX’s free summer enrichment program at Decker Middle School, where each week students learn about an issue affecting their community and complete related educational activities with volunteers. Last week, seven Chase volunteers dedicated a total of 27 hours of their time at Camp Raven, where they led financial literacy games and activities for the campers. “ I chose to spend the most on food and healthcare because taking good care of my children is the most important thing to me.” — Kevin, 7th grade student There were two exercises that the children and volunteers participated in, a market simulation exercise and a budgeting exercise. The market simulation exercise was completed using food items such as fruit snacks, mints and juice that had different values. The students were divided into assigned groups and were classified as either buyers or sellers. Sellers had to come up with a price and strategy on how to sell their “products” for the greatest amount of dollars and create ads with the product information. The buyers group made transactions using fake money based on what the advertised prices were. Following the activity, students discussed what they learned in regards to their money making decisions. The budgeting activity taught the children how to budget their candy “money” by allocating them into realistic categories. Each student based their budgeting decisions on the idea […]
Read MoreEasy Ways to Save Money During the Summer
With Austin being America’s fastest-growing city, this means more energy consumption occurs, which is why it is crucial that we all work to minimize our household energy usage during the hot summer months. Many of us come home from a long day and immediately lower the thermostat without thinking of the consequences this might have on our bills and environment. Summer can be a very expensive time of the year. According to Austin Energy, air conditioning represents up to 70% of the average home’s summer electricity bill. Air conditioning may be the largest slice of the electricity bill pie, but other components like energy-powered light fixtures and heat-powered appliances, such as washers and dryers, are also important to consider when thinking about your summertime energy consumption and bills. On average, a U.S. household spends $5,550 a year on energy—this is a serious concern considering 21% of Austinites have incomes below $25,000 a year. Knowing how to be energy-efficient not only helps the environment and economy, but will also help save you money. Here are some simple tips to help you save this summer: 78 Is the Magic Number Turning off your thermostat during the summer forces your air conditioning unit to work long and hard when you return. When you are home, you should set your thermostat to 78 degrees. According to Austin Energy, your bill increase by 3 to 4% for each degree lower than 78. If you have a programmable thermostat, you have a bit more flexibility and can store and repeat multiple daily settings, which […]
Read More$150,000 Grant Helps Working Austinites Become Financially Stable
We’re excited to announce that our Financial Stability program received a $150,000 two-year grant from the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) Investor Education Foundation and United Way Worldwide as part of the organizations’ investment of more than $1.5 million in grants to help working families build financial stability. The grant is the second UWATX has received from the FINRA Foundation to support financial stability efforts. Since 2012, more than 1,500 Greater Austin employees have received Learn Where You Earn financial education classes with 93% reporting taking steps towards a positive financial goal. The grant will be used to expand our Learn Where You Earn initiative that provides financial education, coaching and counseling for low-income employees in their workplace. The grant will allow hundreds of employees working in Austin to attend classes on how to create and use budgets, manage checking accounts, access their credit score, repair credit, pay off debt, and save for the future. Currently, The City of Austin, Travis County Transportation and Natural Resources (TNR) and Open Door Preschools are confirmed to offer Learn Where You Earn classes to their employees. Since 2012, Learn Where You Earn has provided financial education classes to more than 1,500 employees in the Greater Austin area with more than 93 percent of class participants report taking steps towards a positive financial goal such as paying off debt, checking a credit score, or opening a savings account. Additionally, more than 85 percent of employees report understanding their credit report, knowing their rights as […]
Read MoreIt’s Tax Return Season!
For some people, it”s the most wonderful time of the year–tax return season! What could be better than the government paying YOU?! The actual process of preparing your taxes–not so wonderful. Whether you”re just out of college and filing for the first time on your own, or have multiple jobs and are having trouble keeping track of it all, we have some great resources to make it easier for you. The deadline to file taxes with the IRS is April 15th. United Way for Greater Austin partners with Foundation Communities to provide tax preparation services through Community Tax Centers. If you earn $50,000 or less annually (slightly higher for households of more than five people), you qualify for free tax preparation! Last year, these Community Tax Centers (CTC) filed 20,000 returns for local individuals and families and generated $36 million in refunds. You can either make casino online an appointment with a CTC volunteer or walk-in, or even drop off your documents to be prepared and pick them up a few days later. Call 2-1-1 today to find the nearest tax preparation location to you or visit the Foundation Communities for more details. Prepare for your appointment by using this checklist to make sure you have all of the documents you will need in order to file. Already received your return? Use our Bank Locator tool to locate a bank close to you to make the most of your return. Feeling generous with all of your newfound cash? Consider making a donation so we can continue to support services like the Community Tax Centers!
Read MoreThe Other Side of Austin: Census Data Reveals Continued Poverty
Austin Residents Struggle to Make Ends Meet 300K+ individuals struggling to make ends meet 150K+ Austin residents living in poverty 16K+ local children under the age of 6 living in poverty Austin is a city that is known for many things. We love our dogs, can’t get enough live music or Tex-Mex, and take pride in the slogan, ‘Keep Austin Weird.’ We are also the fastest-growing city in the nation – more than 100 people move to Austin every day. What many are unaware of is that more than 300K greater Austin residents are classified as low-income and face barriers to economic opportunity. This is a serious concern for many families who struggle to make ends meet – it takes a household income of $50K annually for a family of four to break even! According to the most recent census data, 150K+ Austin residents live below the federal poverty level. Of these, more than 16K residents are children who are under the age of 6. UWATX Helps Alleviate and Reduce Poverty UWATX addresses community needs through our Strategic Programs including: Financial Opportunity, Target Graduation and Success By 6. We know that preparing children for kindergarten and keeping them on the path to high school graduation is a strong indicator for their success down the road. We also provide financial literacy tools for their parents, so that both generations can thrive simultaneously. Our Navigation Center is able to connect individuals who call 2-1-1 to human services, […]
Read MoreGreater Austin experiences marked increase in suburban poverty
Greater Austin has plenty to boast about. From a vibrant and diverse community, to welcoming neighborhoods and plenty of local live event opportunities, it’s no wonder we became the 11th largest city in the U.S. last year. There is one metric, however, that Greater Austin residents are not bragging about. A recent report from KUT.org revealed research from the Brookings Institution that proved Austin had the second-largest increase in suburban poverty among big cities. Business Insider recently named Austin #8 on its list of “The 15 US Cities Where Poverty Is Soaring Fastest.” According to its article, the poor population in Greater Austin grew by more than 100,000 individuals between 2000 and 2012. United Way for Greater Austin aims to overcome barriers to economic opportunities with strategic programming and philanthropic endeavors. We invite all who need help to utilize our free resources, including the 2-1-1 Navigation Center, an Austin-area community support line. For information on our free community resources, please call 512.472.6267 or visit our website: www.unitedwayaustin.org.
Read MoreCommunity Spotlight: Dove Springs
A Neighborhood in Need The Wynn Family lives in Dove Springs, an Austin neighborhood that is southeast of the intersections of I-35 and Ben White, near the airport. The Dove Springs community has a unique set of needs and relies heavily on community services. In fact, one out of every five individuals in Dove Springs uses SNAP to meet their food needs. 20% of Dove Springs relies on SNAP for food needs Anisha and David Wynn are the proud parents of four children, Kayla (13,) D’Maree (8,) D’Maya (5) and De’Ana (3.) To support their family, Anisha and David both work full-time for The City of Austin, each logging as many as 60-hours-per-week. However, making ends meet can still be a challenge. In Austin, a family of four has to make an average of fifty thousand dollars per year just to break even. With the expenses of groceries, rent, child care, car insurance and gas, this family of five has an even tighter budget and there’s rarely enough at the end of the month to save. UWATX Connects Families to Resources Anisha and David worry about what a lack of fiscal security could mean for them in the long run, and what they’ll do if an emergency occurs. Many Austin families, much like the Wynns, are only a few unexpected expenses away from falling behind on their bills. Should a car break down or a child become injured, they may be unable to recover financially. Fortunately, they both work at companies where […]
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