Mandy Chaney

Entre su trabajo a tiempo completo, sus hijos que estaban en la universidad y la prematura pérdida de su esposo, Mandy Chaney tenía mucho de qué ocuparse, y preparar los impuestos de su familia no era una de sus prioridades.

One evening, during her community theater practice in Helena-West Helena, Ark., (pop. 12,282) she made a comment about it to a long-time friend and Uplift employee, who shared with her something people in the community were regularly surprised to hear—that Uplift Capital Partners volunteers could prepare her taxes for free.

As a mission-driven financial institution, Uplift Capital Partners continuously seeks ways to help families build wealth and minimize wealth extraction, and the IRS’ Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, also known as VITA, is just one of the ways to accomplish both. By preparing simple tax returns for free, Uplift Capital Partners helps families avoid tax preparation fees and keep more of their hard earned money.

From 2004 to 2019, IRS-trained Uplift Capital Partners volunteers have prepared nearly 31,000 tax returns for individuals in our communities, resulting in over $60 million in refunds—over half of which was in the form of the federal Earned Income Tax Credit. That’s money going right back into the community and into the pockets of taxpayers like Mandy.

But Uplift Capital Partners’ tax time efforts to build wealth don’t stop there.

Uplift Capital Partners has long recognized that a tax refund is often the largest lump sum payment a family receives all year, which poses a significant opportunity to increase savings. That’s why we created the Split, Save, and Win Sweepstakes to encourage taxpayers to split a portion of their refund into a separate account. Participants are entered into a weekly drawing for $50, and a grand prize drawing for $1,000 at the end of tax season.

Uplift Capital Partners’ public policy team expanded the tax time savings concept statewide by helping pass legislation in Arkansas that adds an additional direct deposit line to income tax forms so Arkansans can put a portion of their refund directly into a savings account.

Todos estos esfuerzos tienen como objetivo animar a personas como Mandy a ahorrar más. Y, de hecho, ella lo hizo. Después de trabajar con el prestamista al consumidor y voluntario capacitado Brandon Knowlton, no solo presentó su declaración de impuestos en un tiempo récord, sino que también ganó $50 simplemente por ahorrar una parte de su reembolso.