We recently received a letter of congratulations for our Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program from the IRS. While we received a grade of 100% (whoo hoo!) based on the IRS’s review of our process (which includes our integrated in-person and remote drop off process), they noted several items that worked especially well and commended specific individuals for their expertise and professionalism.
First, the process:
We’ve processed numerous tax returns for approximately 1,000 families, generating more than $2,000,000 in IRS refunds through our services. This year we exceeded our prior year’s production by 5.8%, the highest number of returns in the last five years.
Our people:
The IRS Consultant who works with us called out Meaghan Arzberger for her leadership, her advanced level certification and for supporting her staff and volunteers who helped enable this program to excel, creating a positive economic impact for numerous families in York County.
They also gave a shout out to Pam White, our CASH Coordinator. “Pam was always on top of things, organized and proactive. Pam was always one of the first, if not the first, to provide the requested information and when a suggestion or request was made to add language to clarify a procedure, she immediately incorporated that into the document.” Not to be overlooked, Steve, our volunteer extraordinaire. “Steve is committed to providing high quality, free tax preparation services and volunteers 40 hours per week during the filing season and additional hours during the pre and post filing season. His can do-will do attitude combined with a unique blend of no-nonsense common sense and true compassion make him a role model.”
Our IRS Rep concluded, “I am very lucky to have worked with Pam, Steve and Meaghan over the past filing season and I look forward to supporting your VITA tax preparation program and outreach or financial education and asset building in any way I can.”