Living in Austin has its perks. We are an active community full of runners, cyclists, stand-up paddle boarders, and hikers. We have excellent restaurants and food trailers offering some of the most delicious eats. And we have great live music everywhere – even at our grocery stores – all year round.
Austin also has another perk that most visitors may miss when visiting our city. We have some of the best charitable organizations around. Whether you are interested in helping people or animals, someone in town has opportunities for you to volunteer. This year, I decided to volunteer with an organization where I could use my financial planning knowledge and experience.
Foundation Communities has been around since 1990 and they help provide affordable homes and support services to families in Austin and in North Texas. One of the support services they provide is assistance with tax preparation for hard working low-income families. In coordination with the Internal Revenue Service Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program, Foundation Communities volunteers help low income families ($53,000 or less) prepare and file their tax returns. To provide tax assistance, volunteers were required attend an eight hour education course and pass an IRS certification test before working with clients.
I found this tax season to be very rewarding. There work my clients did varied greatly – from cooks to nurses to city bus drivers. Families were nervous to see if they owed taxes or if they were due a refund, but found relief in knowing that someone else was helping them file their information. It was clear to me that the refunds my clients received were not only helpful, but necessary to their family spending needs. For me, I found joy in discovering tax credits and deductions for clients and increasing their return where available. Every little bit helps.
My goal in volunteering this year was to give 35 hours of time between January and March. Including the training time in December, I was able to give over 40 hours of time and help prepare some 35-40 returns for families in our Austin community. In addition, I got to meet some really great University of Texas students and other professionals volunteering their time. I am already looking forward to volunteering with Foundation Communities next year and enjoying this Austin perk.