VITA Volunteer Newsletter

Week of January 3rd, 2021

Your bi-weekly resource for tax tips, important dates, and other news of note

from the VITA staff!

Tax Updates

Next Steps for Volunteers

Happy New Year, VITA volunteers! We look forward to diving into this year's tax training with all of you. Here is an overview of those next steps:

Returning Volunteers

Returning Volunteer Training: Login to Zoom this Thursday 1/6 from 5:30-8:00pm for a live session reviewing tax updates, volunteer policies, and changes. The slide deck and a recording will also be sent out to returning volunteers after the meeting. Use this Zoom link to join on Thursday - https://unitedwaytucson.zoom.us/j/9403467595

New Volunteers

New Volunteer Training: New volunteers will receive access to our new online training platform, Thinkific, by next Friday 1/14. You will receive an email from the address 'noreply@notify.thinkinfic.com' with the subject line 'Welcome to United Way of Tucson.' When you receive that email, use the links to set up your password, sign in, and get started. We anticipate that the full training will take six hours or less. The training can be taken all at once or broken up in segments over multiple days.
Online Study Groups: We plan to have online study session times set and shared with you by Monday 1/17. Sessions will be available at different days and times during the second half of January for you to drop-in and work through tax questions.

All Volunteers

Site Assignments: Site agreements have moved more slowly than usual due to COVID, but almost all contracts are now set. You will hear from your site coordinator via email in late January to confirm where and when you have been placed, as well as details specific to your team and location.
Certification Exams: Plan to complete your certification tests before your first day of volunteering. We recommend setting aside about 1 hour to complete this test. For new volunteers, the Thinkific training will align closely with the certification test questions.

Volunteer Resources

VITALinks has long been our primary webpage for volunteer tax resources - it's your one-stop reference for tax preparation guides and tools. Resources will be added to VITALinks as the tax season gets going - check out the following links in the meantime:

VITALinks: https://unitedwaytucson.org/vita/links/ (still has many resources from last year - will be updated soon!)
4012 - VITA/TCE Resource Guide for 2021 Returns (digital copy)
6744 - Volunteer Assistor's Test/Retest for 2021 Returns (digital copy)
4491 - Volunteer Training Guide for 2021 (digital copy)

We held Zoom sessions for new and returning volunteers. If you were unable to attend a session, catch up with the recording or session slides.

Vaccination Update - Taxpayers

In our last newsletter, we shared a vaccination policy update for our VITA volunteers. Given the ever-evolving COVID-19 situation, we also wanted to share our updated policy for taxpayers visiting in-person sites. This information will be included in outreach/marketing materials and posted in writing at our VITA locations.

United Way believes community members should be vaccinated against COVID-19 to protect themselves and others. We also must comply with our VITA host sites’ requirements, so we have arrived at the following policy regarding vaccinations. All VITA volunteers working at physical locations will be fully vaccinated, including boosters. All taxpayers choosing to visit an in person VITA site must be vaccinated and be prepared to show proof of vaccination when checking in for their appointment. To be clear, vaccination means obtaining shots approved by the FDA and recommended by the CDC. All volunteers and taxpayers at physical sites must wear masks at all times while indoors, except when taking a drink of a beverage. Taxpayers unable to show proof of vaccination are encouraged to use GetYourRefund https://www.getyourrefund.org/en to access our free online tax preparation service.

Please let us know if you have questions or concerns about this policy: VITA@unitedwaytucson.org

United Way of Tucson Updates

United Way of Tucson is working to build a thriving community by uniting people, ideas, and resources. We envision a community where every child receives a high-quality education from birth to career, every adult has the opportunity to thrive financially and in the workplace and every older person can retire and age with dignity and independence. From birth to career, career to retirement, and retirement to end of life, United Way supports the well-being and success of every person in Southern Arizona.

We Will Miss You, Ken!

In December, we celebrated the retirement of one of our favorite people: Ken Briggs, who has led our Community Development, Financial Wellness, and VITA Team at United Way of Tucson for the past 8 years! Words cannot express how much Ken has given back to this community over the years. He was especially instrumental in growing our VITA program into the largest tax preparer in the state of Arizona, helping individuals and families across the state to achieve financial wellness. We are sad to see him go but happy for him to start a new journey. Ken, we'll miss you!

Questions, comments, or feedback?

Contact the VITA team:

vita@unitedwaytucson.org

https://unitedwaytucson.org/vita/