Opportunities From: United Way of South Central Michigan

United Way of South Central Michigan VITA Volunteers help keep money in the pockets of Lansing Capital Area households who need it most. As either a Tax Preparer or Community Resource volunteer you can help us to provide free tax services to those who make less than $64,000 per year. ***No prior experience is necessary! All opportunities have in-person and virtual options available***

IF INTERESTED IN VOLUNTEERING WITH THE VITA PROGRAM, PLEASE REGISTER WITH THEIR NEW VOLUNTEER MANAGEMENT AND TRAINING PLATFORM, BETTER IMPACT, AT THE LINK HERE (THE SHORTENED URL IS ALSO BELOW)!

https://bttr.im/oljuo Tax Preparers

are trained and IRS-certified to provide free income tax preparation services to working families. They help families avoid costly tax preparation fees, steer clear of predatory financial products, and make the most of tax-time credits like the Earned Income Tax Credit and the Michigan Home Heating Credit.

Duties: Meet individually with clients, interview clients, review tax documents, and prepare returns using professional tax software Connect clients to meaningful savings opportunities Refer clients to pertinent resources in the community that they may be interested in Qualifications: Must successfully complete free tax preparation training & pass IRS-certification test Must be willing to maintain client confidentiality Ability to build rapport & discuss sensitive financial information with care No prior tax experience is required Time Requirement: At least 4-hours of volunteering each week during tax season (end of January to April) Participation in 12-15 hours of flexible, virtual training, and roughly 5 hours of flexible, in-person training Training: Tentatively, virtual tax training will begin to be posted in November, and be accessible anywhere with an internet connection. The sessions will follow pre-defined curriculum and allow volunteers to go at their own pace. Short, in-person sessions will begin shortly after. All sessions will be recorded and can be viewed afterwards if attendance is not possible.  Both new and returning Volunteer Tax Preparers must pass an open-book IRS-certification exam Benefits: Gain professional skills while helping families in the Lansing Capital Area boost their financial stability Free tax law and tax preparation training, culminating in IRS certification Support from trained tax professionals Professional development and networking opportunities Make new friends Community Resource Volunteers

help to ensure that clients gain access to invaluable community services and that our sites run as smoothly as they can by verifying documentation, answering clients' initial questions, and directing the movement of clients from preparation to quality review.

Duties: Greet and direct new and returning clients Refer clients to beneficial resources available in the community based on materials provided by the Capital Area United Way Enter client responses to surveys Respond to clients' questions Qualifications: Able to work with a diverse population in a professional manner Willingness to help people and answer questions Must successfully complete free intake/interview training & pass IRS-certification test Must be willing to maintain client confidentiality No prior tax or customer service experience is required Time Requirement: At least four hours of volunteering each week during tax season (end of January to April) Participation in 5-10 hours of flexible, virtual training with a limited in-person component Training: Virtual training takes place beginning in November. Both new and returning Community Resource Volunteers must pass an open-book IRS-certification exam Benefits: Gain professional skills while helping families in the Lansing Capital Area boost their financial stability Professional development and networking opportunities Make new friends Intake Specialists

help to ensure that clients are able to access services where we do not run full preparation sites. They do so by scanning and uploading client documentations to secure servers that our preparers can access, and helping clients move through our process.

Duties: Greet and direct new and returning clients Assist clients in completing necessary informational forms Assemble documents to prepare for scanning Help coordinate processing of clients' returns Respond to clients' questions Qualifications: Able to work with a diverse population in a professional manner Willingness to help people and answer questions Must successfully complete free intake/interview training & pass IRS-certification test Must be willing to maintain client confidentiality No prior tax or customer service experience is required Time Requirement: At least four hours of volunteering each week during tax season (end of January to April) Participation in 5 hours of flexible, virtual training with a limited in-person component Training: Virtual training takes place beginning in November. Both new and returning Intake Specialists must pass an open-book IRS-certification exam Benefits: Gain professional skills while helping Capital Area families boost their financial stability Professional development and networking opportunities Make new friends

You will play a crucial role in assisting our office with transferring hard copy documents into our database through scanning. Your assistance is greatly beneficial to our organization.

The hours are flexible between 9:00 am and 5:00 pm. Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, and Friday.