Society for Free Tax Assistance: Leading Coalitions and Partnerships Discussion

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Date: October 15, 2026

Topic: Leading VITA coalitions and working in partnerships — appointment scheduling, engaging local officials, and equipment MOUs

Session Overview

  • Monthly group discussion for people leading coalitions and working in partnerships within VITA. The facilitator opened with a “what’s on your mind” check-in, then shared results of a VITACon workshop on messaging to local officials, followed by open discussion.
  • Six participants spoke alongside the facilitator; more may have attended without speaking.
  • Notes are generated with AI assistance and anonymized before publishing — participant names, organizations, and locations are left out below. Software, public resources, and programs mentioned by name are kept in for reference.

Appointment Scheduling: Moving Away from 2-1-1 Call Centers

  • A coalition lead asked how others schedule appointments. Their coalition used a local 2-1-1 information line for phone booking, but it became too expensive, and other coalitions in the state have already left, leaving one coalition to carry the full cost. They are weighing a call center plus an online booking platform.
  • Last year the 2-1-1 line booked just under 5,000 clients for this coalition, about 2,400 by phone; the rest booked online or directly through sites. The cost rose about 50% from 2025 to 2026, with a similar increase expected; the participant estimated roughly $40,000 and noted online bookings through the same system grew from 35% to 45% of the total between the 2024 and 2025 seasons. The coalition already uses DaySmart as its appointment management system and has contacted the vendor about keeping it, so site staff would see the same system with a new phone number.
  • Another lead reported paying about $25,000 for roughly 7,000 calls answered by 2-1-1, which also acts as a buffer for general and tax questions that would otherwise reach sites. Alternative call centers they priced were about twice the cost, and an AI phone system option was about the same or more. Their backup plan is online-only appointments.
  • A third coalition uses a self-schedule option plus 2-1-1 for phone booking, is also looking to move away from it, and has heard of a coalition completing about 7,000 appointments through self-scheduling with one person answering phone messages. Their plan: remove 2-1-1 from outreach materials, list only the self-schedule link, and add a recording on the 2-1-1 line encouraging callers to book online.
  • Another participant shared that after taking on sites that had always used 2-1-1, they moved to online scheduling, which confused clients at first but improved after a couple of years. Of about 4,400 returns, roughly 3,500 were scheduled online last year. Front-desk phone time dropped from about 80% to 50% of one person’s time, and next year a volunteer paid by a local bank will answer phones.
  • Another program’s 2-1-1 provider stopped doing appointments last year and used Acuity, but the information reached them in February when they were already full, so they did no online scheduling. They plan to use Acuity this year and hire three seasonal admin staff for phones. One participant said DaySmart appealed to them but was too costly as a non-VITA-grant recipient.
  • Staffing ideas: RSVP volunteers (reachable through the county agency on aging) have been used to manage call lines for both VITA and Tax-Aide sites; one program partnered with its local RSVP and invited neighboring senior program volunteers to answer phones for an hour. Another coalition considered workforce development program participants as a pool, but is waiting on grant renewal information and the award amount before committing to paid help.
  • The facilitator suggested adopting a single tool across the coalition for efficient pricing and buy-in, plus support for site hosts and coordinators to make appointments and follow up. He noted that the volunteer management software session notes are posted at VITAquality.org and that he is drafting a document on appointment management products to share with participants for feedback.

VITACon Workshop: Messaging to Local Officials

  • The workshop used sticky notes and charts to build messaging for local officials. The facilitator noted that asking for funding is the hardest ask and probably not the first, and that, with volunteer recruitment underway, he encourages participants to ask one local official (a mayor, city council member, or state representative) to share volunteer recruitment information. A draft email was shared on the listserv for adaptation.
  • Using the messaging triangle, the theme is that VITA helps hardworking taxpayers, their families, and their communities. Key messages: taxpayers spend refunds locally; trusted help means taxpayers keep their whole refund; and the people you serve value VITA.
  • Strategies: share data, impact, and client stories; mobilize volunteers, clients, and allies — mostly by letting those who already know officials know you are reaching out; ask for a meeting with a specific ask; and bring officials out to tax sites. The facilitator framed this as building a relationship and offering officials an opportunity (a constituent service), not just an ask.
  • Framing points: VITA is economic development, not a handout, and differs from paid preparation; “free and trusted help” emphasizes that difference. Officials are generally focused on constituents’ financial stability, the local economy, sometimes anti-poverty and taxpayer rights, and re-election. Refund dollars returning to the community, federal dollars coming in, work support through the EITC, and financial empowerment all resonate. Accurate returns also affect loans, college financial aid, and immigration status. Obstacles: perception as a handout, low awareness of VITA’s value, budget worries, and varied program needs. Local data and a ready-made flyer or newsletter blurb help.
  • The facilitator also said volunteers who show up three times tend to stay for life.

Engaging Local Officials: Experiences and Advice

  • One participant plans to remind officials who attended EITC kickoff events that they came for the publicity, and it is now time to help recruit volunteers. The facilitator said having officials attend is a win in itself, and that offering the chance to serve constituents helps.
  • Asked about pushback that VITA replaces paid preparation, the facilitator said it is occasional and tends to arise in rural areas, where a VITA site can capture a large market share, and some preparers feel pushed out, while others want to support it; in large urban areas, VITA is a drop in the bucket, and preparers are usually supportive. Another participant said rural areas often cannot find preparers at all. Preparers also sometimes say they wish they could volunteer.
  • One participant said city officials won’t talk to them. Two others said recruitment asks got no traction at first, but taxpayer outreach did: they started with taxpayer information, invited officials to sites, and sent templates for EITC Awareness Day posts, then returned with a volunteer ask after some visited. A state-level financial officer, particularly a former VITA volunteer, can be a good entry point; photo opportunities in year one can be built on in year two.
  • The facilitator said local engagement is often “an overnight success after five years of beating your head against a wall,” and that the strongest route is someone who knows the official. He suggested a short “church bulletin”-style recruitment blurb and an easy action for officials, such as sharing a flyer or adding text to an e-newsletter.
  • Another participant suggested speaking for 60 seconds during the public comment period at monthly city meetings as a softball first step.
  • Client stories are the most powerful tool; one participant’s kickoff features a client speaker, with officials and news cameras present, and officials often reference the client’s story. Short client videos have also worked. The facilitator mentioned one official hosting a VITA site at their own office, so space can also be an ask.
  • Mapping impact: using taxpayer data by ZIP code likely requires consent under Section 7216. Without taxpayer data, ZIP-code-level IRS statistics on IRS.gov (EITC counts and values, Child Tax Credit, refund anticipation products) can supplement local information; congressional district data available is from 2022.
  • A program serving international students said officials do not consider them constituents. The facilitator suggested pitching tax compliance, the full tuition they pay and spending in the community, and potentially a stronger pitch to state officials around state tax compliance. The participant noted one international student can subsidize two or three U.S. students and that their state is supportive. International students, including graduate and accounting students, can be excellent volunteers with language skills (60–70% of that program’s volunteers speak a second language), though they may be confused by terms like “head of household” and are quick with technology. Helping the students who help clients is another possible ask.
  • Another participant works with high school honor society students (about 25 at a time, some returning after meeting their required hours); the facilitator shared that a former high school volunteer later prepared returns for fellow service members.

IRS Equipment and Partner MOUs

  • One coalition lead said the IRS now sends printers and laptops to the coalition rather than to partner sites, and that the lead signs an agreement with the IRS and was told to sign MOUs with partners holding equipment. They asked for sample templates.
  • Another participant said the IRS has become stricter about signed agreements and matching serial numbers; they received only printers, and described the laptops as slow. The facilitator said he has general sample MOUs, the main change would be listing the equipment, and the MOU the IRS provides is a good model. He said the IRS gives out little equipment now.
  • A participant working with a law school clinic said the clinic is drafting an editable MOU the coalition can adapt for all partners that host sites or provide computers.
  • Tracking: the facilitator recommended an in-and-out tracking system, using barcodes or QR codes (the IRS barcodes only identify the machine); for a small number of items, a spreadsheet is enough.

Next Steps

  • No topics were suggested for the next session; the facilitator invited ideas by email and offered to feature participants who want to share their work.
  • One participant, energized by VITACon, is planning new asset-building and financial guide work for next year and would like to talk with others doing similar work.

The Society for Free Tax Assistance  •  VITAquality.org  •  a project of JC Craig Consulting

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