Date: September 9, 2026

Topic: Site operations — new site setup, meeting communications, and the client experience from intake through preparation

Session Overview

• Open-floor “what’s on your mind” discussion, followed by a planned agenda item on site operations — how taxpayers move from intake through return preparation, and what resources preparers rely on along the way.
• Roughly a dozen participants spoke during the discussion; more may have attended without speaking.
• Notes are generated with AI assistance and anonymized before publishing — participant names and identifying program details are left out below. Organizations, software, and public resources mentioned by name are kept in for reference.

New Site Setup & the eFIN/SIDN Process

• A participant opening a new site asked what’s needed beyond the e-Services application. General guidance: submit the e-Services form, then follow up with your relationship manager, who can help assign an SIDN (Site Identification Number) — multiple participants noted the SIDN typically needs to come first, since it becomes part of the site name used when applying for an eFIN.
• Researched after the meeting (not part of the live discussion) to verify the guidance above — per IRS Publication 5683 (VITA/TCE Handbook for Partners and Site Coordinators), the official new-site sequence is:
• Request an SIDN from your local SPEC territory office.
• Once assigned, register a Responsible Official and apply for an EFIN through e-Services (at least two Responsible Officials are recommended, since only they can manage the online EFIN application).
• Complete Form 13533 (Partner Sponsor Agreement) — due by October.
• Complete Form 13715 (Site Information Sheet).
• Submit Form 15272 (Security Plan) to the local SPEC territory office — due by December 31.
• One participant’s program described periodically cleaning up its eFIN roster — renaming and consolidating years of acquired or inherited eFINs (including a couple owned by outside partners, who added the program as a secondary/backup contact) so at least two people have access to each one.
• A separate reminder surfaced from a recent spec call: eFINs may need to be restored or re-obtained through e-Services. Poor call audio made details hard to follow, and no one on this call had first-hand experience with the process yet.

Meeting Logistics: Reminders, Agendas & Zoom

• The facilitator is now posting meeting notes and agendas on VITAQuality.org and letting Zoom’s built-in registration/reminder system handle notifications, partly to avoid over-emailing people on the list who may not attend.
• Feedback was mixed: one participant received three unexpected email reminders covering all of September (traced to an email-list update rather than a new Zoom setting); a couple of others said calendar visibility alone is sufficient for them. A separate friction point: some registrants have to re-register to join a specific occurrence even though the series is already on their calendar.
• The facilitator is looking into Zoom’s agenda-posting feature and what happens to notifications when an agenda is updated on a recurring meeting, to decide whether to add automation or keep relying on VITAQuality.org for notes and agendas.

Vitacon — Travel & Lodging

• The facilitator is presenting at a Vitacon breakout session and asked who else is attending and where people are staying, since no hotel block or list appears to have been provided by organizers this year. A few participants shared their own hotel choices, but no shared block or discount was identified.
• Participants noted lingering interest in extending the conference to a day and a half or two days (no updates yet), and that many programs had to choose between Vitacon and Raise Texas this year given the scheduling overlap.

Site Operations: Intake, Prep & Handoff

• Main discussion question: how does a taxpayer get from check-in to a preparer, and does that process look the same across every site a program runs? Responses varied heavily by physical space — one program’s flow depends entirely on room layout, with an open gym setting working differently than a site split across a library or community center with a separate prep and waiting area.
• Another program described a multi-step model: clients sign in and receive intake paperwork (with varying levels of help filling it out); an experienced volunteer does a quick pre-review of documents; the preparer works directly with the client, and the reviewer joins mid-session as on-the-job training rather than as a separate step. Because computers aren’t always attached to a printer, the reviewer often steps away to print, and exit/signature steps happen at that point — a few sites have a dedicated exit station for a “second mini-review.”
• One site used to run efficiently across two large rooms but was moved into several smaller rooms with no waiting space; preparers now gather in an office area and clients are seated while preparers come to them — workable, but inefficient and harder to catch struggling new volunteers.
• General agreement that a lot depends on physical layout, making it hard to build one shared process across programs. There was also discussion of whether taxpayers prefer being personally escorted to a preparer versus volunteers calling names from a list, though no one was certain what clients actually prefer.
• On training: newer preparers are walked through an introduction script (confirming whether it’s the client’s first visit, explaining a second reviewer will check behind them), modeled by experienced volunteers. One gap identified: not setting client expectations well enough about how long the process will take. One program avoids the word “drop-off” in client communication — calling it an “appointment for your intake interview” instead — since clients otherwise expect to drop off and leave quickly.

Getting Preparers’ Questions Answered

• The facilitator asked what happens when a new preparer hits a question mid-return, and what escalation paths exist. Approaches described: a physical “cup on the monitor” signal system used historically; Discord, used by one small program; and, most commonly, just raising a hand or flagging a reviewer directly, without a strict handoff process. One program is discussing an internal Slack- or email-list-style option for off-site volunteers, but is weighing the login burden against keeping client PII out of the channel.
• One participant described piloting an IRS-built AI assistant a couple of seasons ago — trained only on IRS-approved references, with results linking back to source documents — which reportedly worked well but was discontinued, said to be tied to a budget-related IRS funding disruption. A college was separately mentioned as building something similar for its own student volunteers, and another participant is connected to a Treasury team exploring technology support for VITA programs.
• Common thread: even where a documented resource exists, volunteers’ default behavior is still to just ask someone in the room.

Reference Resources: The 4012 & Program Wikis

• Frustration was shared about volunteers not consistently using IRS Publication 4012, despite training efforts (desktop links, paper copies, teaching Ctrl+F search, modeling its use). One participant raised a structural issue: the 4012 has absorbed clarifications that arguably belong in the 1040 instructions or Pub 17, prior-year versions can carry errors, and pandemic-era changes were inconsistently rolled into the 4491X update process.
• One larger program maintains its own internal wiki (built in Notion, after WordPress and Squarespace proved too hard to manage single-handedly) covering topics the 4012 handles poorly — e.g., HSAs, retirement-account detail — plus operational how-to content for site managers. It’s maintained year-round by a small internal team, updated in the off-season, and expanded from questions logged in the program’s Slack channel during the season. Editing access is limited to a couple of people; the wiki itself is public aside from anything kept on internal SharePoint.
• Notion was praised for letting pages nest arbitrarily deep with inline links, and for how easily a linked file can be swapped without breaking existing links (a nonprofit called Get Your Refund reportedly runs a similar setup). Another participant’s program, currently building a separate Google Sites resource, expressed interest in modeling their wiki after what was shared and asked to connect after the call.
• Open question, not resolved: whether a shared, national VITA wiki would be valuable versus impractical, given how much programs’ training differs and unclear ownership over keeping shared content accurate. A related thread touched on the tension between programs investing unpaid time in training materials and wanting compensation if shared — general sentiment favored keeping materials open/public domain over monetizing them.

State & Local Tax Complexity

• Several participants described state and local returns as disproportionately time-consuming relative to federal, especially where municipality-level taxes aren’t well supported in TaxSlayer’s professional interface. One workaround: for out-of-expertise state/local situations, some programs sit the client down with a volunteer to start the return on MyFreeTaxes.com (the public self-file version), since it prompts for more state detail than the professional software, then have a volunteer review before submission.
• Programs are also spending meaningful time on work beyond the return itself — taxpayer education for non-filers, and helping clients create ID.me and payroll-portal logins — enough that one program is considering a social-work-adjacent hire and a QR-code system to track this unbilled support work per shift.
• A comparison of well-regarded larger urban programs came up, including ones running a combined-staff summer model with joint clinics involving the IRS, state agencies, and Low-Income Taxpayer Clinics; participants speculated informally that operating in a state without its own income tax may help some of those programs scale.

ID.me Verification Tips

• General consensus that clients prefer avoiding ID.me’s video-verification step when possible, and that wait times for the video-assisted path vary widely (a few minutes to much longer during peak season).
• Tips shared: starting on a volunteer’s laptop (for its camera) and sending photo capture to the client’s phone works for some; others found it more reliable to run the whole process on the client’s own device, since clients already know their own login details. A phone flashlight held above the client can help with poor lighting.
• One participant flagged a broader gap: volunteers don’t consistently ask clients where they’re storing new account passwords (relevant beyond taxes, since ID.me also unlocks Social Security and other federal accounts) — suggested building that check into the process, along with having clients finish account setup independently in the waiting area.

AARP Foundation Tax-Aide Collaboration

• Participants discussed a recurring gap between AARP’s supportive national messaging on VITA/Tax-Aide collaboration and a more mixed local reality, attributed to volunteer-driven state leadership and copyrighted training materials.
• Where collaboration does happen locally it was described positively — one state’s Tax-Aide network stepped in during a VITA program disruption and has since built a well-regarded joint approach. Formally joining the Tax-Aide network can bring added resources but trades off VITA’s paid-staff grant funding for Tax-Aide’s all-volunteer, 60-and-older-focused model (which draws on both TCE and VITA funding).
• No action items — flagged as a good discussion, worth revisiting if the facilitator follows up with regional AARP contacts.

Looking Ahead: Quality Review

• The facilitator framed the day around one core question: once a program identifies the resources preparers need, is the right delivery mechanism electronic, print, or some mix — likely a mix, with quick-reference material close at hand and deeper documentation for less common issues.
• A session on volunteer-management software is still being planned but not yet scheduled, pending input from at least one other program.
• Next session: site operations at the point of quality review — support for reviewers, and how the process looks and feels from the taxpayer’s side.

VITA Meet-up Working Agenda

VITA Meet-up – Wednesday, September 9, 2026

Time: 1 pm Eastern, Noon Central, 11 am Mountain, and 10 am Pacific

Location: On Zoom VITA Meet-up Space

Working Agenda:

• What’s on your mind? Your successes, challenges, and other things of note.
• Site operations discussion – Return Preparation
  • Tools you use beyond IRS intake and pub. 4012
  • Tools you want for your volunteer preparers
  • How volunteers get their questions answered
  • Exchange from intake to prepared and from preparer to reviewer the taxpayer’s point of view.
• Next Steps
• Conclusion

We share meeting notes and agendas on vitaquality.org. Your colleagues can also register for the VITA meet-up there.

If you are not registered for the meet-up, register once for the recurring weekly Zoom Meeting:

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErdOqgqjgoG9ajKBMI39ZRmrGBql5istJK

Appointment Scheduling Software Discussion

Register using the Zoom link below to join the meeting.

https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZErdOqgqjgoG9ajKBMI39ZRmrGBql5istJK

The VITA Meet-up is a recurring meeting on Wednesdays at 1:00 pm Eastern Time.

Low-cost appointment scheduling software has transformed free tax assistance from a system where taxpayers waited in crowded waiting rooms for hours to get help to one where they can complete the entire filing process in an hour or less. There are a variety of products to use, and the best product for you probably depends on your organizational needs and capabilities, as well as the needs and capabilities of the people you serve.

For our next VITA Meet-up, experienced users of four appointment scheduling products will share information about the products they use and why that product was the right choice for them. We will have plenty of time for discussion and look forward to hearing from you.  

Working Agenda

1:00 pm Meeting Starts – Introductions

1:05 pm Day Smart Appointments overview

1:15 pm Eznet Scheduler overview

1:25 pm Super SaaS overview

1:35 pm Accuity

1:45 pm- General discussion

2:00 pm – Conclude; participants may stay for informal discussions.

We are planning a similar discussion soon on Volunteer Management Software. Contact me at johncharlescraig@gmail.com if you are an experienced user of volunteer management software and are interested in presenting.

Society for Free Tax Assistance: VITA Meet-up Notes

Date: August 26, 2026

Topic: Site operations — greeting, intake & waiting-room flow

Administrative Updates

• The Zoom registration requirement is being turned on after this session — attendees register once for the recurring series, and Zoom will handle reminders and give attendees more control over notification preferences.
• Next week’s session covers appointment management software: we have a SuperSaaS and DaySmart user sharing their experiences. We could use an Acuity user. is welcome to give a short demo (~5 minutes walking through the product, ~5 minutes of Q&A).
• A future session (date still to be determined) will focus on volunteer management software; the facilitator is looking for a presenter using a dedicated volunteer-management tool, such as Salesforce’s volunteer feature.
• A call went out for volunteers to help write or update lessons for ProsperityNow’s VITA Train training curriculum, paired with someone who worked on that lesson last year.

Software Vendor Update

• One attendee had heard, secondhand, that this might be the last year for the current tax-prep software vendor.
• Current understanding remains unchanged from recent sessions: the vendor is confirmed for next year, and a contract bid process is underway in parallel that could open the door to a different vendor in a future season — but no decision or change has been made.

Appointment Models in Use

• Most programs described a hybrid model: appointment-based scheduling with some walk-ins accepted when capacity allows.
• A few programs are purely drop-off/remote: paperwork is reviewed with the client on the spot, then the return is prepared afterward.
• Walk-in-only sites still exist, often serving populations with limited access to scheduling technology. One attendee described converting two large, long-standing walk-in-only sites to a hybrid model (half appointments, half walk-in-ready preparers) after finding pure walk-in scheduling caused front-loaded demand early in the season and a mid-season lull; volunteers responded well to having guaranteed appointments.
• Booking windows vary: one program limits booking to about 2–3 weeks out to reduce no-shows and forgotten appointments, filling openings from a callback waiting list instead.
• Appointment slots are commonly staggered (every 15, 30, 45, or 60 minutes) based on volunteer capacity, and adjusted site-by-site as availability changes.

Greeting & Screening

• Common first questions at greeting: Do you have an appointment, and do you have your ID and Social Security card (or an SSA statement)?
• Clients are typically numbered or tracked by arrival/check-in time to preserve fair ordering, even at drop-off sites.
• Several sites skip having clients pre-fill the intake sheet alone when a preparer is immediately free, working through it together instead of making the client wait.

Intake Assistance & Document Handling

• Approaches range from fully self-serve (client completes the IRS intake sheet alone) to fully assisted (a volunteer walks the client through the sheet and reviews documents before handoff to the preparer).
• Drop-off sites emphasized that strong, experienced intake — scanning the intake sheet and checking documents like W-2s and 1095-A/HSA forms on the spot — avoids slower callbacks later over missing paperwork; one attendee estimated intake takes about 8–10 minutes at a drop-off site.
• Consensus: skilled, dedicated intake staff make a major difference for preparers — organized paperwork speeds up preparation significantly, in person and virtual/drop-off alike.
• Several sites use a folder per client, with documents and IDs copied and clipped together in order before handoff.

Consumer-Facing Handouts & Referral Materials

• What’s handed out at greeting varies widely: some sites hand out only the federal IRS intake form; others add a state-specific credit form, a demographic/supplemental form (sometimes tied to funding requirements), and a voluntary satisfaction survey.
• Some programs bring in outside partners on rotating days (benefit-screening forms, homeowner/renter credit help, healthcare marketplace or premium-credit help) and let taxpayers opt into a referral for days the partner isn’t on-site.
• One approach folds referral opt-ins directly into an existing supplemental form (yes/no checkboxes for things like health-insurance navigation or budgeting help) rather than adding more paper.
• Another approach uses one consolidated “asset-building” one-pager covering all financial-empowerment and partner resources, given to every taxpayer, supplemented by a rack of optional partner flyers.
• A consolidated “money menu” one-pager — a short list of the most common referral actions (e.g., a line about direct deposit with a link to open a bank account) — was raised as a possible alternative to handing out many separate detailed one-pagers.

The Greeter Role: Recruiting & Structuring It

• Widely described as one of the toughest volunteer roles — greeters absorb the brunt of turning people away when appointments are full, especially at first-come-first-served sites.
• Recruiting greeters is a recurring challenge; several attendees described “selling” the role to people intimidated by tax prep itself, sometimes as a stepping stone toward becoming a preparer later.
• One attendee is shifting from framing greeting as a fallback option to treating it as an equally important role, and is exploring how greeters with extra capacity could connect clients to asset-building resources.
• One attendee has, in the past, paid for a greeter position at a couple of sites given how critical the role is, while continuing to rely on unpaid volunteer preparers.
• Setting the expectation with preparers up front that they may be asked to greet — and explaining why the role matters — was suggested as a way to build buy-in.
• One attendee is piloting recruiting community members (rather than students) as greeters this year, aiming for one trained greeter assigned to a single site for the full season, with recruiting help from a local volunteer-referral partner.
• Combining the greeter and intake-coordinator duties (and a partner-referral component) into one fuller position description was suggested as easier to recruit for than a narrow role with very few open spots.
• Naming for this kind of role (“navigator,” “financial guide,” etc.) varies across programs and sometimes changes year to year at the same program.

Waiting Area: Signage, Comfort & Appointment Tech

• Waiting-area signage prompting taxpayers to check for commonly missed items (Form 1095-A/marketplace insurance, and knowing last year’s e-file PIN) was cited as directly cutting down on two of the most common e-file rejection causes.
• Background music was mentioned as both a comfort measure and a way to reduce eavesdropping between stations; site managers typically pick it.
• Slideshow/picture-frame displays were tried in the past by at least one program but have since fallen out of use.
• Snacks in waiting areas were discontinued by at least one program due to cleanup issues.
• The drop in cost of online appointment-scheduling tools over the years was noted as a major shift — nearly every program now uses some form of appointment software, except where the population served lacks reliable access to scheduling technology or a site’s host facility requires a different model.

Moving Clients from Waiting to Preparer

• Varies by site: sometimes a greeter walks the next client to an open preparer; sometimes an available preparer checks the list directly or asks the greeter/intake coordinator who’s next.
• Several programs do informal triage — matching complex returns to advanced-certified preparers (e.g., a sticker system marking folders “basic” or “advanced”) or routing specialized cases (e.g., a small trained team for foreign-student returns) to the right preparer.
• Multiple attendees described quietly making exceptions to standard queue order for clients with documented transit constraints (e.g., riders dependent on a scheduled paratransit pickup), without announcing the exception to other clients.
• Consensus: being transparent with taxpayers about why a process works the way it does leads to much better acceptance than clients discovering an unexplained exception on their own — unexplained queue-jumping was cited as the most common source of client frustration.

Next Steps

• Next session: appointment management software — vendor walkthroughs and a discussion of what programs want out of appointment tools.
• A future session (timing still open) will cover volunteer management software, possibly including a presentation from a group in another region.

Date: August 19, 2026

Topic: Site outreach, communication tools & tax-software update

Administrative Updates

• Session notes are now being posted to VITAquality.org
• Starting in September, attendees use the registration on Zoom you only need to register once to be added to the recurring meeting series

Accessibility & Civil Rights Site Visits

• Multiple attendees reported site visits this year from an IRS civil-rights compliance team, checking items such as required signage, physical accessibility (e.g., wheelchair access), and availability of a TTY/relay line for clients who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Visits were generally brief (roughly an hour); in at least one case the site wasn’t open, so the visit was limited to viewing the location from outside.
• Takeaway: Having ADA-compliant facilities is an important goal however we need to balance it with the value of site hosts who have earned trust with hard-to-serve populations — including immigrant communities and other low-trust taxpayer groups — even when those locations aren’t fully accessible.

Framework: Mapping the Taxpayer Experience

• A “taxpayer experience map” — a customer-journey-mapping approach originally developed through a CFPB-affiliated project — was introduced as a way to think through site-operations improvements.
• The approach: identify each touchpoint where the organization interacts with a taxpayer (pre-filing outreach, scheduling, intake, waiting, preparation, review, exit) and ask what the taxpayer wants in that moment, how they typically respond, what the organization wants to happen, and what the operational purpose of that touchpoint is.
• Each touchpoint can also be treated as a possible “conversion” opportunity — a small additional ask, such as opening a savings account or registering to vote.
• The framework isn’t meant as a full mapping exercise for every program, but as a lens for evaluating whether existing touchpoints serve both the taxpayer’s experience and the organization’s goals.

Early Outreach: Getting the Word Out Before Season

• One attendee shared a new printed “free tax prep coupon”/wallet card, to be distributed by the whole staff (not just outreach staff) at community events, workplaces, schools, and other public events. It lists the season start date, income eligibility, a phone number, and a QR code, plus information-and-referral-line details on the back.
• Another attendee is piloting a similar concise business card this year, with a QR code and basic details, to replace bulkier one-page flyers.
• QR codes were seen as useful for trackable, low-cost outreach (most QR-generator tools include click metrics), but attendees cautioned that not everyone knows how to use them — printed materials should carry enough information on their own rather than relying on the QR code as the only source of detail.
• Recurring theme: referral from friends or family remains by far the top way people learn about free tax help, even compared to large-scale institutional outreach. Tangible items that stay in someone’s hand or wallet (coupons, business cards) tend to support that referral effect better than one-time messaging.

Managing Call Volume & Communication Channels

• High call volume in the early weeks of the season — including from people who haven’t yet received their tax documents — was a shared challenge. Some programs turn off voicemail entirely during that window and redirect callers to email.
• One attendee’s program shifted to a text-line option this past season (in response to a staffing gap) and found clients often communicated needs more concisely by text; they plan to keep offering it going forward, alongside phone support for callers who need it.
• Tools mentioned: a CRM platform’s built-in text messaging feature, a separate cloud phone system for calls, and a call-masking app some staff use with personal numbers. (CRM = customer relationship management software; attendees noted it’s only as useful as the information staff actually enter, and programs have to decide whether tax clients share a CRM with donors.)
• A cloud phone system was also described as useful for toggling voicemail on/off by time of season and for basic self-service routing (e.g., “press 1 for site locations”).
• Partnering with a 2-1-1 or municipal 3-1-1 line for overflow call handling was discussed; one attendee said the cost of continuing that partnership had become prohibitive this year.
• A few attendees described building relationships with community partners (utility companies, unions, and newsletter publishers) to distribute canned promotional content; one described utility companies inserting a short, personalized reminder directly into customer bills, positioned to the utility as helping customers keep up with their own payments.

Appointment Prep: The “What to Bring” Checklist

• An updated “Tax Time Checklist” (based on IRS materials, refined from a CFPB resource, and updated with feedback each year) was shared via a group Dropbox folder.
• Distribution approaches described by attendees: reading the list aloud when scheduling by phone, posting it on the organization’s website, texting a shortened link to a PDF version, and including it in appointment confirmation/reminder emails.
• Several attendees noted the value of repetition across channels — reordering the list so the most commonly forgotten item (Social Security cards, in this case) appears first, since missing documents are a leading cause of lost or rescheduled appointments.
• Appointment-scheduling partners (e.g., a call center handling scheduling) can also be given a script that walks through the checklist as part of booking the appointment.

Virtual & Drop-off Filing Considerations

• Attendees briefly discussed how “what to bring” guidance changes for virtual and drop-off filing options.
• One attendee noted that a commonly used virtual-filing platform has improved significantly in recent years at helping clients upload complete documentation, resulting in far fewer incomplete submissions reaching preparers; programs that stopped using it in the past may want to revisit it.

Software Update: Tax-Prep Vendor Contract & Carry-Forward Data

• Client data that carries forward year to year (once a returning client’s prior information is in the system) was highlighted as a major driver of both return quality and preparation speed; one attendee cited a significant drop in e-file rejections after carry-forward data became available.
• Several attendees raised concern about what a future software-vendor change could mean for that carry-forward continuity.
• Current understanding shared on the call: the tax-prep software contract (TaxSlayer) is set through the 2027 filing season; whether the vendor changes for 2028 and beyond is still undecided, per the most recent update from an IRS partner call.
• One attendee with historical background on the VITA program’s technical infrastructure noted that VITA-supporting servers operate under stricter security requirements than the commercial version of the same software, meaning a switch would require a significant infrastructure investment from any new vendor — a factor attendees believe makes a near-term change less likely.
• Attendees also reflected on the prior vendor transition, noting it created some early growing pains, but that the current vendor has generally been more stable during tax season than the platform used previously.

Looking Ahead: Savings Accounts & the Saver’s Credit

• One attendee asked whether other programs are partnering with local banks on outreach materials for a newer type of tax-time savings account tied to a bank partnership; this was flagged as a possible opportunity worth exploring.
• A revised, fully refundable Saver’s Credit for retirement savings was also flagged for the future: starting with the 2028 filing season (not the current one), taxpayers may be able to direct part of a refund into a retirement account and claim a fully refundable credit. Not actionable yet, but worth keeping on the radar.

Next Steps

• Next session continues the site-operations discussion, with more focus on taxpayer-facing handouts/materials, volunteer roles, and how volunteers are used at the site.
• Volunteer and staff job description templates will be shared, along with a possible revisit of a shared repository of past outreach flyers.
• Site-operations topics are expected to run longer than a single session given the amount of ground to cover.

Society for Free Tax Assistance: VITA Meet-up Notes

Date: August 19, 2026

Topic: Site outreach, communication tools & tax-software update

Administrative Updates

• Session notes are now being posted to VITAquality.org
• Starting in September, attendees use the registration on Zoom you only need to register once to be added to the recurring meeting series

Accessibility & Civil Rights Site Visits

• Multiple attendees reported site visits this year from an IRS civil-rights compliance team, checking items such as required signage, physical accessibility (e.g., wheelchair access), and availability of a TTY/relay line for clients who are deaf or hard of hearing.
• Visits were generally brief (roughly an hour); in at least one case the site wasn’t open, so the visit was limited to viewing the location from outside.
• Takeaway: Having ADA-compliant facilities is an important goal however we need to balance it with the value of site hosts who have earned trust with hard-to-serve populations — including immigrant communities and other low-trust taxpayer groups — even when those locations aren’t fully accessible.

Framework: Mapping the Taxpayer Experience

• A “taxpayer experience map” — a customer-journey-mapping approach originally developed through a CFPB-affiliated project — was introduced as a way to think through site-operations improvements.
• The approach: identify each touchpoint where the organization interacts with a taxpayer (pre-filing outreach, scheduling, intake, waiting, preparation, review, exit) and ask what the taxpayer wants in that moment, how they typically respond, what the organization wants to happen, and what the operational purpose of that touchpoint is.
• Each touchpoint can also be treated as a possible “conversion” opportunity — a small additional ask, such as opening a savings account or registering to vote.
• The framework isn’t meant as a full mapping exercise for every program, but as a lens for evaluating whether existing touchpoints serve both the taxpayer’s experience and the organization’s goals.

Early Outreach: Getting the Word Out Before Season

• One attendee shared a new printed “free tax prep coupon”/wallet card, to be distributed by the whole staff (not just outreach staff) at community events, workplaces, schools, and other public events. It lists the season start date, income eligibility, a phone number, and a QR code, plus information-and-referral-line details on the back.
• Another attendee is piloting a similar concise business card this year, with a QR code and basic details, to replace bulkier one-page flyers.
• QR codes were seen as useful for trackable, low-cost outreach (most QR-generator tools include click metrics), but attendees cautioned that not everyone knows how to use them — printed materials should carry enough information on their own rather than relying on the QR code as the only source of detail.
• Recurring theme: referral from friends or family remains by far the top way people learn about free tax help, even compared to large-scale institutional outreach. Tangible items that stay in someone’s hand or wallet (coupons, business cards) tend to support that referral effect better than one-time messaging.

Managing Call Volume & Communication Channels

• High call volume in the early weeks of the season — including from people who haven’t yet received their tax documents — was a shared challenge. Some programs turn off voicemail entirely during that window and redirect callers to email.
• One attendee’s program shifted to a text-line option this past season (in response to a staffing gap) and found clients often communicated needs more concisely by text; they plan to keep offering it going forward, alongside phone support for callers who need it.
• Tools mentioned: a CRM platform’s built-in text messaging feature, a separate cloud phone system for calls, and a call-masking app some staff use with personal numbers. (CRM = customer relationship management software; attendees noted it’s only as useful as the information staff actually enter, and programs have to decide whether tax clients share a CRM with donors.)
• A cloud phone system was also described as useful for toggling voicemail on/off by time of season and for basic self-service routing (e.g., “press 1 for site locations”).
• Partnering with a 2-1-1 or municipal 3-1-1 line for overflow call handling was discussed; one attendee said the cost of continuing that partnership had become prohibitive this year.
• A few attendees described building relationships with community partners (utility companies, unions, and newsletter publishers) to distribute canned promotional content; one described utility companies inserting a short, personalized reminder directly into customer bills, positioned to the utility as helping customers keep up with their own payments.

Appointment Prep: The “What to Bring” Checklist

• An updated “Tax Time Checklist” (based on IRS materials, refined from a CFPB resource, and updated with feedback each year) was shared via a group Dropbox folder.
• Distribution approaches described by attendees: reading the list aloud when scheduling by phone, posting it on the organization’s website, texting a shortened link to a PDF version, and including it in appointment confirmation/reminder emails.
• Several attendees noted the value of repetition across channels — reordering the list so the most commonly forgotten item (Social Security cards, in this case) appears first, since missing documents are a leading cause of lost or rescheduled appointments.
• Appointment-scheduling partners (e.g., a call center handling scheduling) can also be given a script that walks through the checklist as part of booking the appointment.

Virtual & Drop-off Filing Considerations

• Attendees briefly discussed how “what to bring” guidance changes for virtual and drop-off filing options.
• One attendee noted that a commonly used virtual-filing platform has improved significantly in recent years at helping clients upload complete documentation, resulting in far fewer incomplete submissions reaching preparers; programs that stopped using it in the past may want to revisit it.

Software Update: Tax-Prep Vendor Contract & Carry-Forward Data

• Client data that carries forward year to year (once a returning client’s prior information is in the system) was highlighted as a major driver of both return quality and preparation speed; one attendee cited a significant drop in e-file rejections after carry-forward data became available.
• Several attendees raised concern about what a future software-vendor change could mean for that carry-forward continuity.
• Current understanding shared on the call: the tax-prep software contract (TaxSlayer) is set through the 2027 filing season; whether the vendor changes for 2028 and beyond is still undecided, per the most recent update from an IRS partner call.
• One attendee with historical background on the VITA program’s technical infrastructure noted that VITA-supporting servers operate under stricter security requirements than the commercial version of the same software, meaning a switch would require a significant infrastructure investment from any new vendor — a factor attendees believe makes a near-term change less likely.
• Attendees also reflected on the prior vendor transition, noting it created some early growing pains, but that the current vendor has generally been more stable during tax season than the platform used previously.

Looking Ahead: Savings Accounts & the Saver’s Credit

• One attendee asked whether other programs are partnering with local banks on outreach materials for a newer type of tax-time savings account tied to a bank partnership; this was flagged as a possible opportunity worth exploring.
• A revised, fully refundable Saver’s Credit for retirement savings was also flagged for the future: starting with the 2028 filing season (not the current one), taxpayers may be able to direct part of a refund into a retirement account and claim a fully refundable credit. Not actionable yet, but worth keeping on the radar.

Next Steps

• Next session continues the site-operations discussion, with more focus on taxpayer-facing handouts/materials, volunteer roles, and how volunteers are used at the site.
• Volunteer and staff job description templates will be shared, along with a possible revisit of a shared repository of past outreach flyers.
• Site-operations topics are expected to run longer than a single session given the amount of ground to cover.

Society for Free Tax Assistance: VITA Meet-up Notes

Date: August 11, 2026

Topic: Recruitment recap & social media outreach strategy

What’s on Your Mind? Updates from the Field

• The IRS has extended its contract with TaxSlayer as the selected tax-prep software for one additional year.
• A formal decision on whether TaxSlayer continues as the software after the upcoming season is expected near the end of the federal fiscal year (September–October).

Recap: Recruitment Basics (Low Cost, High Return)

• Re-engage last year’s volunteers — aim for at least three points of contact.
• Follow up with anyone who has shown interest or volunteered at least once before.
• Ask current volunteers to refer friends and family.
• Stay in regular contact with your relationship manager — quarterly check-ins, more frequent as tax season nears.

Recap: Targeted Outreach & Non-Prep Roles

• Beyond the basics, review each site’s specific staffing gaps and target outreach to fill them; this takes more effort but pays off for hard-to-staff sites.
• Non-preparation roles (e.g., a “financial guide” role that pairs client support with financial coaching) can make volunteering more appealing and add value for taxpayers.

Social Media Messaging

• A shared set of sample recruitment messages was reviewed (e.g., emphasizing free service, volunteer quality, and accessible certification/training).
• Messages were built using a “messaging triangle” framework; programs were encouraged to adapt 3–4 core messages to their own brand and audience.
• A long-standing shared hashtag, #VITAWorks, helps consistent messages surface in followers’ feeds.
• Adding a short recruitment tagline to email signatures was suggested as a low-effort channel.
• Encouraging volunteers to personalize and share a recruitment message on their own feeds was also discussed.

Platforms in Use

• Facebook — most widely used, often paired with event graphics/flyers from marketing teams.
• LinkedIn — useful for reaching working professionals (accountants, attorneys, bilingual professionals) through articles on the value of volunteering.
• Idealist — functions more like a job/volunteer posting board than a social platform; several attendees have recruited site coordinators through it.
• Handshake and Lightcast — used to reach college students via university career-services channels.
• Nextdoor and Front Porch — hyper-local neighborhood apps; flagged as a possibly underused, very localized option.
• Community listservs — described as one of the most consistently effective channels in the field over the years.

Recruitment Events & Outreach Tactics

• Collect registration/interest info early in the year; reuse the list for roughly two follow-up touches before starting a fresh list each season, to avoid appearing as spam.
• University partnerships help generate student volunteer sign-ups.
• “Interest events” (in person or virtual) held before formal training introduce roles and confirm real interest before investing training time. Views were mixed on whether to hold these separately or fold orientation into training — the right approach depends on the program.
• Large combined tax-prep-and-outreach events can generate press coverage, community-partner visibility, and a recruiting boost for the season.
• Press releases tied to recruitment season and events were noted as an effective, low-cost media tactic.

Working with IRS.gov-Referred Leads

• Experiences with volunteers who sign up through IRS.gov were mixed — follow-through rates varied by program.
• Current guidance is that contact information should be shared so prospective volunteers initiate contact, rather than volunteer information being distributed to multiple sites at once (a past issue that caused duplicate outreach). Programs were encouraged to confirm current practice with their assigned relationship manager, since implementation may vary.

Paid Advertising: Lessons Learned

• One program tested iHeartRadio ads and in-theater ads (featuring a local spokesperson); neither produced clearly measurable results, partly because sign-ups funnel through one central portal with no easy way to trace the source.
• Takeaway: campaigns need a clear, direct call to action (“come volunteer”) rather than general awareness messaging.
• Ways to track source effectiveness: unique tracking URLs per channel, or a brief, low-friction post-signup survey question.
• Reminder: “returning volunteer” and “referred by a friend” will almost always be the top-reported sources — that doesn’t mean other outreach failed.

Messaging Framework (Public Tool)

• A five-step message-development tool, available at CFPB.gov (Consumer Financial Protection Bureau) under resources for tax preparers, was recommended: 1) what you’re offering, 2) the action you want, 3) your audience and their benefit, 4) the cost/ask and concrete next step, 5) your audience’s context and the strengths/weaknesses of your ask.
• From there, build three core messaging themes to use consistently — not every message needs to appear in every piece of outreach.
• Small volunteer focus groups (8–10 people) were suggested as a lower-cost alternative to formal surveys for testing which messages resonate.

Bulk Email & Text Messaging

• General support for bulk email/text, kept to a small number of touches (roughly 3 messages over 4–5 months) tied to key milestones: registration opens, training opens, last chance to register.
• Opt-out functionality in bulk tools was noted as important.
• Tools mentioned: MailChimp (possible nonprofit discount, unconfirmed), Email Octopus (free tier up to ~2,500 contacts, includes ads on the free plan), YAM – Yet Another Mail Merge (free from a personal account under ~40 recipients/day, small fee above that), and Constant Contact (nonprofit pricing mentioned).

Next Steps

• This session wrapped up the multi-week recruitment discussion series.
• A possible future session on volunteer-management software was floated for early fall.
• Next session shifts to site management — building a practical toolkit for on-site coordinators that complements required IRS training rather than duplicating it.
• Participants were invited to submit topic suggestions by email.

What are you discussing now at the VITA Meet-up?

• Starting this Wednesday, we are discussing site operations using the Taxpayer Experience Map Tool found on CFPB.gov as a framework for discussion.
• Experience mapping helps us understand our process from the taxpayer’s point of view
• We will be discussing the process, volunteer roles, and tools we use. 
• Every meeting, participants share what’s on their mind related to free tax assistance so that we can discuss the most pressing issues first.

What is the VITA Meet-up?

The VITA Meet-up is a weekly online discussion sponsored by JC Craig Consulting.  We meet on Wednesdays at 1:00 pm Eastern Time.

The discussion focuses on the programmatic and operational delivery of free tax assistance rather than the Tax Code and the details of return preparation.

How can one join the meeting?

Contact me at johncharlescraig@gmail.com, and I will forward you an invitation.

Nina Olson, the National Taxpayer Advocate, has recommended that the IRS review the costs and benefits of delaying refunds payments  until after April 15 in her report to Congress:

The Speedy Issuance of Tax Refunds Drives Refund Fraud and Identity Theft, As More Research Is Needed on the Costs and Benefits of Holding Refunds Until the End of the Filing Season

Most of us in the VITA world are concerned about opportunity of loan products to reemerge created by the February 15 delay. A delay to April 15 would almost guarantee the return of the refund loan and likely create the kind of pay to play system that Nina Olson eloquently argues against.

If refund loans reemerge as a market force, I believe the market will segment itself into two sets of taxpayers a set who pay a premium for tax assistance using a refund advance to receive funds and pay fees with the advance before April 15, and those who use less costly practitioners and online filing services that do not offer a refund advance.  I anticipate that the practitioners offering refund advance will have virtually every customer use it, because the practitioners cannot charge additional fees for the loan.  A practitioner offering the advance must recover the cost of the advance in some other way likely charging higher fees in general.  While the advance drives up cost to the taxpayer, it will not improve the accuracy of preparation that seems to me the definition of a pay to play system.

As the pro bono practitioners, it is probably up to us to make sure the IRS accurately determines the cost to taxpayers of such a change.  If delaying refunds is the best way to protect taxpayer from having their refunds stolen and their children’s identities stolen to make fraudulent claims, the costs may be worth it to the families we serve. Low-income taxpayers are not the priority of the other parties involved, so pay attention to discussions about further delaying refunds make sure other options are assessed.

I may be just trying to hope for a silver-lining with the EITC refund delays, but I wonder if fewer taxpayers will get fewer Automated Underreporter (AUR) CP-2000 notices because of it..  Perhaps, not as many taxpayers will rush to the tax site before they get all their W-2s.  Perhaps, the IRS will have data in time to make corrections before the refund is sent. I suspect the answer is no and taxpayers will come to VITA to file amendments to that return they filed in January for the Refund Advance and to wonder how they are going to pay back the IRS.

I wish that the IRS messaging around the delay really focused on telling taxpayers not to rush and make sure they had all their documents and information in order before they file and not file like you always have.