Best Practices -- What We Can Learn From Others

You will find best practices from:

• Financial institution partners
• Educational institution partners
• Governmental agency partners
• Volunteer and community organizations
• Large employers

Best practices from financial institution partners:

• Create teams to support EITC initiatives, i.e., non-banking taxpayers, homeowner IDA programs
• Share stories (with permission) about customers who used their EITC to create assets
• Attach IRS Publication 962, Earned Income Tax Credit (stuffer) to customers' deposit receipts
• Offer free financial literacy classes
• Sponsor or participate in Financial Fitness Fairs

Best practices from educational institution partners:

• Distribute flyers to schools in low income areas
• Offer student incentives for serving as volunteers at free tax return preparation sites
• Promote EITC information at public events such as Kids Count Conferences, etc
• Offer accounting students credit for making community presentations on EITC and other low income tax issues
• Offer advertising/marketing students credit for creating awareness campaigns for local EITC coalitions
• Promote EITC to working students with children through bulletin boards, flyers, student newspapers, etc.

Best practices from governmental agency partners:

• Engage first ladies in communication activities
• Include EITC messages in public assistance checks
• Include an EITC message on Forms 1099 issued for tax refunds, unemployment, etc.
• Include EITC messages in state employees' Forms W-2
• Coordinate EITC communication activities among state agencies
• Collaborate with other partners to promote state EITC credits in conjunction with the federal credit
• Place EITC information on public transportation vehicles and at bus stops
• Encourage public utilities to include EITC messages in winter bills

Best practices from volunteer and community organizations:

• Coordinate local EITC coalitions
• Work with children's policy/advocacy groups and legal services agencies to promote EITC to their clients
• Make EITC a part of asset building workshops
• Host educational events for human resources personnel
• Partner with national foundations, i.e., Clinton Foundation
• Coordinate informational fairs and other events to spread the word
• Create and place EITC doorknob hangers on homes in low income neighborhoods

Best practices from large employers

• Post information in lunchrooms and other employee gathering places
• Include information on employee websites and in newsletters
• Enable managers as communicators to carry the EITC message

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Continue to more Tried and True Tips...

• Get started now by forming a partnership with other interested parties
• Plan to participate in EITC Awareness Day by joining interested parties nationwide in generating extensive mainstream and social media activity to spotlight EITC.
• Keep the EITC message alive through the filing season

Last updated: 12/6/2011