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Volunteer to help low-income families reach financial stability
What is AccountAbility Minnesota (AAM)? AAM is a community-based nonprofit organization celebrating our 38th year of providing free tax and financial services to low and moderate-income taxpayers in the Twin Cities' area and across Greater Minnesota. We believe that an individual's access to tax assistance should not depend solely on his or her ability to pay for such services. In 2009, 765 AAM volunteers helped 17,000 Minnesotans receive $28 million in cash refunds. AAM's tax volunteers are among the most highly trained in the country and help accomplish the organization's goals efficiently and with a human touch.
Why are our services so important?
Do you wonder how a single mother working full-time at the minimum wage makes ends meet? By filing a tax return she can claim tax benefits she has earned. In fact, her tax refund can boost her annual income by as much as 42%. For this reason, the value and importance of AAM's free tax services have soared over the years.
Who will I be helping?
AAM volunteers help individuals facing daunting hurdles in filing accurate and timely returns due to language, educational, cultural and accessibility barriers. In 2008, 67% of AAM's Twin Cities' metro area customers were from communities of color and a full 24% described themselves as a person with a disability. Metro area customers also reported 61 different primary languages. What will I be doing? As a first year volunteer with AccountAbility Minnesota, you qualify to be either an Individual Tax Preparer or a Tax Site Assistant (see position descriptions below). In either position, you will learn a lot about our tax system, gain valuable hands-on experience, and provide an invaluable service to our customers and community. You will volunteer with a supportive team of 10 volunteers - some new like yourself and others very experienced - and be supervised and supported by an AAM staff person. Tax Preparer: Complete federal and state returns using tax software. Training is provided, but some tax experience is needed.
Interpreter: Provide translation for questions and instructions between customer and volunteer. Languages needed: Spanish. I'm interested, what's next? 1. Contact AAM's Volunteer Director, Beth Albrecht, to indicate your interest and get your questions answered: volunteer@accountabilitymn.org or call direct 651-287-0187 x103
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