Grant will fund Calloway Professor’s work with Forsyth County tax program
Wake Forest University’s Calloway School of Business and Accountancy has received a $63,000 grant to support the transition of many duties of the Forsyth County Working Families Partnership to the Forsyth County United Way. The Jessie Ball duPont Religious, Charitable and Educational Fund awarded the grant in February.
The Forsyth County Working Families Partnership, of which Wake Forest is a member, increases taxpayers’ awareness of the often-unclaimed Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), offers free tax preparation to lower-income families through the IRS-sponsored Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, and helps families link tax refunds with asset-building strategies like the Individual Development Account (IDA). Yvonne Hinson, PricewaterhouseCoopers Faculty Fellow and associate professor of accountancy in the Calloway School, was one of the original organizers of the partnership.
Hinson will train the program’s coordinator, help build a volunteer base, and increase awareness of the EITC and the IDA program among lower-income workers and major employers in Forsyth County.
“The best way to help bring people out of poverty is to build assets,” says Hinson. “If we can use tax credits like the EITC as a link to home ownership, we can help build a more stable workforce in our community.”
Hinson is also directing one of the volunteer tax preparation sites this spring. The Wake Forest site, located at the Goodwill Industries Building on University Parkway, is staffed by Wake Forest accounting students and is open on Tuesdays from 4-6 p.m. through March 30. This is the third year Wake Forest students have provided tax assistance to Forsyth County residents.
The Jessie Ball duPont Fund makes grants to more than 330 eligible organizations identified by Mrs. duPont in her will. The fund has assets of $283 million and has awarded $217 million in grants since 1977.
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