The Somerset County C.A.$.H. Initiative is designed to assist the low to moderate income populations to maximize accessible resources to achieve financial independence. This is accomplished through involvement in the following programs of the C.A.$.H. initiative.
- Free tax preparation – The focus is to encourage the claiming of tax credits such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC) by eligible low-wage earning individuals and families. The 2008-09 tax year was the second year that Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites were offered in Somerset County for the target population. As a result, $308,000 in resources came back to low wage earning families in Somerset County.
- Financial Education – To ensure that people ahve the knowledge, skills and tools they need to manage their financial lives successfully, Somerset County United Way is partnering with a variety of for-profit and not-for-profit organizations to provide comprehensive financial education services to people in the community through a variety of venues.
- Somerset County Saves Program – Associated with the NJ Saves Campaign, Somerset Saves is an awareness campaign that will encourage people in our community to begin, grow and maintain adequate savings. Partnerships with banks that offer low-cost, high yield savings products enable local “savers” to build their savings in a systematic way.
- Asset Development and Maintenance – Matched savings programs, such as Individual Development Accounts (IDA’s), are designed to assist low-income people in saving for a particular asset, such as home purchase, continuing education and small business start-up within a supported and structured environment. SCUW is developing a collaborative IDA program in partnership with local service providers, financial institutions and funders.
- Continuing Education and Support – To ensure continued adherence to financial plans and utilization of knowledge and skills around personal finance, supportive services such as financial mentoring and other support resources will be made available.
For more information about C.A.$.H. and any of the programs, please contact Lisa Galonardo at 908-253-6503 or via e-mail at lisa.galonardo@scuw.org.
Additional Resources:
Tax Information/Earned Income Credit:
Internal Revenue Services, information on the Earned Income Credit:
http://www.irs.gov/individuals/article/0,,id-96466,00.html
National Community Tax Coalition: www.tax-coalition.org
Financial Education:
National Strategy on Financial Literacy: www.mymoney.gov FDIC: www.fdic.gov/consumers/consumer/moneysmart/index.html
National Endowment for Financial Education: www.nefe.org
Wells Fargo’s Online Financial Education Program: www.handsonbanking.org
Credit Management:
Teaching Kids About Money: