EITC Funders Network eNewsletter
Issue 40 I September 2018 
A Note From the Coordinator

Dear EITC Funders Network,
 
Last week, more than 60 funders gathered in National Harbor, MD at the 2018 Prosperity Summit to talk through ways tax policies and related programs intersect with racial, gender, and immigrant justice. Through panel presentations by experts in the field and smaller strategy conversations amongst colleagues, important themes emerged around the need to work together to promote more equitable policies that help build prosperity for all.

Brett Grant of Voices for Racial Justice; Judy Darnell of United Ways of California; Taifa Smith Butler of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute; and Heather McCulloch of Closing the Women's Wealth Gap at the 9/6 funder convening: Advancing Racial and Gender Equity Through the Tax Code: Tax Credits and Beyond.
There is urgency to this conversation. The tax code is one of the largest tools that the federal, state, and municipal governments have to provide families with economic security and wealth-building opportunities. Yet recent federal policy choices have further exacerbated inequities firmly entrenched in the tax code as Tax Reform 2.0 threatens to make permanent lower taxes for the wealthiest Americans.  In addition, the proposed public charge regulation,which includes the EITC in its expanded list of benefits considered when making immigration decisions, is still looming (read more about this proposed rule below). 

This meeting was the beginning of a conversation we would like to have with EITC Funders Network members about how to increase connections between equity and tax credit work. Please us this form to let us know  you'd like to be engaged in this conversation. And check out our new resource page on equity and the tax code , which includes a series of short video interviews with Chris Brown of PolicyLink, Erica Williams of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, and Amy Matsui of the National Women's Law Center.

Sincerely,


Ami Nagle, Coordinator
EITC Funders Network
919-493-4393
ami@eitcfunders.org

Inside This Issue
Interview with a Researcher:
    • Erica Williams, Senior Director of State Policy Initiatives at Center on Budget and Policy Priorities
    • Georgia Families Use the EITC to Meet Basic Needs and Invest in the Future
    • The EITC and Education and Employment Outcomes
    • Public Charge: A Threat to Immigrants' Health
    • Promoting Split Refunds
       
    • EITC Funders Network/GIST Webinar:  Understanding the EITC's Impact on a Community Level: A Sneak Peak at the New and Improved EITC Interactive Data Tool  (October 23, 2018)
    • Tax Credits for Workers and Their Families Policy Briefing: Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit (September 25, 2018)
ICYMI - Recent Network and Sister Affinity Group Events
    • EITC Funders Network/Grantmakers in Health Webinar: Improving Health Outcomes by Connecting to the EITC: A Conversation for Funders 
    • Asset Funders Network/Closing the Women's Wealth Gap/Dallas Women's Foundation: On Shaky Ground: Stabilizing the Financial Security of Single Women 
interviewInterview with a Researcher
Erica Williams, Senior Director of State Policy Initiatives
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities


The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities (CBPP) recently released a brief that discusses ways state EITCs help make work pay for people of color and women . We followed up with Erica Williams, Senior Director of State Policy Initiatives, to learn more about the role of tax credits in helping to advance racial and gender equity and how state tax policy choices can help ensure more broadly shared prosperity.



fieldnewsNews from the Field / Research News
OUTREACH & FREE TAX PREP:
Georgia Families Use the EITC to Meet Basic Needs 

When asked how tax filers at Georgia VITA sites planned to use the EITC or had used the credit in years past, four out of five respondents talked about using the credit for basic necessities, such as paying for food and household bills. And almost half of respondents discussed making investments in future economic mobility, such as getting an apartment or buying a car. These survey results from the Center for Working Families Inc. match up with academic studies that point to families using the credit for two primary goals - paying for basic needs now and making investment in the future.  
Read some the respondents' answers in their own words.
EITC POLICY
The EITC and Education and Employment Outcomes

Research recently published in the University of Chicago's Journal of Labor Economics looked at long-term impacts of state and federal EITC expansions on children's education and employment outcomes. The authors found that additional EITC exposure in childhood increased the likelihood of high school and college completion and increased earnings in adulthood. 
BENEFITS ACCESS:
Public Charge: A Threat to Immigrants' Health

Under a proposed federal rule, immigrants seeking admission to the U.S. or applying for lawful permanent residency could be denied if family members, including U.S. citizen children, receive public benefits for which they are eligible. This proposed "public charge" rule would allow DHS/USCIS to consider an extremely broad array of services and benefits, including the EITC.

The consequences of such a rule would be far reaching, and a
new opinion piece published in the New England Journal of Medicine takes a closer look at the potential public health impact. The authors note that the rule would likely result in lower rates of health insurance coverage, reduce enrollment in public benefits, and result in lower rates of health utilization. The authors write: We believe that the draft public-charge regulation represents a substantial threat to lawfully present immigrants' access to public programs and health care services...[If this rule takes effect], it will most likely harm the health of millions of people and undo decades of work by providers nationwide to increase access to medical care for immigrants and their families.

FINANCIAL EMPOWERMENT:
Promoting Split Refunds

In advance of the next tax season, learn more about ways tax sites can encourage families to consider savings through refund splitting. The Get It Back Campaign, a national effort to connect eligible workers to tax benefits, has posted a recording of its training on Effective Ways to Promote Split Refunds . As part of the Get it Back Virtual Training Series, this training introduced the national Save Your Refund (SYR) Contest, ways organizations can participate, and related messaging resources. 

Upcoming Network and Field Events affinitygroup

EITC Funders Network/GIST Webinar
Understanding the EITC's Impact on a Community Level: A Sneak Peak at the New and Improved EITC Interactive Data Tool
October 23, 2018 * 1-1:30pm EST

Ever wondered about the EITC's contribution to poverty reduction in local communities or wanted to better understand who is claiming the tax credit? The Earned Income Tax Credit Interactive data finder can help! This powerful data tool, soon to be housed at the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center (TPC), provides users with access to IRS data on federal individual income tax filers who claim the EITC. Join us on October 23rd for a short, half-hour overview and introduction to the new features and tools.

Tax Credits for Workers and Their Families Policy Briefing
Expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit
September 25, 2018 * 10-11am EST
Washington, DC

Join Tax Credits for Workers and Their Families on Tuesday, September 25 for a Capitol Hill policy briefing on the importance of expanding the federal EITC to help more working Americans make ends meet. Learn about findings from MDRC's "Paycheck Plus" pilot program, which has simulated expanding the EITC for workers without dependent children in New York City since 2013 and Atlanta since 2015. Hear from policymakers, researchers and advocates about the EITC's effectiveness and the impact of proposed legislation to expand the credit. 


icymi
ICYMI: Recent Network and Sister Affinity Group Events


EITC Funders Network/Grantmakers in Health Webinar:
Improving Health Outcomes by Connecting to the EITC: A Conversation for Funders
July 26, 2018 

On July 26, the EITC Funders Network and Grantmakers in Health (GIH) co-hosted a one-hour webinar  - Improving Health Outcomes by Connecting to the EITC: A Conversation for Funders -  to learn more about the body of research connecting the EITC to positive health outcomes and the ways in which health funders and economic opportunity funders are engaging in this intersect.

Asset Funders Network, Closing the Women's Wealth Gap, Dallas Women's Foundation Webinar:
On Shaky Ground: Stabilizing the Financial Security of Single Women
August 1, 2018 

Asset Funders Network, Closing Women's Wealth Gap, and Dallas Women's Foundation presented a webinar presentation On Shaky Ground: Stabilizing the Financial Security of Single Women, on August 1, 2018. The webinar   explored the latest data on the gender wealth gap for single women, and opportunities to support the financial health of future generations by stabilizing the financial security of women between 45-65.

About the EITC Funders Network

The EITC Funders Network brings together funders interested in the Earned Income Tax Credit, free- and low-cost tax preparation, and asset building. The Network seeks to increase awareness of EITC-related projects, foster collaboration, share information about the current status of EITC-related work, and help shape the future of the field. 

The EITC Funders Network is generously funded by:
The Annie E. Casey Foundation
Entergy
The W.K. Kellogg Foundation
Anonymous


www.eitcfunders.org