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Domestic Weekly Update May 11, 2010

[B]eing involved in a cause you believed in, and also working together with other people, was very important in diminishing my fear.... Collectivity reduces fear. Community reduces fear. Doing something with other people reduces fear.... For me and other people during that time, being part of a movement you believed in and being associated with other people who believed in the same thing, helped you overcome your fear.

— Historian, activist and author Howard Zinn, commenting on his work in the civil rights movement in article from fear.less magazine

New and Urgent in This Week’s Update

  • Reach Out to Local VITA programs Using Tips from Last Saturday’s Conference Call (May Action)
  • Set Up Face-to-Face Meetings During Memorial Day Recess and at the International Conference
  • New Domestic Fundraising Challenge Announced – How Will You Participate?

Latest from Washington, DC

  • Are You Attending the RESULTS International Conference?
  • Nominate a Journalist for the Cameron Duncan Award
  • Fight for Low-income Tax Credits Taking Place Among Larger Tax Debate
  • Quick News

Organizational Updates

  • Announcements
  • Upcoming Events
  • RESULTS Contact Information

Reach Out to Local VITA programs Using Tips from Last Saturday’s Conference Call (May Action)

While advancing our Economic Opportunity for All campaign, we used the May 2010 RESULTS Domestic monthly conference call to support you in reaching out to your local Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program. Community VITA programs offer free tax help and related financial services to low-income individuals and families. Without these effective resources, 400,000 underserved taxpayers would miss out on the potentially life-changing benefits of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC).

Two guest speakers from the state of Nebraska joined our call last Saturday and shared with us the impact that VITA sites have had on their local communities. The first was Hannah Callahan, the Director of the Lincoln EITC Coalition, who said her VITA site generated an impressive $6 million dollars of federal refunds for 5,000 low to moderate income clients in 2010. Hannah shared with us an example of a moment when a VITA site was able to change someone’s life:

I had a lady come in..., maybe in her mid-30s, and she had her daughter with her. And she had just finished up her chemotherapy treatment. She was really in dire straights. She of course had had all these medical bills in the past year that she hadn’t counted on, she was not feeling well, there were just a variety of things going on in her life... [We completed her tax return] and we told her that she was receiving a fairly significant refund, and she just started to cry... She told us that she was going to be able to pay these bills that she was being hounded for... and she was able pay ahead [to avoid eviction from her home] and actually access a few others services that she heard about while she was [at the VITA site]. So those expansion credits helped her tremendously because it really allowed her to get on her feet at a time that she didn’t see that as being an option.

Julie Farwell, the Statewide EITC Coordinator for Nebraska, told us that VITA is responsible for over 13,000 low-income clients throughout Nebraska receiving tax assistance this year. Julie also talked about her important work to increase the volunteer base for VITA sites in rural Nebraska because she believes strongly in the purpose of EITC and its ability to pull individuals and families out of poverty.

For these reasons and more, we strongly urge you to visit or call your local VITA center. Speak to a volunteer about the work they do and their needs to better serve hard working, low-income families. Hannah suggested that you begin the conversation by finding out how your local VITA site operates since each VITA can differ in the way it uses its resources and the demographic it serves. She then recommended you tell the coordinators what you’re able to do for them and what the benefits are. For example, after speaking to a VITA representative, your RESULTS group will have success stories and community-specific data to use for meetings and communications with members of Congress about the importance of the EITC, CTC and VITA.

TAKE ACTION: Take the May Action. Contact a VITA site coordinator in your area and see if you can set up a meeting between him/her and your RESULTS group. Use the National Community Tax Coalition to get connected to a site near you. The action sheet has a link to the NCTC website, where you can click on a “Find a VITA site” button and it will take you to a quick form to fill out. Once NCTC has your information, they will send you an e-mail with a local VITA contact.

You can also try to locate a VITA site through the IRS by calling (800) 906-9887 or checking their website VITA site list (note that this is not a complete list of VITA sites). If you are not finding any local contact information, you can also call “211” on from local phone; some communities provide VITA information on their 211 line. In addition, local community action programs may be able to help.

Finally, don’t forget to follow up with tax aides regarding the April Action, where we wrote letters urging Congress to preserve improvements to the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). Have a conversation with them about the importance of these credits and ask what their bosses intend to do to support them in tax legislation this year. You can find out the names of these aides on our Elected Officials page of the RESULTS website. Just pull up each member of Congress and click on the “Staff” tab above his/her picture.

If you were not on last Saturday’s conference call, you can listen to it on our Conference Call page of the RESULTS website and our RESULTS Musings blog.

Set Up Face-to-Face Meetings During Memorial Day Recess and at the International Conference

Congress will be on recess May 31 through June 4 for the Memorial Day recess. This is a great time to set up face-to-face meeting with representatives and senators while they are back home in your states. Use this opportunity to thank members of Congress to talk about the importance of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC). Hopefully you’ll have talked to your local VITA site coordinator and will have stories and statistics to share with them.

Also, if you are attending the conference, please make sure to request meetings with your representatives and senators as soon as possible. The best way to secure a face-to-face meeting is to schedule it early. In addition, Meredith Dodson will be speaking with group leaders and other conference attendees individually in the coming weeks to help you prepare for Hill meetings at the conference. To help Meredith schedule a time with your group, please send her some available dates and times to meet at: dodson@results.org.

TAKE ACTION: Contact the schedulers for your representatives and senators to set up a face-to-face meeting while they are back home for the recess and in Washington, DC during the conference. See our Activist Milestone: Meet Face-to-Face with Your Member of Congress for tips on scheduling and planning your meeting. You can also use our online alert to help set up your meetings. Be sure to customize your request to the subjects you plan to cover. Once you get a meeting scheduled, please contact Meredith Dodson (dodson@results.org) or Jos Linn (jlinn@results.org) to help you plan your meeting.

New Domestic Fundraising Challenge Announced – How Will You Participate?

As shared on last Saturday’s national conference call, we are kicking off a new fundraising effort in support of our domestic poverty work. Since starting our domestic work in 1992, RESULTS Domestic volunteers and staff have achieved significant successes in the fight to end poverty in America. Recent examples of these successes include:

  • Passage of health reform in 2010, including health coverage for 16 million low-income uninsured persons under Medicaid and access to primary care for 20 million new patients through community health centers
  • Expansions of the EITC and CTC as part of the 2009 economic recovery bill, which has benefited 7 million low-income people
  • Reauthorization of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), covering another 4 million uninsured children
  • Reauthorization and funding increases for Head Start, as well as increased funding for child care assistance to serve thousands of more low-income children
  • Expansion of benefits for nutrition programs, including $8 billion for SNAP (formerly food stamps) in the 2008 Farm Bill and another $20 billion in the economic recovery bill

RESULTS is incredibly proud of all the work that you all have done to make life better for people living in poverty in the United States. And we want to make sure that we can achieve these kinds if successes in the future. (You can read more about our successes on our website.)

To ensure this, the RESULTS Domestic Team is spearheading a fundraising campaign with a goal of raising $50,000 by December 31, 2010, with half that amount received or pledged by July 31, 2010. These resources will help maintain our existing domestic work and help us build a strong domestic presence in the future. This includes the support we provide you the volunteers through monthly conference calls; weekly support calls; weekly updates; advocacy trainings, monthly actions; content for the RESULTS website; outreach efforts for existing and new groups; planning, resources, and presentations for the RESULTS International Conference, and other tools designed to help you be powerful, passionate advocates.

RESULTS staff is already working to identify and cultivate major donors to support our domestic poverty work. We are also working to secure resources from local and national foundations. We will keep you updated on these efforts.

However, we also need your help. Whether or not you realize it, your involvement will be a key to reaching our fundraising goal. Here are 3 ways you can be involved:

  1. Of course, you can make a donation yourself. Whether your last donation was three months ago or three years ago, this would be a great time to invest in the support you rely on. And if you are a current monthly sponsor, consider increasing your monthly donation amount. You can make a donation online or by check. Be sure to write “RESULTS Domestic” in the comment box (online form) or memo line of your check.
  2. Think about how you can strategically get other friends and family involved as donors. By strategically, we suggest you think in particular about the people in your life who have the resources to make a substantial gift — $500, $1000, $10,000 — this year. Once you have potential donors in mind, please contact Meredith Dodson or Jos Linn on the RESULTS staff. We want to work with you on reaching out to them individually or through small fundraising events.
  3. Tap into your local networks. Many of you are connected directly or through coalition partners with people who sit on boards of local family foundations or run in the same circles with potential major donors. One of the secrets of fundraising is engaging those “friends of friends.” We’ve been learning how others have tapped into those networks, and want to strategize with your group about how to make the most of your connections.

More than anyone else, you all understand the importance of RESULTS having a strong domestic presence in your community and on Capitol Hill, and you’re the best salespeople for our work. Thank you so much for all that you are doing, and the effort you’ll put into this campaign. By investing in RESULTS domestic poverty work and urging others to do the same, you are investing in our future as a country and as a people. As former Congressman Tony Hall said, we’re “pound for pound, the most effectively lobby in Washington.” With your help, we can gain a bit more weight and throw that weight around to make our country, and our world, an even better place.

Attending the RESULTS International Conference — The List Is Growing, Are You on It?

If you haven’t done so already, sign up today for the 2010 RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund International Conference. As noted on our conference call on Saturday, this year’s conference will include long-time attendees and newcomers attending for the first time. You won’t want to miss out — this is the RESULTS event of the year!

This year’s conference is June 20–22 at the Washington Marriott Hotel at Metro Center in Washington, DC, where we’ll be “Celebrating the Past, Shaping the Future — 30 years of RESULTS.” Come and take a look back at all the successes we accomplished over the years and also look forward to the ways we can create a world free of hunger and poverty.

Whether you’re new to the conference or a seasoned veteran, we have something for everyone. For attendees in DC on Sunday afternoon, we’ll have several skill-building seminars on topics ranging from new media and advocacy to creative outreach to learning about the new health care law. For newbies, our dedicated staff will all be there to help you and we’ll have a “First-Timers Orientation” on Sunday night giving you all the information you need to have a great conference experience. Sunday will also include a big conference kick-off with RESULTS staff and singer Shivon Robinsong. And if that weren’t enough, we’ll follow that welcome with a 30th Anniversary Party with karaoke!

And did we mention policy? No summer is complete without a good book for the beach, weekly trips to the pool, and solid dose of anti-poverty policy. RESULTS can’t help with the first two, but we’ve got your covered on the third. On Monday, the conference will include all you need know on domestic and global anti-poverty policy so that when you go up to Capitol Hill to meet with members of Congress on Tuesday, you’ll be one of the smartest ones in the room.

With all this and more, there’s only one thing left to do...

TAKE ACTION: Register for the RESULTS International Conference TODAY! Go to our International Conference page for conference and hotel registration forms, conference schedule, a helpful checklist for attendees, and more. Time is short. The conference is only five and a half weeks away. Plus, RESULTS can only hold our block of hotel rooms at the Washington Marriott until May 21. After that, we cannot guarantee room availability or the discounted room rate. So, guarantee yourself a spot and register today.

Know a Journalist Worthy of Praise? Nominate Him/Her for the Cameron Duncan Award

We are seeking nominations for the annual Cameron Duncan Media Award, which recognizes a journalist for outstanding reporting of issues relating to poverty and hunger either domestically or worldwide. The award will be presented at the conference. The award honors Cameron Duncan, a former associate executive director of RESULTS who devoted his life to fighting hunger and poverty. Please consider nominating journalists you have worked with on issues relating to hunger and poverty, or those whom you admire.

To nominate a journalist, please send a one to two-paragraph statement and two to five examples of his or her recent work to Blair Hinderliter at bhinderliter@results.org or at 750 First Street NE, Suite 1040, Washington, DC 20002. The deadline for submissions is this Friday, May 14. If you have any questions, please contact Blair at (202) 783-7100, ext. 126. Different from previous years, the winner will not be required to accept a cash award and travel to the conference, although that is still preferred.

Fight for Low-income Tax Credits Taking Place among Larger Tax Debate

As we work to preserve recent expansions of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and Child Tax Credit (CTC), it is important to know that the fight for these expansions is taking place amongst a much larger debate over federal taxes. As you know, President George W. Bush signed into law sweeping tax cuts in 2001 and 2003. It is estimated that those tax cuts have cost $2.5 trillion over the last decade, with half of the benefits going to the wealthiest 5 percent of taxpayers.

The Bush tax cuts are set to expire at the end of this year. Congress is now deciding how to proceed. President Obama and Democratic leaders want to allow the cuts for wealthy Americans (individuals earning over $200,000) to expire, while extending the cuts for those below that amount. Most Republicans want to see the tax cuts for the wealthy extended as well. Some Democrats in Congress want to join Republicans in extending the tax cuts for the wealthy, including reinstating the estate tax at much lower levels than in previous years.

RESULTS urges Congress to reject these ideas. Not only are they fiscally irresponsible, extending the tax cuts for the wealthy will contribute to an already staggering income gap between the rich and poor. A recent book, The Spirit Level: Why Greater Equality Makes Societies Stronger by British researchers Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett, demonstrates just how damaging income inequality can be for wealthy societies. The authors took data from rich countries around the world, as well as all 50 U.S. states, and looked at the impact of income on the prevalence of various social problems (crime, education, health, etc.) What they discovered was astonishing. They found that as income inequality increases, so does the frequency of these problems. Countries (and states) that have a larger gap between rich and poor have higher homicide rates, higher infant mortality rates, higher teen births, higher obesity rates, and lower school performance in children, among others.

Groups are organizing as we speak to push Congress to not extend tax cuts for the wealthy, either temporarily or permanently. The week of May 24 has been designated a week of action around the country, with groups planning events around this larger issue of responsible tax policy. Look for events in your area and plan to attend if you can. RESULTS will keep you updated as to what is happening with these events and larger tax policy legislation as we move forward.

Quick News

Seventeen RESULTS Groups Already on CHN Letter. Thank you to all the groups who have already signed onto the Coalition on Human Needs letter urging Congress to preserve and build upon low income tax credits for working families and students. To date, nearly 500 national and local organizations have signed on, including seventeen RESULTS groups. Here are the RESULTS Groups that have signed on as of May 7: CA (San Fernando Valley), Washington DC, FL (Miami Domestic), IA (Des Moines, Cedar Rapids), KS (Lindsborg), NC (Asheville), NM (Albuquerque, Santa Fe), NY (Buffalo), OH (Columbus), PA (South Central), TX (Austin, Houston), VA, and WA (Seattle, Snohomish). If your group is not listed, please be sure to sign your local group on asap. Let’s get every RESULTS group on the letter. The deadline is May 21. Please note, when the form asks if you are authorized to sign on behalf of your organization, check YES. If you do not check YES, your local group will not be added to the list.

Announcements

Be Sure to Submit Your RESULTS/REF Board Nominations. We are now taking nominations for one Grassroots Board Member (3 year term). Active RESULTS volunteers can nominate other active volunteers for this position. Balloting will be held beginning in June at the International Conference and continue until August 1. Please forward names and phone numbers of any nominees to Carly Hicks at cfhicks@results.org by May 17.

Please Submit Your Group Planning Forms. Please complete your Group Planning Form and e-mail, mail or fax a copy to Meredith Dodson at the RESULTS DC office.

Upcoming Events

(Click to see a complete calendar)

May 14: Houston, TX, fundraising dinner with Dr. Muhammad Yunus, 7:00 pm CT. For more information, please contact Kathleen Duncan, (832) 971-7553, kndroses@comcast.net.

May 23: Kitsap, WA, fundraising luncheon, 1:00 pm PT. Contact Lene Hajek for details; (235) 857-5234, lnybyh@yahoo.com.

May 31–June 4: Congressional Memorial Day recess.

June 12: RESULTS Domestic National Conference Call, 12:30 p.m. ET.

June 20–22: RESULTS/RESULTS Educational Fund International Conference, Washington Marriott Hotel, Washington, DC.

July 10: Joint Domestic/Global RESULTS National Conference Call, 2:00 p.m. ET.

RESULTS Contact Information

Main Office: (p) (202) 783-7100, (f) (202) 783-2818, 750 First Street NE, Suite 1040, Washington DC 20002.

Domestic Legislative and Grassroots Support Staff: Meredith Dodson, (202) 783-7100, x.116 (dodson@results.org); Jos Linn, (515) 288-3622 (jlinn@results.org).

The RESULTS Domestic Update is sent out every Tuesday over e-mail to RESULTS volunteers and allies all over the country. The purpose of these updates is to inform and activate RESULTS activists to take action on our domestic campaigns.