Broward VITA Collaborative

Broward County’s Prosperity Campaign is a community wide collaboration that brings together non-profit organizations, corporations, state and local government agencies and the IRS. Using innovative, multi-lingual and multi-cultural outreach tools and featuring a Mobile Unit, the Prosperity Campaign has included an Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) reimbursement effort at dozens of free Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites that has brought an additional $90 million to Broward County alone since 2002. The EITC is a reimbursement for low to moderate income wage earners instituted as an anti-poverty program over 30 years ago. In 2002, after seeing studies that indicated that $99 Million of EITC dollars lay unclaimed because of a lack of knowledge of its availability, the CSC began promoting EITC through county-wide public awareness campaigns in collaboration with community partners. During these difficult times, the EITC—together with other anti-poverty efforts such as KidCare, Food Stamps, Out of School Time feeding programs, Homeless to Homebuyer and first time home buyer tax allowances, and more—is a key component of the economic stimulus efforts and our community’s Prosperity Campaign.