News Release – For Immediate Release

Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation Helps Arkansans to Keep More of the Money They Earn
 

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (January 23, 2012) –  The Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation (WRF) recently awarded $150,000 to Arkansas State University Mountain Home (ASUMH) and Arkansas Policy Foundation to help low-income Arkansans become more financially secure by claiming the federal Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC).

 “It is estimated that as many as 50,000 low-income Arkansans who qualify for the EITC do not claim it, leaving more than $76 million in federal assistance unclaimed annually,” observed Dr. Sherece Y. West, president and CEO of the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation. “Increasing the number of families receiving the EITC is an important poverty reduction strategy.”

 To build the infrastructure needed to help Arkansans utilize the EITC, WRF gave a $145,000 grant to ASUMH. ASUMH will partner with the Arkansas Community Organizations, Healthy Connections, and the Mississippi County Arkansas Economic Opportunity Commission to expand Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites in Baxter, Jefferson, Mississippi, Polk, and Pulaski counties. VITA sites provide free tax preparation services for low-income families, ensuring that these families receive all of the credits for which they are eligible.

 In recent years WRF has invested significantly in VITA sites. Last year, WRF’s support resulted in 1,300 tax returns prepared for low-income families, yielding $880,000 in EITC refunds received, as well as savings of $195,000 that otherwise would have gone to tax preparation fees.

 “Many of these dollars were spent in local communities,” Dr. West noted, “thus strengthening the state’s economy.”

 WRF also made a $7,500 grant to the Arkansas Policy Foundation for the production of a study on the potential for the EITC to improve Arkansas’s economic standing. This study will explore how expanding the state’s VITA site infrastructure could enable Arkansas to reduce its poverty rate.

About the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation

For over 35 years, the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation has helped to build and sustain the organizations that serve and strengthen Arkansas. Through grantmaking and strategic partnerships, we are working hard to help close the economic and educational gaps that leave too many Arkansas families in persistent poverty.  www.wrfoundation.org

About Arkansas State University Mountain Home

Arkansas State University Mountain Home (ASUMH) is a two-year college with a full-time enrollment of over 2000 students. Founded in 2000 and located in Mountain Home, ASUMH has established strong ties with the community, and plays a critical role in workforce development within a six-county area. www.asumh.edu

About the Arkansas Policy Foundation

The Arkansas Policy Foundation is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization founded in 1995 in Little Rock. APF analyzes the impact of public policy on the people of Arkansas, emphasizing the importance of fiscal policy and education reform. www.arkansaspolicyfoundation.org

Contacts

Ms. Regan Moffitt
Senior Associate, Public Policy
Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation
(501) 376-6854
rmoffitt@wrfoundation.org

Mr. John Davidson
Vice Chancellor Administrative Affairs
Arkansas State University – Mountain Home
(870) 508-6103
jdavidson@asumh.edu

Mr. Greg Kaza
Executive Director
Arkansas Policy Foundation
(501) 537-0825
kaza@arkansaspolicyfoundation.org

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