The intake table at the VITA clinic
Wells Fargo has awarded California State University, Northridge a two-year $200,000 grant to help expand the university’s income tax preparation assistance program for low-income families and individuals.
The funding will enable CSUN’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Clinic to operate year-round and also help the CSU5+ Initiative – comprised of other CSUs and community colleges -- develop and grow their VITA operations. Finally, the grant will support CSUN VITA Clinic’s financial coaching services in the community.
“Well Fargo Bank’s continued support of the CSUN VITA Clinic has been immensely critical for the clinic’s growth for the past four years. With their steadfast generosity, we were able to expand the free tax preparation services and financial coaching offered to low-income tax payers,” said accounting professor Rafi Efrat, director of the CSUN VITA Clinic and Bookstein Institute for Higher Education in Taxation.
“Wells Fargo is proud to support CSUN’s VITA Clinic. We are pleased that through our donation we will be able to provide assistance to local residents with no cost tax services and financial advice,” said Jack Olree, Wells Fargo Vice President for the Southern California Social Impact group.
Earlier this year, more than 230 CSUN student volunteers completed an intensive training program on handling federal and state tax returns. With Wells Fargo’s support, the CSUN VITA Clinic helped more than 6,700 taxpayers during this tax season, serving the most taxpayers of 6,600 VITA sites operated nationally in 2022.
The CSUN VITA Clinic also offers students an opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in their field of study. Jose Oliva, operations supervisor, played an integral role during this tax season. He and his team directly trained volunteers, organized presentations and helped other CSUs and community colleges with the launch and operations of their VITA clinics. Oliva, now in his third year with the CSUN VITA Clinic, first started his journey as a tax preparer, then climbed his way to operations supervisor.
“As an accounting major, I first heard about the CSUN VITA Clinic through a fellow peer and I immediately fell in love with the program,” said Oliva. “I developed a passion for the program and knew this is something that I wanted to learn and grow in.”
“With the VITA Clinic operating six days per week during the tax season and serving over 6,700 taxpayers, recruiting dedicated student volunteers was especially important for a successful operation this year,” said Oliva. “Wells Fargo Bank helped make the goal a reality.”