Return more than $344.000 in tax credits and refunds to local community
Greenville – This tax season, staff and volunteers at NextStep Ministries helped 302 local tax filers keep their full tax refunds through partnership with The Ohio Benefit Bank (OBB), a program of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks. Thanks in part to a capacity building grant from the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, NextStep Ministries connected households with more than $344,000 in tax credits and refunds. Plus, by helping community members file their taxes for free, NextStep saved them an estimated $43,186 in tax preparation fees.
“This is the third year the grant has been available to us. It has enabled us to reach many more people in Darke County and the surrounding area by helping us promote our tax services to the public. It also allowed us to purchase much needed equipment for our tax site.” said Kristy Cutarelli, Outreach Ministries Coordinator for EUM Church. “Because of the capacity building grant we were able to exceed all of our goals for this tax season.”
Forty-two OBB sites throughout Ohio received capacity building grants to support their free tax filing services. In total, those grantees helped to file 11,392 federal tax returns and 10,897 state tax returns, connecting low- and moderate-income Ohioans with more than $17.8 million in tax credits and refunds.
Hundreds of other faith-based and community organizations also provided free tax filing assistance through the OBB, and many more Ohio taxpayers used the free OBB Self-Serve module at ohiobenefits.org to file their taxes on their own. Statewide, the OBB connected nearly 26,000 Ohioans with more than $44.4 million in tax refunds, helping them keep more of their hard-earned money.
“This year marked the most successful tax season yet for the OBB network,” said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks. “These important tax credits and refunds—accessed for free through our network—will help the low- and moderate-income Ohioans we serve every day to pay bills, make household repairs and build emergency savings accounts.”
The Ohio Benefit Bank provides free tax filing services year-round, so Ohioans who need to file back taxes or are still owed a refund for this year can visit ohiobenefits.org to file for free today. Since its inception, the OBB has connected over 84,000 Ohioans with nearly $187 million in tax refunds.
Greenville – This tax season, staff and volunteers at NextStep Ministries helped 302 local tax filers keep their full tax refunds through partnership with The Ohio Benefit Bank (OBB), a program of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks. Thanks in part to a capacity building grant from the Ohio Association of Foodbanks, NextStep Ministries connected households with more than $344,000 in tax credits and refunds. Plus, by helping community members file their taxes for free, NextStep saved them an estimated $43,186 in tax preparation fees.
“This is the third year the grant has been available to us. It has enabled us to reach many more people in Darke County and the surrounding area by helping us promote our tax services to the public. It also allowed us to purchase much needed equipment for our tax site.” said Kristy Cutarelli, Outreach Ministries Coordinator for EUM Church. “Because of the capacity building grant we were able to exceed all of our goals for this tax season.”
Forty-two OBB sites throughout Ohio received capacity building grants to support their free tax filing services. In total, those grantees helped to file 11,392 federal tax returns and 10,897 state tax returns, connecting low- and moderate-income Ohioans with more than $17.8 million in tax credits and refunds.
Hundreds of other faith-based and community organizations also provided free tax filing assistance through the OBB, and many more Ohio taxpayers used the free OBB Self-Serve module at ohiobenefits.org to file their taxes on their own. Statewide, the OBB connected nearly 26,000 Ohioans with more than $44.4 million in tax refunds, helping them keep more of their hard-earned money.
“This year marked the most successful tax season yet for the OBB network,” said Lisa Hamler-Fugitt, executive director of the Ohio Association of Foodbanks. “These important tax credits and refunds—accessed for free through our network—will help the low- and moderate-income Ohioans we serve every day to pay bills, make household repairs and build emergency savings accounts.”
The Ohio Benefit Bank provides free tax filing services year-round, so Ohioans who need to file back taxes or are still owed a refund for this year can visit ohiobenefits.org to file for free today. Since its inception, the OBB has connected over 84,000 Ohioans with nearly $187 million in tax refunds.