United Way of Montcalm-Ionia Counties

To improve lives by prioritizing needs and mobilizing human and financial resources to positively impact the education, financial stability, and physical & emotional health of all of our neighbors. Assess community needs: provide outcome measurement training to various entities in the community; provide program assessment, review and selection, administer grants, provide financial and stewardship oversight of grant recipients and participate in community partnerships including 211 database management and management of our volunteer center to advance common goals in the focused areas mentioned above.

IRS Volunteer Return Preparation VITA: Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA)Saved community members $75,054 in estimated tax preparation fees through our Volunteer Income Assistance Program. Preparing and filing household taxes can be confusing and when filing on their own many people may miss credits for which they are eligible or be unable to file altogether. Additionally, many households cannot afford to spend part of their tax refund on costly tax preparation fees. For individuals and families making less than $57,000, the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program has a team of IRS certified volunteers to provide free, high-quality tax return preparation, ensuring clients receive all eligible tax credits and deductions.

We achieved significant milestones, impacting the lives in Montcalm and Ionia Counties. We provided:600 new bikes to local children.12,000 feminine hygiene bags were delivered to school districts and partner agencies.61,000 meals were distributed to local pantries.750 Holiday Hope Bags of food went to food-insecure children.3,000 Graduate Youth Survival Guides were provided to all graduating students in 13 school districts.Advocated at the State and Federal level for support with childcare, affordable workforce housing, Earned Income Tax Credit, and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. Administered $190,037 in Emergency Food and Shelter dollars. Vetted 24 local nonprofits and food pantries. Funded a housing study for Montcalm and Ionia Counties. Volunteers completed a value of $58,040 in volunteer time.