Monthly Archives: January 2012

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Goose Or Nest?   Which will you have?Saving is hard, we know. But we also know that there’s a way to make it easier. Tax time is an exciting opportunity for all tax filers to save a portion of their refunds in a competitive, safe, and trusted product: a Series I U.S. Savings Bond.  CAP Utah alongside Earn It. Keep It. $ave It. are giving special attention to Series 1 U.S. Savings Bonds and are providing specialized volunteers at the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites to help you start saving for your “nest egg”.

How do Tax Time Bonds make saving easier?

  1. You don’t need a bank account.
  2. You only need $50 to get started. Choose to save as little as $50 of your tax refund with a bond.
  3. U.S. Series I Savings Bonds are a competitive saving product. The current interest rate is 3.1%.
  4. Tax Time Bonds are marked for inflation, which means you never get back less than you put in.
  5. Tax time makes it simple. Just choose the amount you want to save and you’ll receive your bonds in the mail.
  6. You earn interest right away. Your money starts growing immediately.
  7. Bonds are safe. U.S. Series I Savings Bonds will never lose value and are backed by the U.S. Government.
  8. Bonds have no fees. There are no fees to buy or cash in your bond.
  9. Gift savings to your loved ones. Bonds can be purchased in someone else’s name – so you can help jumpstart the savings and dreams of the people you care about.

 

We know that money can be stressful and would like to share with you some easy savings tools, such as Series 1 U.S. Savings Bonds, that can help you reach financial stability.  If you are interested in our free tax preparation or would like to volunteer please sign-up on line at www.utahtaxhelp.org or dial 2-1-1.  And to learn more about Tax Time Savings Bonds, Form 8888, and how they can help you save for tomorrow at www.bondsmakeiteasy.org or by texting DREAMS to 41411 (text FACIL to 41411 for Spanish).

 

 

 

Making time for planning

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Before coming to CAP Utah I worked several years as an afterschool program coordinator and spent a lot of time working directly with clients. In addition to working with children and their families I often worked with volunteers, teachers and other local organizations.

The demands for one’s time as a program coordinator or direct service provider are seemingly endless (whether as a social worker, food pantry coordinator, employment counselor or Head Start teacher).

In addition to ones core duties there are always phone calls and e-mails that need to be attended to, personnel issues to be managed, meetings or trainings to attend, special events, partners to coordinate with, reports to funders to be done, flyers to be made etc. The list of duties goes on and on.

Community Action Agencies know well the work loads and challenges associated with direct service and case management – challenges that are going to continue as budgets get cut and needs increase.  Agencies are having to learn to do more with less.

So where do they get the time to plan, and innovate and come up with unique solutions to the problems they are facing?  The reality is that often times planning time is very hard to come by, and managers and coordinators have to eek it out where they can.  Sometimes this may be done by blocking out time in the normal work schedule. However it also comes in the form of keeping a notepad on the nightstand to write something down when it comes in ones sleep or working on a Saturday to get some planning done as it’s the only way to work uninterrupted.

As Community Collaborations Coordinator at CAP Utah, I play a very different role from that of a direct service provider.  CAP Utah’ mission is to assist Utah’s nine Community Action Agencies (who run food pantries, HEAT programs, Head Start, employment assistance, emergency services, etc.) in their efforts to end poverty in their communities through training and technical assistance. I have no staff or facilities to manage, no board to coordinate, and no clients calling me late at night needing assistance.

The opportunity then is to assist Community Action Agencies (currently I am working with three) with some important planning activities such as:

Assisting agencies in planning for the future

Assessing community needs and resources

Helping agencies build strategic relationships with other comm. organizations

In order to effectively assist our partner agencies we need to demonstrate that we indeed have their best interests in mind – and show that we will first seek to listen and understand. If we can do this, the hope is that the resources we bring to the table can be utilized to help Community Action Agencies as they evaluate the needs and resources in their communities and support them in their ongoing efforts to implement strategies that will most effectively bring about positive change.  This is my goal for the New Year!