The David Nazarian College of Business & Economics is widely known as the home for being one of the first Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program nationwide. Having recently celebrated its 50th anniversary, the CSUN VITA Clinic was ranked as the number one VITA site nationally (out of 6,600 VITA sites) earlier this year, having furnished over 7,300 low-income taxpayers with free tax preparation services.
Powered with over 230 student volunteers, the CSUN VITA Clinic has far surpassed the results from the previous year by over 18%. From Jan. 23 through April 18, dedicated volunteers were available six days per week and up to 12 hours per day. As a team, the CSUN student volunteers saved local residents an estimated $1.3 in tax preparation fees, brought over $8.8 million in federal and state refunds back into our community, and helped workers claim more than 2.6 million in federal and state earned income tax credits, thereby empowering people to move out of poverty.
In her message to the VITA student volunteers, president Erika D. Beck recently stated, “CSUN proudly serves as an intellectual and social resource to our communities, with a transformative impact on our region and the entire state of California. Few programs embody that purpose more clearly than CSUN VITA.”
She added, “CSUN VITA is a brilliant example of how higher education and a university degree have the power to not only change individual lives, but to transform entire family trees and impact the world beyond our campus. I look forward to seeing our Matador students, faculty and community partners continue working to create a brighter and more equitable future through this vital service.”
The growth of the CSUN VITA Clinic last year was not without a challenge.
“The challenges brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic tested us in ways we never imagined,” said dean Chandra Subra- maniam. “The CSUN VITA Clinic was forced to stop providing face-to-face tax preparation services, but they did not relent and quickly transitioned to an IRS-approved virtual model to accommodate the many low-income tax- payers that needed their assistance. The clinic returned in full force this year, operating both in person and remotely, depending on the taxpayer’s needs. This dual modality allowed student volunteers to provide low-income tax- payers with access to their services seven days per week throughout the entire tax season.”
Our success is dependent on the continued dedication and commitment by our amazing student volunteers. Without their help, we would not have been able to make the differ- ence we have able to accomplish over the past few years.
Professor Lucy Nalbandian, who con- ducts the training for the students each year, added, “Our student volunteers went above and beyond their duties to ensure taxpayers were serviced professionally and that they felt comfortable during the process. Our students demonstrated efficacy, technical knowledge, and most importantly, patience and kindness with the taxpayers during a challenging time for everyone. The vigor of the VITA leader- ship staff continues to amaze me every year.”
Most importantly, however, we owe our success to the continued support we have received from our donors and supporters, whose gifts are vital to the success of the CSUN VITA Clinic, including the $750,000 VITA endowment created several years ago by Harvey and Harriet Bookstein. Through contributions from that endowment, the CSUN VITA Clinic has been able to continue to expand and provide greater education and assistance to its volunteers and taxpaying clients.
This year, Wells Fargo has awarded CSUN VITA Clinic a two-year $200,000 grant to help expand the university’s income tax preparation assistance program by enabling the 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 coach- ing services in the community.
“Wells Fargo is proud to support CSUN’s VITA Clinic,” said Jack Olree, Wells Fargo Vice President for the Southern California Social Impact group. “We are pleased that through our donation we will be able to pro- vide assistance to local residents with no cost tax services and financial advice.”
Rafael Efrat is the Bookstein chair in taxation and a professor with the Department of Accounting at the David Nazarian College of Business and Economics, California State University, Northridge.
Learn more about CSUN’s VITA clinic at csun.edu/bookstein-institute/csun-vita-clinic.
