There are five primary ways for Ohioans to support The Ohio Benefit Bank and to connect low and moderate-income Ohioans with work support tax credits and public benefits:
1) Serve as an Ohio Benefit Bank Counselor. You could be a vital part of community-based efforts to help individuals and families claim the Earned Income Tax Credit and other tax credits and benefits. You could help low and moderate-income Ohioans move toward self-sufficiency by service as a Benefit Bank counselor. Training sessions (one day for benefits, one day for taxes) are being scheduled across Ohio. Community Trainers are located in every region of the State and will conduct training sessions at times and in locations convenient to you.
2) Establish an Ohio Benefit Bank Site. You could work with your place of worship or business or with a faith-based or community organization to establish an Ohio Benefit Bank site to help low and moderate-income Ohioans. Each site can generate as much as $650,000 in credits and benefits which, when spent in local communities, generate large multiplier effects and boost local economies. Regional Coordinators work with organizations to help them establish sites and arrange trainings for counselors.
3) Sponsor an Ohio Benefit Bank clinic. You could work with organizations in your community to sponor clinics to provide tax, food stamp, health care, child care or home energy assistance -- or any combination of these. Ohio Benefit Bank field staff, working with trained counselors in your area, are available to set up these temporary clinics to meet needs in your your community. Click here for more information about hosting a successful Benefit Bank clinic in your community.
4) Organize outreach efforts. You could with local faith-based and community groups and government officials to promote free income tax and public benefits assistance using The Ohio Benefit Bank as an outreach tool. Regional Coordinators are available to speak to organizations interested in sponsoring sites or recruiting counselors. These Coordinators work with local partners to build outreach efforts.
5) Promote The Ohio Benefit Bank. You could also distribute professionally-prepared, multi-color promotional materials within your organization or in your community. You may view, download and print promotional materials concerning all OBB services, and about specific work supports such as child care subsidies, food stamps, health insurance, home energy and income tax assistance, including tax refund outreach posters. You may also order copies of OBB promotional materials and OBB tax materials.
For more information about establishing an Ohio Benefit Bank site, arranging for counselor training, sponsoring clinics and promoting Benefit Bank outreach in your community, please call The Ohio Benefit Bank hotline number at (800) 648-1176 or contact Ralph Gildehaus, Director of The Ohio Benefit Bank, in the Governor’s Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives, at (614) 466-3398.