Real Economic Impact Tour Kick-Off 2012 Season Michael R. Roush, ma mroush@ndi-inc.org

1. Real Economic Impact TourKick-Off 2012 SeasonMichael R. Roush, mamroush@ndi-inc.org

2. Special Thank You To Our Sponsors National Disability Institute’s Real Economic Impact Tour would like to recognize and thank its 2011-2012 sponsors:

3. PURPOSE • Build disability inclusive free tax assistance, financial education and asset building opportunities for persons with disabilities through trusted networks OUTCOMES • Growing awareness that disability is a key component of diversity • New income poverty research linked to disability • New partnerships between the asset building and disability communities • Improving access and accommodations to VITA and financial education programs

4. National Community IMPACT

5. Real Economic Impact Tour Staff • Left to Right • Katie Metz, Regional Specialist, Region 2 • Caroline Burke, Program Assistant • Johnette Hartnett, Ed.D., Director of Research & Strategic Partnerships, Region 1 (DC, VA, MD) • Michael R. Roush, MA, National Program Director, REI Tour, Region 3 & 4

6. REI Tour 2012

7. Technical Assistance • REI Tour Mini-Grants • REI Tour Workgroup Meetings • Asset Development Summits • Public Benefits Trainings

8. REI Tour Goes Virtual Virtual REI Tour Toolkit www.reitour.org/Resources/Virtual-Toolkit.aspx Includes online tools that will assist in building your disability initiative. • REI Tour Listserv • Virtual REI Tour Workgroup Meetings • Virtual VITA Pilot • E-learning courses on disability awareness for VITA Volunteers, Public Benefits, and Financial Education for Persons with Disabilities

9. REI Tour Listserv • Fosters the opportunity for collaboration amongst REI Tour partners to share best practices, ask questions, and to share resources and tools. • The listserv is exclusive to REI Tour partners To sign-up for the REI Tour Listserv send an email to: reitour-list-SUBSCRIBE@lists.reitour.org

10. Virtual REI Tour Workgroup Meetings • Using the latest technology, NDI’s REI Tour will host Virtual REI Tour Workgroup meetings. • The Virtual REI Tour Workgroup meetings will allow partners in local communities to come together in the comfort of their own office to participate in an interactive meeting that will follow the same format as the traditional REI Tour Workgroup meetings described above. • If you would like to host a Virtual REI Tour Workgroup meeting, please contact mroush@ndi-inc.org.

11. Education & Training • Webinar Series • TaxAccess • Disability Awareness Training • Effective Strategies • 30-Second Trainings

12. Webinar Series • Webinar Series will take place the 3rd Thursday at 2:00 PM EST of each month (except for April). • Webinar series will be free and available to VITA coalitions, disability partners, and asset building partners. • The webinars will be delivered by a team of experts on specific topics relevant to this work. • A variety of topics will be offered through the webinar series that may include: • Tax Time Primer…..Top Ten Tips for 2012 (December 15, 2011) • Access and Accommodations for VITA Sites • Public Benefit Programs • Engaging Disability Community Organizations to Enhance Participation Rates for VITA, Self-Tax Prep, Financial Education and IDAs • Best Practice Series: Strategies That Are Making A Real Economic Impact

13. TaxAccess • The TaxAccess Project is a pilot project that was started in 2011 to increase awareness and provide technical assistance to VITA sites in 6 pilot cities in the Southeast portion of the United States. • The TaxAccess Project is a collaborative project between NDIs REI Tour and the Southeast ADA Center. • The TaxAccess Project provide a forum (safe zone) for questions and answers via email communication to disability accessibility experts. www.adasoutheast.org/taxaccess/

14. TaxAccess

15. Disability Awareness Training

16. Disability Awareness Training Video • Created by United Way of Buffalo & Erie County - http://youtu.be/8vS3pCe0eO4

17. Effective Strategies Effective Strategies are an opportunity to highlight best practices and provide case studies that REI Tour partners can distribute to individuals, coalition members and can be used as a tool to implement new strategies into their existing program. www.realeconomicimpact.org/Resources/Virtual-Toolkit.aspx

18. 30-Second Trainings • Designed to be short, easy and fun, • They are not designed to be a test but rather to increase knowledge on a variety of topics. • The trainings should take only about 30 seconds to review and can be viewed on any computer and will be downloadable from NDIs website. • The interactive trainings will include national resources where individuals can go to get additional information. • The 30-second training will include the following topics: • Free Filing Options, Self-tax Preparation, VITA , SNAP/WIC You can find 30-second trainings at: www.realeconomicimpact.org/Resources/Virtual-Toolkit.aspx

19. Questions?

20. National Disability Institute twitter.com/realeconimpact facebook.com/realeconimpact youtube.com/user/RealEconomicImpact flickr.com/photos/realeconomicimpact/ realeconomicimpact.tumblr.com