Free Application for Federal Student Aid

Tax season is a good time to submit your application for federal grants and loans for higher education. If you are filing taxes with Ohio Benefit Bank, it is extra easy!

First, at the beginning of your tax filing session, be sure to electronically sign the "Consent to Use and Disclose" forms. This allows the OBB software to automatically populate the FAFSA forms in your OBB account with the relevant 2011 tax information. If you don't sign these consent forms, you will need to enter your tax information by hand.

The Ohio Benefit Bank also has busted some myths about federal aid here. Did you know you can get up to $5,710 per year for a single grant that doesn't need to be paid back? You could be eligible for more than one! A single loan could be worth up to $20,500.

Tax Update

Whew. Sorry for the excessively long break. I got majorly caught up in tax season. The upside is that we're also getting lots of great info and stats ABOUT tax season that I just haven't had the chance to post.

Just a quick update for now: Since e-file went live on January 17 until February 27, Ohio Benefit Bank counselors have assisted 11,308 people file their 2011 taxes, helping to access over $20 million in refunds for Ohioans!

53 of those people and about $78,000 are from Oberlin Community Services in conjunction with the Bonner Center for Service and Learning!

Fall recap

Organizations across the country are beginning to analyze the data from 2011 coming in. This is a little outdated, but the Second Harvest Food Bank of North Central Ohio published its seasonal newsletter in the fall here. Read about the latest report on food insecurity and the activities of the food bank over the last few months!

The Benefit Bank by the numbers

Though Ohio is The Benefit Bank's largest and most successful location, it also has branches in Arkansas, Florida, Indiana, Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas. The following is a summary of the nationwide network of TBB sites.

2011 TBB essential stats:

Dollar Value of benefits and tax refunds received since 2006: $639,003,113

Clients Served this year: 86,540

Counselors Trained this year: 4,595

Twitter Followers: 266
Our TBB major advocate in the Twitter-sphere has been social activist Sarah Buttenwieser, who writes for Preview Massachusetts Magazine, HandEYE Magazine and various other publications. In December Sarah tweeted, " I RT every update I see by @TheBenefitBank b/c the work they do is so amazing. I want everyone to know about it. #socialjustice #realhelp

Facebook Friends: 664
Our Facebook post - "Financial Aid Myth: I make too much to qualify for aid," generated the most viral activity this year. Facebook reported over 680 friends of friends were talking about this post in August.

How to end homelessness

Opening Doors, a program adopted in 2010, is "the nation's first comprehensive strategy to prevent and end homelessness." The website contains fact sheets on the faces of homelessness, steps that the private sector and local and state governments are taking to end it, and a 2011 update on the legislation.

More facts and figures can be found at: http://www.homelessnessinamerica.com/

Take the fall 2011 campus-wide community service/community engagement

New supplemental poverty measure changes the face of poverty

The Census Bureau has just released a new measure of poverty that takes noncash government benefits and tax credits into account as income, and costs such as medical spending, taxes, commuting, and child care into account as expenses. This results in a slightly higher poverty threshold, and changes the portion of Americans at each income level. Under the new measure, significantly fewer citizens are considered "well off," while the middle and low income classes have grown.

For more on the supplemental measure, click here.