2025 California Earned Income Tax Credit Plus (CalEITC+) Education and Outreach Grant

Purpose

The goal of the CalEITC+ grant is to increase the number of eligible Californians claiming low-income tax credits by providing outreach regarding the availability of the credits, to provide access to free tax preparation assistance services, and to provide eligibility awareness regarding the availability and purpose of the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number to interested California residents.

Description

The purpose of this opportunity is to increase awareness of the available low-income tax credits, to provide free tax preparation assistance services to low- to moderate-income individuals and families and increase Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) eligibility awareness to interested Californians. CSD seeks to engage established nonprofit and community-based organizations that are registered in California, maintain an existing community presence and trusted relationships, demonstrate extensive experience conducting similar outreach campaigns, and regularly interact with culturally diverse, multi-lingual, and hard-to-reach populations. Awardees should conduct cost-effective education and outreach activities that will inform community members about the availability of the California Earned Income Tax Credit (CalEITC), the Young Child Tax Credit (YCTC), the Foster Youth Credit (FYTC), the federal EITC and Child Tax Credit, and the importance of filing their taxes, including to California residents who file using an ITIN or those who may be eligible and interested in acquiring an ITIN. Activities must connect low-income residents with local free tax preparation sites or online resources that help people file their taxes at no cost to claim the federal and California state credits, such as free online tax preparation. Awardees will be required to provide free tax preparation assistance within the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) scope to eligible Californians through their own services or partner organizations. Awardees will work closely with local free tax preparation assistance sites (either their own or partner sites) to ensure that when conducting education and outreach activities, eligible Californians will know where to locate and when to access the free tax preparation assistance services. Awardees will also be required to increase awareness of the availability of the ITIN for eligible and interested individuals. Funding allocated under this grant program will support new or expansion activities and may not replace or supplant existing funding sources. The Department of Community Services (CSD) anticipates awarding 21 grants. Targeted CalEITC+ funding will be awarded to organizations serving 20 counties, in 13 regions, along with additional allocations designated for organizations serving rural counties and statewide outreach efforts. Some target counties and their allocations have been combined to maintain geographic continuity and maximize economies of scale and administrative efficiencies. Target Area counties include Los Angeles, San Diego, Alameda and Santa Clara, Sacramento, Riverside, Orange, Contra Costa and Sonoma, San Bernardino, Kern and Tulare, Fresno, San Joaquin and Stanislaus, San Francisco and San Mateo, and Ventura and Santa Barbara. Counties located in the rural target area include those counties with populations at approximately 100,000 or less. These counties include Alpine, Amador, Calaveras, Colusa, Del Norte, Glenn, Inyo, Lake, Lassen, Mariposa, Mendocino, Modoc, Mono, Nevada, Plumas, San Benito, Sierra, Siskiyou, Sutter, Tehama, Trinity, Tuolumne, and Yuba.