by Heidi Goldberg

Municipal strategies to bring federal dollars into local communities through promotion of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) will be the focal point of a free, hour-long audioconference on Thursday, Oct.19, at 12:30 p.m. EDT.

?Strengthen Working Families and Local Economies: How to Mount a Successful EITC Outreach Campaign,? sponsored by NLC?s Institute for Youth, Education, and Families, will highlight strategies that municipal leaders can support or initiate to educate families about how to claim the EITC.

Why Promote the EITC
The EITC is a refundable tax benefit that reduces the tax burden for low- to moderate-income workers. The credit may lead to a sizable refund that can provide relief to financially strapped individuals and families. The credit also boosts local economies, as most EITC recipients spend their refunds locally.

Many cities take advantage of this economic benefit to families and communities by designing outreach campaigns to raise awareness about the credit. A number of cities also assist families with tax preparation to help them receive the EITC.

Content and Speakers
The call will highlight various strategies, such as working with volunteers to provide free tax preparation services to low-income families, initiating one-day events to inform the public about the benefits of the EITC and working with employers to promote the EITC to their employees.

Speakers will include representatives from both large and small cities that have already initiated these and other strategies.

The call will also highlight NLC?s ?Maximizing the Earned Income Tax Credit in Your Community: A Toolkit for Municipal Leaders? ? a nuts and bolts guide for cities interested in launching a successful EITC campaign.

How to Register
While the call is free, it is available only to a limited number of participants. Advance registration is required by close of business on Tuesday, Oct. 17. A separate registration is needed for each phone line that will be used to listen to the call.

To register for the audioconference, e-mail or fax the participant?s name, title, organization, mailing address (including street, city, state and Zip code), telephone number, fax number and e-mail address to iyef@
nlc.org or by fax to (202) 626-3043. No telephone registrations can be accepted.

One day prior to the event, each registrant will receive an e-mail or fax message providing a toll-free, dial-in number to use in joining the audioconference.

Details: To ask questions regarding the audioconference, leave a detailed message on the information line at (202) 626-3014.

To view the EITC tool kit online, visit www.nlc.org/nlctoolkit/html/.

For more information on NLC?s work to help city officials promote the EITC, contact Heidi Goldberg at (202) 626-3069 or goldberg@nlc.org.