The Real$ense. Real Prosperity. It’s all about the bottom line, and we have the numbers to prove it. Since its inception in 2003, there’s no question the Real$ense program has made significant progress in improving the economic self-sufficiency of Northeast Florida citizens. Based on economic statistics, we’ve returned more than $10 million new dollars to our community in the form of Earned Income Tax Credit and have saved our clients more than $3 million in tax preparation fees and Refund Anticipation Loan fees and interest. Background Every year, the IRS projects that about ten million federal dollars in Earned Income Tax Credits (EITC) goes unclaimed in Northeast Florida, by more than 5,500 families. That’s $10 million of spending power relinquished by our wage earners. In addition, of the more than 78,000 Duval County households receiving the EITC, 54% of them paid for a refund anticipation loan to get their refunds. This represents another $5.5 million in spending power given up by lower-to-moderate-income workers who can least afford it. Results You Can See Results Results 2002 Baseline Prior to RealSense 2003 Tax Year 2004 Tax Year 2005 Tax Year 2006 Tax Year Number of EITC Tax Returns Prepared 285 819 1,241 1,292 2,198 Dollar amount of EITC Tax Returns Prepared $485,843 $1,576,651 $2,472,279 $2,524,690 $3,212,754 Number of IDA Accounts Opened Not tracked Not tracked 5 74 78 Total number of Tax Returns Prep. 1,563 2,457 3,944 5,496 9,929 Former Refund Anticipation Loans Not tracked Not tracked 51 112 Data not available yet New Financial Accounts Not tracked Not tracked 10 46 118 Completed Financial Classes Not tracked 37 50 218 450 Number of Volunteers 60 100 200 160 350 Number of Paid Staff 0 FTE 1 FTE 1 FTE 1 FTE 2.5 FTE Number of Tax Sites 11 10 13 29*** 43*** *These numbers included AARP Tax Aide sites and last year, 3 Benefit Bank sites