The Four Components of an Ideal Partnership
AARP Tax-Aide Looks for Mutually Beneficial, 'Win-Win' Partnerships

By Julio Argüello Jr.

Fran Brenneman, national partnership coordinator of AARP Tax-Aide, credits her involvement in the Connect America Partnership program for sparking the very successful partnership with fellow Connect America partners, The National Society of Collegiate Scholars (NSCS) and Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW). According to Brenneman, “perfect partnerships offer [AARP Tax-Aide] new volunteers, new customers, new resources and new sites”—the four components of an ideal partnership.

AARP Tax-Aide is the nation's largest free, volunteer-run tax assistance and preparation service available to taxpayers with low-and-middle-income, with special attention to those ages 60 and over. More than 32,000 AARP Tax-Aide volunteers, trained and Internal Revenue Service (IRS) certified, now help in excess of 1.98 million taxpayers file their federal, state and local tax returns each year at more than 8,000 AARP Tax-Aide sites nationwide.

The NSCS offers students as volunteers, brings new constituents who may need tax-aide assistance, provides computers — a much-needed resource – and offers new Tax-Aide sites. The partnership works because of NSCS' mission: to encourage its members to become and remain involved in community service and leadership activities throughout their college years and beyond.

The Tax-Aide program offers students an alternative to more “traditional” volunteer programs, such as building houses or sustaining the environment. The program draws Accounting, Business, and even Pre-Med students. The students and older taxpayers benefit from this program because it allows for intergenerational interaction, which results in a richer experience for both groups. In addition, students can put their participation in AARP's Tax-Aide program on their resumes.

“The partnership with VFW works because we mutually serve a population that needs help in filing taxes — our retired veterans,” said Brenneman. “By allowing us to use VFW Posts, the free tax preparation service can easily be offered. Last year this service was especially effective in Alaska.”

Brenneman stressed, “Communication is the key to a successful partnership.” After the tax season ends on April 15, AARP Tax-Aide communicates with its partners and they evaluate their performance. They define any problems that may have occurred and then try to fix it so that the process is better in the future. “Ultimately, the goal is to help more people and more communities that we have not helped before,” said Brenneman.

AARP Tax-Aide is a member of Connect America, a program of the Points of Light Foundation, a diverse network of national organizations working together to leverage volunteering and other resources to increase both individual and collective impact on communities. For more information about Connect America or to become a member of this network, visit the Connect America member page.