Publicize Your Tax Clinic!

Help Ohioans Find Your Free Tax Services!

As tax season 2012 approaches quickly, The Ohio Benefit Bank would like to invite you to publicize your tax efforts on our website, blogs, and with The OBB Hotline.

By providing some quick information we can provide clients and other OBB sites with your clinic dates, times, and locations. Please click on the following link to fill out or tax clinic questionaire! https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/viewform?hl=en_US&formkey=dF9mN3U0YzhSRlB3RXlQVG8tWWJhQkE6MQ#gid=0

Our research has shown that marketing outside of your normal client traffic can greatly increase activity at your tax event.

Once this information is collected an interactive OBB tax clinic locator map will be available to all OBB counselors and any potential OBB tax clients surfing the web to find free tax services.

Contact Cailey Ambrose at cambrose@oashf.org or 614-221-4336 ext 233 with any questions.

Thank you for all that you do!

Need Tax Volunteers?

Attention, Ohio Benefit Bank sites:  

Would you be interested in receiving tax volunteer referrals from The Ohio Benefit Bank^TM to support your OBB tax services? 

Click here to complete the survey.  

We will be promoting volunteer recruitment for The Ohio Benefit Bank statewide and look forward to targeting the volunteers you are looking for! Please take a moment to complete this short survey and tell us what you are looking for in volunteers to support OBB at your site.  

Click here to complete the survey. 

Thank you for all that you do!   

Mid-Ohio Foodbank - Turkey Donations!

Thanksgiving is fast approaching, and many Ohioians cannot afford to serve a Thanksgiving meal to their families.

Mid Ohio Foodbank, which serves multiple counties in the Southeastern Ohio region, is holding a fundraiser during the month of November to purchase Thanksgiving turkeys for families in need. Every $14.10 donated will provide a 14lb turkey for a family. Mid Ohio Foodbank is also accepting donations of non-perishable food items to accompany the Thanksgiving turkey such as cranberry sauce, green beans, or other traditional side dishes.

For more information see the Mid Ohio Foodbank website at: www.midohiofoodbank.org/turkey-hunt or call their office at 614-274-7770.

Please Join Us for our Tax Season Webinars!

Tax season is just around the corner and to prepare you for this exciting time we will be holding monthly informational webinars! Please see below for descriptions and to register for these upcoming webinars. Click here for more information on the webinar topics.

November 9th: (12:00 - 1:00 pm)

Connecting Financial Aid; Emergency Savings Accounts and Savings Bonds to Tax Season: 

Registration Web Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/268310514

December 14th: (12:00 - 1:00 pm)

Form 1099R, Child Tax Credit, EITC, Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit:

Registration Web Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/129215506

January 11th: (12:00 - 1:00 pm)

Tax Updates: 

Registration Web Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/573492346

February 8th: (12:00 - 1:00 pm)

Conversations to have with your tax client:

Registration Web Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/652333722

March 14th: (12:00 - 1:00 pm)

Incorporating Self-Serve Into Your Tax Services:

Registration Web Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/419745234

April 11th: (12:00 - 1:00 pm)

What Does OBB Asset Development Mean for My Clients, Staff, and Volunteers?

Registration Web Link: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/960223610

Southwest OBB Regional Meeting- Pike County

Thank you to everyone who attended our Regional Meetings in Southeastern Ohio last week!

If you missed the meetings, but would still like to attend a Regional Meeting, we have an OBB Regional Meeting for counties in Southwest Ohio scheduled in Pike County at the Workforce Connections of Pike County office on November 30th from 2:00 - 4:00pm. You can register for the meeting at the following link:
http://www.planetReg.com/E91414115726

Ohio Senior Hunger Summit

Please join the Ohio Association of Second Harvest Foodbanks at the 2011 Ohio Senior Hunger Summit on October 28th, 2011 from 10:30am to 2:30pm at the Mid-Ohio Foodbank located at 3960 Brookham Drive, Grove City, Oh 43123.

This will be a great opportunity for you to share your organization's efforts to relieve hunger and improve nutrition among older Ohioans, learn about resources and best practices that can strengthen your community's work and engage around critical programs that will be essential to this work in the months and years ahead. The event is free and we're pleased to be able to offer 1.75 CEU's for Social Workers and a delicious lunch.

More information, including the agenda for the day, can be found on our website: http://www.oashf.org/programs/program-detail.php?id=4&page=14. You can also call Danielle Gray at 614-221-4336 x239 or email her at dgray@oashf.org. Please forward this invitation to others in your network, or to anyone who you feel might be interested in attending this event.

Thank you for your dedication to improving nutrition for Ohioans, and we hope you can share what's happening in your community with us at this summit.

Winter Heating Reconnect Season Begins October 17th

Press Release from PUCO - 10/11/2011:

The Public Utilities Commission of Ohio (PUCO) reminds residential electric and natural gas customers that the annual winter heating season reconnect program begins on Oct. 17, 2011. The winter reconnect program allows residential customers who have had their home heating service disconnected or have received a disconnection notice an opportunity to pay to have their home heating service restored or maintained.

Residential customers must pay $175 or the amount owed, whichever is less, plus a reconnection fee of no more than $36 to restore or maintain service with their regulated natural gas or electric company. The winter reconnect order may be used one time during the winter heating season from Oct. 17, 2011 through April 13, 2012.

There is no income eligibility requirement to participate, but the plan requires customers to sign up for a payment plan to pay any remaining past-due balance on their utility bill. Eligible customers may apply payments from the Emergency Home Energy Assistance Program toward the $175 amount. If a utility’s reconnection fee is greater than $36, the utility may bill the balance of the reconnection charge to the customer the following month.


Income-eligible customers who are interested in re-enrolling or maintaining participation in the Percentage of Income Payment Plan Plus (PIPP Plus) program must make an additional payment of no more than $50 per utility if they owe more than $175 in PIPP Plus default. Any remaining balance will be added to the customer’s arrearage.


The winter reconnect program also applies to customers seeking to establish new service. Customers requesting new natural gas or electric service who have no outstanding balance with the utility may establish new service by paying $175, rather than paying the required security deposit. Customers who use the winter reconnect program to establish new service may have the remaining balance of the required security deposit added to their next month’s bill.

The winter reconnect program is only available to customers of the PUCO-regulated electric and natural gas utilities that serve approximately six million residential customers across Ohio. The Commission urges rural electric cooperatives and municipally owned utilities that are not regulated by the PUCO to adopt similar programs.


There are several other state and federal programs available to assist those who qualify. The PUCO suggests that customers explore all options including PIPP Plus, the Home Energy Assistance Program and the Home Weatherization Assistance Program. More information about these programs and additional ways to save on home heating bills this winter is available at Ohio’s Winter Heating Resource website, www.winterheat.ohio.gov. Visitors to this site will also find information about budget billing, energy choice and energy conservation.


Utility customers who have questions about the PUCO winter heating season reconnect program may contact the PUCO at (800) 686-7826 or visit the PUCO website at www.PUCO.ohio.gov.