The Center for Economic Progress (CEP) is a

non-profit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

based in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

that offers free

tax preparation Tax preparation is the process of preparing tax returns, often income tax returns, often for a person other than the taxpayer, and generally for compensation. Tax preparation may be done by the taxpayer with or without the help of tax preparation so ...

and financial services to

low-income Poverty is the state of having few material possessions or little

income

families. Since its founding in , CEP has helped families obtain $400 million in refunds.

Services

As part of the

IRS Volunteer Income Tax Assistance Program The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) grant program is an Internal Revenue Service (IRS) initiative in the United States that supports free tax preparation service for the underserved through various partner organizations. VITA service hel ...

, CEP provides free tax preparation at sites in Chicago and surrounding Illinois during tax season to families that earn under $50,000 annually or individuals who earn under $25,000. It also promoted the

2010 US Census The United States census of 2010 was the twenty-third United States national census. National Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2010. The census was taken via mail-in citizen self-reporting, with enumerators servin ...

at its tax sites in neighborhoods that showed especially low response rates in 2000. CEP employs approximately 50 staff members and recruits more than one thousand volunteer tax preparers each year.

References

{{nonprofit-org-stub Charities based in Illinois Non-profit organizations based in Chicago Organizations established in 1990 1990 establishments in Illinois