Wells Fargo’s gift helped expand CSUN’s income tax preparation assistance program for low-income families and individuals. Photo courtesy of Wells Fargo.

Wells Fargo (WSF) has given California State University, Northridge a $50,000 to help expand the university’s income tax preparation assistance program for low-income families and individuals.

The money will support the operations of CSUN’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) Clinic. This will be the banks second year supporting the CSUN VITA program. This year alone, the program will assist more than 6,500 people who visited the clinics.

“Well Fargo Bank’s continued support of the CSUN VITA Clinic has been hugely impactful for the clinic’s growth this year. With their generosity, we were able to enrich the services we offer to low income taxpayers by offering them financial education and financial coaching,” said accounting professor Rafi Efrat, director of the CSUN VITA Clinic and Bookstein Low Income Taxpayer Clinic. “Empowered with the financial education and coaching along with the generated tax refunds, the individuals who were served by our clinic were then able to strengthen their financial resiliency.”

Wells Fargo Bank’s generousity has supported the financial empowerment of low-income taxpayers during the 2017 tax season, Efrat said. Additionally, Wells Fargo team members have also been on-hand to provide financial guidance and advice to tax payers.

“Wells Fargo is proud to support CSUN’s VITA clinics. We are pleased that through our donation we will be able to provide assistance to local residents with no-cost tax services and financial advice,” said Patrick Nygren, San Fernando Valley Region President.

VITA has been offering free assistance with state and federal tax preparation to eligible low-income individuals and families for more than four decades. While there is a maximum gross income limit per tax return, it’s usually set by the IRS at $54,000, about the average income of a Los Angeles resident.

More than 450 CSUN student volunteers completed intensive training on handling federal and state tax returns. In addition to providing service to the community, the CSUN VITA Clinic also gives students an opportunity to gain knowledge and experience in their field of study.

Launched in 1971, the CSUN VITA Clinic, located in CSUN’s David Nazarian College of Business and Economics, serves as a valuable community partner that is responsive to the culturally diverse San Fernando Valley.

About CSUN

Serving about 40,000 students each year, CSUN is one of the largest universities in the United States, and it has an impact to match its size. Money Magazine recently named CSUN one of the top ten values in all of higher education, and the Social Mobility Index ranked CSUN fifth in the nation for elevating its students’ economic and social well-being. CSUN ranks 10th in the country in awarding bachelor’s degrees to underrepresented minority students, fifth nationally in awarding master’s degrees to Hispanic students and enrolls the largest number of deaf and hard-of-hearing students of any U.S. state university. CSUN’s 171 academic programs and engaged centers enjoy international recognition for excellence. CSUN currently partners with more than 100 institutions of higher education in 22 countries around the globe and attracts the largest international student population of any U.S. master’s level institution. Situated on a 356-acre park-like setting in the heart of Los Angeles’ San Fernando Valley, the campus features modern educational buildings and world-class LEED Gold-certified performing arts and recreational facilities recognized as among the best in the country. CSUN is a welcoming university that champions accessibility, academic excellence and student success.

About Wells Fargo

Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) is a diversified, community-based financial services company with $1.9 trillion in assets. Wells Fargo’s vision is to satisfy our customers’ financial needs and help them succeed financially. Founded in 1852 and headquartered in San Francisco, Wells Fargo provides banking, insurance, investments, mortgage, and consumer and commercial finance through more than 8,300 locations, 13,000 ATMs, the internet (wellsfargo.com) and mobile banking, and has offices in 42 countries and territories to support customers who conduct business in the global economy. With approximately 263,000 team members, Wells Fargo serves one in three households in the United States. Wells Fargo & Company was ranked No. 25 on Fortune’s 2017 rankings of America’s largest corporations. In 2017, Wells Fargo donated $286.5 million to 14,500 nonprofits and Wells Fargo team members volunteered a record 2 million hours. Wells Fargo’s corporate social responsibility efforts are focused on three strategic priorities: diversity and social inclusion, economic empowerment, and environmental sustainability. News, insights and perspectives from Wells Fargo are also available at Wells Fargo Stories.

Bookstein Low Income Tax Clinic, David Nazarian College of Business and Economics, Tax Preparation, VITA, Wells Fargo Bank