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Alameda County VITA program returned $3.4M to households and launched an apprenticeship to boost capacity
Summary
Pamela Powell and Marissa Hollenbach told supervisors the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program filed more than 2,050 returns and returned $3.4 million in refunds to Alameda County households; the program also piloted an apprenticeship to strengthen outreach and volunteer retention.
County staff said the 2025–26 Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program filed more than 2,050 returns across three sites and secured approximately $3.4 million in refunds for Alameda County households, including about $980,000 in earned income tax credits and just over $1,000,000 in child tax credits.
Pamela Powell (executive program coordinator) and Marissa Hollenbach (program manager) presented site‑level totals: Enterprise site filed 788 returns (avg AGI ~$41,000); Gale Steel site filed 726 (avg AGI ~$44,000); and the Thomasville Berkeley site filed 524 (avg AGI ~$41,000). They reported ITIN assistance counts, age and language breakdowns (English majority, significant Spanish‑speaking participation) and that volunteers saved the community an estimated $960,000 in tax preparation fees.
The program piloted a VITA apprenticeship. Apprentice Britney Lampkin described work on volunteer communications, outreach databases and onboarding materials and recommended separating program operations from volunteer/community engagement to sustain capacity. "People may initially join to prepare taxes, but they stay when they feel connected to a mission, a community, and a sense of shared purpose," the apprentice said.
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