MARGUERITE CASEY FOUNDATION ANNOUNCES $4.4 MILLION IN NEW GRANTS, INCLUDING $1.5 MILLION TO HELP THOUSANDS OF LOW-INCOME FAMILIES QUALIFY FOR THE EARNED INCOME TAX CREDIT

Year-End Grants Push Foundation’s Total 2003 Grants To More Than $25 Million

SEATTLE, WA (January 12, 2004) – Marguerite Casey Foundation today announced that it made $4.4 million in grants at the end of 2003 to a dozen community-based organizations across the United States including $1.5 million to support a project to register thousands of low-income families qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit for the first time. The year-end grants bring the Foundation’s total disbursements for calendar year 2003 to more than $25 million.

“With more families than ever struggling to meet basic needs, the Foundation is honored to support so many organizations working to help low-income communities become stronger and more self-reliant,” said Luz Vega-Marquis, President and CEO of Marguerite Casey Foundation.

The largest grant made by the Foundation in December was $1.5 million to the Association for Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN) for a grassroots effort aimed at dramatically increasing availability of the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC), a refundable Federal income tax credit for low-income working individuals and families.

With the Foundation’s support, ACORN will organize door-to-door campaigns in low-income neighborhoods in San Antonio, TX, New Orleans, LA and Miami, FL, designed to inform households about their eligibility for tax credit and assist them in filing their taxes. The free tax services offered by ACORN are designed to provide low-income families with an alternative to the high-cost, for-profit tax preparation services prevalent in many urban neighborhoods.

“There are hundreds of thousands of families each year who miss out on this important tax credit because they are either unaware of their eligibility or don’t know how to apply for it,” said Luz Vega-Marquis. “The Foundation wants to do everything in its power to raise awareness about the EITC among low-income working families, and to provide affordable alternatives to the high-cost predatory financial services that are so common in our nation’s poorest neighborhoods.”

In addition to the ACORN project, the Marguerite Casey Foundation also announced than eleven other grants, most of which will support community based organizations working with low-income families. These include:

• Carolina Alliance for Fair Employment (Greenville, SC). A three-year $240,000 grant to support a statewide, multi-issue and multicultural organization in building the capacity and power of low-income families to address issues of economic and workplace equity.
• Chinatown Community Development Center (San Francisco, CA). A three year $300,000 grant to support community building and organizing work with low-income tenants – mobilizing seniors, families and youth to advocate for neighborhood improvement projects as well as public policy changes.
• Illinois Coalition for Immigrants and Refugee Rights (Chicago, IL). A three-year $300,000 grant to involve immigrants and refugees in Illinois civic life by more actively engaging their families in public policy decisions.

For a complete list of grantees, please visit the Marguerite Casey Foundation Grants Database.

With limited exceptions, Marguerite Casey Foundation grants are focused primarily in four regions of the United States: the Midwest, beginning in Chicago; the Southern Belt states; the Southwest, including the U.S./Mexico Border; and Western coastal states of California, Oregon and Washington. Most of the Foundation’s grants are intended for core operating support, enabling recipient organizations to use the Foundation’s resources for basic needs, leadership development and capacity building rather than for designated project support or specific programs.