Recruiting Volunteers
Every year, an army of AARP Tax-Aide
volunteers more than 35,000 strong
must be recruited to help the 2. 6 million taxpayers who use Tax-Aide’s free
tax preparation service. While the
majority of Tax-Aide’s volunteers return
each season, armed with new training
and the latest changes in state and federal tax laws, new volunteers are always
needed to fill their ranks.
In 2010, Money Management was
offered to hundreds of residents in
senior housing developments under a
pilot project in New Jersey funded by
Caesars Foundation.
According to the Federal Trade
Commission, more than one-third
of all fraud victims are age 50+, with
losses averaging $2,731 per person.
The Foundation’s Western Union
and MoneyGram Consumer Fraud
Prevention Projects help seniors recognize, refuse and report scams and
frauds.
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Thanks to a generous grant from New
York Life Foundation, a new online
volunteer recruitment tool improved
speed, accuracy and timeliness in connecting local volunteers to prospective
recruits. In fact, in 2010 Tax-Aide, which
is administered by the Foundation, not
only replaced volunteers who left the
program, but increased the number of
newly assigned volunteers 32 percent
over 2009. This recruitment tool is
being expanded to other Foundation
volunteer programs.
Managing Money and
Avoiding Fraud
AARP Foundation’s Money
Management Program helps keep
people independent and in their homes
through a nationwide network of
community-based agencies and nearly
4,000 trained volunteers. The volunteers help thousands of lower-income
and disabled seniors pay bills, set up
budgets and keep track of financial
paperwork.
The Campaign for Wise and Safe
Investing, sponsored by Investor
Protection Trust, teaches seniors in
Alaska, Arkansas, Maine, Michigan,
Pennsylvania, West Virginia and
Wisconsin how to avoid investment
scams. The Colorado and West Virginia
Attorneys General help support
Elder Watch there, giving older people
the ammunition to fight back against
financial exploitation and fraud.
