The client is a Chicago based nonprofit providing individuals with free financial consulting resources. This includes navigating financial aid for higher education, general financial literacy, and tax assistance. Their mission is to help those they serve secure a better life and climb the economic ladder.

The client partners with the IRS’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, also know as VITA. VITA is a free public service providing those who qualify assistance with their income taxes. Qualifying members include:

• People making less than 60K a year
• Persons with disabilities
• Limited English-speaking taxpayers

Key Challenges

In preparation for tax season, the client planned to launch a bulk staffing initiative to meet the increased need for their crucial services. To tackle this increase in volume, the client determined they required the assistance of a staffing partner to best serve their community.

Solution

The nonprofit had previously worked with Planet Professional to fill contract position, and decided to meet with the firm to discuss their VITA needs. Planet provided an overview of their capabilities, as well as valuable market insight into precisely how many candidates the nonprofit would need to effectively manage the high of volume of tax assistance requests. Following this meeting the nonprofit opened several jobs to be filled by Planet Professional.  

Planet Professional recruiters quickly set out to identify tax and accounting personnel for the client. To alleviate the nonprofit of the various tasks associated with filling these roles, Planet facilitated crucial process such as:

• Candidate sourcing and vetting
• Interviews
• Assisted Candidates with IRS Certification Process
• Onboarding

Results

Planet Professional quickly placed a dozen candidates and qualified volunteers to implement the client’s VITA program at the start of Q1, Planet recruiters easily navigated and directed candidates through the certification process to ensure new placements met all federal requirements. As a result of this engagement, the nonprofit will be able to effectively provide tax assistance to qualifying members within the community.

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