Financial Aid U Program Evaluation

Posted by on August 3, 2009

Center for Economic Progress
Request for Proposals
Financial Aid U Program Evaluation

Organizational Background
The Center for Economic Progress helps hard-working, low-income families move from financial uncertainty to financial security. Local in service but national in voice, we achieve our mission in three ways: we provide trusted tax and financial counseling, giving Illinois families the tools to make sound choices; we lead a national coalition of organizations that promote economic progress for low-wage workers and their families; we advance policies and practices to create a financial system that works for all.  Since its inception in 1990, the Center’s goal have evolved to addressing the numerous challenges facing the growing population of working-poor families and individuals as they navigate their way through a complex tax system and high-cost, high-risk financial services landscape. The Center works to place low-income workers in Illinois on the path to financial independence through repairing credit, paying down debt, and providing the tools to start saving for long-term assets.

The Center operates the largest statewide free tax preparation program in the nation, which has served over 210,500 low-income taxpayers and generated $285 million in tax refunds to Illinois workers since 1994.  The Center uses the annual ritual of tax preparation as a “teachable moment” to encourage clients to open bank accounts, direct deposit their tax refunds, and save for the future.  By linking tax preparation to asset-building opportunities and financial education, the Center directly improves the financial stability of the more than 30,000 low-income families and individuals it serves each year.

The Center is in a strong position to effectively support tax preparation programs nationally through training, technical services, and the promotion of a standardized service delivery model, working through its National Community Tax Coalition (NCTC), which is comprised of more than 600 affiliate organizations.  The Center launched NCTC in 2002 in response to the need for training and technical assistance among the growing number of organizations around the country operating community-based tax preparation programs and promoting the EITC in their communities.

Using its own programs as incubators, the Center exports lessons learned and best practices to the broader community tax preparation and asset-building fields.  The Center seeks to continue to fill this role of using its tax sites as a lab for innovation by helping families apply for financial aid while having their tax returns prepared.  The Center’s experiences providing this service and a subsequent evaluation will provide the field with yet another asset-building strategy connected to the tax preparation process that will assist working families move along the road to greater financial security and opportunity.

Program Description
When it comes to finding a job, college graduates enjoy a significant advantage in the marketplace. However, the rising cost of a college education—at community college and four-year universities—are limiting access to higher education, especially for the country’s low-income students.  Tuition and fees grew an average of 10.5% last year, costing students and their families $9,452 to attend college—$1,000 more than half of the students served by the Center for Economic Progress earn annually.

For families of limited means, the growing cost of college is a considerable obstacle to earning a diploma, especially to students and families who don’t take advantage of opportunities to apply for and receive financial aid. According to researchers at the University of Chicago’s Consortium on Chicago School Research, applying for financial aid “may be the most critical step for low-income students” who hope to enroll in college; it may also be one of the most confusing. Still, students who do apply for financial aid using the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) are 50% more likely to attend school than students who do not.

Through the Center’s college access initiative, Financial Aid U, the Center assists low-income students and their families by simply making the process of applying for financial aid easier. This project integrates tax services offered by VITA programs with direct, one-on-one assistance with applications for financial aid.  More than 75% of the information collected by the Department of Education using the FAFSA is included on students’ and parents’ tax return. Experienced tax return preparers can help students and parents transfer information from one form to the next quickly and without confidently, complete any other required information and submit the form electronically. Later, the Center’s financial services staff can work with those clients to understand offers of financial aid, plan their award package and mitigate financial stresses of college.

The Financial Aid U initiative successfully launched in January 2009, helping more than 800 traditional and nontraditional students submit financial aid applications. More than 400 of those clients were served at one of four Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) sites where the service was made available. Center staff members also served more than 300 high school and community college students at their school. After learning of the Center’s success, the Citi Foundation committed to expanding its scope in 2010, providing funding for a national program that raises awareness of the relationship between college access and services offered by VITA programs in communities across the country. In Phase II of Financial Aid U, the Center will continue to offer its services locally with limited resources, while launching a national effort to encourage community tax preparation programs to foster college access services at their sites. Planned communication strategies include: a workshop presentation at the NCTC conference later this year, quarterly web seminars and audio conferences and maintenance of resources and training guides posted on the NCTC Web site.

In addition, the Center will also work with seven VITA programs in Citi markets around the country to launch or expand FAFSA projects in their own communities. Center staff will provide one-on-one training and technical assistance, a needs assessment, and individual program development plans to each participating program, giving them the support and tools to achieve success. Center staff will also hold regular calls with the groups to further assess the programs.  After assessments are complete and the initial convening is held, Center staff will travel to each of the programs to provide all day on-site training and implementation assistance. Additional one-day site visits will take place during tax season.

The grantees and the Center will meet regularly by phone; two in-person convenings will also be hosted by the Center in September 2009 and May 2010. All grantees will attend a monthly conference call to collaborate on the national campaign and address any local needs. Quarterly conference calls and webinars, which will be open to all interested groups, will be hosted by Center staff and facilitated by NCTC.

Opportunity
The Center is excited to announce an opportunity for an individual or organization with extensive experience in research methodology, community-based organizations and data analysis. This individual or organization will take part in the launch of the national campaign to promote college access services at VITA sites by working with the Center to identify appropriate metrics and measurement mechanisms, providing pre-launch evaluation planning services, operational assessment services, and post-campaign evaluation and analysis services. The Center is interested in the evaluation of the following:

* Assessment of Center-provided training services by developing evaluation methods for two-tiered training (CEP Financial Aid U training to third parties and Financial Aid U program training delivered by third parties to staff/volunteers), which can be administered remotely
* Assessment of Center-provided consulting services
* Effectiveness of the delivery of Financial Aid U services to clients
* FAFSA client satisfaction with Financial Aid U services
* The impact of grantee programs on client collegiate enrollment and receipt of financial aid
* Success of marketing and outreach mechanisms used to drive clients to tax sites

As part of the evaluation, the project evaluator will be present at a select number of in-person grantee trainings and tax site visits. The evaluator will develop a final report on his/her findings. This report will include analysis on the effectiveness of Center-provided trainings, sub-grantees’ implementation of the Financial Aid U model, and the ultimate success of FAFSA filers in securing financial aid, among other topics. The report will also include recommendations for the Financial Aid U initiative as the Center and NCTC look to expand the project into more communities in future tax seasons.

Competencies Sought

* Statistical analysis
* Data collection and analysis
* Program evaluation
* Surveying and research methodologies
* Strong writing and communication skills

Timeframe and Deliverables

* Services must begin on Monday, August 24, 2009 and continue through June 2010.
* Biweekly meetings (conference calls) with Financial Aid U staff
* Attendance at select trainings between Financial Aid U staff and grantees
* Statistical analysis of taxpayer and FAFSA client information
* Statistical analysis of FAFSA client survey results
* Final Report

Information Needed

* Interest in opportunity
* Organization or individual background
* Current projects
* Portfolio
* Rate for service (lump sum or hourly rate with estimate of hours necessary for completion of services)
* Employee résumés
* References/letters of reference
* Service contract

Criteria for the Review of Proposals

Proposals will be reviewed and the finalist will be selected according to the following criteria:

* Cost effectiveness
* Ability to meet requirements outlined in RFP
* Experience conducting similar evaluations
* Knowledge and practical experience with statistics
* Writing skills
* Quality of samples provided (content and aesthetics)
* Firm reputation/references

Selection Process

The Financial Aid U team will consider all proposals emailed to Erika Schafer, eschafer@economicprogress.org, by midnight on August 14, 2009.  Proposals will be evaluated against the criteria listed above, with cost effectiveness being a primary consideration. The proposal with the strongest match to the criteria will be selected and the submitting organization or consultant will be notified by August 21, 2009. Consultants and firms who are not selected will not be notified.

Contact Information
Questions or comments regarding the project or proposal should be directed to:
Erika Schafer
Director of Financial Services
Center for Economic Progress
29 E. Madison, Ste 900
Chicago, IL 60602
Phone: 312-630-0286
Fax: 312-252-0285
eschafer@economicprogress.org