Michael Swayze's Community Resources

Category: Nonprofit

  • Health Insurance Marketplace: Open Enrollment Begins October 1, 2013

    Starting in less than two months health care consumers will be able to apply for health coverage through a new system created by the Affordable Care Act (ACA). You may know it by another name, Obamacare. Under the new law you can apply for or buy health insurance through a health insurance exchange. These “marketplaces” are they are sometimes called have been created for individuals and families who do not receive coverage through their employer or do not qualify for Medicaid.

    Enrollment in health plans in the Health Insurance Marketplace starts October 1, 2013. Coverage starts as soon as January 1, 2014.

    If you are a consumer ready to learn about and buy health insurance through the Marketplace, visit HealthCare.gov , the official consumer site for the Marketplace.

    If you are a professional learning about the Marketplace or helping people apply, get the latest resources at the Marketplace at http://marketplace.cms.gov/index.html.

    You can learn more by visiting Health Insurance Marketplace’s Facebook
    page. Be sure to “Like” them.

    Additional information on the ramifications of the Affordable Care Act will be presented in the weeks ahead.

  • New Jersey SHARES Launches New Facebook Page

    Today New Jersey SHARES, our statewide nonprofit energy fund sent out their monthly newsletter. The lead article announced the launching of their Facebook page. If you want to receive timely information about our statewide energy fund, get news about energy assistance, or related social service resources just add NJ SHARES to your Facebook community. Their article reads as follows:

    We are pleased to announce the NJ SHARES Facebook Page has officially launched. Please “Like” us on Facebook and consider sharing with your network.

    “Like” Us:
    It’s easy to “Like” the New Jersey SHARES, Inc. page. First, log into your own Facebook page. Next, click on this link http://www.facebook.com/njshares OR manually type that address into your own web browser, and you will be transported to our page. Underneath our cover photo and next to our name, you will see an icon that says “Like” with a thumbs-up graphic. Simply “Like” the page by clicking on that icon.

    Share with Network
    Once you have “Liked” New Jersey SHARES, Inc.’s page, consider sharing the page with your friends and other networks. Visit New Jersey SHARES, Inc.’s Facebook page – underneath our cover photo, next to the icon that says “Like,” there should be another icon that looks like a wheel or gear. Click that icon, and a drop down menu will appear. Next, click on “Share.” which is listed underneath “Create a Page.”

    Other articles in their newsletter covered the following: “Find Out If You Qualify for the Earned Income Tax Credit”, “Tax Credit Available for New Jersey’s Working Families”, “Poverty Presents Risks for Children in Newark” and a spotlight on HOPES Community Action Partnership.

    To subscribe to NJ SHARES newsletter, Sharing Neighborhoods, please visit http://www.njshares.org/aboutNJShares/newsletter.asp.

  • EITC Awareness Day – January 25, 2013

    EITC Awareness Day is a one-day blitz for mainstream and social media to reach the broadest possible range of potentially eligible taxpayers. In 2012, 26.5 million low and moderate income households received $60.7 billion under the Earned Income Tax Credit. If you worked and had income under $50,270 find out if your are eligible for EITC.

    There are a number of contact points to determine if you qualify. They include calling the Internal Revenue Service at 1-800-829-1040 or the New Jersey Division of Taxation at 888-895-9179. In New Jersey you can call the 2-1-1 Partnership by dialing 2-1-1 or 877-652-1148 to get free help filing your taxes.

    Free help in preparing your tax return – you can claim EITC even if you had nothing withheld from your paycheck – is available through the AARP Foundation Tax-Aide or at Volunteers in Tax Assistance (VITA) sites throughout New Jersey and nationwide. The 2-1-1 Partnership maintains a list of VITA and AARP Tax Assistance Sites in New Jersey.

    Also, a number of organizations in and near New Jersey promote EITC and provide free tax preparation service to qualifying individuals and families. They are:
    Mercer County CASH Campaign
    Newark Now
    New Jersey Citizen Action
    Our neighbors in Philadelphia can also contact either Ceiba or Campaign for Working Families.

    Nonprofit organizations that wish to become actively involved in promoting EITC should contact either the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities or the National Community Tax Coalition.

    Additional details and web links are available on New Jersey Community Resources website on the Earned Income Tax Credit page.

    To claim your EITC tax credit you must file a tax return.