2025 Mid-year Report

October 19, 2025

I’m proud to share Golden State Opportunity’s 2025 Mid-Year Report with you. 

For the fifth year in a row, more than $1 billion has been claimed through the CalEITC program by working Californians. Of that $1 billion, Golden State Opportunity’s CalEITC campaign directly put $30 million into people’s pockets. That is $30 million of food on tables, rent payments made, cars fixed and daycare secured.

For all the strides we have made – detailed throughout this report – tax season also coincided with the Trump Administration’s move to dismantle the federal government as we know it. We know that the current policies and systems are, and have been, insufficient in meeting the needs of workers struggling with the cost of living, yet the ferocity, cruelty, and speed this administration has employed to gut Medicaid, food stamps, and terrorize the immigrant communities has left us reeling.  

While the politics around us shift, we recognize the importance of this moment and want to share what Golden State Opportunity is doing to create financial security for those who are struggling. We are laser focused  to ensure every eligible worker claims the dollars they’ve already earned. As the cost of living rises and harmful policy choices threaten the financial security of low-income Californians, we’re showing up — community by community, credit by credit — with the tools, trust, and tenacity this moment demands.

In solidarity,

Amy Everitt, President
Golden State Opportunity

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The Economic Power of Tax Cuts Tax Filing Isn’t Flashy, But the Impact Is Huge Building Tax Access in the Central Valley Connecting in the Capitol Philanthropic Opportunities

The Economic Power of Tax Credits

 

Here’s what to understand about these numbers:

When someone receives $1 in tax credits, they typically spend them within two miles of their home. That generates local economic activity, supports local businesses, and helps communities thrive. Plus, there is a sales tax on most of those expenses. That generates revenue that is reinvested in the state’s general fund, which helps keep our economy strong.

That means GSO’s impact was $56 million in economic activity and $4 million in sales tax back to state and federal funds! Statewide, the impact was $226.7 million in economic activity and $16.4 million in sales tax back to state and local governments.

It also means that when you invest in GSO, for every $1 GSO receives, $6 is put in the pocket of a low-income Californian and $10 goes back into the community where they live!

Tax Filing Isn’t Flashy, But the Impact Is Huge

Johnny* was sitting on his couch, wondering how to do his taxes when he got a text from GSO about free tax prep right down the street from his apartment. He clicked the link, made an appointment, gathered his information, attended the very-local Tacos & Taxes event, and filed his taxes for free. He got to eat some great tacos to boot!

Johnny is not alone. It’s hard to get motivated to do your taxes. Add to that the other obstacles low income individuals face (distrust of government, lack of time, fear of doing it wrong) and we face a real challenge to ensure everyone who is eligible for the credits overcomes the “doing your taxes” hurdle. 

GSO has been meeting this challenge head-on for the last ten years and every year we find ways to reach more people and make it easier for them to get their taxes done for free. Here are some of this year’s accomplishments: 

Free tacos can overcome tax shyness. We held 23 Tacos & Taxes, serving over 8,500 tacos. These signature events engaged our community partners and elected officials to create an atmosphere of trust and community that had an average refund of $1,000 back in people’s pockets.

Tech talks. People respond. When we have tax events and folks don’t show up for their appointments, we work with  our partners  to figure out why. As a result, we leveraged Mobilize, a mobile registration system, to help book appointments, send reminders, and do follow-up engagement with folks like Johnny, whom we reached through our text program. Not only do more people keep their appointments and come prepared, we also learned that 91% of people who used GSO’s online registration had high satisfaction rates with their overall tax filing experience!

We text. They file. Refunds follow. For just the 2025 tax season, we sent 2.55 million text messages to about 1.4 million people who are CalEITC eligible.  We’ve learned that text is most effective when we can drive folks to a hyperlocal activity, like Johnny, or entice them by linking them to our best-in-class CalEITC calculator.

*not his real name

From Poverty to Possibility: Building Tax Access in the Central Valley

In 2025, we focused on how to reach more people, especially in rural communities where resources are scarce and free tax prep is often non-existent. We focused on capacity, geography and language access. 

Capacity: Through our grantmaking and technical assistance, we connected local organizations with established VITA trainers like LAVITA. Together, we are helping groups like the Jakara Movement and others work to establish their own free tax preparation program through VITA. Statewide, our collective effort led to 770 IRS-certified volunteer tax preparers. This model empowers organizations to develop long-term tax prep capacity from within, making free tax assistance more accessible, sustainable, and community-rooted.

Geography: With a focus on counties historically underserved by free tax prep — including Fresno, Kings, Tulare, Merced, Madera, and Mariposa — we piloted  new VITA services led by local partners. Where physical infrastructure was not yet available, we deployed the fully mobile and operational EITC Bus, bringing free tax prep directly to the people.

The 2025 EITC Bus Tour made stops in Fresno, Selma, Livingston, San Juan Bautista, Sacramento, and Yuba City. Across these locations, we returned $123,997 in tax refunds to hardworking Californians. We’re deeply grateful to our partners — including Jakara Movement, The Community College Foundation, Project SCOUT, and LAVITA — for their leadership and collaboration.

Language Access: Free tax prep only works when it’s trusted, and trust starts with speaking someone’s language. Our partners didn’t just provide interpretation; they led the work from within their own communities, bringing essential cultural knowledge, safe and familiar service locations, and language fluency. Thanks to their leadership, we offered tax preparation in Punjabi, Armenian, Farsi, Vietnamese, Spanish, and English, ensuring people received services that felt safe, respectful, and rooted in community. The Jakara Movement’s Punjabi-language VITA program is a model for what authentic outreach can look like: community-led, linguistically inclusive, and transformative.

Connecting in the Capitol

 

At our 10th Anniversary celebration, Governor Gavin Newsom shared via video that “…by taking a community-based approach to outreach and support, GSO has made CalEITC one of the strongest and most inclusive EITC programs in America. Period.”

We honored former Senate Pro Tempore Emeritus Toni Atkins for her leadership in creating the CalEITCs, and Isaías Hernández, Executive Director of the Eastmont Community Center, for his tireless efforts to help more people claim their credits.

A big thank you to Treasurer Fiona Ma and Controller Malia Cohen for recognizing the work of Golden State Opportunity and the importance of the CalEITC.

“I had a great time and was impressed with all the good work being done by GSO!” Inspired by our Board Member Cynthia Guerrero, we hosted an insightful evening with new supporters  and  two of the biggest champions of low-income workers, Senator Monique Límon and Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens.

Policy change doesn’t happen without showing up! Thank you to Robert Contreras, Amalgamated Bank; Veronica Galvez, The Community College Foundation; Emma Cordova, Eastmont Community Center; Aragas Mandani, LAVITA Community Financial Organization; and Armando Martinez-Lopez, Monument Crisis Center for sharing your stories and experiences with key legislators.

Philanthropic Opportunities to Support Golden State Opportunity’s Momentum10 Program