Our Mission
The mission of the Denver Asset Building Coalition is to provide free tax preparation, financial education and other asset-building services in the Denver metro area to help low-income and underserved people become economically self-sufficient. We work with other nonprofits as well as civic, education and business partners to build a coalition of valuable financial services that have a profound effect on people’s lives and on our community.
Organization History
Founded in 2004, DABC provides free tax preparation services to low-income people. We serve more than 6,000 clients and bring in over $10 million dollars in refunds annually, most of which is the Earned Income Credit (EIC) and Child Tax Credit. Additionally, we save our filers an estimated $1.6 million in paid preparer fees, keeping that money in the local economy and in the pockets of our clients.
We work with community partners throughout the multi-county area and break down barriers of service by going to where our clients are and where the needs in the community are greatest. We are located in multiple locations during tax season throughout the Denver metro area.
Our goals are to give people consistent, accurate and knowledgeable service. Our volunteers are experienced tax professionals, and our staff and volunteers alike are dedicated and passionate about our work. We go out of our way to tackle complicated, multi-year problems that no other group like ours will touch, and we are the only free tax site open year-round. People come to see us from all over the state for that reason, and in a normal tax year, we served people from more than 200 Colorado zip codes.
DABC serves individuals earning $35,000 or less, and families earning up to $57,000. During 2019 the average income of our clients is about $21,000 and nearly 80% make less than 50% of the area median income. Additionally, 40% of our clients are over 55; 25% speak a language other than English at home; 10% have disabilities; and nearly 55% identify as a racial minority, a majority of which are Spanish speakers. We provide translation services, and we provide services for people with ITINs, which are provided to non-resident aliens.
