11/19/2009 14:13: Thank you vita program ....

comeTime	11/19/2009 14:13
OverallSatisfaction	10
PurposeOfVisit	Learn about volunteer opportunities
CompletedPurpose	Yes
ValueMost	the sevices provided to the community and the opportunity to volunteers to be usefull and return to the community what has been given to them for free. Thank you vita program. Sincerely, Maria xxxxx xxxxxxxxx
PurposeNotComplete
Frequency	This is my first visit ever
Path	Other

Dear Maria at 14:13

Thank you for your taking the time to express your thought and the level of satisfaction you derived from the site.  Yes, the VITA program gives the opportunity to volunteers to return back to the community something of value and that is satisfying.   The personal satisfaction you get as a volunteer will depend on the effort you are willing to put into doing a good job for taxpayers, and if you choose to do so, will provide the opportunity to help taxpayers get all the deductions and credits they are entitled to at no cost to them.  There are many non-profits that use volunteers who can spare a few hours – to do a good job for VITA requires upfront commitment to training time that may be more than the time spent volunteering.

11/19/2009 11:05: is this official site for VITA?

comeTime	11/19/2009 11:05
OverallSatisfaction	4
PurposeOfVisit	Learn about services
CompletedPurpose	Yes
ValueMost	Is this the oficial site for VITA or just for a certain region.
PurposeNotComplete
Frequency	This is my first visit ever
Path	Search engine result

Dear visitor at 11:05
Thanks for taking the time to provide your feedback.  I am sorry that although you accomplished the purpose of your visit to learn about services it was not very satisfactory.  As for whether it is an official site for VITA or just for a certain region, the answer within the footer of each page may not be totally clear.  The site is not an official site for VITA – the official site for VITA is http;//www.irs.gov.  As to whether it is for a certain region, please note that it was created by a volunteer in Santa Clara County, Ca for that county.  Since others visited the site, additional information for other regions were added as they became available, but since I do not have the clout to require other sites/counties/regions to provide the information, I can only include information available on the internet, or if site coordinators or SPEC Relationship managers provide the information.

11/19/2009 0:23: got training materials

comeTime	11/19/2009 0:23
OverallSatisfaction	9
PurposeOfVisit	Get training materials
CompletedPurpose	Yes
ValueMost	Excellent overview and detailed view of VITA
PurposeNotComplete
Frequency	This is my first visit ever
Path	Typed the URL into a browser

 Dear visitor at 0:23

Thanks very much for taking the time to respond to the survey.  I am glad you accomplished the purpose of getting training materials, and obtaining an excellent overview and detailed view of VITA.  Remember the official, complete and most authoritative information is available  on http://www.irs.gov

11/18/2009 8:01: not sure of skill requirment

comeTime	11/18/2009 8:01
OverallSatisfaction	7
PurposeOfVisit	explore vita
CompletedPurpose	No
ValueMost
PurposeNotComplete	I was seeking a place to take classes or another resource in my area. I did find online items. I am still unclear if I(ordinary non-skilled accounting person) could do this training or if I should have accounting background. If so, how much? Because the tax year is confusing to the general public, a more clear explaination such as, training for the tax returns due 4/15/200___; leaving a quicker impression of which tax year is being learned/trained/studied for.
Frequency	This is my first visit ever
Path	Search engine result

Deal visitor at 8:01,

Thanks for taking the time to provide feedback on your experience.  I understand that you are trying to find out more about VITA and how to take classes or resources in your area. 

This website receives information about Santa Clara County sites, and online training information for the rest of the country.  The information is obtained from the IRS.gov website, which appears to consider the 2010 season to sometimes refer to the year in which the return is due.  In the context of current activities, the upcoming season from mid-January to mid-April 2010 addresses  the taxes due on income earned in 2009.  I have recently been informed by a SPEC Relationship manager that  the answer to a question I asked is being addressed for FY 2010. So what does that mean?  That it is being addressed for the session in 2010, or that it is for the tax year 2010?  Am I supposed to wait for my answer a couple or months or a year plus a couple of months?  Given that in many cases FY 2010 corresponds to the period July 2009 – June 2010, that makes it even more vague since we are already more than a third way through the fiscal year.

The other question you bring up has a reasonable answer.  You don't need a degree in accounting to be able to do this.  In fact, we have found that many volunteers with accounting backgrounds appear to find it hard to prepare their own income tax returns.

What is required is the ability to read and understand concepts of tax law (and no, you don't need a law degree to do this).  If you can read and make some sense of the training material, you should be able to get yourself certified.

11/17/2009 11:51: can't get info to get students interested in VITA

comeTime	11/17/2009 11:51
OverallSatisfaction	7
PurposeOfVisit	Find contact information
CompletedPurpose	No
ValueMost
PurposeNotComplete	I am working with the Accounting Society at Cal State University San Marcos in San Marcos California and am trying to find out how I can our students involved in the VITA program.  It has been difficult to locate the information I need in order to accomplish this.
Frequency	This is my first visit ever
Path	Typed the URL into a browser

Dear visitor at 11:51

Thank you for taking the time to provide your feedback.  You are expressing a need that I had not addressed explicitly. The purpose of the site is to help volunteers offer their services.  As indicated, individual signups are sent to the IRS for routing to the right IRS office.  I regret you have not been able to get information on how your student can get your student involved in the VITA program.  Have you tried filling in the signup form and asking your question there?  That way there is someone the IRS can respond to your specific questions.