GOLDEN STATE OPPORTUNITY

Description

Golden State Opportunity (GSO) works to increase utilization of other benefits and resources, such as CalFresh and fraud protection awareness, to help families access the dollars available to them and build long-term financial security.

GSO is very active in advocacy, working with coalition partners to spur successive expansions of the CalEITC and turning it into a $1B+ program benefitting over 5 million Californians annually. In 2020, we achieved a major success after years of hard work with the expansion of the CalEITC to include immigrant families without Social Security numbers. GSO conducts our advocacy efforts both statewide and federally-pushing to change policies that foster systemic economic and racial inequities.

GSO’s work includes building extensive networks and deep partnerships, as well as effective communications and outreach strategies. We conduct direct outreach via text messaging and other channels, partner with trusted messengers, and provide grants to community organizations to reach priority communities and provide free tax preparation services, act as the statewide resource for CalEITC and CalFresh outreach and provide materials in 13 languages, and launch multi-channel paid media campaigns to drive broader awareness of tax credits and public benefits.