Jun 27 / Staff

Elevating Collective Impact in the Free Tax Preparation Field

Designing and facilitating a national summit to shape the future of equitable service delivery.

Client Context

A leading national nonprofit focused on economic security for older adults was reexamining the role of its flagship free tax preparation program. For decades, this program had operated through a vast, volunteer-driven infrastructure, providing essential tax filing assistance to low- and moderate-income communities.

But the field was changing. With shifts in IRS policy, volunteer capacity, digital filing behavior, and demographic reach, the organization recognized that sustaining its impact—and relevance—required not just programmatic adjustments, but a deeper understanding of how the entire free tax ecosystem was evolving. To address this, the organization sought to bring together a diverse cross-section of tax preparation providers for a national summit to explore shared challenges, surface emerging insights, and catalyze innovation.

The Challenge

The central challenge was to design a summit that would transcend standard convening formats. The client did not want a traditional conference filled with expert panels and passive listening. Instead, they needed a strategically curated space that enabled real dialogue across roles, perspectives, and organizational models.

Key questions driving the engagement included:
  • How can we bring together service providers with varied operating models and funding streams in a way that builds trust and shared language?
  • What trends are reshaping the delivery of free tax services—and how should we respond?
  • How can the summit become a strategic input into program innovation, rather than just a standalone event?

The summit would need to engage stakeholders meaningfully, produce actionable insight, and strengthen the organization’s position as a national convener in the field.

The Symphonic Approach

Symphonic Strategies was selected to design and facilitate this national summit. We brought to the engagement our full consulting toolkit: systems-level framing, human-centered design, and structured facilitation.

The engagement unfolded in six phases:

1. Collaborative Planning and Strategic Framing
We partnered with the Foundation’s leadership to define the purpose, tone, and core design principles for the summit. This included clarifying the arc of the participant journey, setting expectations for engagement, and co-creating an inclusive agenda.

2. Diagnostic Insight Gathering
Prior to the summit, we developed and administered a targeted online questionnaire to stakeholders in the tax preparation field. This pre-summit engagement tool identified patterns in operational challenges, innovation appetite, and equity concerns, and served as a key input for agenda design.

3. Experience Design and Facilitation Blueprint
We designed a custom facilitation structure for the two-day summit—complete with plenary and breakout flows, session prompts, group materials, and a facilitator’s guide. The experience emphasized cross-role dialogue, scenario exploration, and collaborative problem-solving.

4. Summit Facilitation and Engagement
A team of Symphonic facilitators led the full convening in Washington, DC. We guided plenaries, managed breakout sessions, coached speakers, and synthesized key insights live during the event. The facilitation style emphasized psychological safety, strategic tension, and authentic peer learning.

5. Strategic Debrief and Learning Synthesis
Following the summit, we developed a comprehensive final report and a visual infographic. These outputs captured participant insights, categorized strategic themes, and translated discussion into actionable priorities for the Foundation’s future planning.

6. Internal Strategy Consultation
As a final deliverable, we held a strategic briefing with Foundation leadership to debrief summit outcomes and explore next steps for program adaptation and sector-wide engagement.

The Impact

The summit succeeded in achieving more than a convening—it functioned as a strategic catalyst for the Foundation and the broader field. Tangible outcomes included:

Deepened Field Awareness
Providers and nonprofit leaders left the summit with greater clarity about shared challenges and systemic constraints, including IRS policy shifts, digital access inequities, and evolving client needs.

Strengthened Relational Infrastructure
For many participants, the summit was their first opportunity to connect across organizational silos. The experience helped reduce isolation and built momentum for future collaboration.

Actionable Insight for Strategy Development
The findings from the summit directly informed internal Foundation planning for FY25–27, shaping investments in technology, volunteer recruitment, and culturally relevant service design.

Elevated Credibility as a National Convener
The Foundation reasserted its leadership in the tax preparation space, not just through service delivery but by creating spaces for shared learning and strategic thinking.

Reflections

This project affirms a core principle of Symphonic’s practice: effective convening is a form of strategy. When designed with clarity, curiosity, and intention, summits can shift mindsets, elevate practice, and accelerate systems change.

The Foundation continues to integrate summit insights into its multi-year planning process and is exploring additional convenings to sustain momentum across the free tax preparation field.

Feedback

“This summit created the space we needed—not just to talk, but to see the field and our role in it differently.”
— Program Director, Economic Opportunity (anonymous)