What do you teach?
I teach Accounting Analytics, Financial Accounting and Income Tax Strategies for Individuals, as well as the MBA Course: Accounting for Decision Makers.
What are you working on?
Spreading the word on the rewarding service and experiential learning opportunity of Voluntary Income Tax Preparation! I am currently working on getting ready for the Spring ‘22 Volunteer Tax Program in partnership with Cash Oregon. Cash Oregon provides UP students the opportunity “to change lives and make an immediate difference for the community. It is where knowledge, community and compassion come together.”
Last tax season during Covid, there were 216 volunteers to assist in the Portland Metro system, assisting 4000 taxpayers, and over 8 million dollars in refunds. As a UP community, we have have expanded the volunteer base here on the bluff. Of those volunteers, we had almost 30 volunteers from the Income Tax Strategy Class participate. This made a significant impact since the volunteer base during Covid was down from prior years of over 500.
I encourage all who are interested in how to do their own taxes to volunteer for Cash Oregon to gain a skill while providing a service, resulting in an important impact on both their own lives as well as those whom they serve. Interested? https://cashoregon.org/
I have a few research items I am working on. Related to the Volunteer Income Tax activity, I am actively researching to answer the question “Did COVID-19 impact VITA Tax Filers’ Refunds”.
I am also working on publishing one of the topics from my dissertation, “Investing in the Global Art Market – Optimizing Performance through the Efficient Frontier, Revealing Trends through Co-movements”.
What do you like to do for fun?
I like traveling with my husband to visit my two grown kids, hiking and canoeing, gardening and spending time tending to my three chickens, Log-hen, Aid-hen, and Kylo-hen.
When I have a chance, I like visiting museums, art auctions, and learning about art, which was the motivation of my recent research.
More About CASH Oregon
The Volunteer Tax Prep through Cash Oregon is an important component of the Individual Tax Strategy Class that UP offers in Spring.
Similar to last year, we would like to encourage Sophomores and Juniors, as well as other majors to participate in this Community based Service Learning opportunity. Consistent with the University of Portland’s Mission, this opportunity helps students “Prepare people who respond to the needs of the world and its human family!”
To learn more and/or connect with Dr. Teri Grimmer, email – grimmer@up.edu