H&R Block’s Benefit Notification Program: Helping Low-Income Families Achieve Financial Health

H&R Block’s Benefit Notification Program is the first of the Socio-Economic Determinants of Health Briefing Series. The series profiles corporate and community initiatives that have addressed one (or more) of the socio-economic determinants of health in profitable or sustainable ways. The initiatives serve as models that corporations and communities can adopt/adapt to enhance both population health and their own organizational performance.

H&R Block’s benefit notification program is an innovative program that alerts tax filers to available government benefits, and assists with the application process. Developed in collaboration with the Calgary’s Poverty Reduction Coalition, the program aims to increase uptake of government benefits—and therefore, income—among low-income Canadians.

H&R Block’s benefit notification program demonstrates how projects with socially responsible motives (e.g., to improve the financial—and thus physical—health of low-income Canadians) might also enhance a company’s image, client base, and profit margin.