Frequently Asked Questions
If you have any additional questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us.
TFT is a non-profit corporation, founded in March 2015. Our primary mission is to provide free transportation for economically disadvantaged individuals in the greater Worcester area.
We work through other charities to fulfill the our mission. We carefully select a few of the many charities in the Worcester area to dispense individual day passes. We provide each partner charity with sets (typically 10 per month) of WRTA bus day passes to be dispensed. The Partner Charities tend to be those likely to have daily contact with the city’s economically disadvantaged. Take a look at our current list of Partner Charities.
There are three prerequisites for a volunteer to participate in the TFT system. They must be able to work minimum supervision, own a computer and work remotely. Our volunteers should be confident enough to make phone calls, conduct interviews and would be expected to use standard office software such as Word and Excel. A TFT volunteer will never see the actual recipients of the bus passes. We operate more like a wholesaler (TFT) dealing with a network of retailers (our Partner Charities).
There are no formal guidelines. Each dispensing organization is free to each chose each day pass recipient without our involvement. The only guideline is that it dispenses them to those who are in need. Typically this will be a different individual each time since personal situations are constantly changing and a need is therefore temporary.
Absolutely. Tasks for Transit Inc is a 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, incorporated in Massachusetts.
The organization that provides bus service for Worcester and many of the communities in the greater Worcester area. WRTA day passes are one form of transit fare used when riding in the buses. A day pass is only good for one day. The date is stamped on the pass when presented to the driver upon boarding.
No. For the foreseeable future we expect to only work with charities providing basic services to a client base that is mostly economically disadvantaged in the greater Worcester area.
Individuals and organizations that donate to TFT money or items of value. There are two contexts for donations:
1. Money used by TFT to run its operations and buy WRTA day passes in bulk.
2. Donations in kind, i.e., items of value, that TFT receives for its use or to resell to raise money.
Our donors include individuals, corporations, both for profit and non-profit, religious organizations, fraternal organizations, educational institutions, foundations and fund, clubs and government organizations.
An economically disadvantaged woman attended a free medical clinic held at one of Worcester’s neighborhood centers. The clinic was free, but the physician wanted the woman to get a certain type of “scan” that would require her to go across the city. The neighborhood center was one of TFT’s partner charities and was able to give a free day pass to the woman so she could get the scan and get home afterward. Other examples would be: a person transitioning out of a homeless shelter who needs to meet with prospective landlords, or an unemployed person going to a job interview.
This is always a tough question for a small non-profit like TFT. There are some administrative expenses that must be incurred regardless of an organization’s size, such as insurance policies, software licenses and government fees. 2018 will be the first year where the TFT program costs will be over 90% of the total annual budget. One reason this is better than most non-profits our size is that we are an all volunteer organization with no employees or contractors. Hence, there are no salaries or other employee rated expenses like workman compensation insurance. Our office space is donated so there are no expenses for rent, light and electricity.