I’m stunned: IMPACS, the Institute for Media Policy and Civil Society, announced yesterday that it’s declaring bankruptcy. And it’s pointing a finger at the Harper government’s budget cuts last year.
IMPACS is – was – a provider of communications training and services to non-profit organizations in Canada and internationally. Their monthly newsletter was a goldmine; their workshops widely used and well-appreciated.
The experience of IMPACS is, regrettably, not an isolated instance. There are numerous non-governmental organizations and charities in Canada’s community non-profit sector that are facing many of the same financial stresses. Chief among them is the lack of what is often called “core-funding,” i.e. revenue sources from operations or grants from governments or foundations that can sustain what is even the modest central management function at the heart of any organization.
In addition to the matter of inadequate core funding, another major challenge has been the ripple effect of cut-backs to federal grants and contributions announced last summer. This has had an adverse effect on the ability of numerous organizations in the non-profit sector to afford the services of the IMPACS Communications Centre, a social-enterprise model, moderate-cost provider of high quality communications services to non-profit and public-sector organizations.
One thing: some very talented people just became available. Savvy employers should get on the phone right now.
