ABOUT IPF: DONATIONS THAT WORK INDEFINITELY
Project Selection   Our Roots   Leadership Team

IMPACT POVERTY FOUNDATION - IPF is a charitable foundation and in-field project facilitator dedicated to creating a positive and lasting impact on the worldwide poverty epidemic. IPF believes that fundamental change can only be achieved by giving the disadvantaged the practical tools and opportunities that allow them to change their lives independently.

OUR FOCUS - We focus on the rural working poor, who typically represent 65% to 75% of the population in most developing countries, and are the heart of their middle class. These families represent the future development potential of the countries in which we operate.


WHAT WE DO - We help create self-sufficient families and social services in Africa, South Asia and the Americas. By leveraging the natural entrepreneurial spirit and collaborative nature of the rural working poor, we build sustainable family incomes and self-sufficient social services simultaneously. We work exclusively with experienced, indigenous project leaders who know the community members and their needs, and who have strong relationships with supportive local and regional governments. With facilitation support from IPF, the project leaders  assess needs, prescribe solutions and manage the resulting projects. Initiatives include income generation projects such as farm irrigation and micro-industry which in turn support improved access to drinking water, literacy, vocational training, improved housing, preventative health care and power.  

THE IPF DIFFERENCE: DONATIONS THAT WORK INDEFINITELY - Our Impact Development Model is more effective and up to 30 times more productive than conventional giving models. In short, it contains a built-in multiplier that allows your donations to continue working indefinitely. Here's how it works:

  1. Once projects have been established and donations secured, donated funds are set up as permanent rotating loans in the countries where we operate.
  2. Loans are simultaneously extended interest-free to both families and social institutions to finance sustainable farms and micro-industries. Funds are used to establish irrigation, drinking water, farming and micro-industry materials and applied adult education.
  3. From a subsistence level, family incomes typically increase by up to 300% within 1 year.  Schools, orphanages and health centers which now contain on-site farms and/or vocational micro-industries become 100% self-sufficient within 3 years.
  4. Families receiving loans donate 10% of their income to support social services as long as they live in the community.
  5. As the loans are paid back, they are immediately re-deployed in new communities. As a result, your donations never stop working to relieve poverty.

PROJECT SELECTION - We select projects in Africa, South Asia, and the Americas that are focused on elevating the condition of the rural working poor. The IPF selection process focuses on communities where there are experienced indigenous project leaders who know the community members and their needs. These project leaders also have strong, collaborative relationships with local and regional governments who are both stable and supportive. With facilitation support from IPF, the indigenous project leaders assess the needs, prescribe solutions and manage the resulting projects. By leveraging local knowledge and expertise, and using a system that ensures indigenous ownership from beginning to end, sustainable poverty relief is virtually inevitable. Projects will typically include:

  • Income generation support mechanisms such as irrigation and drinking water as well as adult education in agriculture, micro-industry and preventative healthcare.
  • Social service improvements covering child education, orphanages and health centres.

All approved projects must produce results that are measurable, sustainable and time-bound. They must be respectful of local culture, the environment and basic human rights. In addition, each project’s design must always contain a built-in capacity to be replicated in other communities and must engage the active support of local and regional governments. A significant feature of IPF projects is that they are supported by formal three-way agreements between regional governments, local leaders and IPF.

At the discretion of the indigenous project managers, project proposals can span the following areas, based on community need: Literacy, Housing, Preventative Healthcare, Drinking Water and Irrigation, Micro-Industry, Farm Acquisition and Management and Power.

OUR ROOTS –IPF is a new organization with a 40 year lineage.  We were established by leaders of Canadian Christian organizations who recognized that to alleviate poverty, substantial work needed to be done beyond the mandates of their respective organizations. Reports from impoverished regions indicated that the demand for sustainable solutions to poverty was significantly greater than the capacity to deliver. IPF was created to remedy this situation. Based on the input and in-field connections of these organizations and others, IPF selects indigenous NGO’s that have the support of regional governments, large networks and proven performance track records. These locally operated NGO’s (numbering over 1,200) have been executing the IPF model for decades. Until now, their accomplishments have also been the world's best-kept secret. IPF is poised to expand their work through increased donations enabling new in-field initiatives that will deliver sustainable improvements to the lives of millions of the world’s poorest people.

LEADERSHIP TEAM

Andy Lubinsky, CEO
Andy has recently joined the Impact Poverty Foundation as CEO and is dedicated to telling the story of the powerful work of the local organizations and individuals in impoverished countries. Prior to joining IPF, Andy served in progressively senior marketing, research and strategic planning positions with a variety of companies including McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Procter & Gamble and Campbell Soup. He also founded his own management consulting company focused on strategic planning, brand building and organizational development. Andy is a graduate of St. Michael’s College at the University of Toronto and the Rotman School of Management. His community work includes serving as President of the University of St. Michael’s College Alumni Association and as a mentor to junior executives.

Leanne VandenEnde, Research and Marketing Coordinator
Leanne is a recent graduate of Calvin College in Grand Rapids Michigan. In addition to a strong commitment to the IPF cause, she has solid experience in corporate research and a passion for marketing. She is ready to assist our partners in these areas with thorough and attentive service.