Since 1974 Impact has pursued a multi-faceted approach to fighting poverty. Jobs and employment has been the enduring focus of this work.

Attracting, Creating & Retaining Jobs

In a community that lost its economic bedrock with the evaporation of 90% of its textile industry jobs, Impact’s first twenty-five years focused on reclaiming abandoned industrial space for new uses. Over the years, the abandoned Downs Carpet facility, a former defense manufacturer, and a billboard production center were acquired. State tax credits, strong board support, and the personal financial commitments of Impact’s founders lay the foundation for the Impact of today.

Hundreds of thousands of feet of industrial space has been reclaimed. A vibrant public service agency with 120 employees serving thousands of needy Philadelphians annually is a core accomplishment. A childcare center, a recycling program, and new housing for homeless veterans are other uses of this reclaimed space.

Of Impact’s numerous job creation projects, Impact Science Kits, Impact Archives, and Impact Copy have each achieved the notable accomplishment of enduring for over a decade and breaking $1 million in annual revenue. In addition to creating jobs, these projects have provided training sites for employment programs, needed community services, and employment opportunities for residents, homeless veterans, ex-offenders, and other persons with significant barriers to rejoining the workforce. Project revenue has helped Impact retain a stable core team, and afforded it exceptional ability to respond to community needs.

Impact’s business association involvement started with its 1997 membership in the American St. Business Association, and now includes management of three associations. Revitalization of the Kensington and Allegheny commercial corridor is a key element of Impact’s Community Development work.

The Impact Loan Fund, established in 1999, aims to support additional job growth by enhancing access to capital and improving the risk characteristics of loans made to small businesses in the area. 

Building Family Assets

Helping families build assets is the final spoke in Impact’s poverty busting service cycle. Impact programs enable families to file their taxes for free, obtain the Earned Income Tax Credit, improve their understanding of financial matters, and receive state matching funds when saving for home, work transportation, and education.

Impact’s Building Materials Exchange has helped low-income homeowners build house equity for over twenty years, by providing access to free and low-cost building materials that leverage their sweat equity,

VITA

Starting in 2005, Impact joined other Philadelphia agencies in the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program operated by the Campaign for Working Families.  The core of this work is to help lower-income families in Philadelphia claim more of the $50 million in Earned Income Tax Credits that research indicated was theirs for the filing.  Since that time, Impact’s VITA Center has filed more than 2,813 returns, and garnered more than $4.7 million in returns and credits for community members. In the 2009 tax year, Impact processed 914 tax returns; helped taxpayers received $1,668,808 in returns, and had the highest percentage of taxpayers qualifying for the Earned Income Tax Credit of the VITA Centers serving the City.

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