This is the headline article from the latest ICBIE newsletter. It is reprinted here because it contains important news, for our friends who have not yet subscribed (please go to www.icbie.com and sign up, if you haven’t!).
Everyone who comes in contact with the ICBIE is struck by the incredible optimism and idealism that fires our work in Salvador’s cidade baixa. Although these expressions of buoyant confidence are absolutely genuine, unfortunately, that does not mean that everything is perfect. Beneath the surface, under the exuberant sequence of courses, exhibitions, concerts and cultural projects lies a perpetual and fundamental problem that threatens our very survival: finances. The extraordinary success of our work, which during the last year has caused all our courses to be packed full, encouraged us to expand our offerings, to meet the phenomenal demand for instruction. At the same time, our ever-growing network of talented people has caused a parallel expansion of cultural events, such as the Ribeira Art Fair, the International Graffiti Meeting and the upcoming Week of the Italian Language in the World. Pietro and Marlene have to organize, promote, administer and teach, a combination that makes their lives dauntingly difficult, with no free time for anything else, and they have continued to add to their work load, riding the uncontainable wave of devotion and commitment that makes the ICBIE so remarkable. But deep down, it has become increasingly evident that all this activity is not financially sustainable, as our meager resources continue to dwindle, without any tangible signs of improvement.
In order to stabilize our cash flow, it is imperative that we succeed in securing a stable income, and in this moment of economic crisis, it is hard to imagine that our friends and supporters will suddenly start sending us significantly more money than in the past, so we have to target government grants. But here lies the crux: if Pietro and Marlene are already way over their heads in work, how can they find time to focus upon diligently studying the offerings of many different government agencies, then envisioning tailor made projects for each one, defining all the details and meeting all the deadlines, with all the stamps and seals? Obviously, to find the time, they have to cut back, temporarily, on their regular work of teaching, organizing and promoting.
As a result, during the first semester of 2009, the ICBIE courses will be pruned down to a bare minimum, offering only advanced Italian language courses (to continue to develop our best students) and hapkido lessons (which are wonderfully run by Augusto, and cause no distractions for Pietro and Marlene). All the cineforums, concerts and cultural initiatives (which take up so much of Pietro’s time) will suffer a temporary hiatus, but we will be joined by four professionals with experience in grant writing and fund raising. The ICBIE has a great track record, the local community has come to rely on us and we are warm friends with the newly re-elected mayor, João Henrique. By temporarily ceasing most of our activities, we are signaling a loud alarm bell, one that will be heard all the way to city hall, the governor’s offices, and the ministries in Brasilia. And also, we hope it will be heard by our friends all over the world, reminding them of both our great optimism and the dire straits that we face, helping the poor kids we love so much.
