Photo credit: seanmcmenemy, Flickr
Impact Sourcing is a global initiative that creates jobs and improves the lives of high potential but disadvantaged people. But in order to grow and scale their organization, Impact Sourcing Service Providers (ISSPs) must have the resources in place to invest in new recruits and train promising workers.
In the early days of an ISSP’s development, “interim support” is often sought. This support has the primary purpose of giving the ISSP the funding it needs to start training workers and invest in the required infrastructure for a digital work center. Interim support can come from a variety of sources, including government agencies, foundations, or even corporations. Our directory indicates if an ISSP is “interim supported.”
By providing funding, interim supporters often become stakeholders in the ISSP, potentially providing input into the direction of the early outsourcing efforts. But the goal of most ISSPs is financial independence, with most ISSPs striving to be self-sustaining as quickly as possible. There is no predetermined cutoff time for interim support and, in fact, some ISSPs choose to continue seeking interim support throughout their growth cycle–especially for future expansion projects.
There are a variety of reasons ISSPs might seek interim support. Those can include (but are not limited to) the following:
- Personnel: ISSPs seek interim support to attract and retain skilled employees and to help with their recruiting efforts. In addition to initial and ongoing training, some ISSPs offer tuition assistance for each employee emphasizing continued employee development.
- Training: A significant amount of resources are spent to train and mentor each employee with some training programs lasting up to eight months.
- Digital Work Center: Significant resources are dedicated to digital infrastructure. This includes computers, high quality Internet connections, and in some areas continuous electricity service.
Interim funding is a great way for ISSPs to start and scale up operations in new geographical locations, while also having the resources needed to conduct initial and ongoing training for its employees. While self-sufficiency is always the goal, interim funding can help provide the support ISSPs need to scale their impact.