The situation for East Vancouver's Wise Hall is worse than it first appeared.
The music venue and lounge has been tucked away near Commercial Drive at 1882 Adanac St for decades, hosting concerts, art events, and conversations since the 60s. Earlier this year, a fundraising campaign was launched to save it, as it faced financial problems and permanent closure.
Since that fundraiser got underway, things have grown more dire, says Vanessa Violini. Officially, Violini is a director-at-large on the volunteer board but she and other board members have taken on a variety of tasks to keep things running after the venue's management team was let go earlier this summer.
New problems for the Wise Hall
As summer began, the board was able to gain a more complete understanding of how the venue had been managed.
"In June and July, as the board elbowed in, and got more investigative, a bunch of things came to light as far as what had and had not been done on a regular basis," she tells V.I.A.
Since then the board has parted ways with the (now former) management of the Wise Hall.
It turns out the organization received a penalty on their CEBA loan amounting to $15,000 and is facing a lien due to unpaid taxes; right now keeping the CRA at bay is the top priority for the Wise Hall, Violini says.
"The ball was dropped and there was a failure for anyone at the helm to stay in communication with the government," she explains.
Also, financial paperwork wasn't kept up-to-date, leading to a potential issue with the Wise Hall's mortgage, even though they've never missed a payment, she adds.
"The issue is there was a lack of complete awareness of the direness of the situation for too long," she adds.
There's still hope
It's as if they were "building a foundation under a house we're already living in," Violini describes.
That said, the board and volunteers are working through the problems; a tax lawyer offered some pro-bono work, communication with the CRA has been re-established, and they have a few "Hail Mary" ideas they're working on.
If a miracle were to occur, Violini says would raise $200,000 in the next couple of weeks. That would be enough to satisfy the government and set them up to move forward with a newly-hired management team.
Failing miracles, the organization is working to consolidate what they owe into a manageable monthly payment. Money is still coming in, with shows booked and people visiting the lounge, she points out.
Despite issues with the administrative side of the organization, Violini notes there's ambition and passion about the future at the Wise Hall.
"We have a lot of really incredibly passionate goals and we have strategies in place to make sure we hit them," she explains. "The biggest obstacle we face right now is the clock."
She notes there's also a lot on the plates of a few people.
"The people we have who are handling everything right now are spread really thin," she explans. "There are lots of people with great ideas but we don't have the capacity to take it on."
The venue is worth saving
Violini strongly believes the Wise Hall has an important role to play in Vancouver.
"It's small, but the impact and the importance and the role of organizations like the Wise Hall are so important to the betterment of humanity, building understanding and compassion for one another," she says. Places like Wise Hall offer somewhere to build social cohesion while people are feeling more isolated.
Many Vancouver arts and performance venues and organizations are struggling, according to industry peers.
To that end, aside from donating money, she's hopeful people will share stories of Wise Hall, to grow its visibility and provide context for why saving the venue is important.
"The best thing people can do is share their human stories, bring that lens of humanity," Violini says.
For those looking to help, the fundraising is ongoing. Official Wise Hall merch is launching (on their site). And, as always, the lounge is open from 5 p.m. into the night with free pool and darts for those looking to stop by for a drink, even when there's a concert in the hall.
