FREE COMMUNITY AND INDEPENDENT FREE PAPERS ASSOCIATIONS MERGE

IFPA and AFCP Members Overwhelmingly Approve Moving Forward With Proposed Merger The City-County Observer have just submitted an application for membership. Columbia, TN and Syracuse, NY – The Independent Free Papers of America (IFPA) and the Association of Free Community Papers (AFCP), the national associations representing the community publication industry, today announced the approval by both memberships to move forward with their proposed merger. The merger will create an association with one strong voice and clear vision to support the initiatives related to strengthening and promoting the community publication industry. The closing will take place no later than January 31, 2021 or sooner if all the legal details can be completed. The business operations will be blended over the coming months with an effort to make the merger as seamless as possible to members of both organizations.   The combined association will be a member controlled corporation and operate under the name Association of Community Publishers, Inc. (ACP). IFPA President, Rick Wamre, and AFCP President, John Draper issued a joint release stating:    “At the core of this unification is maintaining and enhancing value to our members. For members who belong solely to IFPA or AFCP, the unified entity will bring together member benefits such as CVC circulation audits, peer groups (with even more peers), events, learning opportunities, rising stars and much more. Benefits from each association will now be benefits for all of our collective members.   This unification also will improve operations. Over time, we’ll be able to combine cost centers at a net savings. We can eliminate duplication of efforts, and then focus on developing the solid industry voice our members need. In addition, our advertising network will be more robust and our partnerships with industry vendors more solid.”   The two associations developed from a common background in the 50’s, 60’s and 70’s as the National Association of Advertising Publishers (NAAP) and this merger will complete a reunification of the two groups. The combined association will represent approximately 200 different publishing companies across the country with a combined circulation of over 9.7 million. FOOTNOTE:  The IFPA and AFCP merger has just been approve and The City-County Observer have just submitted an application for membership. This is a developing story.