I'm worried that iV is going to fall in either a financial or technical hole they can not get out of.

In that case, a few options:
a) We can return here
b) We can go to some place like Google, which did upgrade their message boards since last time we were refugees.
c) *If* the group wants, I can run a message board only for BAK members. I'd set up one of the open-source php/mysql message boards, and likely only do a few customizations. I'm willing to put in some time (I miss programming anyways), but only if the group generally believes this is a better direction than the alternatives.