By NEO Law Group
Fiscal sponsorship describes a number of varying contractual relationships that have through custom and practice developed between “sponsors” and “projects,” allowing charitable projects to receive deductible contributions. Having a charitable project fiscally sponsored by a sound and reputable fiscal sponsor may be an attractive alternative to starting a nonprofit, especially when an idea is being tested or incubated. There are several ways to properly structure such relationships, and it is important to get it right from the start. There are also a number of traps that can leave a project’s leaders vulnerable to losing typical rights associated with fiscal sponsorship, including the right to transfer the project to another 501(c)(3) entity, and/or losing funds raised for the project’s mission.
NEO Law Group Principal Erin Bradrick is co-presenting an important and timely workshop on Model C fiscal sponsorship. I highly recommend registering and attending if you’re a leader of a fiscal sponsor organization that provides Model C (pre-approved grant relationship) fiscal sponsorship, which is currently under a legislative and...
On July 16, 2026, a new bill, the Fiscal Sponsorship Transparency Act of 2026 (HR 9721), was introduced in the House and referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means. Generally, the Act requires more specific reporting by fiscal sponsors of the principal officers and activities of their...
With increased government, grantmaker, and media scrutiny of fiscal sponsorship, I find it interesting to read about ‘fiscally sponsored entities.’ From a legal perspective, an entity has separate legal existence from its individual members or owners. Typical entities associated with nonprofits are nonprofit or nonstock corporations and limited liability...
Fiscal sponsorship is a term commonly understood to reference one type of relationship – where the fiscally sponsored project is operated within the fiscal sponsor with all project assets, liabilities, revenues, expenses, employees, and volunteers being the fiscal sponsor’s. But this model, commonly referred to as Model A, is...
Fiscal sponsorship sometimes gets a bad rap because an organization setting itself up as a fiscal sponsor fails – sometimes for ordinary reasons, similar to why other nonprofits and for-profit businesses fail at a relatively high rate, and sometimes because someone did something wrong, similar to what can happen...
I have the pleasure of speaking at the Fiscal Sponsor Conversations forum (“FSC”) on Tuesday, August 12, at 10 am PDT / 1 pm EDT. With inspiration from an old post I wrote, Fiscal Sponsorship: Six Ways to Do It Wrong, FSC organizers Andrew Schulman and Oliver Hack asked...
A new nonprofit is commonly created when a program or project spins off from a separate nonprofit. Sometimes a project spins off from a fiscal sponsor, perhaps after a planned incubation period. And sometimes a program spins off from a nonprofit because of a mutual desire to provide greater...
I’m a longtime participant with, and supporter of, the Bar Association of San Francisco’s Community Organization Representation Project (CORP). I’m also a big fan of, and regular writer on, fiscal sponsorship done right. So, it was great to learn about the following free webinar from CORP on Friday, July...
Fiscal sponsorship is a complicated relationship to understand because it is not defined by law, it takes on multiple forms, there are nonprofits that have improperly structured fiscal sponsorship relationships (misleading others), and, in one form (comprehensive or Model A fiscal sponsorship) it allows for what may appear to...
The National Association of Attorneys General (NAAG) and National Association of State Charities Officials (NASCO) held their 2024 Charities Conference on October 8-10. This conference is the sole annual event at which charity regulators and nonprofit organizations and their attorneys, accountants, fundraisers, and advisers can meet, learn about, and...