Events
Community Learning: Conversations & Events
Our conversations cover a wide range topics of interest to fiscal sponsors and their communities as well as ally organizations such as funders. Unless otherwise indicated, the events listed below belong to our Reimagining the Sector Conversation series, open to all who register and take place via Zoom on alternating Thursdays from 3 - 4pm Eastern Standard Time.
Our full library of recordings and presentations from past events are accessible to our Organization Members here. We typically share these on a one time basis with our broader community the days following each conversation.
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Resilient Structures - How Fiscal Sponsors Can Help Weather the Gathering Storm
Fiscal sponsors are not just shared capacity and resources for our community, they also can be safe harbors for nurturing new initiatives, managing risks, and defending against attacks. As challenges for the nonprofit sector mount, in particular with the incoming administration, we want to examine the ways in which fiscal sponsors can mitigate risk and provide protections, both for themselves and their projects. In this session, we will discuss how to get your house in order to mitigate vulnerabilities, the uses of Model “L” (“A-L”) fiscal sponsorship as legal protection, the potential role for Donor Advised Funds as intermediaries for private philanthropies, and general readiness considerations for fiscal sponsors and their communities.
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Sharing Nonprofit Infrastructure as a Business and Mission Model
Fiscal sponsorship, in its various models, is a way to share various aspects of nonprofit infrastructure: corporate home, tax status, management team, policies, tech systems, etc. The sponsor is building its systems and management capacity to share with other programs and in doing so, both distributes costs and diversifies revenues. In this manner, fiscal sponsorship, as shared infrastructure, is a business model unto itself, both for projects and sponsors alike. We see hub organizations, such as alliances, associations, and the like adding fiscal sponsorship to their offerings to enhance both the mission-related support they offer constituents and their business models. Join us for a conversation around resource sharing as a business model for fiscal sponsors and other cooperative and collective organizations.
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MEMBER ONLY Advocacy Conversation - To (c)(4) or to (c)(3)?
Essential to the advocacy toolkit is the flexibility to engage in broad-based, non-partisan advocacy efforts as well as targeted advocacy and lobbying–activities that span two distinct tax exemptions: 501(c)(3) and 501(c)(4). While some degree of targeted advocacy and lobbying is permitted under (c)(3)s, increasingly, fiscal sponsors are forming affiliated (c)(4) organizations to provide more robust support to movement, social justice, environmental conservation, and related mission areas. Join us for a discussion about how and when you might want to add (c)(4) capacity to your practice, and what operational needs should be considered in the process.
Our monthly Advocacy Conversations are open to our Organization Members only. Learn more about our Organization Membership tiers for Fiscal Sponsors and Ally Organizations.
Fiscal Sponsorship 101 Public Workshop
An introduction to the fast-growing field of fiscal sponsorship, dedicated to sharing resources and fostering equity, justice, and impact. Presented by Social Impact Commons, this 90 minute webinar discusses the latest practices and trends in fiscal sponsorship, as well as its 21st-century evolution into management commons–an approach to nonprofit resource sharing that centers equity and justice. Join us for an insightful conversation about what is fiscal sponsorship and how it is practiced today, and hear more about the opportunities related to nonprofit infrastructure sharing. Whether you're new to fiscal sponsorship or a seasoned professional, this event is perfect for gaining valuable insights and staying up-to-date with the field of infrastructure sharing.
This workshop is complementary for staff and board members of our Organization Members and costs $100 for nonmembers. A link to register is forthcoming.
MEMBER ONLY Advocacy Conversation - Project Communications Strategies
Effectively aligning communications between sponsor and project and between project and its community is a perennial challenge for many sponsors. Today’s political and social climate presents growing risks concerning messaging, public image, and day-to-day communications. Join us for a presentation and discussion on how sponsors are helping projects communicate effectively and with an eye to risk mitigation in a complex public forum, all the while remaining true to their values and missions.
Our monthly Advocacy Conversations are open to our Organization Members only. Learn more about our Organization Membership tiers for Fiscal Sponsors and Ally Organizations.
The Rise of Collaborative Funds and Fiscal Sponsorship
Collaborative funds are on the rise, today reaching into the tens of billions in funds under collective management. Collaborative funds are pools of funding assembled from multiple donors and/or institutional funders, often with the goals of addressing priorities that are shared by the group, that are outside normal grantmaking for individual funders, or where decision making needs to be shared with a particular community, again outside established grantmaking practices (i.e., trust-based philanthropy). Many of these funds utilize fiscal sponsorship as a management structure, and many larger sponsors also provide collaborative fund support, alongside fiscal and DAF sponsorship. Join us for a presentation on trends in collaborative funds and how fiscal sponsors can support and influence this fast-growing area of philanthropy.
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How does Fiscal Sponsorship Fit In? - Dynamics within Multifaceted Organizations.
Our recent field scan surfaced that over three quarters of the respondent fiscal sponsors run programs adjacent to their fiscal sponsorship practice. Some started as fiscal sponsors and added additional programs over time and, more often, fiscal sponsorship was brought on to complement existing programs in response to community needs. So what’s the relationship between the fiscal sponsorship practice and the rest of the organization? For organizations holding a fiscal sponsorship practice among several other programs, we think a establishing shared understanding of how fiscal sponsorship practice fits into the impact model and mission of the organization is of critical importance. Bring your lived experiences and listening ears as we unpack this dynamic!
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MEMBER ONLY Advocacy Conversation - Lobbying Compliance
Understanding the compliance and reporting needs of lobbying-related activity is always complex, but is growing as a sought after capacity for fiscal sponsors. In the coming years, the ability to offer support and help projects navigate the differences between advocacy and lobbying and related activities will become even more essential. This session will provide an overview and introduction (and for some, a refresher) on the differences and basic compliance requirements for both 501(c)(3)s and 501(c)(4)s.
Our monthly Advocacy Conversations are open to our Organization Members only. Learn more about our Organization Membership tiers for Fiscal Sponsors and Ally Organizations.
Building an Effective Fiscal Sponsorship Team
More than technology systems or even 501(c)(3) status, fiscally sponsored projects rely most heavily on the humans working at their fiscal sponsors. Just as that is true, the reality also is that fiscal sponsors, like all organizations, grow and contract, people come and go and not everyone works well together. During this conversation, we’ll hear from practitioners on different experiences building and improving the teams that support their fiscally sponsored projects. Additionally, we’re interested in learning how coaching and leadership development are emerging as intentional approaches to team building among fiscal sponsors.
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In-sourced or Out-sourced HR? - When a PEO Makes Sense
The question of when and whether to in-source people management capacity or use a Professional Employer Organization (PEO) is a recurring question for fiscal sponsor leadership and boards. As sponsors respond to growing demand for their support, people management capacities need to evolve. Likewise, for Model “A” comprehensive sponsors, being the employer of record is part of the work, and often a single new project can bring a large number of new employees in short order. Join us and several fiscal sponsors that are using PEOs for a conversation around the pros and cons of in-sourcing and out-sourcing HR as well as what analyses and considerations should underpin your decision.
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Model A-L Fiscal Sponsorship Public Workshop
Model “L” or Model “A-L” as we prefer to label it has been in fiscal sponsorship practice for several decades, but has remained less well-known and deployed as a model. Today, we are seeing its attributes of portability, liability allocation, separation of identity, and other aspects growing in value as a tool for managing risk and sponsoring projects with complex operations and assets. This session will cover how Model “L” works, why we prefer to call it “A-L”, and the use cases we see emerging for this structure in the field. We will also discuss important considerations and capabilities that are needed for sponsors who wish to offer this structure. A takeaway deck and a few templates and tools will be included in the workshop.
This workshop is complementary for staff and board members of our Organization Members and costs $100 for nonmembers. A link to register is forthcoming.
MEMBER ONLY Advocacy Conversation - A Primer on Crisis Communications
When crises occur–unforeseen internal failures, attacks from outside, or natural disasters–the impulse is to respond quickly. In this moment of haste, it’s easy to make missteps and in some cases, make the problem worse. We will dedicate this session to achieving a deeper understanding of crisis communications and rules of thumb for navigating these moments with grace and effectiveness.
Our monthly Advocacy Conversations are open to our Organization Members only. Learn more about our Organization Membership tiers for Fiscal Sponsors and Ally Organizations.
Sharing Decision Making - Member Governance Models
Sharing decision making with our stakeholders and beneficiaries is an essential part of designing and acting with equity and justice. One of the ways in which these practices show up is in governance structures–sometimes called “peer governance”. These include member- and employee-governed nonprofits, cooperatives, collectives, and others. We will discuss the basic underlying concepts that are found in all of these models, as well as how both sponsors and projects can engage with peer governance in the interest of further empowerment and equity with respect to the communities we serve.
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MEMBER ONLY Advocacy Conversation - Defamation Protocols for Fiscal Sponsors
Public discourse in the context of growing political division is unfortunately likely to grow more contentious in the coming years. In the interest of effective advocacy, debate, defense and general communications, it is essential to have a keen awareness of the legal concepts underpinning libel and defamation and how to help both your teams and those of projects navigate communicating without running afoul of the law. We will present on these concepts, as well as offer some guidelines you can offer to your teams.
Our monthly Advocacy Conversations are open to our Organization Members only. Learn more about our Organization Membership tiers for Fiscal Sponsors and Ally Organizations.
MEMBER ONLY Advocacy Conversation - Spring Planning
Our first conversation of the new year will afford space for the community to regroup following the holiday and continue our conversation about advocacy needs, both proactive and reactive. We will talk about key messages for us to focus on crafting, as well as how we might raise funds to support the needs of sponsors with fewer resources to invest in advocacy. Finally, we will gather input on future advocacy-related training and presentations.
Our monthly Advocacy Conversations are open to our Organization Members only. Learn more about our Organization Membership tiers for Fiscal Sponsors and Ally Organizations.
Year In Review. What’s Next!
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FS101 Workshop
This workshop is for folks new to the world of fiscal sponsorship as well as those interested in a refresher. During this dynamic 90 minute training, veteran practitioners will cover the basic models of fiscal sponsorship, make the case for more fiscal sponsorship in the interests of equity, efficiency and impact, and share insights and trends from the field.
COST: USD $95.00 for non-Organization Members. No cost for Organization Members. Organization Members - please email us for the no-cost access code.
Don't miss out on this opportunity to expand your knowledge and connect with like-minded individuals.
A Primer for Fiscal Sponsors on Understanding and Mitigating Cybersecurity Threats.
The fiscal sponsorship community collectively houses and provides critical nonprofit infrastructure to thousands of charitable initiatives, many of which are routinely and increasingly subject to attacks in the digital realm. Please join us as we welcome technologist and cybersecurity expert Amro Radwan who is the founder of Shake Tech. Amro will provide a grounded understanding of the rapidly evolving landscape of cyberthreats and offer practical steps fiscal sponsors can take to protect themselves and the projects they work with.
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Information Session on Social Impact Commons Membership
Curious about how Social Impact Commons works with Fiscal Sponsors, Funders, PSOs, Nonprofit Associations and other Ally Organizations, please join us for a complimentary information session and Q&A.
We welcome fiscal sponsors, from curious and occasional, to expert and established under our Commons Membership.
We also welcome philanthropies, PSOs, for-profit consultants and service providers, and other nonprofits interested in the field under our Ally Membership.
Join Zoom Meeting https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84693629949
(Note, when you click the link below you may be asked for your name and email to be registered for the session)
Fiscal Sponsorship in this Political Moment - Holding Space for Strategy and Hope
With the election now settled, we are processing and working on getting a handle on the moment. For our members and the broader community we will be holding space on November 14 to think, rant, empathize, and begin defining the hard work ahead for our field and the sector.
Fiscal sponsors are intentional communities, nexuses for solidarity, places to share joy and strength. Our work will be central to the fight for justice in the coming months and years.
Join us for an open conversation and space to talk and start to outline the work ahead within today’s social and political climate.
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What Does Charitable Really Mean? - A Review of the Fundamentals of Our Sector
The old adage “anyone can start a nonprofit” seems to be true, with 1.8 million nonprofits today and many more starting each day. But what does it really mean to be “charitable”? Fiscal sponsors are often on the receiving end of this question, as we frequently serve as the cradle of new nonprofit initiatives. Join us for a review of some of the fundamental ideas underpinning our work and sharpen your toolkit for navigating an increasingly complex sector with an uncomfortably close relationship with its counterpart, private enterprise. Understand how some commercial activities can be reimagined for a nonprofit context and how nonprofits can use the tools of the private sector to achieve their missions. We’ll also cover the rules around how assets move back and forth between nonprofit and for-profit hands, and how to navigate lines of authority in our sector, from regulators, to attorneys general.
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No Meeting this week. Presenting at NNFS Annual Conference
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Board Recruitment & Orientation Strategies for Fiscal Sponsors
Recruiting and onboarding useful board members is a continual challenge for any nonprofit. These challenges are particularly pronounced for fiscal sponsors. How do you not only educate prospective board members on fiscal sponsorship and get them comfortable with associated risks, but also get them excited about playing a role where, by design, their organization isn’t front and center in the programmatic work? Join us for a conversation with fiscal sponsor practitioners on different approaches to building effective boards.
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Nonprofit Reconsidered - Is Fiscal Sponsorship the Hope of the Third Sector?
The nonprofit sector, as a way to wield resources for social good, is positioned in between the private interests of the for-profit sector and the political vagaries of government. As the forces of capitalism continue to double down on extraction and U.S. democracy faces one of its largest existential crises in over a century, the work of civil society is more and more placed in nonprofit hands. Yet, our sector remains fragmented and our funding systems cannot support the demand for services. Join us for a conversation about the origins and purpose of the nonprofit sector in the U.S. including answers to some burning questions. Is our sector ready to carry more of the water for civil society in the future? What’s the outlook if the country remains so divided? And are fiscal sponsors the hope and future of the sector?
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Innovations from the Field: Cooperative internal structures and sharing approaches with Movement Sustainability Commons
All fiscal sponsor practitioners know that “how you do it” is just as, if not more important than that “what” kind of fiscal sponsorship practice(s) you’re engaged in. Yet we often see that the “how you do it” question isn’t paid the right attention. Please join us and special guest Yani Burgos from Movement Sustainability Commons for our first installment of Innovations from the Field. Yani will be discussing how MSC’s internal structures and sharing practices are centered on commoning.
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Accountability & Power Sharing: A Frank(lin) Conversation
At its best, fiscal sponsorship is a tool to advance equity; providing community groups with turnkey access to critical nonprofit infrastructure in a responsive trust-building manner. Yet if not practiced with intentionality and clear understanding of roles, responsibilities and who makes what decisions, trust can erode ultimately dooming the relationship. We began to explore these often challenging dynamics in early 2024 and we’re now ready to go deeper. Please join us and conflict resolution/trust building consultant and fiscal sponsor alum Blair Franklin as they lean into this sensitive and timely topic.
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Balancing the Risk Mitigating and Risk Producing Sides of Fiscal Sponsorship
We hear frequently - mostly from nonprofits that aren’t sponsors, the financial services and funding communities - the perception (or conviction) that fiscal sponsorship is somehow more risky than stand-alone nonprofit operations. We hear the fiscal sponsorship field saying the opposite, or at least pointing out the lack of nuanced understanding of fiscal sponsorship behind such an opinion.
Fiscal sponsors, in fact, can be risk mitigators, but under certain circumstances can become risk producing or compounding. As the spectrum of risks that our sector faces grows (environmental disaster, cyber security, political attacks, social unrest, financial and funding fragility, etc.) fiscal sponsors need to be sure that they are strongly leaning toward risk mitigating in all respects. For example, we often hear sponsors tout economies/power of scale and “safety in numbers”, which can mitigate risk, but an extensive portfolio can also produce concentration risk–one major failure can impact many projects. How do we strike a balance?
Finally, as nonprofits face unprecedented times with multiple risk factors we need to talk about collective and participatory risk management, wherein sponsors can lean into intentional, mission-focused risks with their projects and make community decisions.
We invite you to discuss how fiscal sponsors can provide safety for projects, engage in collective conversations, and mitigate risks.
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Governance & Accountability: Healthy Practices for Project Advisory Committees and Sponsor Boards
Some notable nonprofit closings in recent weeks remind us of the critical importance of governance, both legally and ethically, to the health of our sector. For fiscal sponsors, there is the added layer of complexity in the relationship between project Advisory/Steering Committees and the board of the sponsor, both of which share in the exercise of good stewardship. The 2023 field scan of fiscal sponsors surfaced a mix of approaches when it comes to project advisory bodies, so we feel it’s time to refocus on governance and explore this relationship further. What are the healthy practices for both project advisory and sponsor boards, together and separate? Can fiscal sponsors offer our sector a degree of resiliency through both governance structures? What happens when things go wrong with a sponsor or a project; what are the responsibilities of both governing bodies? Join us for a practical conversation about governance for fiscal sponsors and projects.
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Advancing Transparency & Opportunities for Fiscally Sponsored Projects with Candid
As the field of fiscal sponsorship continues to grow as a model for sharing nonprofit infrastructure, allies and skeptics alike are calling for further research and understanding. There is also recognition of the need to bring greater visibility to the work of fiscally sponsored projects to promote greater equity in philanthropy. The interests of the field are best served by practitioners taking the lead in aligning on core data and metrics. Over the past few months, Impact Commons has partnered with Candid providing input into the design for the collection of data on fiscally sponsored projects. Join us for a conversation with Candid to discuss the urgent data needs for our field, preview their plans to collect data related to this field and provide input into this timely work.
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How much? How well? - Measures & Tools to manage and oversee a fiscal sponsorship portfolio
Fiscal sponsors have important questions about their portfolios: How big should it be? How do we know if the portfolio is balanced and sustainable? How do we organize the portfolio of projects to be supported by different staff members on our team? Is the composition of our portfolio serving our impact goals?
To help answer these (and other) questions in a data-driven manner, we often highlight a need to use Key Performance Indicators and maintain Portfolio Management Dashboards. Use of such tools can inform strategic and ongoing conversations about the size and complexity of the current portfolio, help assess the changes over time, clarify the risk and sustainability of the current portfolio, inform resource planning, capital investments, instill better transparency and accountability across our internal management practices.
For this session, we invite you to bring your key measures and tools you use to understand your portfolio and plan for the future along with ideas on what would be most useful in the future. Impact Commons will also share a simple template that could be a helpful starting point to cover key performance indicators for all fiscal sponsors while leaving room to incorporate essential aspects that a particular fiscal sponsorship program might want to measure further.
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Model A “light” or “C+”? Emerging Practices
We are increasingly observing a blurring of ‘Model A’ and ‘Model C’ fiscal sponsorship practices. In a conventional "‘Model A’ arrangement, the sponsor provisions the entire “back office” of the project. With ‘Model C’, the sponsor regrants contributions received to the sponsee carrying out the project. The sponsee in turn manages all expenses. . . Except when that isn’t the arrangement. Join us to discuss operational and compliance considerations when deviating from the standard models. Bring your stories and lived experiences (projects and sponsors alike) so you can share!
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New OMB Uniform Guidance Rules: Game changer or modest improvements?
In October 2024, important “nonprofit friendly” changes to OMB Uniform Guidance will take effect. Their goal is to make accessing and administering government awards less burdensome and more equitable. You’re invited to join our own Asta Petkeviciute and government funding expert and fiscal sponsorship veteran Tamira Jones to learn about the forthcoming changes, how they help and what challenges remain. And be sure to check out Asta’s blog on this timely topic.
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The Fiscal Sponsorship Models Reconsidered - How do we define the field?
As the fiscal sponsorship field continues to grow and expand rapidly, we see a sustained focus on Models “A” and “C”, followed by “L” as a variation of "A" and “B” as a misunderstood cousin of “C”. These four are a subset of the models that have been identified under “fiscal sponsorship” and cataloged over the years, most notably by scholar and attorney Gregory Colvin in his book Fiscal Sponsorship: Six Ways to Do It Right. While all the models identified are ways of affiliating and sharing resources among related but distinct charitable activities, Models "A" and "C" largely continue to define the community of practice.
For this conversation, we want to look beyond just the legal and financial lens at some different ways to organize our thinking around the fiscal sponsorship models and how they relate to values-based practices. Join us as we draw on the findings of the Fiscal Sponsorship Field Scan 2023 to examine some different ways of looking at the relationships between and uses of fiscal sponsorship models to support work in the nonprofit sector.
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An Overview of Contract Review for Fiscal Sponsors
Every year, comprehensive fiscal sponsor practitioners enter into dozens, hundreds, or even thousands of legal agreements on behalf of their projects. Having the right contractual terms in place can be an effective way to balance the interests of protecting the organization and supporting the mission. During this session, our Chief Legal Steward Josh Sattely will provide a brief overview of our Principles for Equitable Contracting followed by a walk through of some contract review guidelines we’ve developed for our member organizations. This session is great for anyone who participates in your organization’s contracting process.
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Approaches for Full Cost Recovery
It’s been a long struggle to establish wider acceptance that a nonprofit’s overhead costs are not excess to be trimmed but rather covering these costs are essential to the mission, outcomes, and staff wellbeing. For fiscal sponsorship relationships, this may mean the sponsor’s and the project’s full costs of carrying out their work, including overhead, must be fully covered to flourish.
As a starting point, in order to craft the right strategy for recovering your costs, you must know what they are. During this hands-on session, we will explore a few different approaches to help you define the full costs of fiscal sponsorship support.
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Fiscal Sponsorship 101 for Grants Managers
There are several forms of fiscal sponsorship with important distinctions. During this session we’ll share a brief overview of commonly used models of fiscal sponsorship and considerations grant managers at funders should keep in mind when grantmaking activity involves a fiscal sponsorship relationship. This will also be a forum for grants managers to ask any questions they have on fiscal sponsorship and for fiscal sponsor practitioners to share their perspectives on how funders might better accommodate sponsors. Should be a lively conversation!
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Project Spin Outs Part II: Readiness Criteria
During our last conversation, we presented a framework for mutual analysis and decision making for projects and sponsors concerning the question of spin out. This week we turn our attention to readiness factors primarily on the project side for exiting a fiscal sponsorship relationship. What should be in place prior to and after the transition to set the project up for success post fiscal sponsorship relationship?
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Why & When Should Projects Spin Out?
The questions of why and when a Model A project should leave a fiscal sponsorship relationship are complex. While financial factors are often assumed to lead the way, we find there other dynamics that both contribute to and often cloud this critical decision making process. We also observe important questions that should be factored into this decision but aren’t. Drawing on data from the 2023 Fiscal Sponsorship Field Scan, we will propose and discuss a framework for mutual analysis and decision making with projects concerning the question of spin out.
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Change Management for Equity
Over the last few years - from the rooftops of institutional funders to workers embedded in communities - calls for nonprofits to develop more equitable structures have echoed across the nonprofit ecosystem. Yet, while change is easy to talk about, it's extremely hard to accomplish. Organizations working earnestly to develop more equitable ways of being too often get stymied for a variety of reasons at the expense of mission. And identifying and imagining equitable practices is easier than implementing those ideas, in particular where there are conflicting theories of change. Some aspects of these challenges were given treatment in this 2022 Intercept Article and we continue to observe echoes of these dynamics at play within fiscal sponsors and in the sponsor-project relationship. Join us for an open conversation where practitioners can share their perspectives on these complex matters.
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Funding for Fiscal Sponsors
So you have a rapidly growing portfolio of fiscally sponsored projects and need capital to grow your team and systems to get to your desired state of sustainability and impact. Join this conversation to explore how peer fiscal sponsors have strategically sourced growth capital to meet the moment. We will also look at how a few of the findings in the field scan illuminate possible capital gaps in our ecosystem. How do they (and you!) identify the right funding sources and articulate the value proposition? Join us to find out!
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Incorporating Fiscal Sponsorship into Your Theory of Change
Does your organization have a clearly articulated theory of change or impact model? If so, does it incorporate your fiscal sponsorship practice? Join us for a conversation on why it’s important for nonprofits maintaining fiscal sponsorship practices to understand how this program fits into the big picture.
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Management Commons Position Paper
Social Impact Commons embraces all types of fiscal sponsorship and other models for sharing nonprofit infrastructure. While this remains true, informed by our work and interactions with fiscal sponsors and projects of all different shapes and sizes, Social Impact Commons believes that applying commoning principles to ‘Model A’ fiscal sponsorship holds the potential to transform how social good is supported in the U.S. and beyond. The result, Management Commons, allows social good initiatives everywhere to benefit from turnkey access to shared nonprofit infrastructure informed by their unique needs. Pursuing this vision in earnest requires a recalibration of how nonprofit work is carried out and indeed, what it means to even be a nonprofit. Join us as we release an updated version of our position paper (current summary of vision here) and explore possible futures together!
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