Just Funding Practices - Fiscal Sponsorship 101 for Grantmakers

Welcome to our workshop on the fundamentals of fiscal sponsorship and considerations and best practices for fiscally sponsored grantmaking.

Fiscal sponsorship has been growing precipitously over the past decade, offering more equitable access to nonprofit resources for communities, providing grantmakers with faster and more efficient means to get money to frontline work, and offering a model for long-term, sustained collaboration among nonprofits.

For this workshop, we’ll dive into the mechanics of fiscal sponsorship, as well as trends in the overall field. We'll focus on policy and practice considerations specific to grantmakers, with a focus on grants management. Grantmakers are reporting significant increases in the volume of fiscally sponsored grants. While sponsored grants share similar considerations with conventional grants and non-sponsored projects, funders need to invest in orienting staff and adjusting policies and practices to be effective partners with sponsored projects.

We will cover key fiscal sponsorship considerations throughout the entire grantmaking process, including application design, review, and award management.

Social Impact Commons is an intentional community of practice for fiscal sponsors of all models and life stages--from aspiring to established. Established in 2020 as a member-governed nonprofit, we provide direct advisory support, tools, templates, technology, and other resources to our members. We also lead research and advocacy efforts for the field. While our membership focuses on fiscal sponsors, we also welcome allies in philanthropy, consulting, professional services, and other nonprofits with an interest in the fiscal sponsorship field.