Learn how you can support Embolden WI's fiscal sponsorship program
There are so many incredible community members out there right now who are holding the ideas and answers to our greatest challenges. Those closest to the problems are closest to the solutions, but we have failed to create the conditions in which these change act uninhibited on their vision and mission.
Many aspiring community leaders are commended for their vision and encouraged to take action. However, taking action requires funding, and traditionally, this has been achieved through creating a nonprofit. Consequently, individuals undertake the challenging task of applying to the IRS for 501c3 status which can take 9-12 months if approved. Even after establishing a nonprofit and starting to raise funds in the highly competitive grant and donor market, costs quickly add up. A mandatory annual audit costs approximately $30,000, and nonprofit insurance expenses rack up $10,000 or more. Providing health coverage and benefits for employees is often unaffordable, and the necessary technology to remain efficient and competitive exceeds the overhead budget.
For years, we have hindered community-driven transformation by forcing change makers to shoulder extensive administrative and financial burdens to receive funding, preventing them from focusing on their mission-driven work.
In the Powerful & Proximate report, readers are asked, "What kind of transformative change is possible for our communities when grassroots organizations are supported adequately and appropriately, regardless of nonprofit status?" At a moment in history when we need to center community, rapidly respond, and ensure those closest to the problems are closest to the opportunity, we don't have time to play the traditional "nonprofit industrial complex" game.
How do we cope? It may sound surprising, but starting a nonprofit isn’t the only way forward. Fiscal sponsorship offers the administrative backbone and infrastructure change makers need to focus on their mission. Fiscal sponsors ideally act as necessary connective tissue between grassroots organizations and funding sources. They create a path to rapid deployment of resources and a more equitable and accessible way for leaders of all kinds to access nonprofit infrastructure and get to work. It's time to challenge the status quo and lean into a powerful way to connect community with the resources they need to succeed.
The demand for nonprofits to act as crucial agents of change is higher than ever, yet implementing mission-critical initiatives has become more difficult. We are burdened with excessive responsibility and insufficient support. More and more, fiscal sponsors are seen as a path to rapid deployment of resources and a more equitable and accessible way for leaders of all kinds to access nonprofit infrastructure and get to work.
Fiscal sponsors ideally act as necessary connective tissue between grassroots organizations and funding sources. They present an important opportunity to elevate and effectively support grassroots organizations while honoring their vision for sustainability and remaining responsive to where they are in their growth. - Powerful & Proximate report
Fiscal Sponsorship 101
There are a lot of definitions of fiscal sponsorship. I happen to like this one the best:
Fiscal sponsorship is when a nonprofit organization (sponsor) partners with community to offer the opportunity to operate under its tax-exempt status enabling the partner to focus on its mission while the sponsor manages administrative tasks and compliance.
Other ones I like are:
Fiscal sponsorship is a common mechanism used in the nonprofit sector that enables individuals and organizations to start new programs without establishing a new, separate nonprofit organization.
When implemented properly, fiscal sponsorship offers the potential for efficiency, collaboration, and resource optimization.
Fiscal sponsors are sometimes described as:
management commons
administrative backbones
intermediaries
incubators
a hub
But what I love is what fiscal sponsors really do. Here are some of my favorite ways some fellow fiscal sponsors describe their services:
"a nonprofit organization that provides financial and operational infrastructure so our partners can focus on their missions." - Evergreen Social Impact
"we support leaders, create efficiencies, and foster innovation" - Colorado Nonprofit Development Center
"we work with organizations to face barriers, like access to resources and capacity, by ensuring they have the support they need; financial, human, and more, to operationalize their work." - TSNE
Why Fiscal Sponsorship Matters More Than Ever
Since January of 2025, the Trump Administration has waged the most significant assault on the nonprofit sector we’ve ever seen.
In addition, the nonprofit sector is facing increased competition and stricter regulations, the core challenges of fundraising, compliance, and operational management.
Fiscal sponsors (or intermediary organizations) like Embolden WI provide financial and operational infrastructure so our community partners can focus on their missions.
While the field of fiscal sponsorship is growing rapidly, fiscal sponsors are underutilized or not properly leveraged to uplift and activate grassroots organizations and the community-based power they hold.
With over 20 years of nonprofit management and nonprofit advocacy experience, Embolden WI provides our partners with required and necessary administrative resources, enabling them to better focus on fulfilling their missions, building organizational capacity, and improving our communities.
We have a powerful and urgent opportunity to lean into the fiscal sponsorship space to meet this moment in history. Those closest to the problems are closest to the solutions, but these communities need and deserve access to trusted infrastructure and "red tape expertise" to eliminate the administrative burdens that prevent community-led transformation.
Embolden WI already offers fiscal sponsorship to these amazing partners and many others are reaching out to see fiscal sponsor support.
We at Embolden WI are embracing a mindset of continuous improvement, collaboration, and courage.
What can you do to help? Support the infrastructure that makes it all work. At this moment we hope you'll consider making an investment to help us meet the full promise of our fiscal sponsorship program. To lead in this space, we need to hire a Director of Fiscal Sponsorship as soon as possible. The Director of Fiscal Sponsorship is the point of contact for our fiscally sponsored partners, helping them navigate charitable requirements and bring their ideas to their full potential.
Fiscal sponsorship, when mission- and values-aligned, can serve as vital connective tissue for closing this gap and supporting grassroots organizations, which hold tremendous community power and have the relevant proximity necessary to solve important social issues—if only they were equipped with resources that support their full activation. - Powerful & Proximate Report
Interested in learning more about the power and potential of fiscal sponsorship? Check out these resources:
History of fiscal sponsorship
The practice of fiscal sponsorship dates back to 1959 but the field really started to develop in the 1990's. The early 2000's saw an increasing interest in fiscal sponsorship from philanthropy and nonprofit leaders, largely in response to urgent calls for social justice and increasing threats to civil society and the health of our planet.
In November 2023, Social Impact Commons and the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors released the first major comprehensive scan of fiscal sponsorship in seventeen years. Their report, Fiscal Sponsor Field Scan 2023, found that “three times as many sponsorship programs were created in the last 20 years than were created in the 40 years prior to 2000." The field scan provides detailed information on more than 100 fiscal sponsors who collectively administer over 12,000 charitable projects with 18,000 employees or contractors.
