[Image description: Two ridiculously adorable little bunnies. One is black and white, one is brown and white. They are munching on some little wild daisies (or maybe they are doing a bunny tango and one bunny is holding a daisy in its mouth). They both have the tiniest little bunny ears ever! I love these bunnies! Image from Pixabay.com]Hi everyone, before we begin, I’m on a webinar hosted by the Whitman Institute this Wednesday, 8/1, at 10am PDT, with other leaders, to discuss funding dynamics and how we need more trust between foundations and nonprofits. It’s free. Register here (or RSVP at whitmaninstitute@gmail.com if you have trouble registering).
Sorry about this click-bait title, but let’s just say that fiscal sponsorship, as a topic, is not the most exciting to many people. I, however, am VERY excited about it and think it is one of the most-important-yet-underused tools in our sector. So I am filling this post with pictures of bunnies to encourage you to read it. Please make sure you read the entire post, and not just glance at the pictures of the baby bunnies. It’s an honor system. I trust you. Don’t let me and the bunnies down!
[Image description: A cute little grey and white bunny on some wood chips, holding what looks like a basil leaf in its mouth. I know my herbs. That’s probably basil. Or maybe spinach. Image from Pixabay.com]asking them to provide donations to organizations that are fiscally sponsored. Right now, these organizations cannot get access to very useful tools like Google for Nonprofits, Microsoft Office, Slack, and a bunch of other stuff on Techsoup.org. They must have a 501c status, which leaves behind some incredibly effective orgs that are fiscally sponsored, while also allowing a few documented hate groups access to these tools simply because they do have status.
Thank you Nonprofit Quarterly for publishing our letter. I encourage everyone to please read it
[Image description: a jet-black bunny, on the ground, staring off into the distance. It has a majestic, noble profile, looking very regal. Image from Pixabay.com]and more importantly, put pressure on the tech giants to extend their donations to groups that are fiscally sponsored. Please email Techsoup at beyondc3@techsoup.org. The National Network of Fiscal Sponsorsis actively working with TechSoup to evolve its platform to support fiscally sponsored programs. TechSoup encourages everyone to send them your stories, frustrations, and words of encouragement, which they will share with senior management and partner companies to further advocate for needed changes. Please email Techsoup and CC fiscalsponsors@gmail.com so NNFS has a record of your advocacy efforts.
This brings up a similar issue: Some funders still refuse to fund organizations that are fiscally sponsored. This practice is inequitable and prevents our sector from advancing. If you are at one of these foundations, I—and all these adorable bunnies—implore you to reconsider. Here are several things to think about:
Nonprofits led by marginalized communities are more likely to be fiscally sponsored: Organizations led by communities of color, LGBTQ, communities of disabilities, and rural communities tend to be smaller, and smaller organizations are often the ones seeking fiscal sponsorship. By not funding fiscally sponsored organizations, you punish these communities and continue the inequitable distribution of resources that has been a challenge for our sector over decades. Less than 10% of philanthropic dollars go to communities-of-color-led nonprofits, for example, and this only-fund-501cs policy helps to ensure that the communities most affected by injustice continue to get the smallest amount of resources to do the most urgent work.
501c tax status is not a good indication of integrity or effectiveness. In the US, there is a false belief among many funders (and tech companies) that having 501c3 status means that an org is “legit.” But let’s be honest, it is usually not hard to get 501c3 status, which is why thousands of new ones are created every year. Anyone and their cousin can get status. Heck, I could probably found a nonprofit called “Unicycles for Puppies”—Mission: To empower our canine friends to reach their full potential through the circus arts—and get status within a few months. You might be thinking, “If it’s so easy, then why is this an issue?” Getting status is easy, but it leads to a host of challenges, which is why many groups choose to go the fiscal sponsorship route. Read on, below.
Fiscal sponsorship allows nonprofit staff to focus their time on programs and services:
[Image description: The sweetest little baby bunny ever! It’s black and white and snuggled up in some tiny succulent groundcover. Image from Pixabay.com. OMG, it’s so fluffy I could die]Since some funders refuse to fund fiscally-sponsored organizations, many nonprofits have been seeking out 501c3s. While this is the right step for some, for many it is a time-consuming task to set up systems and apply for status. And then after they get their 501c status, they now must spend time finding staff or consultants to run HR, financial management, insurance, payroll, etc. These are highly specialized skills, requiring time and energy to do well. But because small nonprofits often don’t have funding for operations staff, the duties often fall on staff who are running programs and services.
Fiscal sponsorship encourages nonprofits to collaborate and benefit from economy of
[Image description: A little light brown bunny in the grass next to a nest with three pastel-colored eggs. Wait, is this a bunny? It’s ears are so small. Not sure. It’s fluffy and cute, though. Image from Pixabay.com]scale: One of the reasons why fiscal sponsorships are effective is because it allows nonprofits to capitalize on economies of scales around a host of areas. Things like financial management, health insurance, and general liabilities insurance becomes cheaper for everyone when purchased under one umbrella. Forcing nonprofits to be their own legal entities prevents this economy of scale and increases costs, and again, organizations led by marginalized communities have even less funding to spend.
Fiscal sponsorship lets boards focus on mission and community-building work: Many small
[Image description: OMG, is this a bunny that wants to be a lion?! It’s tan and has a mane like it’s going to a bunny costume party and dressed as a lion. Image from Pixabay.com]organizations, especially ones led by marginalized communities, recruit brilliant leaders from their communities to serve on their boards. Unfortunately, because many of these organizations have to form 501cs to get funding, their boards suddenly become mired in myriad complex operations. This means they have less time to focus on fundraising, strategic planning, community mobilizing, and other duties that organizations need their boards to do to effectively carry out their critical missions. And as the roles blur, it often leads to staff/board tension and burnout.
Fiscal sponsorship helps nonprofits get out of the Capacity Paradox: The Capacity
[Image description: Aw, it’s a little soft tan bunny nestled in fluffy white carpet, staring directly at the camera, with a light blue wall in the background. What a sweet bunny with perfect pointy ears. Image from Pixabay.com]Paradox is when nonprofits cannot get significant funding until they build capacity, but they can’t build their capacity until they get significant funding. Fiscally sponsored organizations can bypass this paradox and get high-quality capacity infrastructure in place almost instantly, allowing them to get significant funding and carry out their important work right away. By not accepting organizations unless they have a 501c3, you force them deeper into this paradox that is very difficult for many organizations led by marginalized communities to escape.
Fiscal sponsorship increases the quality of operations in each organization: By pooling
[Image desription: A grey and white bunny, asleep in the grass, with shadows from what looks like a cage falling on its soft bunny form. Image from Pixabay.com]funds together under a fiscal sponsorship model, not only are organizations saving funds, but the quality of operations often drastically increases. Payrolls and financial reports are more timely and accurate. HR functions are more comprehensive. Legal crises are dealt with more effectively as they arise. Forcing each organization into a piecemeal approach, where they have little resources to spend on a host of complex operations tasks, risks each task being less dependable and accurate.
As our communities face increasing challenges, the way that we have been used to doing things needs to change. Fiscal sponsorship allows nonprofits to be more collaborative, effective, efficient, and helps to channel more funding into organizations led by and serving communities of color and other marginalized communities.
If you are with a foundation that has a hard policy against funding fiscally sponsored
[Image description: A little grayish-brown bunny being held against someone’s chest, probably, their fingers gently guarding the bunny. Awwww. This bunny is so cute. Image from Pixabay.com]organizations, please bring these arguments up to your team for discussion. And if you are a foundation that funds fiscally sponsored organizations and know foundations that do not, please use your influence to ask them to reconsider.
Everyone else, please email Techsoup at beyondc3@techsoup.org, and encourage foundations that don’t fund orgs unless they have 501c3 status to discuss this issue.
The many amazing fiscally-sponsored organizations, many of which are led by communities most affected by injustice, must be provided the tools and support they need to do their critical work. We all benefit that way.
These bunnies all agree.
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[Image description: Two hands holding up an orange square with an angry face on it. The background is of a brick wall. Image by Andre Hunter of unsplash.com]OK, everyone, sit down, we need to have a talk. Every once a while, someone—usually from outside the sector—mentions their goal of forming their own nonprofit. “It has been my life-long dream to quit the rat race and start a possum therapy organization. It’s kind of like one of those equine therapy programs, but with possums instead of horses.”
From the online discussions I’ve seen, the response from us is often, “Hiss! How dare they want to start a nonprofit! Let’s burn their barn down! Let’s pour salt in their field so it shall remain fallow for seven generations! Let’s mix up the labels on their spinning spice rack so that nothing they make will taste good again!” Continue reading “Someone wants to start a nonprofit? Quick, grab the torches and pitchforks!”
[Image description: Black and white image of the silhouette of a figure with shoulder-length hair standing in front of a large window. Image by Alex Ivashenko of unsplash.com]Hi everyone. I haven’t talked about the #metoo movement, even though it’s been on my mind. This is mainly because as I identify as a man, I should be listening and not mansplaining. Also, others have discussed this intersection of #metoo and nonprofit a lot more authoritatively, and I’m afraid to screw up in whatever I might have to say, if I had anything worth saying at all.
However, this movement is a discussion all of us need to have in the sector, and making mistakes and learning is a part of it, especially those of us who have positional authority due to our titles.
In the past few months, I’ve been reading up on others’ stories and thoughts. This blog post is a reflection on a few things our sector must do, prompted by various articles written by other professionals in the field. As such, it might not be very eloquent or comprehensive. But I hope one or more of these points might help to facilitate some discussions and actions. Continue reading “#metoo and the nonprofit sector”
[Image description: A cartoonish action figure of Spock, from Star Trek, with his hand outstretched in the Vulcan salute. The figure is standing on what looks like a wooden fence post, with a blurred background of plants]Thank you Nonprofit Quarterly for publishing my piece last week on the future of the nonprofit sector. Except for the post on the misuse of the word “literally,” this is probably one of the most important things I’ve written about in the past four years. Due to a few people not having read it, I am reposting the entire piece here. If you haven’t read and thought about it, please take some time to do so. We can, and must, move our sector into the future.
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Let’s face it, the last few months have been brutal. Dealing with the constant threats to communities and to democracy itself has been exhausting and heartbreaking, and many of us have been questioning whether we nonprofits are equipped to respond to current and future challenges. During these dark times, there has been at least one bright light: A new Star Trek show!
When hatred and xenophobia are on the rise, it’s nice to see a universe where diversity is a norm. From the two episodes I’ve seen, the new show, Star Trek: Discovery, is awesome. It’s not without flaws, of course, but this show, and Star Trek itself, paints a hopeful picture that we nonprofits should observe closely. And the Starfleet model in particular is something we should study
In Star Trek, there are various starships. Each has a different captain and a different mission. However, they are bound together by Starfleet, an organization that supports and coordinates the work of all the ships. Starfleet is big, with multiple departments. There’s Starfleet Academy, which trains officers; Starfleet Command, which provides governance; Starfleet Shipyard, which builds the ships; Starfleet Judge Advocate General, which serves as the judiciary branch, etc. Continue reading “Star Trek and the Future of the Nonprofit Sector”
[Image description: Nine hands of diverse skin colors, overlapping in a circle, as in a show of unity. Image obtained from pixabay.com]Last month, I attended a luncheon where one of the speakers, a colleague of mine, mentioned doing a home visit to check in on a little girl and her mom. The small apartment was completely dark. As my colleague’s eyes adjusted, she noticed there were papers with strings of numbers taped to the walls. Seeing her curious look, the mom said, “These are phone numbers. I want her to memorize these numbers…in case they take me away.”
Stories like these are now more and more common. In Seattle we’ve seen flyers posted all over the South Park neighborhood encouraging people to call ICE “for fast deportation of illegal immigrants.” We’ve heard about the tragedy in Portland of the men who were murdered on a train for defending two Muslim women against the abuse of a bigot. These stories of fear and hatred are enough for many of us to lose faith in humanity. But I have been encouraged by the parallel stories of compassion and solidarity, of neighbors looking out for one another.
All of this makes me wonder about one of the most important roles of our sector, which is the building of community power. When the voices of the community members most affected by injustice are strong, when they have the resources and power to help change the systems—by voting, by shaping policies—our society is strengthened and all of us benefit. As our world spirals into divisiveness and intolerance, building the voice and power of the most marginalized is our best defense against the rise in racist nationalism, hate-mongering, xenophobia, violence, and injustice. Continue reading “Winter is here, and we must build the power of organizations and communities of color”
