A fiscal sponsor is a nonprofit organization that houses projects that want to conduct important charitable work but do not yet have their own 501c3. The project leads and defines the work while the fiscal sponsor provides various types of support.
A fiscal sponsor provides administrative, accounting, and legal support allowing project leaders to focus on the work within their project. A fiscal sponsor makes it possible for a project to accept tax-deductible donations without having to go through the process of becoming an independent nonprofit.
Fiscal sponsorship does not give you your own tax-exempt or 501c3 status. Throughout the duration of the fiscal sponsorship, your project is a program of the Foundation for Louisiana.
Fiscal sponsors do not do the day-to-day work of your project. We provide operational support that frees the project up for the day-to-day work of your organization.
10% of incoming revenue.
When you become a Fiscally Sponsored Project of the Foundation for Louisiana, you can expect to receive the following support:
Dedicated Accountant – a staff accountant assigned to your fund to monitor transactions,
maintain budget versus actuals, and generate budget reports for internal use and for funders.
Fund Manager – a dedicated FFL staff member assigned to your fund who, in addition to
offering thought partnership as you grow, helps navigate funder relations and reporting,
contracts, invoicing, and regranting.
Accounts Payable – weekly payments via ACH to vendors and contractors.
Human Resources – professional human resources support if employees are onboarded at FFL.
Legal Advice – support on legal questions from FFL’s legal consultants.
From application submission to decision, the process takes about two weeks. You will submit your application using the provided templates. After an initial review to ensure all required materials and information were submitted, the complete application is assessed by the Fiscal Sponsorship Program Director and senior leadership team of FFL. Please note, in order to be considered, you must use our templates when submitting your application.
Our basic criteria is: Does the project promote freedom for people living in Louisiana and is it aligned with our mission and values? Beyond that, we review the application to ensure that it’s reasonable and that we can meet the project’s needs in terms of capacity and types of activities.
Yes. We work in service of equity. Funding for unsponsored projects is a chicken and egg concept. You can’t apply for funding without a fiscal sponsor and many sponsors require a minimum to apply. For us, we just want to see a reasonable, achievable budget and fundraising plan.
Though it is not guaranteed, FSPs are eligible to apply for grants from FFL.
Yes, you may leave at any time as long as you have another 501c3 in good standing that agrees to receive the funds and assets held at FFL and are capable of carrying out the charitable mission attached to the funds. We ask that you give us 60 days notice to create an accounting of what assets are held, vet the receiver of the funds, and notify any funders of the transition.
Yes, and we can offer resources to support this process.
Yes, we offer technical assistance with forming a steering committee/board, marketing, grant writing and 501c3 development. We also offer access to Grant Station and are expanding our technical assistance program to offer additional support.
Yes, all Model A projects are covered by FFL’s liability insurance. If further insurance is needed due to the nature of your project activities, this expense would come out of your budget.
FSP Employees are eligible to join FFL’s healthcare plan. The expense for these benefits comes out of the project’s budget.