Fiscal Sponorship

We recognize the considerable value of well-structured fiscal sponsorship relationships and adapt our grantmaking practices to accommodate them. If you are seeking support from us but are not already a 501(c)(3) public charity, we require you to partner with a qualified fiscal sponsor. 

Fiscal sponsorship is when a nonprofit, usually a 501(c)(3) public charity, furthers its mission by receiving and expending funds to support a mission-aligned project while retaining discretion and control over the funds. Depending on the type of fiscal sponsorship, fiscal sponsors may also share their legal home, back office, and other resources with the project(s). Unlike a traditional program carried out by a nonprofit, fiscal sponsorship arrangements are typically memorialized in an agreement that defines roles and responsibilities.  

For groups working with a fiscal sponsor, our application process is similar to that of an independent standalone nonprofit with additional simple steps and considerations to ensure the relationship is clearly understood and set up for success: 

Application:

A nonprofit may serve as a fiscal sponsor for more than one sponsored organization in a given grant cycle. If we receive multiple funding requests from different sponsored organizations using the same fiscal sponsor for the same funding opportunity, we will evaluate each proposal independently. For the application, we will ask for information on the background and proposed work that the sponsored organization will carry out as well as information on the work and overall health of the sponsor. For the fiscal sponsor, overall organizational financials and key compliance documents are requested. For the sponsored organization, a project-specific and/or general operating budget may also be required, depending on the purpose of the grant.

We ask the sponsored organization (i.e., the organization that is going to carry out the work) to begin the grant application and invite the fiscal sponsor to complete these specific sections: 

• Fiscal sponsor organizational information 
• Fiscal sponsor organizational diversity 
• Fiscal sponsor financial information 
• Additional fiscal sponsor 990 information

The sponsored organization will be required to complete all remaining sections.


The fiscal sponsor and sponsored organization should collaborate to submit these:

• Fiscal Sponsor Agreement. When submitting your application, please include a copy of the fiscal sponsorship agreement.  
• Reporting. The sponsored organization will be responsible for initiating the reporting process and inviting the fiscal sponsor to collaborate. Ultimate responsibility for grant compliance and reporting lies with the fiscal sponsor. It is important for representatives from both the fiscal sponsor and the sponsored organization to review text and financials before submitting the report. If we learn a grant is out of compliance, we will typically communicate with both the fiscal sponsor and the sponsored organization to address the situation.   

If you have any questions, please reach out to ciadmin@greatermilwaukeefoundation.org