New York City Fiscal Sponsors

List of Fiscal Sponsors in New York City

Organizations that act as fiscal sponsors provide a vital service in the cultivation of new projects and entities. Learn more about what a fiscal sponsor does here. Below is a list of organizations that offer fiscal sponsorship to artists based in New York City. Go to this post for advice on how to choose a fiscal sponsor.

Foundation for Independent Artists, Inc.
FIA is a comprehensive Fiscal Sponsorship program that offers performing artists instant 501(c)(3) incorporation without the challenges of incorporating. It is ideal for those in need of bookkeeping, payroll services, and insurance. Participating artists work with a dedicated administrator on a weekly basis to build their infrastructure and financial foundation.
• Fees are assessed at 5.5% of income, with a minimum base fee of $2,750/year.

Unique Projects
Unique Projects is Pentacle’s free membership basic Fiscal Sponsorship. This program gives artist donors the ability to make tax-deductible donations and apply for foundation grants, as well as other nonprofit benefits such as discounted rehearsal space that you can apply for. Artists work with a dedicated administrator to clearly, reliably, and efficiently process their tax-deductible donations and send acknowledgments on their behalf. Unique Projects is ideal for emerging or established artists with project-specific fundraising needs.
• Fees for Unique Projects start at 5.5% of revenue received through fiscal sponsorship and do not require start-up or monthly fees.

Brooklyn Arts Council
The BAC Arts+ Innovation Incubator is designed to support individuals and emerging organizations with arts and culture projects with strong artistic merit. Requirements of sponsorees: Artistic projects that are undertaken by individual artists or collectives who are New York City-based; Activities of cultural organizations that are in the process of incorporating as nonprofits; Specific cultural projects undertaken by for-profit organizations that are nonprofit in nature and demonstrate strong benefit to New York City residents.
• BAC keeps 6% of all funds accepted on an artist’s behalf.

Buckminster Fuller Institute
BFI’s Fiscal Sponsorship program supports and incubates small independent projects and programs that face funding restrictions through legal and financial mechanisms. BFI serves as a conduit for financial resources while providing administrative support as well as other collaborative opportunities.

City Lore
Since the early 1990s, City Lore has served as a fiscal sponsor for filmmakers, folk artists, and other cultural specialists who are developing projects in keeping with their mission to foster New York City – and America’s – living cultural heritage. Sponsored special projects have been as varied as filmmaker Ric Burns’ docs Coney Island and The New York Series, Michael Kantor’s Never Ending Battle about superheroes, Judy Lief’s documentary about American Sign Language poets, Eddie Rosa’s street festival of improvised decimal poetry competitions, the band, Los Pleneros de la 21, and a fund to cover medical expenses for several hip hop pioneers.
• City Lore’s Administrative fees are generally low and are adjusted according to their role in the project. For folk artists who can not afford the administrative fee, City Lore Provides sponsorship pro bono.

Dance Films Association
DFA offers fiscal sponsorship for dance film projects in any stage of production and form. ranging from feature-length documentary projects to short experimental films. DFA believes that every idea should have the opportunity to become fully realized. through fiscal sponsorship. Artists can apply for grants that require non-profit status and collect donations that are tax-deductible. DFA also provides consultation and builds a personal page for your project on their website.
• As a fiscal sponsor, DFA receives a sum equal to 7% of funds dedicated to the film project. Projects should have a minimum budget of $5,000 to be fiscally sponsored.

The Field
Under The Field’s nonprofit status, fiscally sponsored artists enjoy personalized fundraising support like donation processing, grant proposal review, donor acknowledgment, and more. Whether you’re raising money as an individual artist or growing an arts organization, The Field has the tools and services to help you reach your goals!
• Fiscally sponsored artists and collectives are eligible for tax-deductible donations, corporate matching gifts, and 501(c)(3) discounts and grants. The Field offers these benefits for $110/year and a 7% processing fee.

FJC
FJC allows your nonprofit project to collect tax-deductible contributions under FJC’s 501(c)(3) status and make payments, reimbursements, and grants as necessary. FJC manages tax and audit compliance. FJC sends receipts to donors and 1099s to vendors and includes your financial information in their audited financials and IRS Form 990. You may apply as long as your project is charitable in purpose. To date, over 400 projects and organizations have participated. Areas of focus include education, health services, religion, science, arts & culture, and the environment.
• FJC collects a 1% annual administrative fee, based on the account’s average daily balance. Transaction fees start at 4% for all incoming funds. There is no application fee, renewal fee, or minimum balance requirement. No geographic limitations – organizations from over 40 countries have participated. 

Fractured Atlas
Fractured Atlas knows that there’s no “one-size-fits-all” solution and you are the expert on what you’re creating. You can use any or all of their tools to customize the support you need. With fiscal sponsorship, you can: solicit funds that are eligible for tax deduction to your donors, accept automatic, recurring, monthly donations, receive contributed funds via electronic funds transfer, process credit card donations with no additional credit card processing fees, and run a crowdfunding campaign with Fundraising by Fractured Atlas. Fractured Atlas also allows you to apply for grants and corporate sponsorships, ask for guidance from our small but mighty program staff, and get comprehensive answers to your questions via our Knowledge Base.
• Fractured Atlas takes an 8% administrative fee on all donations, with no additional fees for processing credit cards. 

The Gotham Center for New York City History
The Gotham Center for New York City History Fiscal Sponsorship program is a legal and financial mechanism by which The Gotham, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, serves as a conduit for financial resources and provides some support and oversight for independently produced film projects. Projects Fiscally Sponsored by The Gotham are able to give donors the incentive of a charitable deduction for income tax purposes, a service individual filmmakers could not otherwise offer. It also enables filmmakers the ability to access foundation and government grant funding that may only be accessible to non-profit organizations or fiscally sponsored projects. Gotham’s Fiscal Sponsorship program also offers financial and administrative support, competitive administrative fees, and the reliability of working with an established filmmaker support organization.
• The Gotham’s fees are sliding scale.

The Interreligious Foundation for Community Organization
Fiscal Sponsorship at IFCO allows domestic and international groups committed to social justice work to use their 501c3 tax-exempt status to seek grants, hold fundraisers, and solicit tax-deductible gifts. In order for IFCO to consider providing fiscal sponsorship, the group must illustrate a mission that is in sync with IFCO’s which includes fighting human and civil rights injustices, developing programs designed to improve people’s own communities, and supporting the poor and disenfranchised in developing and sustaining community organizations.

Jewish Communal Fund
The goal of the JCF’s Fiscal Sponsorship Program is to facilitate charitable support for organizations and projects that have not yet received their 501(c)(3) determination from the IRS. As a fiscal sponsor, the JJCF acts as an umbrella organization for an organization or project and accepts and administers funds on its behalf. JCF is the legal owner of the funds received in support of the organization or project and is responsible for ensuring that the funds are used for charitable purposes. JCF sponsors organizations and projects that abide by the Review Criteria and reflect a similar commitment to the values set forth in the JCF Mission Statement.
• JCF charged 4-5% of the average daily balance maintained in the account, posted monthly, depending on services provided.

Jewish Creativity International
Jewish Creativity International, also known as JCI or the Center for Jewish Culture and Creativity, receives the money donated or granted to your project, and “re-grants” the money to you by paying your invoices.
• JCI’s fees amount to 5% of the funds they receive for the benefit of your project. There may also be extra fees for certain optional services such as overnight wire transfers, or compiling special financial reports, but only if you ask for those services and agree in advance to pay the fees. You don’t owe anything until JCI receives money in support of your project

NEO Philanthropy
As a fiscal sponsor, NEO acts as an umbrella organization for an individual or project’s charitable work, accepting and administering funds on its behalf. Fiscal sponsorship at NEO gives groups a non-profit “home” and allows them to focus on their programmatic work while NEO manages the financial, HR, and legal elements, giving the projects the room they need to make a significant impact on the world. NEO sees itself as partners with the organizations it supports, and interactions with their projects go far beyond the transactional. NEO’s fiscally sponsored projects have access to an entire team of highly experienced professionals and an array of services provided at a lower or more flexible cost than would be possible for these projects on their own. All fiscally sponsored projects at NEO have a mission-aligned focus on social justice and social change. NEO is nimble, flexible, and brings significant value-added skills and resources to each project.
• NEO offers a transparent and flexible administrative fee based on the level of services required by the project.

New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA)
The New York Foundation for the Arts gives you the ability to apply to large-scale fundraising opportunities from foundations, government, and corporate funders that are usually restricted to 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organizations. With fiscal sponsorship, you get the ability to offer individual donors a tax deduction for their gifts with a custom profile on NYFA’s Project Directory and the ability to collect online donations. You will have one-on-one fundraising strategy sessions with NYFA staff experts, including proposal writing, online giving, event planning, and board development. Financial services are offered including payroll services and vendor payments. You also get a monthly newsletter with upcoming deadlines and events. There is access to NYFA’s wide range of services, resources, and professional development programs.
• Artist Projects pay a one-time contract fee of $100 and an annual contract renewal fee of $50 for the duration of the project. Emerging Organizations pay a one-time contract fee of $100 and an annual contract renewal fee of $100 for the duration of the partnership. There will also be a quarterly account maintenance fee of $45. All fiscally sponsored projects will pay an administrative fee for all contributed funds raised with NYFA. The percentage is based on funds raised: 8% for $0 – $500,000; 6% for $501,000 – $2,000,000; 4% for $2,000,001 and greater.

New York Live Arts
New York Live Arts’ Fiscal Sponsorship program is a simple and affordable way for independent artists and companies to raise funds, allowing artists to solicit tax-deductible donations and apply for grants. Through sponsorship, members are able to raise the money they need to produce their work, pay their performers and collaborators, and thereby contribute to the growing ecology of performing arts in New York and beyond. New York Live Arts’ Fiscal Sponsorship Program is modeled as a grantor/grantee relationship. This means that New York Live Arts receives donations and grants on behalf of member projects and then re-grants those funds directly to the sponsees after only a brief two-and-a-half-week waiting period, putting artists directly in control of their money and supporting their development as innovative creators with sound business skills. New York Live Arts is able to sponsor performance and educational projects – this includes theater projects as well as visual arts, film, and digital media projects that may have a movement/performance component.
• NYLA charges a 6% processing fee for both checks and online donations, designed to meet the needs of independent artists.

New York Women in Film & Television
NYWIFT’s Fiscal Sponsorship allows filmmakers to access foundation and government grant funding that may only be accessible to nonprofit organizations or fiscally sponsored projects. It also provides the incentive to donors that their contribution to the project is a charitable deduction for income tax purposes. This program does not fund film projects. Instead, NYWIFT acts as a nonprofit umbrella organization for filmmakers and videomakers who are seeking to raise funds and require nonprofit status to do so. Funds raised by project directors are directed to NYWIFT who administers and disburses those funds back to project directors.
• NYWIFT takes an administrative fee of 7% for any funds raised through the fiscal sponsorship program. There is no application fee.

Philanthropy New York
Philanthropy New York hires and manages independent contractors on behalf of the project who develop and execute contracts and maintain monthly financial statements, including P&L statement, balance sheet, and cash flow report. They report monthly grant balances and create custom reports (e.g. Budget to Actuals, Balance Sheet, etc.) as well as disburse grant funds and deposit all funds into a separate bank account. They help receive and document donations and other non-grant income/match funds while preparing weekly checks and submitting annual tax records including annual audit. Philanthropy New York also reviews grant application budgets prior to submission and prepares and submits grant reports. They assist with filing State Registration for each state in which the project will collect funds and provide general liability insurance for the Project under their general liability insurance policy.
•  Fiscal projects are assessed a fee of 9% on all income to the project. The fee is only taken on new income and does not apply to funds that roll over from one fiscal year to the next.

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
Rockefeller’s Philanthropy Advisors offers a multitude of different directions that you can take to achieve your goals for fiscal sponsorship. Allowing funder collaboratives to join forces can often create greater impact than they would alone. RPA has unique expertise in supporting funder collaboratives and cross-sector partnerships, allowing grantmakers to work together more effectively to better realize their goals. Building a new project from the ground up requires a foundation of strong planning and expert advice. The RPA staff helps you chart the best way forward by developing governance, programmatic and operation strategies that bear your imprint. RPA can also oversee all aspects of grantmaking and due diligence as well as manage HR and finance functions on an ongoing basis.

Third World Newsreel
In accordance with its mission, TWN serves as a fiscal sponsor of independent film and electronic media productions, as well as artistic, educational and cultural projects emphasizing social justice issues and the concerns and interests of people, groups, and nations often marginalized in mainstream media. Camera News, Inc. dba Third World Newsreel (TWN) is a non-profit organization as determined by the IRS under code 501(c)(3) and a registered New York State Charity. Under the TWN Fiscal Sponsorship program, TWN acts as an umbrella agency for your project, allowing the project to share some of the benefits of non-profit status.
• TWN charges an administrative fee based on a sliding scale between 5%-7% of the project income (donations and grants) based on a contract with the project director. There is a $25 application fee for each project submitted for consideration for TWN Fiscal Sponsorship. This fee is waived for NYSCA individual artist applicants pending funding. Additional fees will be charged to individual projects for specific services such as messengers, mailings, cash advances, etc. Please note: no student projects are accepted.

Women Make Movies
As your fiscal sponsor, WMMs acts as a non-profit tax-exempt umbrella organization that accepts and administers contributions made to your project. WMM is legally responsible for the funds received on behalf of fiscally sponsored projects and must ensure that the funds are used for charitable activities, as agreed upon between the donor and recipient, and that the donor reporting requirements are met in a timely fashion. It does not mean that MNN is your producer, fundraiser, or in any way connected to the content or actual production of your project. All artistic and proprietary rights, titles, and interests in and to the completed project will belong to the Project Director and may be copyrighted in the Project Director’s name.
•  With a $35 annual fee, WMM serves as the project’s exclusive fiscal sponsor throughout the production of the project. The amount of funds to be raised is a minimum of $50,000 (if you end up not being able to raise that amount, you are not penalized). WMM will sponsor the distribution and outreach life of a project provided you submit a proposal detailing your plans for this phase when you get to that point. The Administrative Fees include Regular Contributions at 6%, the National Endowment for the Humanities at 7%, the National Endowment for Arts, State Humanities Councils or other types of government grants at 7% except the New York State Council of the Arts (NYSCA) at 5%, Credit cards at 6% regular WMM fee + 3% fee imposed by credit cards. When cumulative donations for a single project reach $350,000 the percentage is at 4%.

Tides
Tides gives fiscal sponsorship to social justice-led projects that are aligned with their mission of creating an equitable world, sustainable environment, quality education, and healthy/informed individuals. Through the fiscal sponsorship, tides makes sure to connect groups to services, capacity building, and resources to amplify their impact.
•  Applications to get fiscally sponsored run through 4 cycle timeline periods that cover a different group of months for the year. There are four phases of the application process to keep in mind. In terms of cost, For the comprehensive suite of acceleration services that Tides provides, including financial management, legal framework, and capacity-building support, projects pay only 9% of their annual revenue.

If you know of a NY fiscal sponsor that doesn’t appear here, please contribute to this list by submitting this form.

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