Are you an artist, researcher, scientist, writer, or archivist interested in collaborating with a non-profit? Then you may need a fiscal sponsorship. A fiscal sponsorship is when a non-profit organization offers their legal and tax-exempt status to an unincorporated project engaged in activities related to the sponsor’s mission. It typically involves a fee (or percentage of donations) paid by the project to the sponsor in exchange for the sponsor non-profit’s administrative support and any other activities agreed upon and documented in the fiscal sponsorship agreement.
When entering a fiscal sponsorship, most people are primarily concerned with receiving the benefits of a larger supporting organization and being able to accept tax deductible donations. However, in the rush to get things going, individuals often forget to ask some very important questions and can end up signing away their rights to their research, equipment, and even the name of their project. This guide will help you understand and clarify ownership of intellectual property rights when entering a fiscal sponsorship agreement. It will also identify some of the key considerations when entering a fiscal sponsorship agreement as a small lab or research project.
What is the Research Partners Program?
Our Partners Program offers donors the opportunity to personally select and sponsor scientists based on various criteria, including, but not limited to, illness specialty area or specific institutions, or geographic region. Researchers are recommended by our prestigious all-volunteer Scientific Council through an independent peer-review process of submitted grant applications, and are then selected and approved by our Board of Directors. Sponsored researchers are selected from among the best and brightest scientists and the most promising, cutting-edge proposals in mental illness research. Through this Program, a Research Partner is able to choose from among the world’s most promising young, mid-career and distinguished researchers with innovative ideas aiming to improve the lives of those living with mental illness.
What is the Arts Incubator Program?
HJS Foundation’s Incubator program is designed to provide fiscal sponsorship and other services to small arts and cultural organizations founded by individual artists, as well as some projects of individual artists. Many of our projects’ eventual goals include becoming their own separate tax-exempt organization, though many others just want a way to solicit funds for a single project or event. We have fiscally sponsored organizations with budgets as low as a few hundred dollars and as large as $100,000+. Projects are reviewed by our Art Council through a vigorous audition process that may also include reviews of professional portfolios. Selected individuals or teams will not only be provided with resources, but also guidance and other opportunities.
For more information about fiscal sponsorship, email us at [email protected].
