My life’s journey, Global Impact Ventures, and fiscal sponsorship share a foundational purpose: serving the other. At crucial points in my own life and story, there were other people who supported me and truly helped make a difference in my own lived experience. These people helped me learn to seek out and choose the positivity and love in the world, and in turn I’ve made it my life’s work to be that “other” for as many individuals as I can be (you can read more in my book: Take Me With You). As a family of organizations, Global Impact Ventures prioritizes “serving the other” by supporting charitable ventures through philanthropy. Our role as an intermediary between multiple sectors connects and empowers the convergence of donors, resources, and social impact initiatives globally. In order to best support charitable ventures, we have added fiscal sponsorships as one of our newer service areas. Fiscal sponsorship is an exciting solution that allows social impact initiatives to accept funds immediately under their sponsor’s 501(c)(3) status — saving time and increasing efficiency so initiatives can move forward in programmatic impact without worrying about operational backend systems.
Given the benefits of fiscal sponsorship, it should come as no surprise that the field has grown significantly over the past few decades. According to the Fiscal Sponsorship Field Scan 2023 compiled by the Social Impact Commons and the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors, the fiscal sponsorship industry has grown significantly over the past few decades, with a sharp increase of three times as many fiscal sponsors today in comparison to 2000. As of November 2023, fiscal sponsors collectively supported over 12,000 charitable projects, stewarded over $2.6 billion in philanthropic projects, and employed or contracted with over 18,000 people. Given the growth and demand, fiscal sponsorship brings necessary solutions for the field of philanthropy and charitable giving and is an exciting service area for Global Impact Ventures to support.
Fiscal Sponsorship Models
Historically, fiscal sponsorship has relied on a rigid one-size-fits-all model; you build specific and highly efficient systems, then only take on projects that fit into those systems. While some are willing to embrace a more customizable approach to fiscal sponsorship, most see adjusting their prescriptive model as unaffordable. Yet we believe our convergence of technology, systems, and staff expertise make it possible to customize every project with scale and efficiency. The model we employ addresses each fiscal sponsorship project as unique, so we do not limit the potential of the field by insisting that everything must fit into a specific framework. Instead of serving as a gatekeeper, we make it our job to be as timely, flexible, and creative as possible for each of our clients.
According to Mark Allen of Advancing Health Online Initiative, one of Global Impact’s fiscally sponsored clients, “Global Impact has been a fantastic partner and critical to AHO’s success thus far. Flexibility and solution oriented is always appreciated!”
Our Approach
Over the past four years, as the Global Impact Ventures team has diversified and expanded our service offerings, we realized the need for new solutions in the fiscal sponsorship space. Specifically, we knew that there was a need for advisory and infrastructure solutions that would resonate with the wider marketplace. Our clients generally seek a fiscal sponsor for one of these reasons:
1. They are an international organization seeking to raise funds in the U.S.
2. They are a U.S. foundation or charitable entity that does not have its own 501(c)(3) status but can accept funds under our status.
3. They are a foundation or corporation that wants to grant internationally.
4. They are a one-time project, event, or collaboration that raises collective funds.
5. They are a donor collaborative, where individual and institutional donors pool funds and share a vision.
By having a continuum of advisory and infrastructure services at our disposal, we can more effectively bring together different capabilities to support fiscally sponsored projects. We seek to demonstrate the full potential of fiscal sponsorship, and act as philanthropy advisors who put mission first.
Global Impact Ventures supports fiscal sponsorships through our family of brands and includes coverage for C4-related activity as well as work in the UK, Canada, and Australia. We support over 100 fiscally sponsored clients and received and/or distributed over $290 million on behalf of those projects in over 120 countries. We’re now one of the larger fiscal sponsors in the country, with the capability to support projects around the world. We’ve proven that our approach is effective and scalable, while also customizable for organizations across the world.
As individuals, a family of organizations, and a service line, we seek to “serve the other” by providing back-end support and uplifting programs and initiatives of social impact around the world. This is what we hope stands out the most in our fiscal sponsorship offerings: a highly customizable approach where every project can deliver the maximum impact and achieve its goals without operational impediments. That’s when serving the other is so powerful — when we can take on the details of reporting, regulations, management, etc. so the implementation work of social impact projects can really shine.
Read other blogs about fiscal sponsorship:
Or find more information about our fiscal sponsorship services directly at charity.org/fiscal-sponsorship.
