Our Fiscal Sponsorship Policy runs to eleven pages. A group deciding whether to trust us with its money deserves to know what is in it without reading all of it. This page is that summary. The full policy and the account agreement are on our accountability page, and those are the authoritative versions.

The six things that matter most

• Your group gets its own dedicated checking account. It is opened under our name and EIN, and it is never pooled with our operating money.
• You request, we pay. Your group never holds a checkbook, a card, or banking credentials.
• No account can go negative. We do not permit overdrafts, do not float money, and do not lend between accounts.
• The person who signs for the money is not the person who reviews the statements.
• There is no fee to open or hold an account, and no fee on money your group raised itself.
• Either side can walk away on sixty days notice, for any reason.

Who can apply

Community groups in Davidson County that do not have their own 501(c)(3). Neighborhood associations, block clubs, and similar. There is no minimum operating history. A group that formed last month can apply.

What we cannot take on: political campaign organizations, and groups whose main purpose is lobbying. Occasional advocacy is fine and does not disqualify anyone. Projects have to benefit the community rather than private property or a particular business, and anything touching privately owned property needs our written approval first.

You do not have to be a member to hold an account. Members get priority only when more groups apply than we can take.

What it costs

A sliding fee on each grant or donation we receive for your group, based on that individual amount rather than your annual total:

• 10 percent on amounts under $5,000
• 12 percent from $5,000 to $15,000
• 15 percent above $15,000

That covers our insurance costs, accounting software, grant compliance and funder reporting, processing payments, and recordkeeping. Nobody here is paid a salary out of it.

No fee applies to money your group raised itself and brought to us for safekeeping, and there is no charge to open or hold an account.

You can ask for a reduced fee or a waiver if money is tight. The board decides case by case and writes down the reason. Asking does not affect your standing or your priority later.

If the board ever changes the scale, it applies to new sponsorships only. It does not change your fee once you have a signed agreement without your written agreement, and it never applies backward to money already received.

Three different asks

One application form covers all three. Which parts you fill in depends on what you are asking us to do.

• Hold funds you raised yourselves. We keep it safe and pay it out on request. No fee.
• Receive tax-deductible donations. Donors give to us in support of your work, we issue the acknowledgments, and the gift is deductible because we are the 501(c)(3). Fee applies.
• Serve as grantee. We sign the application, we report to the funder, and we are the party legally liable to them. Fee applies.

The board reviews applications at its next meeting, and we tell you when that falls before you apply, so you know what to expect. Decisions come within seven days of that meeting for account holding, fourteen where donations or grants are involved.

If we decline, we say why in writing. You can reapply as soon as you have addressed it, with no waiting period. Most declines are about readiness rather than merit.

How money goes out

Your group names at least two people who can submit requests. They send us the amount, the payee, the purpose, and an invoice or receipt. We check it, we pay the vendor directly where we can, and we do it within ten business days of confirming the paperwork is complete. We tell you within two business days if something is missing.

How much scrutiny depends on the amount. Under $500, one of our officers approves it. From $500 up, a second person from your group who did not submit the request has to confirm it in writing. Over $1,000 needs two of our signatories. Over $5,000 goes to the full board.

If a deadline is tighter than ten business days, tell us why and an officer can expedite it. That shortens our processing time, not the approvals or the paperwork.

One thing worth knowing before it bites you. The model is request, approve, then pay. If someone in your group pays for something out of pocket and asks for reimbursement afterward, the approval step got skipped, and the expense might not have been approvable. The first time, we will reimburse it if it clearly would have been approved, and send a reminder about the process. If it keeps happening we may decline, and the person who paid bears the loss.

The uncomfortable part, stated plainly

We hold legal control of the funds. That is called variance power, and it is not optional. It is what makes us a real fiscal sponsor rather than a pass-through, and it is the reason donations are tax-deductible at all.

In practice it means we can redirect or withhold money if a group stops doing what it raised the money for, or breaks its agreement. It is not a claim by us on your money, and it does not let us spend your funds on our own work.

Before we ever use it, we have to write to you saying what we propose and why, and give you at least fourteen days to respond and suggest something else. We consider your answer and give our decision in writing. We can act first only where the law, a funder, or a real risk of loss requires it, and then we owe you the reasons within five business days.

If you have a problem with us

Any group can bring a concern straight to the board in writing. A declined request, a fee, a proposed use of variance power, or the conduct of one of our officers. The board takes it up at its next meeting, sooner if it is urgent, and answers in writing within thirty days.

An officer whose decision or conduct is the subject of the concern takes no part in that discussion or vote.

Ending it

There is no time limit and no lock-in. Either side can end the arrangement on sixty days written notice without giving a reason.

We can end it immediately for misuse of funds, false information, grant violations, campaigning for a candidate, or creating serious liability for us. You can end it immediately if we fail to disburse approved funds on time or materially break our own agreement.

When it ends, we stop taking new money, pay out any valid pending requests, and deal with what is left according to what it is. Grant money follows the grant agreement. Restricted donations go to another 501(c)(3) able to honor the restriction. Unrestricted money goes to your group if you have your own 501(c)(3) by then, or to another organization able to carry on the work. You can recommend where it goes and we give that real weight, though the final call rests with our board and cannot override a grant term or a donor restriction.

What belongs to whom

What your group makes is yours. Designs, curricula, photographs, written materials. We keep the right to describe and document the work in our own reporting and fundraising, and that is all.

Donor records belong to us. Donors give to us, and their privacy expectations run to us. You get amounts and dates so you can track your funds, not names and contact details. If you get your own 501(c)(3) and leave, we will contact donors and ask whether they are willing to be introduced.

What we are not

We are responsible for fiscal management, accurate records, reporting to funders, and compliance oversight. We are not responsible for running your program, for your employment practices, for injuries at your events, for your vendor contracts, or for whether the project works.

We are not a law firm or an accounting firm, and nothing here is legal or tax advice. For questions about your own governing documents, contracts or liability, get your own counsel.

Ready to apply, or want to talk it through first? Start here, or just email us.