Fiscal sponsorship
You should not have to start a nonprofit to throw a block party.
Your group operates under our 501(c)(3), with its own dedicated account. We carry the incorporation, the filings, and the paperwork. You decide what your group works on.
Ready to apply, or want to read the terms first?
Nothing here is behind a form. Read any of it before you talk to us.
Most neighborhood associations are not set up as their own nonprofit, and getting there takes filings, fees, and hours nobody volunteered for. Fiscal sponsorship is the shortcut.
A dedicated account
Your group’s money is tracked separately, never pooled with ours or another group’s. You get regular statements.
No filings to keep up with
No incorporation, no annual report, no tax return, no registered agent. We carry all of it. Your group stays informal and keeps its time.
Tax-deductible giving and grants
When your group is ready for it, donors can give tax-deductibly and you can apply for grants that are closed to unincorporated groups.
Because the funds sit under our 501(c)(3), the law requires us to keep final responsibility for how they are used, which means confirming spending fits the charitable purpose your group applied under. In practice that is a check, not a veto on your plans.
What it costs
Nothing to open or hold an account, and nothing on money your group raises itself. Bake sale, donation jar, dues: all of it is yours.
A fee applies only to grants and tax-deductible contributions we receive on your behalf, based on each amount received rather than your yearly total. It is deducted when the money arrives, so there is nothing to invoice later.
| Amount received | Fee | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Under $5,000 | 10% | $2,000 grant, $200 fee |
| $5,000 to $15,000 | 12% | $10,000 grant, $1,200 fee |
| Over $15,000 | 15% | $20,000 grant, $3,000 fee |
You can ask for a reduced fee or a waiver if money is tight. The Board decides case by case, and asking will not affect your standing or your priority for future support.
The fee covers insurance, accounting, grant compliance and funder reporting, disbursement processing, and recordkeeping. If a grant does not allow administrative fees, we talk through alternatives first. Grants of $25,000 or more need full Board review, and federal awards need a monitoring plan.
What it asks of you
You are probably reading this because you are tired of admin, so it is fair to ask what admin is left.
- To spend money, send an email. The amount, who to pay, what it is for, and a receipt or invoice. We pay the vendor directly where we can.
- Two people for anything of $500 or more. A second person from your group confirms the request. That is the only approval step on your side.
- Name at least two people who can ask. Tell us who they are, and let us know within five business days if that list changes.
- Keep your own record of what you spend, and give us a donation log for any fundraising your group runs. This is your ledger, not a filing.
- Tell us when something changes. A change in your leadership, a legal or insurance claim, or a significant shift in what your group does. Within five business days.
- Check with us on three things. Work on private property, spending sponsored money on lobbying, and grant applications where we would be the grantee.
- If you hold a grant, send us draft funder reports at least ten business days before the funder’s deadline, so we have time to review and file them.
That is it. No incorporation, no annual report, no tax return, no registered agent, no bank account to reconcile, and no audit. We handle the receipting, the funder reporting, the recordkeeping, and the filings. The agreement renews on its own each year, so there is nothing to re-sign unless something changes.
The one cost that stays with your group is insurance for your own activities, where a funder requires it or where you are holding a public event or putting something in public space. We can talk through what that looks like.
Who can apply
Any group doing community building work in Davidson County. No minimum size, no bylaws or board required, no minimum number of years. A group of neighbors who have been meeting on someone’s porch is welcome to ask.
What we look for is that your work fits our charitable purpose of building stronger neighborhoods, that your project benefits the community rather than a particular person or business, and that we have the capacity to support your group well. We would rather say no than take on a group we cannot actually serve.
Work on private property needs approval first. Improvements to privately owned property, or payments to a business owned by someone in your group, need our written approval in advance and may be declined. That is what keeps the charitable purpose intact.
No political campaign activity, ever. Neither we nor a sponsored group may use our funds or our name to support or oppose a candidate for office. That is an absolute limit on every 501(c)(3), not a preference of ours.
Advocacy is fine. Lobbying with sponsored funds needs approval. Speaking up about what your neighborhood needs, educating neighbors, and commenting on city decisions are all normal parts of the work. If you want to spend sponsored money on influencing specific legislation, ask us first.
What happens after you reach out
1. A conversation
You email us and we talk, by phone or in person. No forms yet. We want to understand what your group is trying to do and whether sponsorship is even the right tool for it.
2. An application
If it looks like a fit, we send you our application. It asks about your group, your project, and who will be authorized to request money. You can read it in advance using the link at the top of this page.
3. Board review
Our Board reviews at its next meeting, and we tell you when that falls before you apply. If approved, we sign an agreement and open your account. If not, we tell you why, and you can reapply.
We are a small volunteer board, so this takes weeks rather than days. Once the Board meets, we get back to you within 7 days for account holding, or 14 days where donations or grants are involved.
Your protections
Handing your money to someone else is a real decision. Here is what the agreement guarantees you, in plain terms. Open any of these for the detail.
If we end it, your money goes with you
Either of us can end the agreement on 60 days’ notice. If we end it without cause, your remaining funds follow your group to a 501(c)(3) you name. We will not keep them for our own use. Grant terms and donor restrictions still apply, and the receiving organization has to be able to carry on the work.
We cannot raise your fee later
Our Board can change the fee scale, but a change never applies to a group with a signed agreement without that group’s written consent, and never applies backward to money already received. If we change any term in a way that materially hurts your group, you get at least 30 days’ notice and can end the agreement without penalty.
Disagreements do not require a lawyer
You can bring any concern straight to our Board in writing, including a declined request, the fee, or an officer’s conduct. The Board takes it up at its next meeting, or sooner if urgent, and answers in writing within 30 days. The officer involved steps out of that discussion and vote. This costs you nothing.
If it stays unresolved, either of us can ask for mediation. The mediator’s fee is split, and we will cover your share if you show you cannot afford it.
Our own board members cannot control your account
If one of our Directors or Officers belongs to your group, they cannot be one of the people authorized to request money from your account, and they must step out of any vote about your application, disbursements, fee, or termination. Accounts in that situation get extra scrutiny when we reconcile them, and the affiliation is recorded in our minutes.
The work stays yours
Anything your group creates belongs to your group: designs, photographs, curricula, written materials. We keep the right to describe and show the work in our own reporting and fundraising, nothing more.
Donor records belong to us, because donors give to us. You get amounts and dates so you can track your funds. If your group gets its own 501(c)(3) and leaves, we will ask those donors for permission to share their contact details with you.
A few practical terms
The agreement runs one year and renews automatically unless either of us ends it. Funds are used for the charitable purposes they were raised for, in Davidson County. Your group carries whatever insurance a funder requires or your activities call for, including general liability for public events or anything installed in public space. Your group cannot sign contracts or use our name or EIN outside the sponsored project.
Groups we currently sponsor
Maxwell Heights Neighborhood Association
Our pilot partner as we build this program. Maxwell Heights sits in East Nashville, bounded roughly by Cleveland Street to the north, Main Street to the south, and Interstate 24 to the west.
Ready to start the conversation?
Email us and tell us what your group is working on. That is the whole first step.
Not sure sponsorship is what you need? More questions answered, or other ways to work with us.
Nashville Community Collective 