Innovative Uses of Fiscal Sponsorship

 

The following are examples of innovative ways that funders have worked with CNDC to create efficiencies and increase effectiveness in the nonprofit sector.

 

Collaboratives – In 2001, the Mayor’s Office of HIV Resources asked CNDC to be the fiscal sponsor for the HIV Resources Planning Council (HPC). HPC facilitates a process that prioritizes the distribution of Ryan White Care Act funding in the Metro Denver area. HPC is a collaborative of many HIV and AIDS providers, including public agencies. It was important to the mayor’s office and the providers that HPC not be part of an HIV or AIDS organization but be independent and, therefore, neutral. CNDC offered HPC the back office capacity to manage its government billings and funding stream it needed.

Transitioning – Late in 2005, CNDC was approached by the JFM Foundation and the Family Resource Center Association about the possibility of sponsoring Lowry Family Center (LFC). LFC had been under the umbrella of another fiscal sponsor, but had not been receiving financial reports or grant reports. Both LFC and the former fiscal sponsor agreed it was best for LFC to spin-off. However, LFC and its funders believed that LFC needed a transition period of strong back-office support prior to becoming a sustainable freestanding entity.

 

Quick Launch of Initiatives – In 2007, the Denver Preschool Program (DPP), an effort to increase access to quality early childhood education approved by Denver voters, was preparing to file its tax-exempt application with the IRS. However, DPP was on a tight timeline to hire staff and begin designing a process to distribute the tax credits. DPP needed a mechanism for receiving seed money from foundations to get started while they were waiting for their tax-exempt application to be approved by the IRS. To that end, CNDC agreed to act as the fiscal sponsor for DPP and to provide temporary staffing to DPP until it received its own tax-exempt status.