Fiscal Sponsorship: Proving Potential, Sustaining Impact

Those of us who care deeply about the nonprofit community find ourselves working overtime to navigate this period of economic, social, and political uncertainty.  While moments of uncertainty can cultivate confusion, I believe they can also breed a level of clarity and vision that produces tools for sustainable change.  There are significant opportunities to strengthen our sector and deepen the positive impact we make every day in our communities.

It is in this context, that the concept and practice of fiscal...

The Continuing Evolution of Best Practices

Get out and Learn, a project of Tides Center.

As the nation's largest fiscal sponsor, Tides takes its leadership role seriously.  That’s why we have acted as the host of the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors for the past six years and why we’re proud to promote the newly developed Guidelines for Fiscal Sponsorship. Congratulations to Tides’ Jane Levikow, who serves as the chair of NNFS, and the other members of the NNFS steering committee who have contributed to this important milestone for...

Curious about Fiscal Sponsorship?

Fiscal sponsorship is practiced across the country in dynamic ways by dedicated organizations that believe social innovators should be more concerned with achieving their missions than with establishing and maintaining the administrative infrastructure of an organization.  Yet, as an emerging field, fiscal sponsorship can raise questions of regulatory compliance for funders and programs struggling to understand the true nature of the relationship between a fiscal...

Fiscal Sponsors = Fiscally Responsible

I know it probably sounds silly when I say that I'm passionate about fiscal sponsorship, but the truth is—I am! I care about how fiscally sponsored projects are treated and I care about how fiscal sponsors practice in the field. Mistakes made in the field affect all fiscal sponsors in very real ways, regardless if the errors are malicious or honest. As Tides' Intake Manager, I am often one of the first people an aggrieved project comes to for solace and guidance after it realizes it’s been cheated or mistreated by their...

View from Across the Pond: Nonprofit Space and Infrastructure in the UK

The NonProfit Center of Boston, developed by Third Sector New England

I traveled to London last month on behalf of Tides to speak at a conference. The conference focused on strategies for nonprofit capacity building and what "third sector" (the U.K. term for nonprofit) organizations could learn from international models. I represented the U.S.; other speakers hailed from New Zealand, Cyprus, and East Africa. The conference was sponsored by an organization called Capacity Builders, which ...

Encouraging Charitable Efficiencies More Charitable Than Discouraging Nonprofits - Take Two

The nonprofit sector is a sector of innovation, creativity, and people working for the common good. More than 14 million Americans - 11 percent of American workers - are employed by or volunteer full-time in the nonprofit sector; more than the financial industry and the auto industry combined.

In a recent article entitled, "Charities Rise, Costing U.S. Billions in Tax Breaks," Stephanie Strom of the New York Times raises concerns about an out of control nonprofit sector that is flooding the IRS with frivolous new...

Encouraging Charitable Efficiencies More Charitable Than Discouraging Nonprofits - Take One

A Sister of Perpetual Indulgence

In a recent article entitled Charities Rise, Costing U.S. Billions in Tax Breaks, Stephanie Strom of the New York Times raises concerns about an out of control nonprofit sector that is flooding the IRS with frivolous new applications to establish new public charities that will deprive the federal budget of billions of dollars.

She demonstrates her point by citing new groups such as Save Your Ass Long Ear...

Sunk Costs and Social Innovation

I've been thinking a lot lately about the concept of "sunk costs." In economics and business decision-making, sunk costs are unrecoverable past expenditures that, under normal circumstances, should not be taken into account when determining whether to continue or abandon a project, effort, or initiative because costs that are already "sunk" cannot be recovered.

Inevitably, thinking about sunk costs reminds me of my "Saab stories." I purchased a used Saab for $15,000 a number of years ago and then spent more than $5,000 on...