Fiscal Sponsorship

Upstream Works Collaborative provides fiscal sponsorship for community-driven organizations, grassroots groups and early-stage nonprofits. Fiscal sponsorship lets your project accept tax-deductible donations and foundation grants under our 501(c)(3) status, so you can begin your work right away instead of waiting months for your own tax-exempt status or taking on the full cost of running a nonprofit.

We built our sponsorship to be low-cost and community-centered. Larger sponsors often price out the very groups doing the most grounded work. We exist to be the fiscal home those groups can actually afford.

Who we work with

We are a good fit for new and emerging nonprofits testing an idea, all-volunteer groups, mutual aid efforts, community health and quality-of-life initiatives and established projects that would rather outsource the financial and administrative side than build it from scratch. Many of our partners are led by and rooted in the communities they serve.

What fiscal sponsorship includes

As your fiscal sponsor, we receive and acknowledge your tax-deductible donations, hold and track your funds, handle grant compliance and reporting, and provide the financial oversight and back-office support that funders expect. You stay focused on programs and community. We handle the paperwork that keeps you compliant and fundable.

Models we offer

We offer two of the most common fiscal sponsorship structures. Under a Model A (comprehensive) arrangement, your project operates as a program of Upstream Works and we carry full legal and financial responsibility. Under a Model C (pre-approved grant) arrangement, your project keeps its own separate entity and we make grants to it from funds raised for your purpose. And then there are gradations in between. We will help you decide which model fits your stage and goals. No matter the structure, your intellectual property remains your own.

Our approach

Pricing is intentionally low and, where we can, sliding-scale. We are a collaborative of equity-oriented practitioners, not a back office that treats you as an account number. We work to improve community health and quality of life, and we choose partners whose missions share that aim.

Where we work

Upstream Works Collaborative works with organizations across the United States. Many of our partners are based in the Southeast and in California, and we are glad to talk with community-driven groups anywhere in the country.

Funders & partners

If you are a funder, community foundation or capacity-building organization looking for a trustworthy fiscal sponsor to recommend, we would welcome the conversation. We are built for the smaller, community-rooted grantees that need a dependable, affordable fiscal home.