Every year, the Open Society Foundations award grants to groups and individuals working to advance justice, protect rights and freedoms, strengthen democracy, and expand economic opportunity.
Grant making to independent nonprofits is at the heart of what we do in the United States. The vast majority of our grants are made directly to established organizations. But in some cases, we support projects at fiscal sponsors. These grants represent a small fraction of our overall giving but are an important part of how we support innovation and equity in the nonprofit sector.
What is fiscal sponsorship?
Fiscal sponsorship is a long-standing and widely used practice in philanthropy. It enables new, small, or time-limited charitable projects to carry out their work under the legal and administrative umbrella of an established nonprofit, giving them access to assistance with various administrative, legal, financial, and human resources functions, usually in exchange for an administrative fee. This enables these groups to begin critical work quickly and to focus on serving their communities.
Churches and faith-based organizations were early pioneers of the fiscal sponsorship model, using it to help raise money and distribute goods in response to community needs, natural disasters, and other crises. Today it is widely used by many charitable causes throughout the nonprofit sector.
Why does the Open Society Foundations fund projects at fiscal sponsors in the United States?
We fund the organizations, people, and ideas that we believe will have the biggest impact. In some cases, this means supporting newly-formed or under-resourced groups that don’t yet have the infrastructure to operate independently.
Fiscal sponsorship allows these groups to receive support and build operational capacity quickly. Many are doing work that is timely, urgent, and deeply aligned with our mission and are equally deserving of support as are larger, well-established nonprofits.
Is Open Society giving fiscal sponsors a blank check?
No. Our grants to fiscal sponsors in the United States are virtually always earmarked for specific projects and causes, which we disclose publicly, and cannot be redirected by the fiscal sponsor to support other projects.
Every Open Society grant—whether it be to a fiscal sponsor or a large, well-established nonprofit—goes through a thorough compliance review, ensuring funds are spent in a way that is consistent with laws and regulations.
Does Open Society endorse everything a fiscal sponsor does?
Not necessarily. Our support is directed to specific projects at a fiscal sponsor and does not imply endorsement of the sponsor’s other work or positions. We value the role fiscal sponsors play in supporting civil society, but we give because we support individual projects and specific causes, not the full organization’s broader portfolio.