501c3 Fiscal Sponsor for Extreme Entrepreneur Tour

If you want to become a non-profit, getting 501c3 status is important as it is required by many funders and provides your organization with major tax deductions. However, registration can take a long time and lots legal fees. As such, getting a temporary fiscal sponsor who is a 501c3 is an effective way to get the benefits of a 501c3 without actually becoming one.

We're excited to announce that we've partnered with Citizens for NYC to be our fiscal sponsor. I know Citizens for NYC because from last November until this July, I've worked part-time as the program coordinator for the Bank of America Youth Entrepreneur Awards, which is hosted by Citizens for NYC. They will be charging us a 5% administration fee for of all money that we raise for the Extreme Entrepreneur Tour and will be responsible for administration of project funds in accordance to any funding agencies' guidelines. Also, they will disburse project funds, maintain accounting records, handle financial audits, prepare financial report (with our assistance) and tax returns.

As our needs grow, they've offered to provide additional services such as payroll, fringe benefits (both statutory and employer-provided). As a result, our staff will be able to enjoy direct deposit, handling of payroll taxes filing and related audits, a group health insurance rate, financial planner consultations, and support in human resources. These additional services would move the 5% fee to 8%.

We're very excited about this partnership because Citizens for NYC has an incredible back-office and because we will now be able to focus on the stuff we like and are good at.

I hope this information is helpful for any of you who are considering going the non-profit, social entrepreneur route.