Gregory Colvin is the author of Fiscal Sponsorship: 6 Ways To Do It Right now in its 3rd edition, co-authored by Stephanie Petit
NEWS
When an Endangered Species Needs Scientific Help — The University-Sponsored Project
Those of us who care about wildlife facing extinction often receive mail from major environmental organizations featuring the monarch butterfly or the white rhino or the cheetah or the polar bear. The mail, a compelling fundraising apparatus, often uses a different animal as a poster child every month or so. But what if we want to support an organization committed to the survival of a specific...
Scott Ranch proposal moves to City Council
In December 2020, Greg Colvin posted a story about an environmental project he and dozens of his Petaluma, Calif., neighbors have been shepherding through the local land use system since 2005. The Kelly Creek Protection Project was reaching a critical juncture at that posting. “As 2021 begins,” he wrote, “we’re hopeful everything will fall into place.” This...
Fiscally sponsored projects helped get out the vote in Georgia
Party control of the U.S. Senate hung in the balance as we waited for Georgia to announce the results of yesterday’s critical runoff election. Besides candidates, parties and PACs campaigning for their sides, many nonprofits actively worked to increase voter awareness and participation for this election. The 501(c)(3) charities, of course, had to remain nonpartisan, but their urging of people to...
Hometown fiscal sponsorship
PETALUMA, CALIF. — Over three decades, I’ve had many opportunities to merge my professional and home life in Petaluma, Calif.. Five years ago, a nearby 58-acre suburban sprawl development proposal took a critical turn, and I saw the need to start a fiscally sponsored environmental project. With dozens of my neighbors, I’d been involved since 2005 in opposing the construction of 93 luxury homes...
Brushes with the Law
Looking back on the year 2012, fiscal sponsorship became ore of a topic of interest to government regulators — the Internal Revenue Service, the California Attorney General, and the California legislature. An advisory committee to the IRS Exempt Organizations office recommended fiscal sponsorship as an alternative to the increasing number of nonprofit corporations being formed and seeking IRS...