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Help Me Help Whoever
FoundationCenter.org has the info you need to run a nonprofit
Last night I was putting together a scheme to increase voter turnout in local elections in my hood, when I got stuck on a question: Folks are already offering to write us checks to help out, but our voter drive doesn't have nonprofit status yet. Should we hit up another nonprofit to be what's called our "fiscal agent"?
My understanding: a fiscal agent is an established nonprofit willing to help a new nonprofit that is waiting for the IRS to get around to granting tax-exempt status (which can take a long time). In the meantime, the fiscal agent accepts donations and grants, then doles out the cash to the nonprofit-to-be as needed.
Was I right? Was a fiscal agent right for us? Googling ensued.
What I found was the Foundation Center.
How come nobody ever told me about this before?
The Center has been around since 1956, helping nonprofits and the philanthropies that fund them by providing, as their tagline promises, "knowledge to build on."
The Center's "about us" page is a sterling model of nonprofit clarity. There's a 50-word vision statement, a 200-word mission statement, bulleted value statements, a downloadable annual report and strategic plan, plus links to the president's bio and the board of trustees. This is what funders want from all of us, people.
But enough about them. What does the Foundation Center offer you and me?
That's the first question the Center's website asks in the "Welcome" section: "How can we help you?"
The answer is a guided tour through the site. You'll find hundreds of FAQs that range from novice ("What is a foundation?") to not-so-novice ("Where can I find information on employee salaries and compensation in the nonprofit sector?"). Using the handy FAQ search function, I even found a version of my question ("Where can I find examples of policies, procedures, and guidelines for fiscal sponsorship agreements on the Web?") with nine links to answers, a bibliographic database for books on the topic, and a list of libraries around the country where I could peruse most of those books for free.
If your question isn't in the mix, you can "Ask the online librarian," submitting a query to a human being who will email you a personalized answer or direct you to where you can find the answer yourself.
My understanding: a fiscal agent is an established nonprofit willing to help a new nonprofit that is waiting for the IRS to get around to granting tax-exempt status (which can take a long time). In the meantime, the fiscal agent accepts donations and grants, then doles out the cash to the nonprofit-to-be as needed.
Was I right? Was a fiscal agent right for us? Googling ensued.
What I found was the Foundation Center.
How come nobody ever told me about this before?
The Center has been around since 1956, helping nonprofits and the philanthropies that fund them by providing, as their tagline promises, "knowledge to build on."
The Center's "about us" page is a sterling model of nonprofit clarity. There's a 50-word vision statement, a 200-word mission statement, bulleted value statements, a downloadable annual report and strategic plan, plus links to the president's bio and the board of trustees. This is what funders want from all of us, people.
But enough about them. What does the Foundation Center offer you and me?
That's the first question the Center's website asks in the "Welcome" section: "How can we help you?"
The answer is a guided tour through the site. You'll find hundreds of FAQs that range from novice ("What is a foundation?") to not-so-novice ("Where can I find information on employee salaries and compensation in the nonprofit sector?"). Using the handy FAQ search function, I even found a version of my question ("Where can I find examples of policies, procedures, and guidelines for fiscal sponsorship agreements on the Web?") with nine links to answers, a bibliographic database for books on the topic, and a list of libraries around the country where I could peruse most of those books for free.
If your question isn't in the mix, you can "Ask the online librarian," submitting a query to a human being who will email you a personalized answer or direct you to where you can find the answer yourself.
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11:24 EDT, 30.Aug.07
14:06 EDT, 29.Aug.07