fiscal sponsorship

loveDANCEmore has hosted artist projects since 2011 and fiscally sponsored artist projects since 2014. Fiscal sponsorship is a way for independent artists to access funding streams and opportunities usually only available to registered non-profits. At the heart of our fiscal sponsorship program, we care about viable careers for artists and strive for more paid opportunities. There are many avenues that artists can take to fund their work.

Fiscal sponsorship through loveDANCEmore allows artist-led, nonprofit aligned projects to receive tax deductible donations. This makes a project more financially viable through avenues such as:

• applying for larger grants otherwise inaccessible to individual artists, with mentorship and feedback on grant writing, budgeting, and reporting along the way.

• the ability to accept support from foundations or larger donors who require 501(c)(3) status.

• hosting fundraising campaigns, or receive tax deductible donations of any size for your project.

• creating and maintaining some accounting records for the project, with the legal liability for those funds.

• when booking a venue, we can also help you with insurance, aiding you in finding volunteers, and other things that make performances possible.

Fiscal sponsorship supports artists to create their own revenue streams that otherwise may be inaccessible, but it is important to note that fiscal sponsorship is not defined as giving donations to projects as re-granting.

Fiscal sponsorship allows for artists to develop their work and foster a community around it before they decide if it makes sense to form their own 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. Artists may even decide to be fiscally sponsored indefinitely because it allows for them the time to practice their artistry instead of sifting through administrative duties. By establishing a fiscal sponsorship through loveDANCEmore, artist-led projects can solicit funds and loveDANCEmore will administer those funds back to the project to cover their expenses.

Fiscal Sponsorship is a good solution for organizations (or certain individual projects or events) that only want to do a few small projects a year, those who don’t have the time or staff for a lot of organizational administration, or those who have applied for 501(c)(3) nonprofit status and need to accept tax-deductible donations while they wait for approval from the IRS. Some artists decide on fiscal sponsorship simply because they want support administering project funds as their financial footprint grows, and want safeguards in place for charitable donations, paying artist stipends, and maintaining good standing with the IRS on behalf of the project funds.

Please note: we do not host, produce, or market fiscal sponsorship projects, but only act as an administrator of funds. If you are looking to co-present with loveDANCEmore, and are desiring marketing, producing, or presenting support, that is part of our “co-presentation” series. You can learn more about this program here.

Legally, any existing tax exempt nonprofit organization can act as a fiscal sponsor (including a library!) but, because of the legal complexity and administration required, not all non profits will do so. If you’re looking for a fiscal sponsor, it’s best to partner with an organization with which you have a good relationship, and/or one that has an existing fiscal sponsorship program.

Fees & Application

Fiscal sponsorship is limited to artist-led, nonprofit purpose projects that fit into loveDANCEmore’s overall mission. It is free to apply to the fiscal sponsorship program, with a sliding scale annual fee of $50-150 once accepted, and a 7% fee on all funds received and held by loveDANCEmore.

[application coming soon!]

Since 2014, we’ve fiscally sponsored Mitsu Salmon, Molly Heller, Katherine Call, Nichele Woods, Breeanne Saxton, Karin Fenn, Natosha Washington, Graham Brown, Movement Forum, Tanja London's Speakers’ Corner, and Erica Womack, among others. This investment in infrastructure is an important way that we increase more equitable access to resources and support vibrant creative economies.

To inquire about fiscal sponsorship, write to halie@lovedancemore.org. For more info on renting equipment or renting space, visit here.