Why Sponsorship? An Introduction to Fiscal Sponsorship Options:
Many people have ideas, projects, programs, or even inventions that they want to bring to the world, but very few people actually know how to build the structures and legal entities that are required to ensure a successful venture. Most people primarily think of the idea they are trying to accomplish, its goals, and the people they are working with. But also required are clear structures, legal processes and government filings, internal policies, HR, and Decision Making systems, websites, marketing, social networks and many other details that make a successful venture.
Most people don’t know this, but there are ALWAYS two very different ways to go about the process of creating a new project/company. One is to do it on your own from scratch which is how most people do it, and the other is to start as a fiscally sponsored project/company, and then spin-off when your ready and stable. There are pro’s and cons to each option, and there are many in-between options as well. The primary pro of doing it on your own, is that you have complete and total secrecy, control, and an ability to not be influenced by anyone else. Although some people might see all of those as cons, haha. The pro’s of being a sponsored project/company are limitless but include being able to start with already existing structures, bank accounts, taxes being done for you, legal processes and filings be done for you, internal policies already set up, HR coordination done for you, and Decision Making systems to deal with problems. Additionally you can collaborate with existing experts involved in startups who can help you with your idea, planning, websites, marketing, social networks and many other details that can help you make your project/company successful. Furthermore instead of going it alone, you will already be within a network of other new projects, programs, and startups that can support each other. The easy way of thinking about it, is that if you are a startup program, you should be sourcing your needs from other startups not pre-established organizations. If all startups got there services from other startups, the probability of all the startups working together of being successful dramatically increase. This is simply because you start your organization with already built in clients (being other startups) by becoming a sponsored project/company within the network.
Alternatively we also have many resources for existing startup projects to join our collaborative networks without having to be a sponsored project/company at all. For information about our collaborative networks please click here:
So if you are interested in some type of sponsorship for your program, project, startup, or company, then read on, there are many options and details depending on your project needs.
The basics of Sponsorship:
There are many different types of sponsorship, but they all have a few things in common regardless of the type of organization that you are creating. First of all sponsorships typically involve submitting a short proposal (usually just 1/2 page, but you can including unlimited links), which is then proposed to the board of the umbrella organization that you are requesting sponsorship from. This would typically include the name of your project, or at least its purpose, a short description, the people involved, and the % cash flow that would go to the umbrella organization for finance costs, taxes, and other fees and costs of running the umbrella (but you get to choose your own %). Once approved you will have to option to get a bank account established in the name of your sponsored program or organization, and you and/or your finance treasure would be be direct signers on your account. Typically you along with any other officers of your program would make up your leadership committee or decision making body which would have full autonomy from the umbrella organization, and you can always spin-off at anytime and take all assets with you. Your leadership committee or primary decision making body would have to appoint a representative to the Leadership Council where there is a representative of each sponsored project within the umbrella organization. The leadership council would be the direct oversight organization, and would simply be made up of representatives from all the projects under the umbrella organization. As you create your budget and other proposals to be approved, you would submit your legal decisions, including budgets, to the Leadership Council, just as all the other sponsored projects, and this will give you a great insight into how other sponsored projects/companies are functioning, and give an opportunity to share best practices. Those are the basics of the structure, decision making structure, and basic systems. Beyond this the umbrella organization can directly help you and your project/company with all sorts of goals, including helping you create your budget, policies, website, marketing, and much more…
What kinds/types of project/company Sponsorships are offered?
Before jumping into the details of each Sponsorship Option lets first just get a basic overview of the different types of sponsorships that are offered. Each kind/type of sponsorship have a few different types of sponsorships within them, and then each individual organization can be customized as needed.
The three primary types of sponsored organizations are non-profit, for-profit, and government committees. This usually takes care of 90% of all sponsorship needs. But there are other options that are also available including CO-OPs, Trusts, Community/Non-monetary Orgs, Tribes & Cultures, Multi-Organizational Complex’s (MOC’s), and Multi-Organizational Entities (MOE’s). Lets start with non-profits.
In addition to all of these types of organizations, there are also many different organizational models to structure as, including a corporation, a partnership, a joint venture, a unincorporated association, a political committee, and sole proprietorship, LLC, and Block-Chain Orgs. Different types of models are most associated with different kinds of organizations. Here is a list of the main types of orgs that we are willing to sponsor:
Non-Resource / Community Orgs (non-monetary)
Decentralized Organizations (Block Chain Orgs)
Multi-Organizational Complex’s (MOC’s) and Multi-Organizational Entities (MOE’s)