From Social Impact Commons:

Fiscal sponsors are a significant part of the nonprofit funding ecosystem, showing rapid growth in the last 20 years, stewarding billions of dollars in community investment, and providing critical back-office infrastructure to diverse nonprofit programs. Those are among the key findings in a new report released today by Social Impact Commons and the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors (NNFS). This report is the first of its kind in more than 17 years, providing a significantly updated picture of the role fiscal sponsors play and how they can support greater growth and impact.   

A fiscal sponsor is a nonprofit organization that provides diverse nonprofit initiatives with access to charitable funding and additional shared support, including corporate structure, finance, HR, legal, insurance, risk management, and other resources. Nonprofit organizations and initiatives partnering with fiscal sponsors can then capitalize on these shared resources and focus more of their efforts on their mission. The new report is based on survey responses from 100 fiscal sponsors, conducted during 2022 and 2023.  

Collectively, the 100 sponsors that participated stewarded over $2.6 billion in community investments in the previous year. Other key findings from the report include: 

The last 20 years have seen larger growth in the field than the previous 50. Nearly three quarters of respondents (73%) were formed since 2000. Leading this growth were a majority (53%) locally and regionally focused sponsors, working within the communities they serve, followed by sponsors with a national (38%) and international (9%) geographic reach. Most respondents (58%) were medium to large in budget with expenses between $1 and $50 million. 
Fiscal sponsors and their project leadership exhibit appreciably greater race, gender, and other demographic diversity than the general nonprofit sector, comparing the field scan data with broader sector data collected by the Candid organization. 
Sponsors are expanding beyond basic back-office support. Finance, HR, legal, insurance, and compliance are still among the most offered by 73% of respondents, but many sponsors are also offering capacity building development support (61%) and strategic financial advice (49%). 
Demand for fiscal sponsorship currently exceeds supply of sponsorship programs. Roughly one in four respondents, 28%, reported that they temporarily suspended or stopped new project intake, and 62% reported that they need to recruit additional staff. 

“Fiscal sponsors are a large and growing part of the nonprofit landscape,” said Thaddeus Squire, Chief Commons Steward of Impact Commons. “They provide a wide range of support and guidance to the projects they sponsor, and our research shows they sponsor projects with very diverse leadership. Nonprofit organizations of all types should consider fiscal sponsorship in developing their programming, funding, and overall business model development. 76% of the organizations that responded to our survey offered fiscal sponsorship alongside other programs, indicating that fiscal sponsorship, as shared infrastructure, is also a potential business model for nonprofits.”  

In addition to the field scan, Social Impact Commons today published a position paper which presents a vision for the fiscal sponsorship field, focusing on a broader collaborative approach to nonprofit infrastructure sharing, called management commons. This vision would ultimately result in fiscal sponsors providing more equitable access to nonprofit leaders, building shared resources for particular areas of charitable work, geographic regions, and cultural groups.  

Fiscal sponsors would ultimately provide much of the shared infrastructure nonprofits need in a more financially sustainable manner, offering a long-term alternative to stand-alone nonprofit operations and enabling individual nonprofits to be laser-focused on mission. In a broader sense, the practices of nonprofit resource sharing at the core of management commons could also apply to any nonprofit organization, suggesting a fundamental shift in the sector toward more collective action and solidarity economy solutions. 

Earlier research by Social Impact Commons and cited in the position paper showed that nonprofits’ “overhead” operating costs were 50 percent lower when using fiscal sponsors compared to operating independently. If those savings were applied across the nonprofit sector as a whole, it could mean reallocating tens of billions away from administrative costs toward front-line programming per year.  

“Building the management commons is essential to enabling the overall success of the nonprofit sector,” said Neville Vakharia, board chair of Impact Commons. “This approach has benefits on scale, efficiency, justice, and sustainability. We must collectively work to create this infrastructure to truly move toward social justice.” 

The survey that formed the basis of the field scan was conducted between November 1, 2022, and March 31, 2023, with 100 sponsors responding substantially to all parts of the survey. The respondents were diverse in many ways.  Respondents came from close to 20 different states. Half managed fewer than 30 sponsored projects, but 18% managed more than 100 projects. The field scan was self-funded by Impact Commons and NNFS. Impact Commons was able to lead this work with generous operating support from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and Fidelity Charitable Trustees’ Initiative. 

Access the report here.

From The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage: When it comes to the distinctive artistic practices and creative challenges that drive today’s artists, our Pew Fellows have a wealth of insights, representing a diversity of perspectives across age, background, and creative disciplines.

In this installment, interdisciplinary artist Maia Chao and visual artist James Maurelle discuss how they create productive work environments for themselves, their earliest interests in artistic expression, and why they’ve made Philadelphia their home. 

Chao’s work in performance, video, sculpture, and social practice investigates systems of value and power within formal and informal institutions such as museums, economic structures, and families. Maurelle works with his hands to create sculptures from wood, metal, and found materials, inspired by five generations of tradesmen and woodworkers in his family.

Read the full conversation here.

We are institutional funders, individual donors and philanthropy professionals who are heartbroken and grieving the tragic loss of life in Palestine and Israel. Between October 7 and November 19, more than 13,000 Palestinians in Gaza and 1,400 Israelis have been killed.* In Gaza, this includes over 5,500 children.  With every passing minute, we are losing more human lives – people with families and hopes, who once loved and dreamed.   

And we fear for what is to come if the violence continues. As the total siege on Gaza prevents essential life-giving resources from entering, families are running out of food and water. UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said on October 23, “If more aid for Gazans, including fuel, medicine, food and water, does not arrive in days or even hours, many more people in Gaza will die of hunger, thirst and lack of medical care.” People depending on life-saving medications for chronic health conditions are in grave danger. Babies in neonatal intensive care units will die within minutes when hospitals run out of fuel. 5,500 people in their final month of pregnancy may be forced to give birth in the most dire circumstances. Health care workers – including emergency responders – have been bombed as they try to care for the sick and injured, and ambulances are unable to reach the critically injured as fuel supplies dwindle. Over one million people’s homes have been destroyed, and nowhere is safe, not even UN shelters. 

Our conscience moves us to speak out – we will not remain silent. We call for:

1. An immediate ceasefire;

2. Safe, unimpeded passage of humanitarian aid (including food, water, medicine and fuel), humanitarian organizations, staff and medical professionals into all areas of Gaza in a way that is sufficient and sustained enough to meet the scale of the catastrophe;

3. Stopping US and European funding and weapons for the Israeli military; and

4. Adherence to international humanitarian and human rights laws by all parties, including the safe release of all civilians taken hostage from Israel as well as of all Palestinians who have been unlawfully detained.

We call for the US and European governments to stop enabling war crimes through unconditional military support, and for Israel to end its collective punishment of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents. There is no military solution to this crisis.

We also take seriously our responsibility to address the root causes of what we see unfolding today – the decades of systematic violence, military occupation and displacement that all Palestinians, especially in Gaza, have experienced at the hands of the Israeli government. 

In our own backyards, we are horrified by a recent spike in anti-Palestinian, Islamophobic, and anti-Semitic violence and rhetoric. We are united in challenging all bigotries rooted in white supremacy.

Given our work with philanthropy, we acknowledge the importance of providing immediate funding for emergency response, as well as flexible core funding (without donor-imposed restrictions) to support Palestinian civil society for the long-term.

Social movements are extraordinary in their capacity to respond to violence with steadfastness and imagination and mobilize people to transform oppressive realities.  Alongside them, we envision a world where Palestinians live with freedom, dignity, and equality, with true safety for Israeli and Palestinian people and a just peace in the region.  In the face of so much pain and suffering, we call forth our deepest sense of humanity and justice, to build this possibility together, because we know that none of us are free until all of us are free.

* These numbers are as of November 19, 2023. More than 130 Palestinians living in the West Bank have also been killed since October 7 in an alarming escalation of both Israeli military and settler violence. 

Sign the Letter Here

From The New School:

Two generations after the passing of American icon Romare Bearden in 1988, The New School’s Institute on Race, Power, and Political Economy and the Vera List Center for Art and Politics, the Romare Bearden Foundation, and The Institute of Jazz Studies at Rutgers University Newark combine forces to examine Bearden’s legacy under three distinct lenses: the impact of his activist work, especially his prints; the role of music in both his practice at large and the activist projects; and the resonance of his oeuvre in contemporary art making.

The multi-tier initiative In Common: Romare Bearden and New Approaches to Art, Race & Economy consists of a three-day symposium, an exhibition, and a forthcoming publication. 

Featuring contemporary creative works and perspectives from socially-conscious, politically engaged BIPOC artists and commentators, the symposium will draw on Bearden’s activist legacy to spotlight the potent, yet still-too-rarely-acknowledged relationships between race, culture, economy, and the Common Good.

Through plenary discussions, live performances, and a striking new exhibition, we will investigate the themes of purposeful creativity, the artist as activist, BIPOC leadership in creative culture and economy, and much more. 

Join us to explore the intersections of art, culture, race, and economy, with a strong focus on engagement and action for social change.

Learn more and register here.

From Lifetime Arts:

Cross-sector, state-level partnerships are key to sustaining and ensuring access to creative aging programming, especially for older adults in rural communities. Research shows that these arts education programs contribute significantly to healthy aging and increased social connection. The Advancing Creative Aging in Westerns States Initiative, launched in 2023, is designed to deepen and sustain collaboration among state agency partners to advance creative aging in the Western region. Currently the Initiative includes partnership teams in Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Wyoming, and Utah. These teams include leaders from state arts agencies, state libraries, and state veterans services, and will expand to include aging services and health and human services. 

“We are accelerating a collective shift that places arts learning and creative engagement at the core of western states’ older adult programming and ensures that all older adults, especially those with the least access, benefit,” says Lifetime Arts Executive Director Heather Ikemire. 

Lifetime Arts will provide consulting services and information resources for multiple stakeholders across these state agencies. These resources are designed to support new and existing partnerships across state agencies and their constituent organizations. Lifetime Arts also is supporting the development and implementation of up to five creative aging programs in sector-specific host organizations in each state. These programs will serve a total of 500 older adults and help to demonstrate the benefits and efficacy of creative aging.

In May/June 2024, partnership teams in each state will host state convenings for new and existing partners to develop actionable strategies to embed arts education in older adult services. Partners also will discuss the formation of a Western States Creative Aging Leadership Council to align key agencies within and across states towards collective action to advance shared creative aging goals.

Explore the resource here.

From Native Americans in Philanthropy: On November 21, at 1:00 pm (ET), join our moderator, Stephine “Steph” Poston (Pueblo of Sandia), NAP’s Chief Executive Officer, Erik R. Stegman (Carry the Kettle First Nation – Nakoda), along with esteemed NAP Partners, Lisa Jaguzny from Biodiversity Funders Group and Shannon Rudisill from Early Childhood Funders Collaborative, as they engage in a discussion on the significance of partnering across the field and how cross-sector collaboration can revolutionize the future landscape of philanthropy.

Learn more and register here.

The US Department of Arts and Culture isn’t a real federal agency, but as the placeholder until the government actually makes one, we call on all colleagues in federal government, campaign staffers, and federal contractors to urge President Biden to demand an immediate ceasefire to end the genocide in Gaza.

Israel’s inhumane blockade, illegal bombardment, and ground invasion have turned the Gaza Strip from an occupied apartheid zone into a catastrophic site of human suffering. The Israeli government’s inhumane military actions have displaced at least 1.5 million Palestinians, deprived 2 million of drinking water, and murdered over 10,000. As the Israeli government continues to flatten neighborhoods, bomb hospitals, schools, houses of worship, refugee camps, and fleeing civilians, the US government can not in good conscience stand by and support, directly or indirectly, a campaign of ethnic cleansing carried out by a nuclear power financed by US taxpayers.

As the agency tasked with supporting cultural organizers and artists across the country, we are keenly aware of the power that storytelling has played in this illegal war. Crises are often used as a way for those in power to weaponize our grief toward their own ends. In that grief and confusion, we too often let those in power sprint toward their own goals: profit, military occupation, extraction, violence.

The horrific attacks on October 7th are in no way an excuse for such a powerful nation to carry out indiscriminate bombing attacks, and dehumanizing war crimes. We simply cannot allow this massacre to continue. We cannot let the grief of this moment allow the Israeli government to perpetuate genocide of the Palestinian people in the name of self-defense. We can tell a different story; one that disrupts this false narrative that allows unprecedented human suffering and violence to be carried out under the banner of “self-defense.” We can tell a story that calls it what it is: genocide.

Upstart Co-Lab connects capital to creative people who make a profit and make a difference. See what we see: the extraordinary talent, energy and potential of entrepreneurs and fund managers working in the creative economy to drive deep social impact, and the impact investors who are backing them.

Watch the full video here.

Upstart Co-Lab connects capital to creative people who make a profit and make a difference. Upstart is launching a $100 million portfolio of funds and companies comprising the first impact investment strategy for the U.S. creative economy which will focus on fashion, film & TV, video games, food, the creator economy, the visual art market, immersive experiences, health & beauty and other creative industries. Upstart’s approach will prioritize BIPOC and women entrepreneurs, and deliver people-focused impact: quality jobs, vibrant communities, and sustainable creative lives. 

In tandem, Upstart will conduct an influence strategy focused on unlocking artists, art patrons and endowed cultural institutions as a new cohort of impact investors, and the creative sector as a new source of impact capital. The first museum to commit to Upstart’s Inclusive Creative Economy Strategy is the Toledo Museum of Art. Upstart is seeking program-related investments from foundations; recoverable grants from donor advised funds; and mission-related investments from endowed nonprofit arts and culture organizations. Upstart Co-Lab’s Inclusive Creative Economy Strategy is supported by ImpactAssets.

Watch the full video here.

From National Endowment for the Arts: A new initiative from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) announced today aims to expand access to arts participation in our country. A partnership with South Arts and in collaboration with the other five U.S. Regional Arts Organizations (RAOs), ArtsHERE will provide non-matching grant support for organizations that have demonstrated a commitment to equity within their practices and programming. Grants will fund specific projects that will strengthen grantees’ capacity to sustain meaningful community engagement and increase arts participation for underserved groups/communities. ArtsHERE is also a knowledge-sharing endeavor, with peer-learning and technical assistance opportunities for grantees. Working with grantees throughout the projects, the NEA also plans to report on lessons learned from this pilot initiative, which may inform the future of ArtsHERE and other similar funding programs and practices. The deadline to submit a statement of interest is Friday, January 19, 2024. Visit ArtsHERE.org for full guidelines and to apply.

Chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, Maria Rosario Jackson, PhD, said, “The National Endowment for the Arts is committed to ensuring everyone in this nation has opportunities to live an artful life. ArtsHERE will make strides toward this goal with grants that will strengthen organizations’ efforts to advance inclusion and access to the arts. The program will make impacts in communities nationwide and will help us learn about how to best support work that is inclusive and accessible for all people in our nation.”

Managed by South Arts, ArtsHERE will award approximately 95 nonprofit organizations with non-matching grants of $65,000 to $130,000. Applicants should propose a specific project that will strengthen and sustain the organization’s capacity for robust community engagement, as well as support strategies to increase arts participation for underserved groups/communities. Grants are also intended to help organizations better serve their communities and to approach their operations and programming in ways that will expand their reach.

Learn more about the fund here.