Donors may only take a tax deduction for contributions to charitable organizations that are exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Even if an organization was founded for exempt purposes, donors cannot be sure their contributions will be tax deductible until the IRS issues a determination letter recognizing the organization’s exempt status. That’s where fiscal sponsors come in.

Donors may make tax deductible contributions to the fiscal sponsor and designate the funds for use in supporting the sponsored organization’s activities. The sponsor must provide fiduciary oversight and monitor the sponsored organization’s activities to ensure that donated funds are spent only for tax exempt purposes. Once the sponsored organization receives its IRS determination letter and can receive tax deductible contributions directly, the fiscal sponsorship ends.

Over the years, DonorsTrust and Donors Capital Fund have been fiscal sponsors for more than two dozen different start-up organizations, most of which have gone on to receive 501(c)(3) status. You can see the list of our current fiscal sponsorships below.