FISCAL SPONSORSHIP

Fiscal sponsorship is one of the benefits of affiliation with the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music.

It provides "the use of the Friends' corporate and tax-exempt status to facilitate the solicitation of public grants and private donations for a declared project".

It is important to understand that the SFFCM is not a conduit that passes on earmarked funds from the donor to the affiliate, but rather, a sponsor that is legally contracted to both the donor and the affiliate to take responsibility for and oversee the implementation of the agreed - upon project as stipulated in the grant or by the donation. Therefore, the affiliate will always have a declared project (renewable yearly or upon completion) on file in order to make use of the fiscal sponsorship service.

SFFCM takes a fee (currently 8%) of all grants and donations awarded to the affiliate's project to see that it is fulfilled, and that the proper reporting by SFFCM and the affiliate is completed.

OBLIGATIONS OF APPLICANT

The Applicant must comply with all of the terms of the Letter of Agreement, including, but not limited to, reporting, waiver of liability, and payment of fees for donations taken through the Affiliate fiscal sponsorship program. The current charge for fiscal sponsorship is 8%. It is particularly important that the Applicant understand that, according to law, all funds received under the Friends' auspices are held and deployed at the Friends' discretion and may not be earmarked by the donor. Notwithstanding the donor's specific designations, the Friends retains ultimate discretion over all such funds and will release them for Affiliate use only against evidence that the Project is progressing as agreed. Donations to Affiliate Projects must be made out to the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music.

The Friends may request a free performance by an Affiliate at a Friends function or fund raising occasion, and an Affiliate is required to acknowledge its affiliate relationship to Friends in all publicity materials and in Applicant’s website in the following manner:

“The [Name of group, organization, individual] is an affiliate of, and fiscally-sponsored by, the San Francisco Friends of Chamber Music, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to the service of chamber music in California”.

Or, as it pertains to an Affiliate’s project:

“[Name of Project] made possible by the fiscal sponsorship of the San Friends of Chamber Music, with funding provided by [agency or agencies]”.