Maybe you have heard of fiscal sponsorship or have brushed up against the concept, but do you really understand what it is? Or how it works? It truly is a structure that can ignite the animal welfare dreams of grassroots individuals and groups.

Most would agree the undeniable primary requisites for getting started helping animals are: an idea about how one wants to get involved, a commitment to the cause, and–if the activity takes place on the front lines–some ability and know-how in the handling and care of the chosen animals. That said, there is another component to successfully running an animal welfare organization. That component is fundraising and that generally means getting the IRS 501(c)(3) designation and all that is involved in doing so. It is not a cheap status to attain. The burden doesn’t end there though, as the IRS requires annual reporting. Dependent on the size of an organization, the annual 990 can prove quite onerous and time consuming to complete. Why does a project need the 501(c)(3)? Simple, most donors are much more comfortable giving to organizations that have it, not to mention being encouraged by the tax break they are afforded. Grant makers actually require it. This prospect of dealing with the IRS can cause abject paralysis in moving forward with the dream. The result: The lover of animals remains unfulfilled and animals that could be helped continue to suffer.

Enter the fiscal sponsor! Fiscal sponsorship has a variety of forms, but perhaps the most common is what is known as the Model C Sponsorship. In this model, a project becomes an independent contractor of the fiscal sponsor. The fiscal sponsor is a 501(c)(3). The fiscal sponsor engages the project to carry out its exempt purpose, in this case, preventing cruelty to animals. Once an agreement has been established, the animal welfare project can raise money on a tax-deductible basis through the fiscal sponsor. This encourages donors and dramatically increases the project’s likelihood of getting its much needed funding.

The fiscal sponsor generally charges a fee that is a percentage of funds raised and can range from 6% up to 10% or more. Most fiscal sponsors have an annual membership fee. Some projects stay with fiscal sponsors for 6 months or a year while they await approval of their own 501(c)(3). Others stay indefinitely to focus solely on delivering their services to the animals. Folks that are great with animals may well not be good at the business side of the activity. In either case, a match with a fiscal sponsor is born.

The fiscal sponsor model also allows for innovation and experimentation with a lower threshold of financial and organizational commitment. Those with a new idea can try it out without going all in. Chappy & Friends, the nationwide fiscal sponsor for animal welfare projects that I founded in 2017, is all about encouraging innovation in this manner. Given today’s environment of disruption throughout our economy, it is clear that the best new ideas start at the grassroots and Chappy & Friends warmly embraces this. Examples of some innovators that are or have been Chappy & Friends’ projects include:

-Calypso Equestrian, California, is a retrainer and rehabilitator of show horses and thoroughbreds to become pets. Founder Julia Darling is a former show horse competitor that saw a need for a glide path for these horses once their competition years are behind them. Thus Calypso Equestrian was born. Calypso stayed with Chappy & Friends for about 6 or so months while they waited for their own 501(c)(3) status to come through. They are now thriving on their own!

-Connie Baechler, a trained therapist and the founder of East Oakland Pet Support, saw a local need for keeping companion animals with their owners in the Bay area. The best way to prevent animals from being euthanized in the shelter is to keep them out of the shelter in the first place. Connie works with no- and low- income pet owners to help them solve problems that might end up requiring them to surrender their pets at the shelter. Contrary to popular belief, many people surrendering animals at shelters are exercising their last option for the animal due to an inability to afford its care and feeding. Address that issue and you free up more space for animals in shelters. This reduces the need to euthanize for space and allows for more attention to the animals that are there through no fault of their own.

-Dog Patch Pet and Feed, a very popular for-profit pet store with a pet adoption mission in the Chicagoland area, is another example of disruption in the animal welfare arena. We are all aware of the problem of the pet store selling puppy mill dogs at exorbitant prices. Dog Patch takes this face-on with a business model that promotes adoption and eschews the sale of pets in the store. In 2020, Dog Patch adopted out about 300 dogs and 80 cats. Most of the animals come from areas in the south that have very little in the way of government supported shelter activity. Chappy & Friends is able to facilitate the nonprofit adoption activity through a unique agreement with Dog Patch Pet and Feed.

-Another innovative project that just got its start at Chappy & Friends is A Pawsitive Mission. The project is the brainchild of Gina Scarzella, DVM, in North Carolina. Funding will be used to provide financial support to pet parents for costly treatments or procedures that might otherwise go undelivered. Gina’s project will require the pet parent to put up some small percentage of the cost in order maintain the appropriate level of owner responsibility. Not only does A Pawsitive Mission aim to help pet owners and their pets, it also hopes to relieve the overbearing psychological pressure that many veterinarians feel in trying to help all animals that come to them and yet needing to maintain the thin profit margins that animal hospitals often experience.

The fiscal sponsor model for animals is ripe for expansion to all corners of the United States. There are approximately 20,000 cities and towns across the country. I dare say that there is at least 1 person or group in each of them that has an individual or group with an unfulfilled dream to help animals. Project ideas range from all of those above to: Friends of the Shelter programs that run side-by-side with government shelters that are forbidden from raising money on their own; traditional foster programs; foster programs for the pets of people going abroad to serve our country; foster programs for the pets of families seeking shelter from abusive relationships; rescues for equines, greyhounds, and companion animals; and, of course, your new idea! Chappy & Friends is constantly seeking new projects and welcomes the opportunity to help you get started with yours. Send us an email or give us a call! chapster@chappyandfriends.org or 212.641.0203