1.

Please study our website.
Many of your questions are answered in these pages.

2.

Make an initial inquiry.
If, after reviewing the website, you wish to apply for fiscal sponsorship or have additional questions, please contact us for approval to submit your application.

If we determine that your proposed project is not appropriate for fiscal sponsorship with Community Initiatives, we will make every effort to refer you or suggest a next step.

3.

Submit a draft application for fiscal sponsorship and schedule a meeting with our staff.
See our application page for details. Community Initiatives requires an onsite interview before submitting your proposal to our Board of Directors. This is our opportunity to provide feedback that could improve the project’s chances for approval, and to address any questions you may have.

4.

Meet with Community Initiatives staff.
During this meeting we will provide suggestions for strengthening your request for fiscal sponsorship, and explain how we deliver services to our fiscally sponsored projects. This is another opportunity to answer your questions.

5.

Submit a final complete application by the upcoming deadline.
Our Board of Directors meets every other month, and we mail the Board materials three weeks prior to their meeting. We need your final proposal a week prior to that deadline. (In rare cases, we can expedite a request by calling a special meeting of the Board.)

6.

Await approval from Community Initiatives’ Board of Directors.
The Board will approve or decline your application or request additional information.

If your project is approved for fiscal sponsorship, staff will notify you and send you a draft agreement to review prior to your orientation.

If the Board requested more information on your project, your application will be reviewed again at its next meeting.

If your project is declined by the Board of Directors, we will make every effort to refer you elsewhere or suggest a next step.

7.

Attend an orientation meeting at our offices in San Francisco.
An accepted applicant may enroll at any time within one year of acceptance. During the orientation, which takes about two hours, you will meet our staff and get detailed information about how we operate and how Community Initiatives and its projects assume joint accountability. Because of the importance of this initial training/signing/information session, attendance is required.