Introducing Compass Charitable Partners

Foundation Group is proud to announce the opening of Compass Charitable Partners, a new fiscal sponsorship 501(c)(3) solution for those needing this unique structure.

We recently published an article about the concept of fiscal sponsorship, so we won’t repeat everything in that article.  Summarizing the main points, however, a fiscal sponsorship involves an existing 501(c)(3) nonprofit offering to provide its tax-exemption and associated benefits to another group, usually a charitable project.  The project must be aligned with the overall mission of the sponsoring organization.

Donors wishing to support the project give directly to the sponsoring organization, designating their gift to that project.  Tax-deductibility of the gift is provided by the fact that the sponsor has 501(c)(3) status.  The sponsored project enjoys all the benefits of 501(c)(3) without the burden of a corporation, a board of directors, and associated state and federal compliance filings.

Good examples of use cases include:

• Projects – Charitable community projects, especially ones that will be temporary, are particularly good candidates for fiscal sponsorship.
• Micro-Charities – Very small operations, especially those that will bring in less than $50,000 per year, also make good candidates for fiscal sponsorship.  There is little incentive to take on the overhead of a full-blown nonprofit, 501(c)(3) corporation when a sponsor can shoulder most of the burden.

Again, we encourage you to read the linked article to learn more about fiscal sponsorship and all that it entails.

We are proud to announce the public opening of Compass Charitable Partners, a fiscal sponsorship 501(c)(3) located in Nashville, Tennessee, but serving projects nationwide!

Compass was born out of a recognized need right here in our own company.  Thousands of people reach out to Foundation Group each year about starting a new nonprofit.  Ultimately, we will help many of them do just that:  launch their own 501(c)(3).

Many others, however, aren’t ready for that.  Their plans are either too small or too in-flux to fully commit to creating a new organization.  For others, they simply don’t want all that comes with formalizing a 501(c)(3) nonprofit.

Seeing this need…and realizing that fiscal sponsorship was the best solution for these social entrepreneurs…we set about to create the ultimate solution:  Compass Charitable Partners.

Compass has been two years in the making.  We took the time and effort to make sure all the structures and technologies were in place to make it possible to work with hundreds, or even thousands, of sponsored projects.  From online donation capabilities to recordkeeping, we refused to launch until it was ready.

It’s also important to state that Compass Charitable Partners is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.  It is NOT a department of Foundation Group, though we are responsible for its creation.  Compass is led by a talented team of professionals who are dedicated to serving the needs of America’s charitable projects!