Fiscal
Sponsorship

Empowering Bold Jewish Ideas through infrastructure, expertise, and financial management.

At UpStart, we believe in the power and potential of entrepreneurs to create positive impact and inspire new experiences within the Jewish community. Through our Fiscal Sponsorship Programs, we support the sustainability and growth of critical ideas and projects by providing infrastructure, expertise, and financial management–whether your venture needs full-service integration or only needs fiscal sponsorship and compliance oversight.

Whether through shared services (Model A) or pre-approved grant relationships (Model C), our goal is to help impact-driven projects focus on what matters most—their mission to build a thriving Jewish community—while partnering with them in alignment with their goals, values, and our Guiding Principles.

WHICH MODEL IS RIGHT FOR YOU?

Model AShared Services

SHARED SERVICES

  • All-in operational support for your project.
  • Fundraising + finance admin Payroll, benefits, HR
  • Governance & compliance oversight, Insurance coverage under UpStart policies
  • Banking, bookkeeping, and reporting
  • Access to the UpStarter Network

Model CShared Services

GRANT-BASED & ADMIN

  • Light-touch fundraising platform support
  • Oversight on charitable fund use & compliance
  • Maintain your own legal entity & operations
  • Accept tax-deductible donations
  • Access to the UpStarter Network

Ideal For:

Organizations without their own legal entity or infrastructure.

Ideal For:

Organizations that remain independent and only need assistance accepting charitable contributions and compliance support.

Inside Model AShared Services

AN INFRASTRUCTURE OF SHARED SERVICES

UpStart handles key administrative functions so projects can focus on their mission. We provide the backend systems and structures to enable fundraising, help with finance, HR, governance, and legal compliance – providing the infrastructure and oversight needed to operate with confidence and compliance. This model is ideal for early-stage or infrastructure-light ventures.

UpStart receives a percentage of all Project income to facilitate the Shared Services model below.

SHARED SERVICES BREAKDOWN
*Note: Items in bold represent costs that are covered by the Project, over and above the allocation towards Shared Services

UpStart Provides Your Responsibility
  • National plans accessible in any US state (health, 401k, etc.)
  • Funds to cover employee benefits
  • Funds to cover personnel-related insurance (liability, workers’ compensation, etc.)

UpStart Provides Your Responsibility
  • Overarching policies to cover all Projects
  • Information required to ensure insurance policies have sufficient coverage
  • Funds to secure additional insurance above and beyond existing policies

UpStart Provides Your Responsibility
  • Portals through which dedicated transactions can be processed
  • Oversight and contract approval on all grants and award letters
  • All fundraising cultivation, stewardship, and solicitation towards the Project, subject to the approval of UpStart
  • Donation processing fees

UpStart Provides Your Responsibility
  • Dedicated, restricted accounts for each individual project
  • Processing of all A/R and A/P transactions
  • Maintenance of Quickbooks
  • Monthly financial statements/reports
  • Records to classify expenses and revenue
  • A basic record of income and spending

UpStart Provides Your Responsibility
  • A dedicated bank account
  • Credit cards for authorized staff
  • View-only access to the dedicated bank account
  • Sound financial management of charitable funds
  • Bank fees

UpStart Provides Your Responsibility
  • Maintenance of status
  • Registration with relevant states
  • Adherence to 501(c)(3) compliance standards

UpStart Provides Your Responsibility
  • All facets of the annual independent financial audit and federal and state regulatory filings
  • Project-related information for regulatory filings

View a preview of the application here.

Before applying: Please schedule a conversation with our team so we can confirm fit, eligibility, and next steps.

Inside Model CShared Services

A GRANT-BASED RELATIONSHIP
& CHARITABLE FUNDING ADMIN

UpStart provides the oversight and base tools for the Project to raise charitable funds. This includes federal and state-level tax-exempt status, an online donation portal, and legally required donor acknowledgments.

Through the Model C Program, UpStart agrees to support the independent Project’s purposes and accepts tax-deductible contributions. The relationship between UpStart and the sponsored Project is that of grantor-grantee, with UpStart then granting the designated funds to the Project for their agreed-upon use and periodically reviewing the Project’s expenses to provide required oversight.

GRANT-BASED RELATIONSHIP BREAKDOWN
UpStart receives a percentage of all charitable Project income to facilitate the Shared Services model outlined below.

 

UpStart Responsibility Your Responsibility
  • Maintenance of 501(c)(3) status with the IRS
  • Charitable registration with relevant states
  • Adherence to 501(c)(3) compliance standards
  • Regular reporting to UpStart outlining use of funds (consistent with 501(c)(3) compliance standards)
  • Articles of Incorporation as an independent entity
  • Business registration with relevant states

 

UpStart Responsibility Your Responsibility
  • All facets of the UpStart annual independent financial audit and federal and state regulatory filings in accordance with 501(c)(3) status
  • Project-related information for UpStart regulatory filings
  • State filings as a non-501(c)(3) taxable entity

View a preview of the application here.

Before applying: Please schedule a conversation with our team so we can confirm fit, eligibility, and next steps.

SUPPORT FOR SUSTAINABILITY AND GROWTH THROUGH THE UPSTARTER NETWORK

COMMUNITY

Access to a network 
of social entrepreneurs 
and ventures sharing 
in similar growth experiences, challenges, and opportunities.

CAPITAL

Access to grant funding and opportunities to engage directly with community funders.

EXPERTISE

Access to mentorship programming, 
content-expert 
webinars, invite-only gatherings, learning resources, and more.

QUESTIONS?

Reach out to theresac@upstartlab.org