Once an inquiry is made to the IHCenter office, we will mail or e-mail you an application form. Most often this is more gracefully accomplished through applicants downloading the Proposal for Sponsorship and emailing the completed form to apply@IHCenter.org. It is important to read through the application carefully, and to fill it out as comprehensively as possible.
Once we receive your completed application, someone from IHCenter will contact you with the result of our initial review, and, if preliminarily approved, to request your thorough review of the IHCenter Project Operations Manual, noting the areas of your concern or question. When your Ops Manual review is completed, you may contact IHCenter to request an appointment with an IHCenter director. This meeting can either be in person or via teleconference and allows us to better familiarize ourselves with your work, as well as provides the opportunity for you to ask any questions about IHCenter and our policies.
Should we gain agreement to move on and decide to formalize your program within IHCenter's auspices, you will be required to sign the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). At this point there is a US$200.00 activation fee due for preparing database and accounting elements as well as creating a stand-alone webpage on the IHCenter website that includes the immediate ability to take online donations. You will then receive a Letter of Support via email issued by IHCenter showing authentication as a fiscally sponsored program. Shortly after this a hard copy package of information will be sent from the IHCenter office including copy masters of all authorizing letters and forms, plus a CD-ROM of the Operations Manual.
Approval by the IHCenter executive director that the
project
meets the IRS requirements as a legitimate nonprofit activity is all
that is needed. Once a group is formally invited to work within IHCenter,
has read the Operations Manual, signed
the MOU, and arranged for payment of
the activation fee, that project is
free to utilize IHCenter's
tax-exempt status for raising project funds. For your planning
purposes, this process is best allocated 3 to 5 weeks.
IHCenter is a grassroots organization, and thus is equipped to handle start-up endeavors. As long as you are serious about doing the work, you have a home with IHCenter. Project directors are expected to raise funds to expand their work, and advance the goals of the project.
Yes, there is a fee of US$200.00 to get started, which compensates approximately 12 hours of effort required to bring a new program on board. This includes the preparation of database and accounting elements as well as creation of a stand-alone webpage with the immediate ability to take online donations on the IHCenter website. While the prepayment of this fee is much preferred, we can discuss other arrangements for unusual circumstances.
There are no ongoing fees other than fiscal sponsorship fees, which are calculated at 5% of every project's revenue gained from financial donations. However, the fiscal fee is not taken from in-kind donations, i.e. non-monetary donations such as equipment. These fiscal sponsorship fees are used to maintain the IHCenter office, and pay for such infrastructure costs as compensation to individuals, equipment, telephone, etc and cannot be reduced.
IHCenter requires that each project pay a minimum of $200 per calendar year in fiscal sponsorship fees. This policy only applies to groups that have been in IHCenter for a full calendar year -- projects joining midyear are exempt for the remainder of that year. There is no maximum amount, i.e. we do not cap fees at a ceiling amount. Any project that does not raise $4,000 in a full calendar year will need to remit $200 at year-end. This policy was enacted to ensure that all projects are active and working toward the goals they have set forth. Exemptions may be granted for unusual circumstances.
No. All groups are expected to raise funds to cover their activities, as well as project-related overhead. IHCenter does take care of the administrative aspects of money management, including all tax filings, cash flow reports, donor data capture, etc.
No. Our donors, including foundations, understand that giving ensures a degree of confidentiality. Donors always expect an organization to respect their privacy. Therefore, we adhere to this unwritten code.
Donations always need to be transacted on the IHCenter website, an IHCenter-authorized payment module on the project website, or physically sent to the IHCenter office, where they are processed and deposited. They can be in the form of checks, money orders, credit cards, and electronic wires, plus online transactions with credit cards via our merchant gateway or PayPal and eChecks through PayPal. At this point, you may either submit a budget (proactive) or receipts (retroactive) for the release of available funds. Only project-related expenses can be covered with these funds, never personal expenses. In addition, if there are not adequate funds to cover expenses before checks are deposited, funds will be disbursed only after the checks have cleared the bank.
Website
Credits
Modified: 2007-11-15