ioby fiscal sponsorship is required of all campaigns that do not have their own 501(c)3 status or a 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor. This allows donations to your campaign to be tax-deductible to your donors. If you do not have your own 501(c)3 status and do not have a 501(c)3 fiscal sponsor, ioby may be able to serve as your project’s fiscal sponsor.

You’ll just need to sign a simple fiscal sponsorship contract with ioby and provide receipts for all purchases made with your crowdfunded money. ioby charges a small 8% administrative fee for fiscal sponsorship. The fiscal sponsorship contract is essentially a commitment to use the funds raised in the manner you described in your fundraising campaign. Please be sure to save your receipts if you are making purchases in advance of receiving your crowdfunded money.

Please note that ioby is only able to offer limited fiscal sponsorship, extended for crowdfunded donations and to implement your project. If you are in need of comprehensive fiscal sponsorship (for instance, if you’d like ongoing fiscal sponsorship, would like to accept grants that exceed 75% of your campaign budget, would like to conduct your project on private property, would like to enter into contracts to receive nonprofit discounted services, etc.), you may need to obtain another fiscal sponsor before crowdfunding on ioby. Here are some tips on how to do so.

What ioby's fiscal sponsorship CANNOT do:

• ioby cannot apply for a grant on behalf of your project. If you apply for a grant as part of your crowdfunding campaign, we can provide a fiscal sponsor confirmation letter and a copy of our 501(c)3 letter, and we're able to receive the funds as long as the grant doesn't exceed 75% of your project's total funding need. We cannot sign any agreements or make a commitment to provide grant reports. 
• ioby can only serve as your fiscal sponsor for money you crowdfund on ioby.org. Once your crowdfunding campaign is over and your money has been disbursed, we can no longer serve as your fiscal sponsor. 
• ioby cannot enter into other legal agreements on your behalf, like signing contracts or filing any government forms. We also cannot provide you with forms for certificates of liability, site or event insurance, or similar actions. 
• ioby cannot fiscally sponsor projects fundraising for certain budget items. This includes, but is not limited to, purchases of automobiles, real estate, or major equipment that will be privately owned.

If you have questions about your project's eligibility to use ioby's fiscal sponsorship service, contact your ioby Strategist or email us at [email protected].