Offering fiscal sponsorship informally is a good start. But at some point, good intentions aren’t enough.

If you’ve been providing fiscal sponsorship without a formal structure in place, you already know it’s time to get serious. The question is where to start.

Do any of these sound familiar?

  • A board member or funder asked a question about your fiscal sponsorship program and you didn’t have a confident answer
  • A situation with one of your fiscally sponsored projects has put you on alert
  • You’ve been offering fiscal sponsorship informally for a while and know the risk is real — even if nothing has gone wrong yet
  • You want to start accepting more projects but know if your current setup isn’t ready for that
  • You’ve realized you’re actually operating as a fiscal sponsor and want to make sure you’re doing it right

If you’re nodding along, you’re in the right place. Situations like these are why we created our Fiscal Sponsorship Program Foundations service.

What It Is:

FS Program Foundations is a structured review and implementation service designed specifically for organizations that have been offering fiscal sponsorship informally and are ready to build a program that’s compliant, operationally sound, and financially sustainable.

This isn’t a one-size-fits-all checklist. It’s a practical, expert-led process that looks at your specific situation — what you have, what you’re missing, and what you need to do about it.

How It Works:

Step 1: FS Program Snapshot — $1,500-$2,000

Before we can tell you what needs to change, we need to understand where you are today. The Snapshot is a structured intake process — a focused survey followed by one or two calls — that gives us a clear picture of your current practices across compliance, operations, and financial management.

At the end of the Snapshot, you’ll receive a short written memo with:

  • Our expert read on what we’re seeing — not just a summary of what you told us, but an honest interpretation of where the gaps and risks are
  • A plain-language assessment of what needs closer examination
  • A clear recommendation on whether and how to proceed with a full Foundations Review

The Snapshot fee is credited toward Step 2 if you move forward — and most organizations do. But even if you stop here, you’ll walk away with a clearer picture of your program than you had before.

Step 2: Foundations Review — An additional $3,500-$5,000

The Foundations Review is a thorough, document-based examination of your fiscal sponsorship program across three areas:

  • Compliance: Are you operating legally and correctly as a fiscal sponsor? We review your agreement structure, IRS considerations, and project oversight practices to make sure you’re protected.
  • Operations: Do you have the policies, processes, and procedures in place to manage projects consistently and sustainably? We look at what’s in place, what’s missing, and what needs to change.
  • Financial Management: Are you handling money, fees, allocations, and reporting in ways that protect both your organization and your projects?

The deliverable is a written report that tells you exactly where things stand — what’s working, what’s inadequate, and what’s missing entirely — along with specific, prioritized recommendations with enough detail to actually act on them.

Step 3: Implementation — Your Choice

Once you have your Foundations Review report in hand, you decide how you want to move forward. We offer two paths:

Done For You — $5,000-$12,000
Not sure you have the time or expertise to implement the recommendations yourself? We’ll do the heavy lifting — drafting agreements, developing policies, building financial frameworks — under your oversight and with your input. You end up with a fully operational, properly structured fiscal sponsorship program.

Do It Yourself — $2,500
Prefer to handle implementation on your own? We’ll give you a curated toolkit — model agreements, policy templates, checklists, and a prioritized action plan — specifically for organizations in your situation, so you have everything you need to get it done. This is a popular path for organizations with capable staff and some bandwidth to spare.

Step 3 is optional and available only to organizations that have completed Steps 1 and 2.

Ready to get started?
The first step is the FS Program Snapshot. It’s a low-risk way to get an honest outside perspective on where your program stands — and figure out exactly what it needs.

Book a Call Now
Have a question about this service? Please see the FAQ below or email us at hello@schulmanconsulting.com.

FAQ

What is FS Foundations?

  • FS Foundations is a consulting engagement to help leaders of fiscal sponsorship programs improve their Program’s operations. It’s based around a number of common triggers that often signal to fiscal sponsor leaders that thinks aren’t operating as well as they could be. No matter what your organization is dealing with, Schulman Consulting can show you how to shore up your program.

Who is FS Program Foundations for?

  • FS Foundations is for organizations that have been offering fiscal sponsorship informally or occasionally and know it’s time to build a more structured, compliant program. If you’ve been doing this on a handshake basis, with outdated agreements, or without clear policies in place — and you want to change that before something goes wrong — this service is designed for you.

How does this work?

  • Once you schedule your introductory call we’ll get on the phone for 20-30 minutes to talk through your current situation. After that call, we’ll set a start date after which we’ll work with you to do a thorough review of your fiscal sponsorship program and determine where the issues are — and how they can be resolved. Once our report is complete, we’ll discuss our findings and recommendations with you.

How is this different from your Fiscal Sponsorship Program Review?

  • The Program Review is designed for established fiscal sponsors with mature programs that need a comprehensive outside assessment. FS Program Foundations is for organizations that are earlier in the journey — ones that haven’t yet built the formal structure a program needs to operate safely and sustainably. Think of it as building the foundation vs. renovating an existing structure.

Do I have to complete all three steps?

  • Step 1 (the FS Program Snapshot) is required — it’s how we make sure we understand your situation before recommending anything. Step 2 (the Foundations Review) is where most organizations go next, and the Snapshot fee is credited toward it. Step 3 (implementation) is optional. You can choose Done For You, the DIY Toolkit, or neither — that’s entirely up to you.

What does the FS Program Snapshot actually tell me?

  • More than just a recap of what you shared with us. After reviewing your survey responses and talking through your situation, we give you our honest expert read — where the gaps are, where the risk exposure is, and what we’d recommend examining more closely in a full review. You’ll walk away with a clearer picture of your program than you had before, regardless of whether you move forward.

How long does this take?

  • The Snapshot typically takes two to four weeks from intake survey to memo delivery. The full Foundations Review — Steps 1 and 2 — usually runs six to 10 weeks depending on your organization’s availability and the complexity of what we find. Implementation timelines vary based on which path you choose.

What do I need to have in place before starting?

  • Not much. That’s kind of the point. You don’t need a polished program or formal documentation to get started — in fact, if you had all of that, you probably wouldn’t need this service. Come as you are and we’ll figure out together what needs to be built.

What does the DIY Toolkit include?

  • The toolkit includes model fiscal sponsorship agreements, policy templates, financial management frameworks, compliance checklists, and a prioritized action plan based on your specific Foundations Review findings. It’s designed so that an organization with capable staff and reasonable bandwidth can implement the recommendations without needing ongoing consultant support.

What if we need more help than the toolkit provides?

  • That’s what the Done For You path is for. Our team handles the implementation work — drafting agreements, developing policies, building financial frameworks — under Andrew’s oversight and with your input throughout. You end up with a fully structured program without having to manage the details yourself.

We’re a small organization. Is this service right for us?

  • Possibly — it depends less on size and more on whether you have the resources and commitment to follow through on the recommendations. The Snapshot is a low-risk way to find out. If we don’t think the engagement is the right fit for your situation, we’ll tell you that honestly.

How do I know you can help us with this?

  • Schulman Consulting has been working exclusively in the fiscal sponsorship sector for more than a decade — with both fiscal sponsors and fiscally sponsored projects. That dual perspective is rare, and it’s what makes our work more useful than a generic nonprofit consulting engagement.

    We’ve worked with fiscal sponsors of all shapes and sizes, from large established programs to smaller organizations just getting their footing. We’ve seen what works, what doesn’t, and what tends to go wrong when programs grow without a solid foundation underneath them.

    Fiscal sponsorship isn’t a service line we added to fill out a menu. It’s all we do.

    If you want to get a sense of who we are before booking a call, take a look at what our clients have to say or explore our free resources. And if you have specific questions, just reach out directly — we’re pretty easy to talk to.

What if I’m not happy with the results?

  • Our goal is to provide you the tools, information and peace of mind to understand what it takes to run a successful fiscal sponsorship program — and actually do it. Our success is based on your success. If we start a project and determine that we can’t provide you with actionable recommendations, we will refund your money. If we get to the end of the project and you’re not satisfied with the results, we will make best efforts, to provide you with the information and resources that meet your needs.

You haven’t answered my question yet – how can I reach you?

Ok, I’m ready to get started – what’s next?

  • Book an introductory call and we’ll talk through your situation. From there, if it seems like a good fit, we’ll kick off the FS Program Snapshot and go from there.