CIS-A2K/Fiscal sponsorship

Fiscal sponsorship refers to the practice of non-profit organizations (NGO's) offering their legal and tax-exempt status to Individuals, groups or organizations that wish to apply for funding to Wikimedia foundation (WMF) or any other Government bodies, some of the examples of the grants are Rapid Grants Program, Project Grants Program, or the Conference & Event Grants Program.

If the grantee cannot or not prefer to administer the grant funds themselves on an individual capacity they may request to receive their grants funds through a fiscal sponsor. We or fiscal sponsor receives the funds from WMF on behalf of the grantee, holds the funds, and dispenses them as agreed or instructed by the grantee. Fiscal sponsorships may be helpful for:

Groups that are not incorporated or established a bank account where they can receive FCRA funds.
Groups that are formed temporarily
Groups whose circumstances make it hard to receive funds directly.

How do fiscal sponsorships work?

Fiscal sponsorships require two sets of agreements:

Agreement between WMF and the fiscal sponsor.
An agreement between the fiscal sponsor and the grantee.

What do CIS-A2K will provide as a fiscal sponsorship?

CIS-A2K is one of the fiscal sponsorship to all the Wikimedia user groups, Wikimedia chapters and Indvisals from India who are contributing to Wikimedia projects in Indic languages. The following responsibilities will be taken up by CIS-A2K as fiscal sponsor.

Will help the grantee to prepare the program schedule based on the experience (if required)
Will provide the logistical support in hosting the event at the grantee defined city or state.
Will help the grantee to do the reimbursements of all the participants who took part in the event.
To work with the grantee and ensure that reporting requirements are met on time.
Will maintain separate books of accounts, provide recipients & payments, Audited Utilization certificates, budget head vice Expenses during the reporting of the grant.

What information will be provided to WMF from us as a fiscal sponsor?

During the grant request review period, documents requested include but not limited to:

Proof of organization has a non-profit status equivalent to the US 501(c)(12A for CIS-A2K) status in its local context.
A Contact name, job title/role within the organization, and email address are needed so that WMF can work with the fiscal sponsor directly.
Annual financial statements of 2-3 years(audited financials).

If the grant request is being considered for funding, information/documents required before a final decision is made: (this also information needed to draft grant agreements)

Unexpired government-issued identification document for all agreement signatories

Before grant payment, required documents include:

Completed bank information form where the grant funds will be wired to.
Document or letter from their bank identifying the persons with access to the bank account where the grant funds will be sent and stored.

Contact

If you want to approach CIS for fiscal sponsorship, please email program cis-india.org, cc-ing amber cis-india.org. Questions can be put on the associated talk page also. Please note, if you want to request CIS to become fiscal sponsorship, please contact with at least 15 days in advance.