We know fiscal sponsorship and all of its iterations and permutations inside and out. Whether you’re a nonprofit bringing on your first or hundredth fiscally sponsored project or you’re working with your first or tenth fiscal sponsor, we’ll help you cover your legal bases to best position you to have successful fiscal sponsorship relationships.

Services to Fiscal Sponsors

• Legal set up for developing a new fiscal sponsor practice. Includes developing due diligence criteria, agreement templates, relationship letters, and transition agreements. Includes up to 10 hours of meeting time and on-call support over six months to provide advisement on legal and compliance areas. Cost - $5000

• Fractional “In-House” Counsel. We provide on going hands on legal support to fiscal sponsors. Please see the Fractional “In-House” tab below for additional details and cost.

• Due diligence. We help assess the charitability, mission fit and risk profile of potential projects to help you make an informed decision. Cost:

  • $350 for projects with budgets under $100,000 (up to 2 hours).

  • $500 for projects with budgets between $100,000 and $1M (up to 3 hours).

  • $750 for projects with budgets over $1M

• Contract Management. If you serve as a Model A sponsor, you’re likely entering into a wide array of contracts on behalf of your projects; each one containing risks and obligations. Let us do the heavy lifting for you. Please see the “Contracting” tab further below for details and pricing.

• Project Transitions. Projects come and projects go for a variety of reasons. Each situation is unique and we provide expert legal support when bringing on or spinning out projects. Support includes drafting asset transfer agreements, closeout letters, grant assignments, board resolutions, ect. We currently bill hourly for these services per the fee schedule that follows the description of our services.

• First time or occasional sponsor. Is fiscal sponsorship not “what you do” except when you occasionally do it? If so, we’ll help you do it right without having to invest in developing a whole bunch of additional processes and structure. We’ll review your set up, make recommendations, provide the right legal instruments, due diligence and on call support as you navigate these unfamiliar waters. Cost - $2000 which includes up to 10 hrs support time.

• Fiscal Sponsor Program Winddown. This sometimes happens and regardless the reason, once the decision to shutter a fiscal sponsorship practice is made, there are a number of important legal considerations to factor in as you proceed. We’ll be there with you every step of the way to protect you legally while honoring your mission. Priced hourly or per custom quote.

‍Special Discount - Fiscal sponsors that are members of Social Impact Commons enjoy full access to Impact Commons’ resource library, expert finance, operations, and technology advisement. We offer Impact Commons members a 10% discount off our quoted rates for legal services. Let us know if you’re already a member and if you aren’t, learn more about Social Impact Commons.

For Projects (groups using a fiscal sponsor) -

• Relationship structuring. Advisement on appropriate model of fiscal sponsorship, due diligence support on evaluating fiscal sponsor options, and agreement drafting/negotiation. $1500

• Exits. Expert legal support on all the facets of transitioning out of a fiscal sponsor. $1500. This service can be paired with structuring a fiscal sponsorship relationship with a different fiscal sponsor or formation support described further below.

The times they are a changing and we’re here to help with all the legal planning and implementation aspects inherent in major transitions including:

• Moving programs from one nonprofit to another.

• Sharing staff and/or administrative systems with another nonprofit.

• Combining forces (and assets) with another nonprofit.

• Affiliating with and sharing resources with an existing 501(c)(4) or creating an affiliate 501(c)(4) from scratch.

• Closing your nonprofit.

• Interim Leadership/Restructuring - in special situations, when a leader leaves an organization or a major restructuring becomes necessary, we will come in and create the right conditions for a successor to be hired; namely by ensuring program continuity, conducting a thorough legal and governance review paired with staff structure and financial reviews carried out by our partner consultancies specializing in HR and finance. This work may or may not entail the placement of an interim executive director.

Fees on these services are currently only offered on an hourly basis and are based on the client’s budget size. Custom scoping and pricing available upon request.

If appropriate and the parties agree, we may serve as legal advisor to both parties contemplating a deep collaboration including combination by offering both parties transparent and practical guidance rooted in principles of justice and equity. This approach has proven to be effective but must be carefully managed with both parties being fully apprised and consenting to the nature of the engagement.

During these times of increasing complexity and uncertainty, having a qualified exempt law attorney on your team that knows the organization at an intimate level makes all the difference. We’re here to serve in that capacity for organization’s with out the budgets to hire full time inhouse counsel. How it works:

A holistic legal review is provided at the outset of the relationship to gain a deep understanding of the organization and to develop a longitudinal risk management plan. We then become “embedded” in your organization serving in both a leadership role and providing hands on legal support.

Cost

• $1000/month for organizations with budgets of $1M or less. Includes up to 5 hours a month

• $2500/month for organizations with budgets between $1M and $5M. Includes up to 10 hours a month

• $5500/month for organizations with budgets over $5M. Includes up to 20 hours a month

Costs include:

• Upfront holistic legal review

• Monthly allotment of hours. Time spent beyond the monthly allotment is charged per our standard hourly rates

• 24/7 on call assistance

Compliance and risk management can feel like a stressful drag you’re never quite on top of but it doesn’t have to be that way. We’ll provide a comprehensive review of your risk profile and compliance set up delivered to your leadership and/or board in a memo and presentation with actionable recommendations.

Cost:

• $3500 for organizations with budgets of $1M or less

• $7000 for organizations with budgets between $1M and $5M

• $9000 for organizations with budgets over $5M

We’ve drafted, reviewed and negotiated thousands of contracts for hundreds of nonprofits. Leverage our expertise to help you memorialize and manage your important relationships with confidence. Services include:

• Review and negotiation support - review and mark up third party agreements. Use us occasionally or as your outsourced contracting team.

  • $100 per round of review (less than 10 pages)

  • $200 per round of review for 10+ pages

• Draft simple agreement for a straightforward arrangement (3 pages or less) - $250

• Draft one off agreement or custom agreement template suited for your needs. Includes consultation and one round of revisions based on your feedback.

  • $750 for organizations with budgets of $1M or less

  • $1000 for organizations with budgets between $1M and $5M

  • $1500 for organizations with budgets over $5M

• Process improvement and contracting compliance deep dive - review current contracts and existing practices and make process and compliance recommendations. This service is typically for medium and larger organizations with higher volume contracting needs

  • $4500 for organizations with budgets between $1M and $5M

  • $6500 for organizations with budgets over $5M

• Train your team on contracting - for pricing, please see Training & Workshop tab further below.

Just getting started? There’s a lot to this and we’ll help you get off on the right foot. We provide:

• Advice on the appropriate structure, including what qualifies as being “charitable”, alternatives such as fiscal sponsorship and what type of federal exemption is best for you - $500

• For 501(c)(3) public charities - Legal formation (incorporation), Bylaws Development, Board meeting training, key board policies, Form 1023 (for IRS designation) - $5000. $2000 - if using form 1023EZ (for really small organizations)

• For Private Foundations and other 501cs - Incorporation, Bylaws Development, Board meeting training, Form 1023 or 1024 (for IRS designation) - $10,000

• Assistance in setting up right-sized compliance protocols and checklists to keep you legal and impactful - $1750

• Review and update bylaws to align with your mission and values

  • $1000 for organizations with budgets of $1M or less

  • $1500 for organizations with budgets between $1M and $5M

  • $2000 for organizations with budgets over $5M

• Draft committee charters $500 for first charter. $250 for additional charters

• Review & Update Key board policies

  • $1000 for organizations with budgets of $1M or less

  • $1500 for organizations with budgets between $1M and $5M

  • $2000 for organizations with budgets over $5M

• Board training & education on legal duties - see pricing under Trainings & Workshops below

We provide a range of services to help grantmakers to help get money out the door with efficiency, compliance, and impact. Except as noted below, our grantmaking services are billed by the hour. Services include:

• Grantee Due Diligence

• Grant Agreements

• Making grants when there’s a fiscal sponsorship relationship

• Fractional counsel

• Legal services for your grantees. Do you know or suspect a grantee has some legal needs? Covering their legal costs is a fantastic way to support your grantees. Cost - $1650 for up to 6 hours. Additional work billed depending on services utilized and organization’s budget size. Note - with this service, your grantee is our client and attorney client privilege between us and your grantee applies unless waived by our client. You’re role is to help them by paying their legal bill!

We provide workshops and trainings on a variety of legal topics including fiscal sponsorship, risk management, legal audits, acquiring and spinning out programs, contracting 101, and governance. You decide on the audience and topic, we customize and deliver the workshop!

Cost of Workshops:

• $1500 for organizations with budgets of $1M or less

• $2500 for organizations with budgets between $1M and $5M.

• $3500 for organizations with budgets over $5M.

You may record the workshop if appropriate for your topic and audience.

You keep the presentation deck.

Additional charges apply for in person trainings.

Legal experts not steeped in exempt law often work with nonprofit clients on matters not related to the client’s 501(c) status. However, they need to understand the exempt law compliance overlay present when helping such clients. We work with these attorneys to ensure they account for all the rules and nuance unique to nonprofits when serving their clients.

Additionally, we are often called on to serve as Of Counsels for matters in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

Pricing determined on a case-by-case basis.