If you are interested in applying for fiscal sponsorship under Community Partners, read on to find all the steps, forms, and information you need to submit a complete project proposal.

STEP 1: Determine if Community Partners is the Right Fit

Community Partners grants sponsorship to projects that demonstrate genuine charitable intent, able and committed leadership, potential for significant community impact, and strong prospects for growth and financial sustainability.

Community Partners does NOT sponsor commercial or profit-making ventures, one-time only events, and film or video projects unless they are integral to a larger direct-service or advocacy program. We also do not sponsor projects that require the acquisition of property for overnight care of clients (i.e. domestic violence and transitional housing) or projects that require medical or legal practice. We only sponsor faith-based projects under specific circumstances. Click here for more information.

Ask yourself:

• Will your project provide tangible benefits to your community?
• Is your idea and project plan embraced by a group of committed supporters?
• Do you have the sincere drive and enthusiasm to make your charitable ideas work?
• Can you quantitatively and qualitatively demonstrate the need for the services you intend to deliver?
• Can you identify strong funding prospects to help you move ahead?
• Can you articulate your goals and clearly express your plans to achieve them?

If you can answer yes to the above questions, please read through our Frequently Asked Questions and Mutual Expectations documents to see if Community Partners could be a good fit for your project.

STEP 2: Submit a Proposal to Become a Project of Community Partners

Prospective projects are asked to submit a Proposal for Project Sponsorship, which are due the first of each month.

In the proposal, you will be asked to submit a start-up budget outlining the sources of revenue and projected costs for your proposed project over the next year. The below materials are available to help you accurately draw up this budget.

• Budget Worksheet (Excel)
• Sample Project Budget (Excel)
• Guide to Project Budgeting (pdf)

STEP 3: Proposal is Reviewed by Community Partners

All proposals are rigorously reviewed by Community Partners staff, board members, and community advisors. We invite the leaders of projects that are strong candidates for fiscal sponsorship to meet with us, briefly present their projects, and answer questions. Final determination of sponsorship is made by the full board of Community Partners. If all information is in order, the project review process takes a minimum of six weeks.