The National Network of Fiscal Sponsors is preparing for its biggest conference yet, a day and a half of discussions, presentations, panels and socializing in New Orleans, Oct. 26 and 27.
Tamsin Elias, NNFS coordinator, says 115 participants — staff of 65 fiscal sponsors from 18 states plus experts in the field — are expected to attend.
How sponsors can help promote social equity, the legal risks of political advocacy in the 2018 elections, setting appropriate service fees, using technology advances to improve work flow, and strategies to promote the value of fiscal sponsorship are among the topics to be examined at the gathering.
It’s been 10 years since the nascent NNFS held its first conference in Los Angeles. Just three years earlier, eight fiscal sponsors had begun meeting to consider how members of their rapidly expanding nonprofit niche could support and learn from each other.
Today, the network has 65 members. Except for about a dozen interested professionals who work in or adjacent to the field — attorneys, accountants, funders, consultants, social entrepreneurs or staff at nonfiscal sponsor nonprofits — NNFS members are 501(c)(3)s that offer fiscal sponsorship as a primary service to projects big and small. Some fiscal sponsors have only a handful of projects and serve their immediate geographic area. Others are home to hundreds of projects nationwide.
For all, the annual NNFS gathering is an ideal venue for gaining and sharing practical information and connecting with professional peers.
Marjorie Beggs is Directory manager