Fiscal Sponsorship Virtual Meeting 2021

Come share knowledge and experiences, create a community and identify needs to promote fiscal sponsorship to amplify and strengthen the work of grassroots organizations, non-profit organizations and collectives fighting for equity and quality of life in Puerto Rico. This event is possible thanks to the support of Filantropía Puerto Rico.

This event is in Spanish. Language interpretation will be available (English <>Spanish).

Para ver la página en español, dale click aquí.

For information, please contact eunice@hasercambio.org.

Schedule and Topics

We will go over the basics of fiscal sponsorship, its history, and why it is an attractive tool for nonprofits and community-based actions. We will present some of the myths about how fiscal sponsorship works, as well as the concrete possibilities it provides. ARECMA, Tabonuco and ACUTAS will share their experiences and learnings to help us think about ways to do fiscal sponsorship that respond to the context and needs of Puerto Rico.

Presenters

  • Colibrí Sanfiorenzo Barnhard, Directora Ejecutiva de HASER
  • Susana Sanabria Cruz, Directora Ejecutiva de ARECMA
  • Rosaura Rodríguez Muñoz y Gina Malley Campos, Co-directoras de Tabonuco
  • Waldemiro Vélez Soto, Director Ejecutivo de ACUTAS
  • Yamira Flores Rodríguez, consultora en liderazgo estratégico (moderadora del panel)

Puerto Rico is going through a socioeconomic crisis that prolongs precariousness and increases inequity. More communities are becoming agents of change, fighting against colonialist, racist, capitalist and patriarchal structures, and weaving solidarity with radical projects looking to achieve deep transformations. Fiscal sponsorship provides them with a way to raise funds, strengthen their operations and achieve their mission. However, the rules and laws tip the power scale in favor of the fiscal sponsor. Structures that erode people’s power to build a more just and inclusive world are reaffirmed, especially when dealing with historically oppressed communities. How do we work through this contradiction? What strategies can we use to achieve greater equity and justice in fiscal sponsorship?

We will have the participation of Ana Elisa Pérez Quintero and Marilyn López Parrilla from La Colmena Cimarrona in Vieques. They will share their experiences as a sponsored project, their concerns about autonomy and power, and the internal dilemmas they have faced. Thaddeus Squire and Asta Petkeviciute of Social Impact Commons will present strategies and recommendations to think about a more equitable approach to fiscal sponsorship.

Presenters

  • Ana Elisa Pérez Quintero, Co-Director, La Colmena Cimarrona
  • Marilyn López Parrilla, Project Manager, La Colmena Cimarrona
  • Thaddeus Squire, Chief Commons Steward, Social Impact Commons
  • Asta Petkeviciute, Chief Financial Steward, Social Impact Commons
  • Gloriann Sacha Antonetty Lebrón, writer and founder of Revista étnica
  • Anahí Lazarte Morales, HASER (moderator)
Very often groups and community-based organizations seek fiscal sponsorship because they have an opportunity to receive a donation but don’t have a tax-exempt status. The search can then become a bit confusing and rushed due to the need to receive funds as soon as possible. On the other hand, many tax-exempt entities that get fiscal sponsorship requests decide not to do so because it seems too complex or they fear that it will be an administrative burden. Fiscal sponsorship does require planning and administrative resources, but it can be done at scale and in a way that supports the mission. Fiscal sponsorship works best when conducted as a collaborative relationship to achieve common goals with compatible work styles. We will share key questions to consider before giving and receiving fiscal sponsorship.

Presenters

  • Raquela Delgado Valentín, Directora de Propuestas y Operaciones, María Fund
  • Toni Moceri, Directora del Programa de Proyectos Auspiciados, Allied Media Projects
  • Colibrí Sanfiorenzo Barnhard, Directora Ejecutiva, HASER

Entering into a fiscally sponsored relationship is to become co-administrators of actions with a common mission for the benefit of society. It is a strategic collaboration facilitated by a legal structure that is made explicit in the fiscal sponsorship agreement. Formalizing the relationship through an agreement allows you to set goals, define responsibilities and powers, and establish how and when to end the relationship. It provides protection, focuses the mission, and sets guidelines for what to expect. Beyond legal technicalities, it is an essential step to achieve the shared mission, to sustain the relationship, and to reaffirm the rights, autonomy and leadership of sponsored projects.

This day we will study the essential parts to design fiscal sponsorship agreements that seek equity and that support the work to achieve the goals of the sponsored project and the sponsoring entity.

We will present hypothetical cases to explain different types of agreements. The meeting will close with a Q&A session.

Presenters

  • Juan Delgado
  • Josh Sattely, Special Counsel, Social Impact Commons
  • Colibrí Sanfiorenzo Barnhard, Executive Director, HASER
  • Thank you for making this event possible!


    Presenters

    Susana Sanabria Cruz
    Executive Director, ARECMA

    Susana, resident of Yabucoa, Puerto Rico, has a bachelor’s degree in Social Sciences with Social Action Research from the University of Puerto Rico in Humacao, and a master’s degree in Community Social Work from the Beatriz Lasalle Graduate School of Social Work of the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras. She is executive director of Asociación Recreativa y Educativa Comunal del barrio Mariana en Humacao, ARECMA, INC. In addition, Susana is the social worker who coordinates the program: Conéctate con el ArteXpresión de la Alianza para la Paz Social ALAPÁS, Inc.

    Gina Malley Campos
    Co-Director, Tabonuco

    Gina is a project manager and educator with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology at the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras; a master’s degree in Environmental Education from Western Washington University; and earned a certification in Nonprofit Administration from the North Cascades Institute. Her mission is to promote the integral well-being of everyone through actions of a community, environmental and personal transformation nature. Gina currently distributes the practical manual for agriculture, Siembra Boricua!, and is co-founder of the Tabonuco project in Jayuya, Puerto Rico, where she supports the coordination of educational programs with ecological and artistic approaches.

    Rosaura Rodríguez Muñoz
    Co-Director, Tabonuco

    Rosaura is an artist and educator who has a bachelor’s degree in Hispanic Studies and Fine Arts, and a master’s degree in Special and Differentiated Education, both from the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras. Rosaura works mainly with ink and watercolor, and creates pieces in which botanical illustration, landscape and contemporary everyday stories are manifested. Create comic / graphic narratives and explore the sources of natural pigments. Her artistic work converges with educational work with a focus on social and sensory inclusion. Rosaura is co-founder and co-director of Tabonuco, an experiential ecological and artistic education project in Jayuya, Puerto Rico.

    Waldemiro Vélez Soto
    Executive Director, ACUTAS

    Waldemiro has expertise in project and proposal management, and is responsible for achieving the objectives of the projects under his charge. With a specialty in Political Science and Education, from the University of Puerto Rico in Río Piedras, is responsible for social networks, graphic art, advertising and communications, as well as being the representative of ACUTAS within the community. Waldemiro is a volunteer coordinator of the Adult School and a volunteer tutor for supervised studies; as well as supervisor and mentor of Team Leaders and Electronic Library. Besides, is in charge of promoting community activities, recruitment, and community participation and activation.

    Yamira Flores Rodríguez
    Strategic Leadership Consultant

    Yamira is passionate about the development, implementation and analysis of the structures that promote the scope of the Mission and Vision in organizations. Yamira did her bachelor’s degree in Communications with a minor in Education, and a master’s degree in Leadership of Educational Organizations, both from the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras. With more than 15 years of experience in non-profit organizations, Yamira is convinced that true mobility and social justice can be achieved through support for groups organized around education, advocacy and accompaniment.

    Ana Elisa Pérez Quintero
    Co-Director, La Colmena Cimarrona

    Ana Elisa is a farmer and co-organizer of La Colmena Cimarrona in Vieques. She has been an activist for environmental justice and food justice in Puerto Rico since she was thirteen years old, organizing for the protection of the Northeast Ecological Corridor, threatened by mega development. Ana Elisa has facilitated farmer training and established community gardens across the islands, among other grassroots initiatives.

    Marilyn López Parrilla
    Project Manager, La Colmena Cimarrona

    Marilyn was raised in the Jardines de Vieques residential complex. She is a teacher and a sports lover. Marilyn is known for being the # 1 fan of her children: Joyce and Ian. One of her hobbies is painting. Her adventurous spirit allows Marilyn to enjoy life to the fullest. She is always ready to face challenges that help her grow personally and professionally.

    Gloriann Sacha Antonetty Lebrón
    Writer and founder of Revista Étnica

    Gloriann Sacha is an Afropuertorican writer, communication strategist and professor. She is the founder of Revista étnica. For more than 15 years she has been working in communications for non profits and in advertising/ public relations agencies. As a writer, she has published the collection of poems: Hebras. In addition to having stories published in the anthologies: Cuentos de Huracán, Maraña of Tejedoras de Palabras, Palenque: Puerto Rican anthology of thematic “negrista”, antiracist, Africanist and afrodescendant. She has also published in the Academia magazine of EDP University, Boreales, Letras Magazine of the UMET, Afroféminas among others. She has been a communications professor at Universidad Sagrado Corazón (where she graduated from), and also at the Universidad del Turabo. Gloriann won the social enterprise award of EnterPRize 2017. Have received recognition for her communication work with a Silver Anvil of PRSA, Gold award in SME Digital Awards and Honorable Mention of the Gautier Benítez Poetry Contest of 2014 for her poetry book Hebras. She is a member of the Colectivo Las Ancestras, Poesía Afroversiva and Collective Ilé.

    Thaddeus Squire
    Chief Commons Steward, Social Impact Commons

    Thaddeus has more than 20 years of experience in the nonprofit management field, focusing on arts and cultural heritage. Following government relations work for the Philadelphia Museum of Art, he went on to found Peregrine Arts, a multi-arts producer, and Hidden City Philadelphia, among other curatorial projects. His significant work in nonprofit resource sharing began in 2010 as founder of CultureWorks Greater Philadelphia, the first comprehensive fiscal sponsor focusing on arts and heritage, which manages more than 120 independent organizations. Thaddeus’s creative practice is focused on systems design for nonprofit resource sharing, in particular practices based in commoning and commons management principles. His work is grounded in the fields of American Pragmatism, Common Pool Resource Economics, Cooperative Management, New Localism and the Applied Behavioral Sciences, which are among the fields he writes about under the blog site Join the Commons. Additionally, he has deep expertise in the history of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, nonprofit management, fine and performing arts, heritage preservation, and museum sciences. Thaddeus holds degrees from Princeton University, the University of Leipzig (J. William Fulbright Fellowship), and the Mendelssohn Conservatory of Music & Theatre.

    Asta Petkeviciute
    Chief Financial Steward, Social Impact Commons

    Asta has over 20 years of experience with a focus on strategic financial management, diverse use of technology, and organizational capacity development for non-profit organizations globally. Her background includes managing a $200 million portfolio of health systems strengthening activities across 20 countries globally; leading one of the largest fiscal sponsorship programs in the U.S., which supported over 90 different organizations nationally; and providing strategic management consulting to small and medium organizations nationally and internationally as part of Fiscal Management Associates (FMA). Asta has a Masters of Business Administration degree from Heller School, Brandeis University and a Bachelor of Science degree in International Business from Champlain College. Asta’s expertise is focused towards leading teams through strategic financial and organization management challenges with the key focus on operational efficiency and effectiveness while strengthening organizational sustainability, diversifying business models, use of data for decision making, and meeting complex donor compliance expectations.

    Raquela Delgado Valentín
    Grants and Operations Director, María Fund

    Raquela is a social worker and feminist activist who has a doctorate in philosophy with a specialty in Social Policy and Program Administration from the University of Puerto Rico at Río Piedras. Raquela has 18 years of experience working in the non-profit sector; 13 of which she has dedicated to working in feminist organizations, coordinating services and supporting the creation of social development programs for women survivors of gender violence. Since April 2018 Raquela has been leading the administrative, operational, strategic and grant-making work at the Maria Fund. In her spare time, she loves going to the beach and spending time with her tribe.

    Toni Moceri
    Director, Sponsors Projects Program, Allied Media Projects

    Toni is the Director of the Sponsored Projects Program, which has provided fiscal sponsorship to over 150 projects making media for liberation in Detroit and nationally. Toni joined AMP to lead the Sponsored Projects Program in 2016. Since then, the program has provided essential administrative services and facilitated access to over $20 million of funding to help our network of sponsored projects make the radical practical and realize new liberatory ways of being. Toni brings two decades of nonprofit and public service experience to AMP, including elected office. Toni believes it’s our collective responsibility to create a world in which we can all thrive.

    Josh Sattely
    Special Counsel, Social Impact Commons

    Joshua has over 10 years of experience at the intersection of fiscal sponsorship and the law, most recently serving as Legal Director at TSNE MissionWorks (f.k.a. Third Sector New England), where he developed and led MissionWorks’ regulatory, contract, and compliance programs and served as an expert resource on the organization’s legal structure and risk management. Additionally, he advised the organization and fiscally sponsored groups on matters of governance, acquisitions, spinoffs and business venture development. Josh sits on the board of Healthy Places by Design and previously was a Steering Committee member of the National Network of Fiscal Sponsors. Prior to joining MissionWorks in 2009, Josh earned his Juris Doctor at Vermont Law School and LLM in Commerce and Technology at the University of New Hampshire School of Law.