Fiscal Sponsorship Services

For new or recently formed bicycle advocacy organizations in Georgia, Georgia Bikes, Inc. will provide “fiscal sponsorship” services while an organization waits for its official 501(c)(3) tax exempt determination letter from the IRS.

Please review our Fiscal Sponsorship Contract. Please note also that Georgia Bikes, Inc. will retain 5 percent of all sponsored program revenue for administrative costs associated with managing the fiscal sponsorship.

Purposes

Georgia Bikes, Inc. offers fiscal sponsorship services for the following purposes:

  • Testing and accelerating bicycle-related, public interest ideas into effective social and civic action;
  • Strengthening the presence, voice and effectiveness of Georgia’s local bicycle advocates;
  • Advancing the emergence of able, creative leadership in Georgia’s cycling advocacy community;

Best Practices

Georgia Bikes, Inc expects any organization for which it serves as a fiscal sponsor to abide by the following best practices:

A. Ethical Conduct. The fiscal sponsor expects that all project personnel will act with high standards of ethical conduct in accordance with the fiscal sponsor’s ethical standards.

B. Avoiding Conflicts of Interest. The fiscal sponsor requires that project leaders understand and abide by the fiscal sponsor’s conflict of interest policy.

C. Commitment to Organizational Policies and Operational Procedures. The fiscal sponsor provides its organizational and operational policies and procedures in writing and orients project leaders, staff and volunteers about them through trainings and other means.

D. Active Project Fundraising. The fiscal sponsor expects project leaders to conduct the primary work of resource development.

E. Project Reports. The fiscal sponsor expects project leaders to assume responsibility for reporting orally and in writing to fiscal sponsors and project donors, and for maintaining relationships with
donors.

F. Public Policy Engagement. The fiscal sponsor provides and expects project leaders to understand and comply with the required legal and ethical guidelines when engaging in lobbying and public policy advocacy activities.

G. Disclosure and Communication of Project Status. The fiscal sponsor requires projects to clearly disclose and state in writing their affiliation with the fiscal sponsor in all grant proposals, solicitations and published or online materials.

H. Injurious Activities. The fiscal sponsor expects that no project will knowingly engage in any activity that jeopardizes the sponsor’s corporate, nonprofit or tax-exempt status or otherwise create injurious liability.

I. Dispute Resolution. The fiscal sponsor, while retaining full legal and fiscal control of projects, works to fairly resolve disputes that may arise between the fiscal sponsor and project leaders.

J. Project Termination and Separation. The fiscal sponsor has a process through which fiscal sponsor staff and project leaders discuss the timing, steps and procedures for separating or terminating the project.