What are the eligibility requirements for fiscal sponsorship at Tides Center?

When evaluating a potential partner, Tides Center considers mission alignment and adherence to legal and compliance requirements. Additionally, the project budget and financial projections must meet Tides Center guidelines. We require a minimum of three and ideally six months of operating reserves. Please reach out for additional information. We encourage potential partners to evaluate Tides Center for fit, as well. 

Tides Center reviews applications for fiscal sponsorship as they are received and retains full discretion to accept or reject an application for any reason. Among additional factors, applications may be accepted or rejected based on our organizational capacity, strength of mission alignment, and applicable legal requirements. 

Mission Alignment
All projects fiscally sponsored by Tides Center must demonstrate alignment with our  vision and mission. 

Confirmed Funding and Budget
Tides Center is committed to partnering with projects of all sizes and has a history of supporting small organizations. To balance capacity and opportunity, we revise our target mix of potential projects annually. Projects should have at least one full-time employee employed through Tides Center based in the United States. Your organization will typically be charged a 9% fee on all revenues and other fees might apply depending on the source of the grant support or other non-standard services. 

Partners should plan to be with Tides Center for at least two years. 

Legal and Compliance
Tides Center’s Board of Directors has fiduciary responsibility for all fiscally sponsored projects. Through Tide Center’s supporting organization, Tides Network, staff monitor and maintain the finances, human resources, payroll, leases, contracts and insurance for all fiscally sponsored projects.  

Tides fiscally sponsored projects should have a United States base of operations and employ staff based in the United States or its territories.