Fiscal Sponsorship
One of Northwest Film Forum’s key artist support services is Fiscal Sponsorship. The Forum currently sponsors over 100 film projects and organizations.
If your film or project is approved for this program, we extend the Forum’s 501c3 status as a sponsor for the project, opening up opportunities for grants and fundraising available to nonprofit organizations. Fiscally sponsored projects can solicit tax-deductible donations from organizations or individuals. We administer donations made on behalf of the project and send donor acknowledgments. Our administrative cost is 7% for funds granted, but we do not take any ownership of the project.
Please note that this program does not provide direct financing or fundraising services.
PICTURED: The feature documentary, Since I Been Down, directed by Gilda Sheppard.
Fiscal Sponsorship FAQs
Fiscal sponsorship is a contractual relationship between a non-profit tax-exempt entity and a project lacking tax-exempt status but aligned with the charitable mission and purposes of the sponsoring 501(c)(3) nonprofit.
Fiscal sponsorship is a long-standing, well-established model of nonprofit funding in the arts and media. The sponsorship model NWFF provides is often referred to as Model C or a “pre-approved grant relationship.”
After entering into an agreement with a sponsoring organization, fiscally sponsored projects can seek grants and solicit tax-deductible donations to be made to the sponsor in support of the project.
NWFF’s mission statement is: Northwest Film Forum incites public dialogue and creative action through collective cinematic experiences.
Broadly speaking, mission alignment in regards to fiscal sponsorship means that the work presented to NWFF is of a non-commercial and community-minded nature, primarily focused around the visual arts and moving image media.
As stated above, our mission revolves around visual arts and moving image media, but also around community engagement with the arts. Due to NWFF being a non-profit arts organization, we are thus unable to provide fiscal sponsorship for projects or organizations that do not directly engage with the greater arts ecosystem of Washington state. For instance, despite our values alignment with organizations offering support for mutual aid and public health services, we are unable to provide this level of support due to our specific arts-focused mission. However, if you are interested in partnering in other ways such as programming, we’d love to hear from you!
Another type of project that we are not legally able to provide fiscal sponsorship for revolves around any project or organization that is directly supporting/endorsing a political candidate running for office, nor lobbying on behalf of a specific piece of legislation. Please contact us if you have any further questions on this matter.
In addition to this, NWFF reserves the right to decline a project for fiscal sponsorship on the basis of alignment with our organizational values. Please find these as well as our full Mission & History on our About page here.
As noted above, NWFF primarily provides what is known as Model C fiscal sponsorship, and in regards to arts organizations, there are typically two primary types of sponsorship, Model A and Model C.
Model C is defined as a “pre-approved grant relationship”, which means that NWFF acts as a 501c3 “bridge” to projects and organizations of a non-commercial nature, and is thus able to accept donations or grants on behalf of the project/organization. This includes both one-time arrangements enabling a project to obtain the proceeds of a particular grant from a private foundation or donor via NWFF, as well as ongoing arrangements where NWFF receives donations raised over time.
Model C entails that NWFF disburses these donations and grants received on behalf of the project/organization, minus our administrative fee, directly to the producer/organizational representative to use the funds towards the project/org presented to NWFF at their discretion.
For further details on this, please see this very detailed and helpful breakdown provided by Social Impact Commons.
Yes, Northwest Film Forum does offer Model A sponsorship to a very limited number of arts organizations.
However, for the time being we are fully at capacity for offering this level of fiscal sponsorship, please check this space if any capacity opens up in the future.
Not at all! We accept projects of all budget scales, whether it be a small short film or an ambitious feature film. We require detailed budget documentation in the application, but this is to determine how donated funds or grants would be used towards the project presented, and not a barrier to entry based on scale.
No, producers and organizations are directly responsible for their own fundraising efforts, NWFF simply aids in the administration of these donations or grants.
No, unfortunately NWFF does not have the staff capacity to provide grant writing services on behalf of your project/organization and is thus unable to provide support on this matter. If you receive a grant and the granting organization requires additional documentation or administration from NWFF, we will indeed provide the materials they require, but we are not responsible for the content of your grant narrative.
Additionally, NWFF is similarly not responsible for any reporting materials needed from the granting organization regarding your project outcome. However, if the grantor requires any reporting needs regarding NWFF organizationally, we will provide the grantor with those materials.
No, all tax filings required by state and federal governments are the responsibility of the producers or organizational leads. NWFF cannot provide advising services or filing assistance for any sponsored project’s annual tax filings, please consult with a tax professional for guidance on this matter.
NWFF is responsible for issuing the applicable tax documentation for fiscally sponsored projects, in the form of 1099s. 1099s are issued to every project that has received funds through fiscal sponsorship from NWFF, and these are issued in January of each calendar year. If your project has not received funds from NWFF in the previous calendar year however, no 1099 will be issued.
Selected Sponsored Projects
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Atopic
Coping with her failing health due to Topical Steroid Withdrawal Syndrome (TSWS), a young, Black theatre actress escapes her pain through musical fantasies only to discover she must face her reality to get the help she needs.
Big Sonia
Black Cinema Collective
Cloud Chamber
Coffee & Sugar
Detention
Dollhouse
DRAG!
East of the Mountains
Even Hell Has Its Heroes
Exes and Babies
Finding Chaz
Fruitbowl: An Oral History of Queer Sex
The Fruit Salad Show
The Fruit Salad Show is an all-ages, intergenerational comedy/variety show and community event that centers on diverse queer voices. We strive to remove financial barriers for audiences while compensating collaborators with competitive stipends and opportunities for growth and exploration.
Goshen
Grandma's Roses
Her Mad Hatter
Her Mad Hatter is a twist on Alice in Wonderland. Danika, fairy godmother to villains, has very little time before Hatter’s sanity slips away forever. If she doesn’t find his true love, Wonderland will disintegrate with him. Danika knows that person is “Alice.” But, which one? Opening his heart to and losing Alice after Alice over centuries has chipped away at Hatter’s confidence and sanity.
Hooyo Macaan
Samira is a recent college graduate and a current disappointment to her mother. She is faced with the biggest challenge yet, her mommy issues. Samira comes head to head with her mother when they attend a Somali tribal party. Despite her poetic way with words, she can’t seem to find the right ones to stand up for herself against her mother’s constant dismissal. This results in a dance-off, the massive consumption of goat meat, and a kid figuring out how to want herself. Hooyo Macaan creates a space that highlights the beautiful, ugly, and heartbreaking aspects of having a relationship with a maternal figure. It is told through the eyes of someone who is historically unseen in media. This story asks a universal question: “Am I wanted?” and answers it in a new and refreshing way.”
Ingress
I Watched Her Grow
Seven years after the mysterious death of her mother, an isolated botanist meets an enigmatic, teenage runaway in a creek. Forming an unexpected bond, the two embark on a harrowing journey to confront their respective pasts, all while slowly realizing that they may not have to face their uncertain futures alone.
Life After Life
As Americans reconsider their relationship with death and dying after the Covid-19 Pandemic, LIFE AFTER LIFE, follows the opening of the worlds first large scale human composting facility, RETURN HOME, as they explore how their process can reconnect humans to ritual and grief through nature.
Lucy is a Loser
Marcie's
Marcie, a bartender with a dream, has to rally her people to save her community and the surrounding forest from development.
The Marsha Turner Taylor Visionary Award
The Most Dangerous Year
Peach Fuzz
Pinwheel Horizon
RADIOHEART: The Drive and Times of DJ Kevin Cole
Reckless Spirits
A metaphysical buddy comedy for a bleak new decade!
Reflections of the River
Resilience
Seattle Black Panthers Fight for Justice & Freedom
The Black Panther Party (BPP) shined the light on systematic oppression, police brutality, and the targeted victimization of black people; they led the charge to tear down the stronghold of institutional racism, inhumane treatment of black people, bigotry, and injustice in America and all over the world.
Shades of Mindfulness
Shelf Life Community Story Project
She the Creator
Signed, Baba
Since I Been Down
A Taste of Home
Thank You, MS PAM
Part Pee-Wee’s Playhouse and Mister Rogers, part Solid Gold and Arsenio Hall, Thank You, MS PAM is an educational and entertaining television show for all ages starring and created by artist, Tariqa Waters who owns and operates, MS PAM (Martyr Sauce Pop Art Museum) located in downtown Seattle’s Historic Arts District, Pioneer Square.
Thin Skin
TotemBridge
Unincarcerated Productions
upstart crow collective
upstart crow collective produces classical plays with diverse casts of women and non-binary people, re-imagining these works for a contemporary audience.
Vanishing Seattle
Wa Na Wari
Yes I Am - The Ric Weiland Story