Is your park group looking for more fundraising & development opportunities but unsure if becoming a nonprofit is right for your group?

Come to this workshop to learn about another alternative: fiscal sponsorship! Our expert speakers will explain how your group can financially partner with an existing nonprofit to take advantage of their 501c3 status. This means more perks— access to charitable donations, grants, tax exempt status— and less paperwork.

At this workshop:

• Learn the ins and outs of several fiscal sponsorship programs offered by different organizations
• Hear from community members who have taken this step
• Get tips for choosing a potential fiscal sponsor
• Discover if fiscal sponsorship is right for your group

Featured speakers include: 

• Jessica Watson, Citizen Action and Education Manager, Open Space Institute

Jessica Watson oversees OSI’s fiscal sponsorship program, Citizen Action, which fosters the growth and success of environmentally-focused community organizations. Through fiscal sponsorship, mentorship, and training OSI has launched nearly 150 grassroots start-ups in New York City and beyond. Jessica has led these efforts at OSI for the past four years.

• Aziz Dehkan, Executive Director, NYC Community Garden Coalition

Aziz Dehkan has a diverse professional background spanning solar construction, organic farming, hazardous waste disposal, and more. As a native New Yorker, Aziz has been a community activist working for several different social justice nonprofits. He is now the Executive Director of the NYC Community Garden Coalition which supports, and fiscally sponsors, grassroots gardens throughout the city.

• Courtney Harge, Member Advisor, Fractured Atlas

Courtney Harge is the Member Advisor for Fractured Atlas, a national organization that supports artists by assisting with the practical work that can act as a barrier to artistic expression. Often paperwork and funding are two of these barriers, which Fractured Atlas helps alleviate through their fiscal sponsorship program. Courtney is also the founder of Colloquy Collective, a member of Women of Color in the Arts, and an alum of both APAP’s Emerging Leaders Institute and artEquity’s Facilitator Training.

• Martha Lopez-Gilpin, Chair, Astoria Park Alliance

Since its founding in 2007, Martha Lopez-Gilpin has volunteered with Astoria Park Alliance; a community park group that has been fiscally sponsored by City Parks Foundation since 2010 but is now launching their own 501c3! The group has worked to make Astoria Park the best it can be and Martha will be sharing about their experience and development through the years.

• Mike Mullaley and Lindsay Sierra, Grants Team, Partnerships for Parks

PfP’s grants team helps build the financial capacity of park groups by administering grants, offering fiscal sponsorship, and connecting people to external grants and resources. Mike Mullaley works as the Grants Manager, though he’s been with NYC Parks for over five years as an intern in the Sustainability Office and then a Crew Chief overseeing Hurricane Sandy clean-up before joining PfP. Lindsay Sierra has been with PfP just over two years, starting out with grassroots organizing around capital improvements in Staten Island and Queens, and now working as the Grants Coordinator. She loves New York City parks enough to cross the Hudson every day to support them!

For more information or questions, please email relzinga@cityparksfoundation.org.