We are pleased to announce that GCRI is joining a new fiscal sponsor, Social and Environmental Entrepreneurs (SEE). We are enthusiastic about SEE and look forward to partnering with them in this new chapter of GCRI’s existence. This also means that we are legally separating from our previous fiscal sponsor, Blue Marble Space.
What is a fiscal sponsor?
A fiscal sponsor is an umbrella organization for US nonprofits. A nonprofit project may seek fiscal sponsorship when it is too small to justify becoming a stand-alone organization, and/or when it prefers having another organization handle administrative responsibilities. For more information, see SEE’s page What is a fiscal sponsor?.
Why does GCRI have a fiscal sponsor?
Having a fiscal sponsor enables GCRI to more effectively accomplish its mission. With a fiscal sponsor handling back-end administration, we can devote more of our time to our work on global catastrophic risk. As GCRI grows, we may decide to spin off, but at this time fiscal sponsorship is the best arrangement for us.
Why is GCRI leaving Blue Marble Space?
BMS has been GCRI’s fiscal sponsor since GCRI first came into existence in November 2011. Our experience with BMS has been excellent. BMS and GCRI share many goals and are also both young organizations lead by early-career researchers. BMS has also given GCRI a very collegial and effective operating environment. GCRI began pursuing new fiscal sponsors in April 2013 after BMS lost its 501c3 status. The revocation put GCRI in a difficult financial position because GCRI’s fundraising depends heavily on private donors and foundations that look for 501c3 status. While we continue to think very highly of BMS, it became important for us to pursue alternatives.
What is Social & Environmental Entrepreneurs?
SEE is an established fiscal sponsor organization based in Los Angeles. They sponsor about 100 projects from around the country across a wide range of issues. More information can be found on their website.
Why is GCRI joining SEE?
After the BMS 501c3 revocation, GCRI leadership explored several options, including remaining with BMS, becoming a stand-alone organization, and pursuing a new fiscal sponsor. We chose to pursue a new fiscal sponsor because this was the fastest way to regain 501c3 status and because we felt we were not yet ready to spin off into a stand-alone. We reviewed many fiscal sponsors. SEE particularly impressed us by their depth of experience, professionalism, and ability to incubate early-stage nonprofit projects. We are already learning a lot from them and are excited for our new partnership.
What does the switch to SEE mean for GCRI?
The switch to SEE mainly affects GCRI’s back-end administration and fundraising. On the back-end, we’ll have basic changes like different reimbursement forms to fill out. For fundraising, all donations should now be made out to SEE instead of BMS. Details are on our donate page. The switch to SEE does not affect GCRI’s regular activities. We will still do the same research, online lectures, etc., on all the same topics.
