FISCAL SPONSORSHIP

• You can apply for grants and solicit tax deductible donations without becoming a 501(c)(3)
• Offer your supporters a number of ways to give to your project, for example, by check, online, credit card, crowdfunding campaigns and even matching gifts from employers
• Offer a tax incentive to your crowdfunding campaign donors (if crowdfunding)
• You can apply to specialized state and federal government grants like the National Endowment of the Humanities
  Promote your project via your individualized online donation page on the Women of Color Unite website
• A listing on our newsletter with 6000 subscribers
• WOCU only charges a competitive 7% administrative fee
• No unnecessary, overbearing oversight
• A simple, straight-forward registration procedure without gatekeeping or hoop-jumping

• Your budget is equal to or greater than $25,000 U.S.;
• You aim to raise at least $25,000 U.S. through Women of Color Unite;
• Your project is U.S.-based;
• A Woman of Color needs to be at least one of the following: Owner of the Project/IP, Producer, Director, Writer, Lead Actor
• Your project qualifies or will qualify for the WOCU Seal, i.e. you will hire at least 20% WOC above and below the line.

Women of Color Unite does not consider the project itself or the filmmakers involved – we trust the filmmakers’ capability to determine their project’s financial and artistic viability. We want to support any and all marginalized filmmakers and enable you to make your project come to life without any overbearing involvement.

Any filmmaker fundraising and shooting in the U.S. can apply so long as their project meets our project requirements. The program is open to independent narrative and documentary projects of any length and at any stage of development. This program is not limited to Women of Color Unite members only – anyone can apply as long as  you meet our requirements. 

Women of Color Unite also supports other types of projects and like-minded organizations that further our mission and/or are in the process of obtaining their 501(c)(3) status, including interactive media, podcasts, film festivals, events and more.

Non-U.S. filmmakers cannot participate at this time.

There is no selection procedure. As long as you meet our requirements, you will be accepted into our program. If you do not meet the requirements, you’ll be rejected. It’s as straightforward as that.

We need to be very clear about this: WOCU does not fund the projects that register. This is not a grant. 

Should your project qualify, we are merely providing fiscal sponsorship, which means we are lending your project our 501(c)(3) status, meaning that you can now offer people the option to make tax deductible donations to your project. You will still have to find those people willing to donate the money, or to crowdfund for your project. WOCU is no way involved in your fundraising efforts.

WOCU is in no way responsible for or involved in raising funds for the projects we provide fiscal sponsorship for. We are only able to keep our fees low by not being very involved. Fundraising is your and your team’s responsibility, and we can’t be held responsible for campaigns that fail.

The one thing we (can) do is include projects we sponsor in our monthly newsletter during their fundraising phase.

• Registration to participate in the Women of Color Unite Fiscal Sponsorship program is free.
• Women of Color Unite charges an administrative fee of seven percent (7%) of the full amount of any donation designated for the project.
• The first money raised will be held back to cover accounting/attorneys, amounting to the 7% fee (e.g. if your goal is $25k, we will hold back the first $1,750 donated). 
• If you exceed your goal, the 7% still applies but will be only subtracted from your payouts.

Once we have received your registration, we will check if you meet all our requirements. If so, your registration is accepted and you will be sent a contract and additional paperwork. Once that’s done, we will (optionally) set up a personalized project page for your project on our website.

Individual donors and foundations send money directly to Women of Color Unite, indicating funds are in support of your project. Women of Color Unite transfers the money to you. Funds are accounted for at the end of each month, and if you have received any donations, a cumulative check or transfer will be disbursed. Each year, we will send you a 1099.

When you have 20% Women of Color Above and Below the Line, you will receive the WOCU Seal which will go at the end of your credits for the project. In addition, we ask that you put Supported by Women of Color Unite and our logo in your credits as well.

Yes, we do – our preferred and recommended crowdfunding platform is Support Our Story, a crowdfunding platform for and by People of Color. We have also provided fiscal sponsorship to campaigns on Seed&Spark.

Please note that with platforms like Seed&Spark and Kickstarter you have to provide fiscal sponsorship details BEFORE launching your crowdfunding campaign. We cannot sponsor projects whose campaigns are already live.

We do not offer any type of courses, classes, consultations or support of a similar nature. All we do is provide the tax benefit – and that’s it. Your film’s success is your responsibility, and we don’t want to slow you down with unnecessary oversight. If you are a Woman of Color filmmaker and you’re in need of additional training, we recommend checking out Women of Color Filmmakers. You can also join Women of Color Unite if you’re not a member yet, and connect with thousands of Women of Color on our network and find support there.

Indeed we do! If this is you, please connect with us at info@wocunite.com.

We work with every.org, a website that helps non-profits like us process donations. You will get a special fundraising page on our page on their website. Through every.org, we can accept mobile payments like Paypal and Venmo, credit card donations, and even stock and crypto donations.

We do not accept checks.