Arts Incubator Program

Dance Wire’s fiscal sponsorship program extends our 501(c)3 tax-exempt status to nonprofits, for-profit business entities, and individuals for charitable projects so that they can receive grants and tax-deductible donations that they would otherwise be unable to receive. Check out this article for all the nitty gritty of Fiscal Sponsorship.

The charitable purpose of Dance Wire’s Arts Incubator Program is to support the advancement of dance arts. Charitable purpose is something that is required by the IRS for this program to work. It can be a little tricky since “art” and “dance” are not listed explicitly in the IRS charitable purposes. Here are some samples of what would fit with our program:

• you are an incorporated nonprofit who’s mission is dance-related, but you have not formally received tax exempt status.
• you are an emerging and/or project-based artist who wants to produce a live performance or dance film for public benefit.
• you are a for-profit company that wants to put on a public festival the specifically serves a marginalized population and charitable contributions are critical to the success of the festival because it will be free or low-cost.

There is no cost to apply. If you are accepted into the program, you will be required to complete at least six 1:1 Sessions. We have adopted the Green Bottle Sliding Scale pricing model for these Sessions to assure that all dancers have access. See Details on our Website The 1:1 Sessions requirement sets our program apart from other fiscal sponsorships and will make potential funders more comfortable giving you money. We also collect a percentage of your donations and grants to cover the costs associated with keeping you active in our program. Those percentages are 7% for individual donations and 9% for grants.

Grant funding is competitive and there is no guarantee, even for seasoned artists and established organizations. That said, there are two primary ways we can increase your chances of getting funding for your project.

1. In your 1:1 Sessions we will make sure your vision, budget, fundraising plan, timeline, marketing, and logistics are all in order and achievable.
2. The relationship to Dance Wire will give funders confidence that your project will succeed. Legally, we are taking the risk that you wont’ take the money and run off to Mexico. Plus we have relationships with many of the foundations in the area, so if we work on a proposal with you, it’s like a personal recommendation from us for them to consider your project.

Congratulations you got the grant! Dance Wire will need to sign the grant agreement and the funds will be deposited in Dance Wire’s Fiscally Sponsored Projects bank account and distributed out to you as outlined in your contract. Dance Wire retains 9% of all grant funds received to cover the costs associated with overseeing the terms of the grant agreement.

We help you set up your plan for fundraising and guide you every step of the way through your 1:1 Sessions, but at the end of the day, you will need to do the work yourself. After all, YOU are the heart of the project and your prospective donors are most interested in hearing from you!

Donations from individuals will be filtered through Dance Wire. This is how we extend our tax-exempt status to you. We use a platform called Give Lively for individual donations, and each sponsored project or organization has its own dedicated campaign. This campaign can be embedded right in your website or has a shareable link to your campaign. If someone wants to write you a check, the check should be written to Dance Wire. All funds that come in will be disburse to you as outlined in your signed contract. Dance Wire retains 7% of individual donations to cover the costs associated with managing your account and distributing your funds.

Not to worry! This is part of what we will work on in your 1:1 Sessions. We will formulate a plan and even coach you through how to talk to people about money. We seek to take the mystery out of fundraising! Even if you have fundraised successfully in the past, we will fine tune skills and be sure you feel great about raising money for this project.