Fiscal Sponsorship is the Kendrick Lamar "Pop-Out" Concert

Let me clarify this analogy from the beginning. Kendrick Lamar is the star of the show. But the stage, the perfectly timed live-streaming access that allowed everyone on the East and West coast to enjoy the show at peak hours, the expertly timed camera work during the iconic "wop wop wop wop wop" sequence... all of that is fiscal sponsorship.

If you missed it, Kendrick Lamar performed a concert on Juneteenth (June 19th - a federal holiday that commemorates not the day the slaves were freed, but the date two years later when the last slaves in the Union were notified of their freedom, against the wishes of confederate holdouts). The concert, aptly titled "The Pop Out - Ken and Friends," drew record attendance both live and streaming. The exact specifics as to why the show was so popular is not quite important for this article, but if you need a solid recap of recent hip-hop events, you can find one here (yes, even NPR reported on it).

What I want to focus on here is how the concert itself, and Kendrick's stellar performance, is the perfect allegory for how fiscal sponsorship works and why it allows stars to shine.

Fiscal sponsorship is, in short, a method that allows for a person or a movement or any other collective of people to operate as a nonprofit without actually going through the steps of forming a nonprofit. There are various reasons for engaging in fiscal sponsorship, but primarily many sponsored projects (those are the people who sign up to be sponsored by a fiscal sponsor organization) do so because it allows them to focus on the core work of the nonprofit rather than having to expend energies on the administrative aspects of running a nonprofit. For example, the fiscal sponsor handles IRS filings (e.g. Form 990s), financial reporting, donor acknowledgement letters, and so forth. Some fiscal sponsors, such as Build Up, Inc. ( Build Up Companies ), even provide additional services such as reviewing/drafting contracts and offering feedback on grant applications. The point is, fiscal sponsors allow groups and individuals who are passionately focused on their craft to do so without having to split their attention and ensure they are remaining administratively compliant on both the state and federal level.

Back to Kendrick.

Kendrick is THE sponsored project. He is very good at what he does. When he puts on a show, people are tuned in. He is focused. When you watch Kendrick perform, you can tell he is singularly focused on ensuring that he is excelling at the work that he does.

The stage, the streaming service, the camera work, all of that are aspects of fiscal sponsorship. Kendrick doesn't have to worry about those things because they're taken care of. Most importantly, those elements allow for a greater audience reach and for the audience to connect more directly with Kendrick and experience his craft at its fullest level. That's the purpose of fiscal sponsorship. A quality fiscal sponsor ensures that you are able to be singularly focused on the work that you do.

Now, of course this analogy isn't seamless, but you get the idea.

Sponsored Project = Kendrick Lamar

Fiscal Sponsor = every automated aspect of the show that allows Kendrick's brilliance to shine

If you'd like to learn more about fiscal sponsorship, I highly recommend checking out our work at Build Up, Inc. , where we provide fiscal sponsorship and capacity building resources to women and BIPOC-led initiatives.