Fiscal sponsorship is a legal relationship through which a 501(c)3 public charitable organization sponsors an individual or group that requires the benefits of the tax-exempt and legal status of the sponsoring organization to realize a project. Artists often need this tax-exempt status to apply for grants (since most foundations require it to distribute funding) or to fundraise from individuals who prefer to be able to claim their financial contributions as deductions on their taxes.

BlackStar offers two types of sponsorship: comprehensive and grant-specific. The details and requirements to be eligible for consideration for both types of agreements are listed below. Overall, all projects sponsored by BlackStar must be artist-driven projects by an individual, team or collective. You are not required to have a LLC, sole proprietorship or any other type of incorporation. The project must align with BlackStar’s mission, vision and values. Interested projects must apply to be accepted as a sponsored project. A committee of BlackStar’s board of directors will review applications to assess the project’s alignment with our mission as well as to maintain a manageable total count of projects for our staff to be able to support. Applications will be reviewed on a rolling basis. We ask that artists apply at least two months prior to their need to ensure enough time for our process.