MIO offers a Pre-Approved Grant Relationship, in which MIO is only responsible for charitable funds. In addition to these basic services MIO could provide additional services (consulting, meeting space, etc.) for an additional fee at your request.

MIO will respond to your application in 30+/- days. Once approved, you will receive supporting materials from Maine Inside Out within 2 weeks.

MIO has a flat rate administration fee of 10% of your total project amount. (example: $1,000 grant awarded, will be a $100 admin fee)

Mission alignment is a prerequisite for any fiscal sponsorship relationship. Your application will be reviewed first by MIO co-executive directors to ensure alignment and clear community benefit.

Yes! One of the main benefits of fiscal sponsorship is ease of entry and exit. Some projects may choose to be sponsored for an interim period while they consider the pros and cons of independent incorporation; others may remain as sponsored projects indefinitely.

No. Contributions received and disbursed by MIO will likely be treated as income by the IRS. MIO will issue Form 1099-MISC for total payments over $600 during the calendar year to each project, except if the project is a corporation. Note that an LLC is treated as a partnership and not as a corporation, except if IFP has received certain written notification from the LLC stating that each member of the LLC is a corporation. Consult a tax advisor to determine your specific liability.

The MIO Board Circle is the legal oversight and fiduciary responsibility for all sponsored projects. They are also the ones who will approve or deny specific applications. The MIO Board will not play any active role in the day to day management of fiscal sponsorship agreements.

It is the responsibility of individual projects to raise funds, prepare annual budgets, and design and carry out their programs. MIO maintains internal control and compliance systems to assure that adequate funds are available and are allocated properly according to the approved budget. In addition, there are a few constraints, which are the same constraints you are bound by even if you are not fiscally sponsored: Expenditures have to comply with the terms of grants and contracts you have received, as stipulated by the foundation or awarding agency. Expenditures have to comply with laws, regulations and accounting standards governing the use of nonprofit funds.

MIO has the expectation that funds will be distributed during the duration of your project. If you do not use all of the funds for your project during the allotted time, funds will have to be sent back to the organization that granted the funds for the project.

Many fiscally sponsored projects depend on volunteers and interns to support their work. In a Pre-Approved Grant model, the responsibility for volunteers will remain with the sponsored project.

In the Pre-Approved Grant model, intellectual property stays with the artist or organization that is engaged with MIO. MIO is responsible only for the administration of charitable funds, and not of materials that are developed by the project itself.

Financial principles of accountability, transparency, and integrity are cornerstones of MIO. MIO complies with applicable regulations, including Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP, guidelines for financial accounting and reporting), and Circular A-133 (audit requirements for nonprofits).

Yes. Once approved you will receive a written agreement that includes our EIN as well as the other documents that you will need to be fiscally sponsored.

MIO will not be involved with artistic or programmatic decisions but will verify that the project is being carried out according to the plans laid out in your grant proposal contract with MIO. MIO will ask for reporting on how it was spent once a year.

Bookkeeping, accounting, grant reporting, and donor tracking and relationships, will be your group’s responsibility. We do not keep track of your donor list and we do not offer bookkeeping services. MIO will ask for reporting on how money was spent once a year. MIO is the grantee of record and will be tracking, assuring submission, and maintaining copies of any required reports.

No. Being sponsored at Maine Inside Out does not make the project a tax exempt organization.

Yes. Your project is a separate legal entity and not part of MIO. You retain creative control, ownership and responsibility for tax reporting and liability. This will be outlined in the agreement between you and MIO.

Upon MIO receiving your donations or grant funds, MIO will make a deposit within two calendar weeks, and send you back 90% of the amount received. MIO will disperse funds the following way:

$5000 and less, dispersal in full payment

Anything above $5000, coordinate disbursement with MIO Finance Lead

Maine Inside Out receives your application

Upon receival of application, Co-Executive Directors and Finance Lead will ensure all documents are complete, there is mission alignment, and a community benefit of the project.

MIO Finance lead will bring it to the finance circle to review your application. The finance circle meets in the third week of the month. In this time, an MIO team member could reach out with clarifying questions.

MIO finance circle will bring their recommendation on your application to the board circle for a vote. The board circle meets the last week of the month.

The decision making process should take 30 +/- days of receipt of your application, so please plan accordingly if you are planning on applying for grants.