Community Initiatives is an organization that subsidizes the administrative expenses of left-of-center organizations. Community Initiatives refers to itself as a “fiscal sponsor” of other non-profit organizations because it provides free services including establishing nonprofit legal status, supporting on-call legal counsel, administering grants, filing taxes, and managing accounting, benefits, payroll, and human resources. ¹

Background

Community Initiatives was founded in 1996 by a collective of San Francisco-based nonprofit community members led by Jan Masaoka. The organization was first a project of the San Francisco Foundation before becoming an independent organization. ²

Community Initiatives was inspired by a 1987 Council on Foundations essay titled “A Trap for the Unwary,” that discussed the positive impact that fiscal sponsors can have on the finances of nonprofit organizations. ³

Funding

In 2020, Community Initiatives received $30,111,902 in contributions, ⁴ incurred $35,385,742 in expenses, ⁵ and possessed $28,481,165 in net assets. ⁶ The organization provided $9,808,066 in grants to other organizations and $452,217 in grants to individuals. ⁷

Impact

Community Initiatives annually manages over $40 million in left-of-center organizational assets across 100 projects. ⁸ Community initiatives claims that anywhere from 20 percent to 40 percent of a nonprofit organization’s operating budget goes toward administrative expenses that can be performed for them by Community Initiatives free of charge. ⁹

In 2019, Community Initiatives broke down the administrative services it provided based on the type of nonprofit organization it supported. ¹⁰ Based on this assessment, 48 percent of its services went to organizations in the education sector, 25 percent went to race- or gender-focused social policy organizations, and 20 percent went to youth development and activism. ¹¹

Government Services

Community Initiatives administers government grants for municipal, county, and state agencies. In 2019 alone, Community Initiatives managed $2,279,145 in grants for government agencies. ¹² While the government and not Community Initiatives selects the grant recipient, as with non-governmental grants Community Initiatives manages, the Community Initiatives website notes that “[w]e help government agencies increase the diversity of their applicants.” ¹³

Leadership

Ruth Williams is the president and CEO of Community Initiatives. Prior to joining Community Initiatives, Williams was the COO of the Osher Marin Jewish Community Center, and West Coast regional director of Single Stop USA, a left-of-center organization that increases accessibility and utilization of welfare services across the United States. ¹⁴

1. “Services” Community Initiatives. https://communityin.org/services/#grant-support
2. “Our History” Community Initiatives. https://communityin.org/meet-us/history/our-history/
3. ^[1] “Our History” Community Initiatives. https://communityin.org/meet-us/history/our-history/
4. Community Initiatives. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2020. Part I. Line 8.
5. Community Initiatives. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2020. Part I. Line 18.
6. Community Initiatives. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2020. Part I. Line 22.
7. Community Initiatives. Return of Organization Exempt from Income Tax (Form 990). 2020. Part IX. Lines 1-2.
8. “Comprehensive Administrative Services” Community Initiatives. https://communityin.org/fiscal-sponsorship/comprehensive-administrative-services/
9. “Services” Community Initiatives. https://communityin.org/services/
10. “Annual Report-2019” Community Initiatives. https://communityin.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/CI_AnnualReport_2019-final-WEB.pdf
11. “Annual Report-2019” Community Initiatives. https://communityin.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/CI_AnnualReport_2019-final-WEB.pdf
12. ^[1] “Annual Report-2019” Community Initiatives. https://communityin.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/CI_AnnualReport_2019-final-WEB.pdf
13. “Government Grant Compliance” Community Initiatives. https://communityin.org/fiscal-sponsorship/government-grant-compliance/
14. “President and CEO” Community Initiatives. https://communityin.org/meet-us/team/ceos-office/ruth-williams/