Program Overview
What is Fiscal Sponsorship?
Whether it’s a short film, a documentary, or a narrative feature, fiscal sponsorship is essential in raising donated funds. In addition to loving your project, most donors want to take advantage of the tax benefits connected with donating to a non-profit. That’s where IFA comes in. As a non-profit, IFA can accept donations on your project’s behalf, thereby ensuring your donor’s tax break -- creating a win for both your film and your donor!
Put simply, when you’re a fiscally sponsored project of IFA Chicago, it works like this:
You secure a donor!
That donor makes a donation to IFA on behalf of your project
That donor receives a receipt for their tax deductible donation
We take out a 6% administrative fee
We send the rest of the money back to you!
In addition to offering a tax cut to donors, we work to support our fiscally sponsored projects by:
Promoting completed projects in our newsletter
Including the link to current fiscally sponsored projects on our website
Connecting filmmakers to resources, companies, crew, and people they need throughout the timeline of their project. (Note: We do not connect you with funders or donors, that is up to you!)
Application and Submission Process Details
Eligibility Requirements:
Must be a member in good standing with IFA Chicago.
Must keep membership current for the whole time of sponsorship.
The applicant pays the application fee of $45.
The applicant must be 18 years of age or older.
The applicant must be the director or primary producer of the project who owns the copyright of their work, and has both artistic and financial control over the project.
The project must be an independent film, short, feature, documentary, pilot, series, webseries, or visual media project.
Short form content has to have a minimum raise of $5k, and long-form projects a minimum raise of $10k.
The project may be in any stage of development, production, and/or post production or distribution
Student films being produced through a college or university, or other third-party productions, are ineligible.
Timeline
When there are projects to review, the FS committee meets once a month. Submissions are taken on a rolling basis. The average turnaround time to review the proposal is 4-6 weeks.
Our Mission
Independent Film Alliance Chicago provides the community and resources needed to build a diverse and sustainable industry of independent content creators.
Selection Criteria
IFA staff and a committee of experienced filmmakers, composed of individuals from our Creative Cabinet, will review all applications and additional materials.
Some criteria that the committee may consider include the following:
The project meets the eligibility criteria.
The project must fulfill the mission of IFA.
The project tells a compelling story
The team telling the story has the appropriate access and cultural competency to tell the story. For example, the team has all the access and rights needed to tell the story, they are from the community that the story is about, or are co-creating the story in deep partnership with the community itself.
The project brings a fresh perspective or new approach to the story.
The proposal is well written. It clearly outlines the project’s stories and themes. It clearly articulates the filmmaker’s vision.
The director and the production team assembled have the experience, skills, and resources needed to complete the project as described.
The project team has clearly identified the project’s audience and has a realistic plan for reaching said audience. (Distribution plan or understanding of the market for the project.)
The budget is realistic, sustainable and detailed. Line items are within the normal range for industry standards.
The fundraising strategy is well thought out and the team has a reasonable chance of raising enough funds to complete the project as outlined.