FISCAL SPONSORSHIP

with Soul.

What is Fiscal Sponsorship?

501(c)3 Status Extended to Mission Aligned Projects & Orgs

As a fiscally sponsored project of Holistic Underground Inc., you’ll be able to raise money for your project through state and federal grants, private foundation grants, donor-advised funds, and tax-deductible donations, without needing to form or manage your own nonprofit organization.

Types of Fiscal Sponsorship

Model A vs. Model C

Sponsorship fee

Minimum Budget

Access 501(c)3 Status

Budgeting & Transparency

Virtual Support

Model C

or “Pass-Through” Fiscal Sponsorship

We provide non-profit status and tax filing. You handle your own bookkeeping, accounting & operations, with the templates we provide.

6% of annual revenue. Rate goes down after $300,000

$25,000

Model A

or “Direct Project” Fiscal Sponsorship

Embrace your zone of genius. Redirect countless hours of your time back to your mission. Rest easy while compliance, financials, HR, insurance and more is handled for you.

$50,000

Resource & Template Library

Full Service Accounting

Legal, Taxes & Compliance

Human Resource Management

10% of sponsored funds. Discount after $500,000

Currently Sponsored Projects

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Currently Sponsored Projects ❈

Communities Upwards

Community development, support for refugees, health equity research, legal services and more, empowering immigrants for a brighter tomorrow. Received public funding from California tobacco tax investments, and fiscally Sponsored by Holistic Underground.

Led by Sudanese-American lawyer, Gamila Halim, staffed by professional women specialists in civic engagement and health services, Communities Upwards has built health equity programs, community leadership and public participation links among the Middle Eastern population in the Bay Area.

  • To create a society where all immigrants, especially women, can flourish. They provide vital support, resources, and advocacy, ensuring integration, cultural exchange, and holistic well-being. Together, they aim to break barriers and illuminate the path to a brighter future.

  • In partnership with the University of California Office of the President and the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, CU initiated California’s first significant study focusing on Middle Eastern Immigrant Women in the state. Furthermore, they have done important research with this community regarding breast cancer prevention and the impact of refined sugar on families and communities. Beyond just research, CU is engaged in exploring culturally relevant interventions and solutions.

  • Communities Upwards has been an essential resource for refugee communities from North and East Africa seeking political support in the United States.

Life After Next

HU is fiscally sponsoring this organization dedicated to advocating social reforms for youth incarcerated and implementing a Restorative Justice System in the East Bay by creating houses into homes, and contributing to the re-entry to society of reincarcerated people.

Founded by social justice activist William Palmer, Life After Next has an integral belief about the justice system, ‘’We believe reentry starts at the moment of conviction. We will walk step by step with our members right into a life individually designed for their ultimate success. Our goal is to empower the individual to heal, build and own which heals the community and restores balance.’’

  • Helping returning people to heal through community support and help them build a life of success

  • In partnership with the University of California Office of the President and the Tobacco-Related Disease Research Program, Life After Next has developed a pilot program to reduce the tobacco usage within African American and Caribbean returning communities, making a meaningful impact in the restorative justice system and contributing to health equity among reentry communities.

  • Life After Next also provides professional development support to returning communities so they can thrive and succeed in their new path

Nawabu Culture

The word “Nawabu” is an Indigenous Brazilian word that means “all of the people,” and the organization's purpose is to bring about transformative social change through Indigenous wisdom, arts & culture, community, and spirituality.

Fiscally sponsored by Holistic Underground, Nawabu Culture works with Indigenous leaders and their communities in the Brazilian Amazon Forest and support them with cultural preservation, creating economic opportunities, and amplifying their environmental stewardship, all through a variety of projects.

  • Being a bridge and bringing people together from all walks of life to reconnect with Indigenous wisdom and bring forth a collective culture that supports life and healing.

  • During the pandemic, we were able to provide immediate relief to more than 14 indigenous communities in Brazil, as well we installed a water pump system that benefited more than 300 families, installed solar panels for sustainable electricity, and provided agricultural tools to the villages.

  • Throughout this project, we reconnected indigenous communities practices through music events, festivals and social interactions that also worked to face and discuss the socio-political problems that the Amazonian community faces

One Acre Project

The One Acre Project (“OAP”) administers the Fundo Sitaramaya, a 70 acre parcel located in the Amazon Rainforest in Peru, outside the city of Iquitos. Fiscally sponsored by Holistic Underground, OAP wants to conserve 70 acres of land in the region and preserve delicate balance of native forest trees, plants, birds, animals, insects, reptiles and waterways.

The One Acre Project also supports an extended family of caregivers who live on the Fundo, and their children residing in nearby villages so they can have access to schools. They provide tuition and school fees for the children to receive a good education. They also provide living wages and health care.

  • Preserve the 70 acres of luscious land and ecosystem in the Amazon Rainforest in Peru to conserve natural resources, specially a big portion of medicine plants, as well to support underserved indigenous communities in the region.

  • During the Covid-19 pandemic, the inflation in Peru grew to %8.64, causing illegal poachers to hunt wildlife and deforest nature. Many of the most important plants have also been stolen, including the Ayahuasca vine. Therefore, OAP is resisting deforestation and climate change.

  • OAP has helped build a sustainable and agricultural community with local people, providing them with living wages, educational resources and health services.

The Village in Oakland

Fiscally sponsored by HU, The Village in Oakland is a nonprofit organization dedicated to improve the quality of life of Oakland residents who have been displaced into the streets during this unprecedented housing affordability crisis; creating education and arts activities for unhoused residents; offering leadership development of unhoused residents and housed allies; opportunities for gaining media literacy and media work; and advocating for practices that will treat unhoused residents with respect and dignity and policies that will end homelessness.

  • Decriminalization of homelessness, access to basic life sustaining needs, and equitable housing for all Bay Area communities.

  • The Village has evolved to become one of the leading homeless advocacy groups in Oakland and California and their work has grown into 11 programs and direct services for people.

  • The Village in Oakland prioritizes developing unhoused leaders to advocate for themselves and their curbside communities. Participating in the Homeless Advocacy Working Group; speaking out at City Council and County Board of Supervisor meetings; helping draft, write or inform policies that impact unhoused residents; and contributing to policy research reports are some of the ways we encourage and support unhoused residents to participate in policy advocacy work.

Fiscally sponsored by HU, Esphera is a healing non-profit organization that creates liberation through food, medicine and media. Esphera recovers, transforms, and distributes food surplus and natural medicines and provides education and support to unhoused, formerly incarcerated, low income and indigenous communities to further the regeneration of people and land.

Esphera

  • Liberation through restoring ecosystems, regenerating communities, storytelling and remembering divinity

  • Esphera partners up with local organizations, activists, local farmers, gardeners, health and wellness workers, nutritionists, culinary artists, herbalists, and healers committed to bringing essential food and medicines to all and finding collective liberation

  • They aim to provide the sacred service of natural healing and detox to support communities with addictions or mental health diseases, helping them recover and life a life with harmony and peace.

Embrace Community

Born as a project rooted from HU, The Community aims to seek for healing and liberation among community leaders and practitioners.

  • Creating a safe space of healing and liberation for leaders and communities in the Bay Area.

  • The Embrace aims to contribute to the social impact of leaders taking action in underserved communities in Oakland, making itself as a incubator of possibilities and nourishment.

  • Every event held by The Embrace represents a place of love, liberation and healing.

Oaxxanda

Oaxxanda is an Earth-centered cultural cooperative development resilience hub of artists, activists, makers, builders, and meditators.

  • Liberation through restoring ecosystems, regenerating communities, storytelling and remembering divinity

  • Esphera partners up with local organizations, activists, local farmers, gardeners, health and wellness workers, nutritionists, culinary artists, herbalists, and healers committed to bringing essential food and medicines to all and finding collective liberation

  • They aim to provide the sacred service of natural healing and detox to support communities with addictions or mental health diseases, helping them recover and life a life with harmony and peace.

One Step Closer

OSC offers JEDI practices to companies and organizations dedicated to working with environmental and sustainable activities.

  • Decriminalization of homelessness, access to basic life sustaining needs, and equitable housing for all Bay Area communities.

  • The Village has evolved to become one of the leading homeless advocacy groups in Oakland and California and their work has grown into 11 programs and direct services for people.

  • The Village in Oakland prioritizes developing unhoused leaders to advocate for themselves and their curbside communities. Participating in the Homeless Advocacy Working Group; speaking out at City Council and County Board of Supervisor meetings; helping draft, write or inform policies that impact unhoused residents; and contributing to policy research reports are some of the ways we encourage and support unhoused residents to participate in policy advocacy work.

Arts and culture non-profit organization fiscally sponsored by HU dedicated to spread Sudanese music, dances and culture among the Bay Area.

Also led by our longtime collaborator, Gamila Halim, Shabbal Dance aims to connect Sudanese diaspora in California with their roots and ancestors, so they can feel proud of their identity and thrive with who they are.

Shabbal Dance

  • Promote Sudanese culture through events, activities and integration in the Bay Area

  • Dance is the expression of the body and soul, therefore Shabbal utilizes dance to connect with their Sudanese roots and have a sense of belonging.

  • Shabbal Dance group is a place of integration among Sudanese communities in the East Bay, where they can reconnect, thrive and be supported.

Earthkeeper Wisdom School

Earthkeeper Wisdom School revives living culture through Earth-reverent, soul-nourishing rituals & ceremonies

Earthkeeper Wisdom School
A Fiscally Sponsored Project of Holistic Underground Inc.

Sacred space for community leaders and movements to craft libertory rituals that inspire social change and facilitate collective healing through deep connection with land and ancestry.

Led by ritualist, Carolyn Griffeth and song leader, Lyndsey Scott Earthkeepers catches and co creates original rituals and ceremonies for our times.

  • With hearts of devotion, they catch and co-create original ritual forms that nourish our souls and re-harmonize communities with the greater web of life.

  • Extending  love, belonging, and kindness is core to the culture of the community. They grow our love-muscles through  heart-felt listening and by leaning-in across differences to understand each other's experiences. 

    Additionally, they are committed to practicing curiosity around conflict by welcoming it as a messenger of growth through practices of intentional conflict tending. Rather than calling out, they call one another into greater depth of connection and understanding by respectfully sharing experiences. While doing our best to act with sensitivity and awareness, we expect to make mistakes and practice compassion with one another when we do.


The Heart Collective

HU is fiscally sponsoring The Heart Collective, a non-profit organization that offers psycho-somatic healing to battle against trauma and mental health diseases, working with the body’s own capacity to heal and enter the root of the problem.

Led by professional psychologists and healers, The Heart Collective aims to provide the tools for trauma patients in the Bay Area to thrive and find liberation.

  • Utilize holistic and psychosomatic techniques to provide healing and liberation to East Bay’s under resourced communities and minorities

  • THC utilizes innovative techniques for psychosomatic healing including therapy with psychedelic methods and medical assisted ketamine along with integration counseling.

  • They make integration circles among patients and healers to achieve a trauma informed approach

Questions?

We’ve got answers.

  • If you don’t yet have funds raised yet, we can meet with you to help you create a fundraising plan, and after we go through the process to approve and onboard you as a fiscally sponsored project of Holistic Underground Inc., we can sign an MOU giving you permission to use our nonprofit status to apply for grants. This service comes at a $500 cost, and this amount is applied to your fiscal sponsor fee when you raise your first round of funding.

  • Yes! We’ve found that many projects who work with us have not received adequate support or cultural attunement from their past fiscal sponsors, so we’re happy to help you move over to a working with us if you are dissatisfied with your current fiscal sponsor. You can indicate this in your application.

  • Yes! We’re happy to offer “bridge” fiscal sponsorship for any orgs that are in the application process for their own 501(c)(3) status or are planning to apply in the future. If you’re a fiscally sponsored project with us and you secure your own tax-exempt nonprofit status, we will simply transfer all of your funds over to you when the time comes.

  • You can email support@holisticunderground.org with any questions that arise, or to book a clarity call with us as you’re considering whether to apply.

We handle Accounting, Payroll, Taxes, HR, Legal Compliance…

So you can focus on doing the work that aligns with your mission. On average, non profits spend 15-25% of their revenue on these aspects alone, and this does not include the time it takes, the learning curve, and the opportunity cost.

Additional Member Benefits

We created this service because so many of our people reported experiences of fiscal sponsors having a transactional relationship, or not understanding the cultural and deeper dimensions of their work. We are different. We are a community of competent, caring people who want to see you win. Our sponsored projects join this community of practice. We go above and beyond, and connect you with the services and support you need.

Join a Diverse Community of Practice

Where transformative collaborations, introductions and relationships are occurring all the time. Through our partnership with Embrace Community, fiscally sponsored project leads are woven into networking events and gatherings IRL and URL.

Hear what sponsored partners are saying

  • Evelyn Thorne - Training & Consulting Manager of Pathways to Equity

    “The Green Lens is really useful for community-engaged work where you are trying to collaborate across different perspectives and life experiences. It provides a foundation to work from. And personally, as an educator, it's a helpful reminder to be patient and supportive for all my students. The collaborative process with HU is a big part of the joy of working with you. “

  • AshEL Elrdige, Co-founder - Esphera

    “After participating in the Embrace incubator and joining the HU village as a fiscal sponsee, the capacity of our work has deepened in its impact and focus. The skilled coaching and community engagement, being both practical and spiritual, gave us a unique and emergent home in a world hungry for holistic solutions.”

  • Needa Bee - Founder - The Village in Oakland

    “Our experience with Holistic Underground as our fiscal sponsor has been a sigh of relief. Their team is very accessible, helpful and patient with onboarding us and working through grants, banking and record keeping. With Holistic Underground alleviating me of the record keeping, reporting, keeping up with non-profit law and requirements it has completely freed up my time to focus on what our organization is meant to do: be in the streets to serve our curbside communities.”

  • Carolyn Griffeth, Founder--Earthkeeper Wisdom School

    “The Holistic Underground has supported us to bring our dream of creating a school of intuitive ritual and ceremonial craft to fruition. We have greatly benefited from their fundraising suggestions and logistical help which has allowed us to begin to receive grants. We are quite astonished with how much our organization has grown in one year with Holistic Underground's support.”

  • George Cheng, Founder - Nawabu Culture

    “I'm so grateful to have HU as a fiscal sponsor. Not only is it a values-aligned organization, but also an organization that is rooted in the community that it serves. I have always felt the full support of the work that my organization is bringing, and the overlap of a shared vision of working toward collective liberation is what makes HU a great organization to collaborate with. Thank you, HU for being who you are and for showing up.”

  • William Palmer, Executive Director/Co-Founder Life After Next

    “For me to put my experience with Holistic Underground into words is like baby talk. How do you explain the uplifting nature that you grow from and into a better creature, a higher spiritual vibration and mental health in its infancy? If I’m able, my third eye lens is clear and I feel like a Son of God in the sense of having a divine family, holistic tribe or even a nation of soul brothas and sistas. As a social innovator I have been led into becoming the CEO of my purpose. I’ve transformed the space to be the change you wish to live in for myself and those that follow in my ancestors footsteps. Long live Kushite civilization as we find our way home.

    Love and light”