Professional Services

Professional Services – Fiscal Sponsorship

A Rich History of Service

Download Our Fiscal Sponsorship Brochure

For 40 years, the Greater Philadelphia Urban Affairs Coalition (GPUAC) has been working to address poverty and other urban issues in the Philadelphia region.  We have a rich history that is deeply rooted in the civil rights movement, and in bringing together business and community leaders to solve problems.  We identify and implement solutions to the most critical issues facing Philadelphia and the Region. We work where the stakes are high, the challenges great and the solutions complex. 

GPUAC’s mission is to unite government, business, neighborhoods, and individual initiative to improve the quality of life in the Philadelphia region, build wealth in urban communities, and solve emerging issues.  GPUAC carries out its mission by:

• Strengthening the non-profit sector through excellence in service delivery, with a focus on grassroots-led organizations.

• Improving the life chances for youth and young adults, with a special emphasis on African American boys and men, through programs, services and advocacy.

• Building wealth in urban communities through workforce development, business development, and improving access to fairly priced goods and services.

GPUAC carries out this work through policy development, program implementation and through the delivery of professional services.  At its heart, GPUAC is a growing network of social entrepreneurs who work together for change. 

GPUAC has an annual budget of $36 million and nearly 500 full and part-time employees.  For information about GPUAC’s programs, visit our website at gpuac.org.

Building Stronger Programs

Fiscal sponsorship provides unincorporated groups, projects or coalitions, as well as established nonprofit organizations, with an alternative to shouldering all of the day-to-day administrative responsibilities alone.  GPUAC’s infrastructure and “back office” support allows our programs to focus staff time on strengthening their programs and community-changing work, instead of on audits, weekly payrolls, cash management, insurance coverage, employee benefits management and a host of other administrative tasks.  We offer a partner-focused home for social entrepreneurs, providing full financial and human resource management. 

GPUAC has a strong reputation as a reliable and responsible caretaker of public dollars and government initiatives.  We are a good steward and partner for community-based, private-sector supported projects.  Over the course of our history, we have managed thousands of government contracts and private-sector initiatives.  We currently serve fiscal sponsorship clients based in the Philadelphia region that have a local, regional and/or national focus.

What We Can Do for You

GPUAC’s professional services staff work with our programs to provide timely, tailored services. We offer:

Fiscal Sponsorship and Financial Management

GPUAC’s fiscal sponsorship services help our programs address the administrative and financial matters that provide the foundation for the transformative community work they do. We will:

• Provide 501(c)(3) legal and tax status
• Provide PA Bureau of Charitable Organizations registration
• Prepare required financial reports for funders, including annual audits government reports and required tax filings
• Negotiate and manage contracts and subcontracts
• Provide property and general liability insurance
• Handle purchasing and bills payment
• Prepare monthly financial statements
• Record and acknowledge donations and gifts

In addition, we can make cash advances and reimbursements against secured program revenues for reimbursable expenses.

Human Resource Management

GPUAC’s fiscal sponsorship services help our programs recruit and retain committed, talented staff, provide benefits through our own comprehensive employee benefits package and navigate today’s complex human resource regulations. We will:

• Serve as the legal employer
• Administer payroll, benefits and personnel policies
• Assist with employee orientation, development and evaluation
• Assist with developing job descriptions and posting recruitment ads
• File all payroll taxes

Program Operations Enhancements

Joining GPUAC has benefits that extend well beyond the provision of professional services.  We will:

• Provide assistance with program performance management and measurement standards, and offer a state of the art data collection and outcomes reporting system
• Create opportunities that promote communication and collaboration amongst programs; facilitate a connection to GPUAC public policy efforts; yield promising practices; address issues and challenges; and provide alerts about opportunities for collaborations and joint program development
• Provide access to GPUAC’s vendor network of minority, women and disabled owned-businesses

Cost

A well-run nonprofit can expect to spend between 20-30% of annual revenue on administrative and overhead expenses.  For the comprehensive suite of back-office professional services and capacity-building support that GPUAC provides, programs pay as little as 8% of their annual revenue; we reduce our rate to 5% if the program, partner or project has no paid staff.  In certain circumstances, it may be necessary to charge a higher percentage due to the complexity or additional demands of certain types of funding.  Programs are also responsible for their share of certain allocable expenses (e.g., space, insurance, telecommunications), but at a fraction of the cost they would otherwise incur due to the economies of scale afforded by GPUAC.

For more information about GPUAC’s professional services, please contact:

Cynthia S. Ray, COO - Phone: (215) 851-1734 - Email: cray@gpuac.org