Everything I wrote in Chapter 2 about becoming a nonprofit applies to individuals as well as groups. Some filmmakers, in particular, find it helpful to establish a nonprofit organization to finance their projects. But do think seriously and get good legal advice before going down this road. You’ll find books and Internet resources in Appendixes B and C, respectively, to help you decide if nonprofit status is right for your project.

An alternative to becoming a nonprofit is fiscal sponsorship, which I also discussed in Chapter 2. Umbrella organization and conduit are terms sometimes used to mean “fiscal sponsorship.” Those terms, however, do not imply the legal responsibility of a fiscal sponsor and really shouldn’t be used. You can find a good online directory of fiscal sponsors at fiscalsponsordirectory.org.

Where individuals are concerned, fiscal sponsorship is becoming a less-viable alternative because of increasing pressures on nonprofits by funders and government regulators. Already, some government grants won’t allow fiscal sponsorship unless the nonprofit certifies it has total control over the project. If funders require control over an individual’s project, fewer nonprofits will be willing to take on individuals under fiscal sponsorship—and do you really want to give up control of your project? Nonprofits that continue to offer fiscal sponsorship to organizations will usually work with individuals, too.