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Projects fiscally sponsored by the Arkansas Cinema Society gain access to foundation and concernment funding and give donors the incentive of a charitable deduction for income tax purposes.
APPLICATION FORMClick Here to Complete the ApplicationMany individuals, foundations, corporations, or government organizations restrict funding of independent projects to tax-exempt organizations such as the Arkansas Cinema Society. The Fiscal Sponsorship program is a legal and financial mechanism by which ACS, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, serves as a conduit for financial resources and provides some support and oversight for independently produced film project.
Projects Fiscally Sponsored by ACS are able to give donors the incentive of a charitable deduction for income tax purposes, a service individual filmmakers could not otherwise offer. It also enables filmmakers the ability to access foundation and government grant funding that may only be accessible to non-profit or fiscally sponsored projects.
The Arkansas Cinema Society's Fiscal Sponsorship program also offers financial and administrative support, competitive administrative fees, and the reliability of working with an established filmmaker support organization.
The Arkansas Cinema Society is dedicated to supporting independent filmmakers with the strategic planning and releasing of their film projects. The Fiscal Sponsorship program complements our programs and gives independent filmmakers access to all-important grants to secure funding.
Appplications are reviewed and accepted year-round.
The Arkansas Cinema Society's fees are among the lowest in the industry.
Approved projects will have a public profile where additional donors can review project information and make a donation by credit card.
Fiscally Sponsored Projects have an online administrative site to view their account balance and donation history.
Eligible completed films receive an entry fee waiver for the Arkansas Cinema Society's Filmland: Arkansas program.
You may contribute to any live campaign by clicking on the "Make a Contribution" button. You'll be able to enter how much you want to contribute and choose how you want to pay with Visa, MasterCard, and American Express credit or debit cards, or PayPal. All transactions take place in $USD. Upon receipt you will be sent a donor acknowledgement letter which you can use for federal tax deduction purposes.
We're committed to your safety and security. We have safeguards in place to secure the information we collect online, prevent unauthorized access or disclosure, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the appropriate use of information.
No. Only you and the project creator will be able to see your contribution amount.
Checks should be made out to "Arkansas Cinema Society Fiscal Sponsorship" with your project name in the memo field. All check donations must be accompanied by a Donor Contribution Form completed with the donor's contact information and signature. The Arkansas Cinema Society will not deposit checks without the Donor form. Contact the project creator should you need a donor form. The Arkansas Cinema Society cannot accept check donations made out to other entities. All Check donations, and their accompanying Donor Contribution forms, should be mailed together to:
Arkansas Cinema Society Fiscal Sponsorship
PO Box 7644
Little Rock, AR 72217
Many businesses offer an Employee Matching Gift program, which matches a charitable donation made by an employee with a corporate donation to the same charity. Gift checks usually take anywhere from 3-9 months to arrive once the paperwork has been submitted to the corporation. Usually, the donor must initiated this matching gift with their employer. In almost all cases, the donor and the charity (in this case, ACS) must complete some paperwork to process a gift of this kind. Projects should not complete any sections of the matching gift paperwork. Matching gift paperwork should be sent to info@arkansascinemasociety.org for completion.
If a donor's check is returned by our bank for any reason, or a credit card payment is declined, we will alert you to the situation and immediately reduce your fund balance to reflect the net change. If a replacement donation is received from the donor, it can be processed into your fund at that time. It is your responsibility to contact the donor and request a replacement donation.
The Arkansas Cinema Society only accepts credit card or check donations. No in-kind donations will be accepted by ACS. ACS sends each donor a thank you letter which acknowledges their tax-deductible donation. It takes up to 5 business days for funds up to $10,000 to clear into the account and become available to filmmakers; donations of $10,000 or more may take up to 10 business days. Filmmakers (primary contact only) receive email notification of donations when the donation has cleared into your account.
All projects participating in Fiscal Sponsorship must fit within our organizational guidelines. In addition, contributions to a 501(c)(3) are deductible for Federal income tax purposes to the extent allowed by law.
Fiscal Sponsorship is a contractual relationship in which a 501(c)(3) organization, such as ACS, agrees to sponsor a project for the purpose of fundraising through grants and donations. This program allows a project that lacks tax-exempt status to seek grants and tax-deductible donations, with the Arkansas Cinema Society overseeing the process and following IRS regulations. Many individual donors, foundations, and corporate funders will only donate to an established 501(c)(3) organization.
A 501(c)(3) organization, commonly called a charitable organization, must be organized and operated exclusively for exempt purposes set forth in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, and none of its earnings may inure to any private shareholder or individual. The organization may not be an action organization, i.e., it may not attempt to influence legislation as a substantial part of its activities and it may not particpate in any campaign activity for or against political candidates. All projects participating in Fiscal Sponsorship must fit within our organizational mission. In addition, contribution to a 501(c)(3) are deductible for Federal income tax purposes to the extent allowed by law.
No. Contributions received and disbursed by the Arkansas Cinema Society will likely be treated as income by the IRS. ACS will issue Form 1099-MISC for total payments over $600 during the calendar year to each project, except if the project is a corporation. An LLC is treated as a partnership, except if ACS has received certain written notification from the LLC stating that each member of the LLC is a corporation. Consult a tax advisor to determine your specific liability.
The Arkansas Cinema Society must insure project activities are conducted according to IRS regulations and must establish discretion and control over the project's contributions received. Furthermore, we need to know if the project fits the ACS mission and guidelines to be a legitimate sponsor for the project. Once the application is approved, a sponsorship agreement needs to be signed by the project's representative and the Arkansas Cinema Society to start the relationship.
A donor makes a contribution to the Arkansas Cinema Society with the recommendation that ACS grant this donation to a certain project while also monitoring that their funds are used to produce the film/work and that all tax-reporting requirements are met. A project needs to send ACS their receipts to demonstrate that the money is being spent on creating their work. Only through this system will the IRS approve the donation as tax-deductible.
No. Being sponsored at the Arkansas Cinema Society does not make the project or production company a tax-exempt organization.
The Arkansas Cinema Society Fiscal Sponsorship is not able to accept or grant a charitable gift letter for in-kind contributions, such as donations of goods or equipment.
Yes. Your project is a separate legal entity and not part of the Arkansas Cinema Society. You retain creative control, ownership, and responsibility for tax reporting and liability.
Corporate sponsorship consists of support, usually in the form of money or materials, given directly to the project. Often corporate sponsors expect something in return, such as advertising or publicity. However, many corporations also maintain philanthropic programs that donate to tax-exempt charitable organizations. These programs will not provide funds to a non-exempt filmmaking project but may donate to the project through a fiscal sponsorship program. A project selected for fiscal sponsorship is able to solicit tax-deductible contributions from these foundations, corporations, or government organizations.
The fee covers the cost we have for maintaining the Fiscal Sponsorship wesite and staff time to administrate the program.
To be considered, your project must be considered a "non-commercial" work (able to be financed by personal funds, donations, grants, corporate sponsorship, in-kind donations, etc. but NOT by offering investment for profit) and should fall into any of the following categories:
Please note: you need to have an American Social Security Number (SSN) or American Employer Identification Number (EIN) to be eligible for this program.
We select artistic works that fit the Arkansas Cinema Society mission and present a clear and professional written project proposal and budget. This program is specifically designed for our members to support them in finding funding for their projects and we want to support as many creators as possible.
We do find it important that applicants understand how Fiscal Sponsorship works. Therefore, it needs to be clear in the "fundraising strategy' section how Fiscal Sponsorship will help you to find funding for your project.
*Projects with a budget of under $15,000 to be raised with Fiscal Sponsorship need to have one (1) donations or grant lined up that require a fiscal sponsor.
