Philanthropic intermediaries serve as a bridge between donors (individuals, foundations, and corporations) and the organizations that deliver charitable services. They can take various forms, including:
Collaborative or pooled funds: Where multiple donors combine resources to maximize impact.
Regrantors: Organizations that gather contributions from various funders and redistribute them to nonprofits.
Donor-advised funds (DAFS): Charitable accounts managed by intermediaries where donors can recommend grants to specific organizations.
Community foundations: Local entities that manage and distribute funds to support community needs.
Fiscal sponsors: Organizations that provide administrative support and legal status to projects or initiatives that may not have their own nonprofit status.
Collaborative donor funds play an important role in aggregating and deploying social impact and philanthropic capital.
Fiscal sponsors lend their tax-exempt status to new or small social sector initiatives and often provide administration, HR and other management services to the projects and initiatives they support.