Being Fiscally Sponsored: Your Reports

If your organization is fiscally sponsored, you’re likely receiving regular financial reports from your sponsor. These reports are more than just extra emails — they’re essential tools for tracking your progress, making informed decisions, monitoring proper projections and staying compliant with your sponsor.

In this post, we’ll break down the key elements of these reports, explain what to look for, and offer tips on how to use the information to strengthen your project’s operations and planning.

What Are Fiscally Sponsored Reports?

Fiscally sponsored reports typically include a summary & detailing of your income, expenses, and available funds for the reporting period. You should definitely receive an income & expense statement with your net asset (or fund) balance. You may also receive a balance sheet that will detail your cash on hand as well as net asset (fund) balance. Reports should be provided by your fiscal sponsor on a monthly basis in a timely manner (around the end of the month for the previous month close!).

Key Components of a Financial Report

Let’s walk through some typical sections of a report and what each one tells you.

Income Summary & Detail

This section lists all the revenue received by your project — including donations, grants & earned income.

Review for:

• Are all expected donations or grants accounted for?
• Are the amounts correct?
• Were any funds received that you weren’t aware of?

If something looks off or you’re missing income you expected, follow up with your sponsor.

Expense Summary & Detail

This outlines how your project’s funds were spent. Expenses are usually grouped by category (e.g., salaries, supplies, travel).

Pay attention to:

• Accuracy: Are these expenses aligned with your internal records?
• Budget adherence: Are you staying within budget for each category?
• Missing expenses: Have you submitted all necessary receipts and documentation? Are all your credit card reconciliations up to date?

If the sponsor paid an invoice on your behalf and it’s not listed, or if you’re being charged for something unfamiliar, ask for clarification.

Net Asset or Fund Balance

Your fund balance shows how much money is left in your account after income and expenses. This balance is crucial — it tells you what resources are still available for your project. This number would include your carryfoward amounts from previous years and may include accounts receivable if applicable (items that are pledged but not yet paid). If you do receive a balance sheet, you may notice a difference between your net asset/fund balance and cash balance based on the timing of receivables. This nuance is important as you’re making sure to comply with cash-on-hand requirements that your fiscal sponsor likely has for its projects (and that should be outlined in your agreement).

Tips for Reading Your Reports Effectively

1. Review Regularly: Don’t wait until the end of the year to look at your reports. Review each one monthly so you can catch errors and ask questions timely.

2. Compare Against Your Budget: Use your approved project budget as a benchmark. This will help you see if you’re on track and if not – what may need to adjusted.

3. Communicate With Your Fiscal Sponsor: If something is unclear, ask. Fiscal sponsors are there to help. They can explain line items and look into your questions.

4. Use Reports to Tell Your Story: Financial reports are great data sources for grant reports, donor updates, and advisory board meetings.

Using the Reports to Support your Planning

Even if your sponsor handles the books, you are likely still responsible for handling your own budget & projections. It’s helpful to have a system that can be reconciled to your regular actual reports from your fiscal sponsor and adjusts your projections for revenue & expenses on a monthly basis. This can help you create reports for advisory boards or donors, and make sure you’re planning a proper net asset and cash balance into future budget years.

Have questions about reading your reports?

Drop them in the comments on LinkedIn or reach out to your fiscal sponsor’s finance team — they’re your partners in supporting your mission.