Project Cultivation
We help launch and nurture emerging initiatives that align with our mission. While fiscal sponsorship has long been a cornerstone of our work, our approach goes beyond financial infrastructure. Through Project Cultivation, we offer direct support, strategic guidance, and connection to a values-aligned community.
Our goal is to ensure project leaders feel empowered, resourced, and part of something bigger. We work closely with them to clarify vision early on and lay the groundwork for long-term impact—creating an ecosystem where bold ideas can take root and thrive.
Our Offerings to Projects
Community Calls
We’ve heard a strong desire for deeper connection across our 30+ projects. We’re excited to now host quarterly Community Calls— a space for meaningful relationship-building, collaboration, and shared learning among our project partners.
These calls are designed to be a safe and supportive environment where project directors can share updates, ask challenging questions, offer and receive feedback, and draw from the collective wisdom of the network. Above all, they are a place to be seen, heard, and held in community. Project directors are encouraged to cross-collaborate on and off of these calls.
Cohort Calls
As our network of projects has grown, we’ve observed thematic clusters emerging. Some projects are centered on media and technology; others focus on dialogue and deliberation, mis/disinformation, or network weaving. These “cohort calls” bring together project directors with shared focus areas to discuss emerging issues, share insights, and explore collaborative opportunities. These smaller, topic-specific gatherings will deepen learning and support tailored, field-level impact. The frequency of these calls, as well as the groupings will be collectively determined by current projects.
Reduced-Price Subscriptions
Projects can now opt into subaccounts under Mediators Foundation’s master plans for common services like Canva and OpenAI, allowing them to benefit from discounted nonprofit rates. This simple shift can save projects money annually while ensuring access to high-quality tools essential for communications, fundraising, and content creation.
Amplification
We’re committed to celebrating and amplifying the work of our projects and their staff. Whether through published articles, event highlights, or storytelling, we aim to showcase the thought leadership, creativity, and impact happening across our network. With our blog and upcoming newsletter, we offer platforms to share updates, promote events, and highlight ideas—creating opportunities for project directors to be seen, supported, and connected.
Strategic Advisory
We are committed to building strong relationships and maintaining communication so that projects feel supported throughout their journey. Our team is here as a steady resource — ready to lend time, expertise, and guidance as needs arise.
New project directors begin onboarding with Mesa Sebree, our Program Director, and Kathy Gschneidner, our Financial Administrator. They’re also invited to meet with Jacob Bornstein, our President, for a complimentary advisory session. Jacob brings extensive experience as a consultant supporting mission-driven organizations in the civic space. This hour-long conversation gives project directors access to strategic guidance, relationship-building, and space to align around Mediators’ vision and services.
Ongoing advisory is always available on an as-needed basis via email.
What else?
Is there a service not listed here that you’d like to see as a current or future project director? We’d love to hear from you. Mediators Foundation is continuously evolving and remains open to new ideas regarding how we can better support our projects and the wider ecosystem. If you have ideas for ways we can improve, adjust, or expand our services, please reach out to Mesa at mesa@mediatorsfoundation.org.
Structure & Fees
Mediators Foundation became a 501(c)(3) – a legal non-profit business – in 1988, and has been sponsoring projects for over thirty years. The process of acquiring federal non-profit status and ensuring your records are tax-compliant can be cumbersome and lengthy. As a fiscal sponsor, Mediators provides administrative support, financial oversight, and an avenue to accept tax-deductible donations, allowing you to focus on the core work of your project. Furthermore, as a well-established player in the bridging field, we lend credibility to new ventures, and can connect you to our wide community of projects and colleagues. This relationship can be for the long or short term – we have had some projects at Mediators for many years, and others that we are proud to see grow into their own 501(c)(3)s.
Mediators Foundation generally provides comprehensive fiscal sponsorship under a Model A structure, while allowing project directors significant operational autonomy and contracting arrangements typical of Model C. This mixed approach allows us to support both project directors who are looking to run their own initiatives as well as funders who are looking for more comprehensive design & implementation from Mediators Foundation.
Fiscal sponsorship is offered with no upfront cost. To sustain the administrative labor and infrastructure that supports our projects, we charge a 7–10% administrative fee on charitable donations, based on the complexity of their needs.
We respond to new projects inquiries year-round on a rolling basis. If you have specific questions about fiscal sponsorship, are interested in more detailed information on our processes, or would like to schedule an introductory meeting, please email us with a brief description of yourself and your project. We look forward to connecting and we will get back to you shortly.