Our fiscal
hosting services

Summer sale now on! Get started with transparent money management today - We've frozen our onboarding fees for one month so new groups can sign up for free. Offer ends 8th August 2024


What is fiscal hosting?

Fiscal hosting is where we hold money on behalf of community groups, grassroots organisations and other (usually) unregistered non profits.

This allows you to accept donations, apply for more funding opportunities and gives you a simple, transparent way to manage your money.

 

Transparent Money Management for Community Groups and Grassroots Movements

| Take the survey to find out how we can support you

 

Have you already won, or are you in the process of applying for funding that requires you to have a fiscal host? We can help sign your grant agreement or provide you with a letter of intent.

See fiscal hosting in action

Join our daily webinar – See the platform and discover how groups are using it to simplify their finances and maximise their impact.

| Register for the next webinar

Join our community of

1 +

community groups & grassroots organisations
already fiscally hosted by The Social Change Nest

Since 2020 we’ve distributed over £19 million to social impact groups around the world!

In their words

“Their work removed some difficult practical obstacles which meant we were able to do really important work with our community right from the start. Without their help, we could not have grown and flourished as an organisation.”
Lia den DaasOxford Mutual Aid
“The process and anticipated operational demands for running our own organisation (as two part-time organisers) felt overwhelming, and the legal responsibilities to Companies House and the Financial Conduct Authority felt in conflict with our own principles. Thank you SCN for always being a massive support to us.”
Decolonising Economics
"The whole system of how the collective redistributes money wouldn’t be possible without The Social Change Nest’s fiscal hosting."
Kirsty GrahamThe Animal Behavior Collective
"The Social Change Nest’s fiscal hosting platform was the perfect arrangement for the transfer of our funds from our Secretary’s bank account – which has led to a much more transparent way of managing finances."
Toby WilliamsonThe Friends of Kingswood House
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Is fiscal hosting for me?

  • You are a non-profit currently holding money in a personal bank account.

  • You are a growing community group focused on your mission and want to reduce the financial administrative burden.

  • You are a grassroots movement and don’t wish to be restricted by registering as a charity.

  • You want to apply for funding opportunities but don’t have the right legal status.

  • You want a collaborative, transparent way to manage your money in a way that builds trust with donors and your community.


How does fiscal hosting help?

  • Focus on your mission – Get admin and financial support. We’ll process your expenses and maintain your financial records so you can focus on the things that matter most.

  • Unlock funding – We can act as a guarantor providing the legal assurance required by funders to distribute grants to groups not formally registered.

  • Move quickly – Registering as a nonprofit can take several months, with fiscal hosting you can be up and running in less than 2 weeks, enabling you to respond faster to the needs of your community.

  • Build trust – Manage your money transparently and build trust with funders and the community you support.

  • Join a community – Become part of a community of 500+ grassroots groups and movements

  • Access pro bono support – We’ll soon be launching our ‘Help Desk’, connecting you with probono support and helpful free resources.

Focus on your mission

Reduce the administrative burden of managing your finances and focus on what matters most.

Focus on your mission

Get admin and financial support. We'll process your expenses and maintain your financial records so you can focus on the things that matter most.

Build trust

Manage your money transparently and build trust with funders and the community you support.

Join a community

Become part of a community of 500+ grassroots groups and movements!

Apply for and receive grant funding

We can act as a guarantor providing the legal assurance required by funders to distribute grants to groups not formally registered.

Move quickly

Registering as a nonprofit can take several months, with fiscal hosting you can be up and running in less than 2 weeks, enabling you to respond faster to the needs of your community.

Access pro bono support

We'll soon be launching our 'Help Desk', connecting you with probono support and helpful free resources.

Time left on Summer Sale!

Days
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We’re celebrating summer by waiving our £42 joining fee – Limited time only, don’t miss out!

Get started

Simplify your financial admin and spend more time on what really matters. 

Apply now


Not yet ready to apply? Sign up to our newsletter or get in touch with any questions.

FAQs

We don’t have extensive eligibility criteria. But it’s important that you:

  • Are a community group, or grassroots organisation that has a social impact
  • Are unincorporated (In most cases. If you are incorporated e.g. a registered charity, CIC or limited company, contact us to discuss).
  • Meet these community guidelines
  • Are looking for a safe, secure and transparent way to manage your funds
 
We support some groups that work outside of the UK. Our fees for this kind of support are higher, due to the extra admin on our side and the costs associated with international transfers. Contact us if you’d like to know more.

From mutual aid networks and climate justice initiatives to racial equity and health & wellness advocates, we support a diverse range of groups working towards social change. Whether a small community group or a large grassroots organisation, they all share a passion for positive impact. Visit our Open Collective page to learn more about the groups we host.

Open Collective is the name of the platform that we use for our fiscally hosted groups to access and manage their funds.

Yes. We can fiscally host you privately if you’re expecting specific funds to come in (see our grant management service).

Crowdfunding is a good option if:

  • You’re doing a one off fundraiser
  • You don’t mind holding the money in a personal bank account
  • You don’t plan on applying for grants
  • You don’t need a way to transparently manage how your money is being spent


Fiscal hosting might be a better option if:

  • You’re running a long term project or organisation
  • You’d like to be able to accept recurring donations
  • You don’t want the money held in an personal bank account
  • You want the option to apply for grants
  • You want an easy way to manage your incoming and outgoing money 

There are two parts to our fees:

  • Onboarding Fee: A one-time £42 fee you only pay after you’ve successfully received funds on your page.

  • Transaction Fee: A 5% fee (7% if we handle the grant agreement) on any money you hold with us. You’ll see the exact fee amount deducted when you add funds.

 

Why do we charge a fee? Unfortunately, we live in a capitalist world and we have to charge a fee to make sure we’re sustainable. Our fees cover the cost of licensing the Open Collective platform and the admin involved in supporting groups, such as onboarding and processing payments. Our goal is to reinvest any profits into improving our service for the community.

  1. Submit an application

  2. Book in an onboarding call where a member of our team will ask you some questions about your group and show you how the platform works.

  3. You’ll need to set up a page on Open Collective. Make sure you add a second admin and upload an expense policy. If you’re working with vulnerable individuals, we may also need you to send us a safeguarding policy or relevant DBS checks.

  4. Let us know when you’ve completed step 3 and we’ll take you live.

     

  5. Your page is now ready to use.

The length of the process varies – but it can take as little as 2 weeks. Once you’ve completed the necessary steps (see application process above), and we’ve completed our due diligence, we can take you live.

Here’s how it works:

  • Submit an Expense: Expenses are submitted through the Open Collective platform and can be submitted as a reimbursement or an invoice.

  • Admin Approval: An administrator for your page will need to approve the expense. This ensures the funds are used appropriately.

  • Money paid out: We process approved expenses for payout on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

Here’s what you need to get started: 

  1. A clear social purpose.

     

  2. A minimum of 2 admins to approve and reject expenses on your page.
     
  3. Evidence of your activity. This could be social media accounts, photos, videos, etc. If you don’t have any evidence, we may ask you to complete an ID check.

     

  4. An expenses policy. Check out our guidance and templates for expenses policies. We also recommend looking at the expenses policies of some of the other collectives we host. You can view a group’s
    policy by clicking “Submit Expense”. 

     

  5. A safeguarding policy if you’re working with vulnerable people. (Legally we’re unable to give advice on drawing up safeguarding policies. We recommend using the NSPCC guide to safeguarding for voluntary and community groups.)

We won’t be able to accept your application without a second admin. It’s mainly about accountability. For any actions involving expenses (submitting a request for reimbursement, for example) two people are required: one to submit, and one to approve. So, if you’re an admin submitting an expense, you’ll need your fellow admin to approve it.

This provides a level of accountability and due diligence on all transactions, and encourages collaborative money management. Don’t worry, though – we’ll talk you through all of this in our onboarding call.

To make your application as easy as possible, please let us know of any accessibility needs you have at the beginning of the process. That way, we can put the right accommodations in place from the start.

To be hosted by us, follow these steps:

  1. Log into your Open Collective account
  2. Go to your page and click on “Settings”
  3. On the right-hand side, click on the option “Fiscal Host”
  4. Click “Add Fiscal Host”
  5. Search “The Social Change Nest” and click “Apply”
  6. Done!

We’re a small team, so we appreciate your patience as we process your application. If  you haven’t heard from us for more than 2 weeks then please email hello@thesocialchangenest.org and one of the team will look into it for you.

If you’ve made your page on Open Collective already please check the following:

  • You’ve applied to be hosted by us (you can check this in your page settings)
  • Your spam folder for any communication from us
  • Any other email addresses you may have

 

No. We’re a small team, and our fastest turnaround is approximately 2 weeks. To make the process as quick as possible, make sure you:

  • Add at least two admins. You can find out how to add admins by clicking here
  • Set up your expenses policy. You can find guidance on how to do this here
  • Have evidence of your activities ready, and send us any social media links. If you don’t have any evidence of your activities, please prepare a mission statement outlining your aims

Get in touch