Our fiscal
hosting services

What is fiscal hosting?

Fiscal hosting is when we hold money on behalf of  grassroots group.

It allows groups to apply for more funding opportunities, such as grants. And it gives them a simple, transparent way to manage their money.

How does fiscal hosting work?

Our fiscal hosting services remove financial barriers so that groups can focus on making change.

 

Fiscal hosting can help groups if:

  • They've been holding group funds in a personal bank account and it’s starting to cause headaches
  • They want to receive and manage funds in a more transparent and collaborative way
  • They're struggling with the admin of running a group and could use some support
  • They'd benefit from being part of a community of groups and movements, with access to shared resources and networks
  • They're growing fast and need help understanding how to do it responsibly

We use Open Collective to help us manage our fiscal hosting services in a way that’s transparent and collaborative. Click here to find out more about Open Collective and see some of the groups we support.

Our fee

We charge a one-off onboarding fee of £42, and 5% from the money we host on your behalf.

Find out more

Other ways we help

We’re always looking for new ways to build capacity, grassroots and infrastructure. All with the aim of helping community groups like yours to thrive. Here are just a few ways we do this:

  • Communicating funding opportunities
  • Consolidating and sharing resources
  • Facilitating community building
  • Providing additional capacity building support

Get in touch

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
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Relevant FAQs

  1. Apply to create your page on Open Collective.

  2. You’ll then get an email from us inviting you to fill in a form. This is where you can tell us a bit more about your group. At the end of the form, you’ll have the chance to book an onboarding call.
     
  3. During your onboarding call, a member of our team will run you through the features of the Open Collective platform. They’ll also ask you some questions about your group.

  4. After the onboarding call, you’ll need to upload an expenses policy and add a second admin to your page. If you’re working with vulnerable individuals, we may also need you to send us a safeguarding policy or relevant DBS checks.

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

  6. Your page is now ready to use.

Yes – you can connect your own bank account to Open Collective as an ‘Independent Collective’.

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

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.

  5. A safeguarding policy if you’re working with vulnerable people.

We won’t be able to accept your application without a second admin, unfortunately.

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.

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”. 

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.

The length of the process varies – but it can take as little as 2 weeks. Once you’ve completed the necessary steps, we can take you live.

If you’re having issues with the platform, please contact us. A member of our team will then talk you through the process.

We’re a small team, so we appreciate your patience as we process your application. If it’s been more than 2 weeks since you applied, please get in touch. 

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.

We consider every application individually. If yours has been rejected, it may be because:

 

  1. You’re not based in the UK. If this is the case, we’ll direct you to an appropriate fiscal host in your country.
  2. Your organisation doesn’t fit the community guidelines of Open Collective.
  3. Concerns were raised about your organisation during our due diligence process.

 

This list is non-exhaustive. If your application is rejected, we’ll let you know the reason.

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, please check:

  • 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

Email us at hello@thesocialchangenest.org and one of the team will look into it for you.

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

We charge a one-off onboarding fee of £42, and then 5% on every contribution that comes through to the page.