Introduction
So excited to have you on board!
You are free to start operating under our 501(c)(3) designation and our tax id (81-0741435). We are here to help when you need, and to stay out of your way when you don’t. Please represent your organization as “a fiscally sponsored project of Mission.Earth, a 501(c)(3) organization.”
Mission.Earth makes a Google Workspace account available to each project. This is where Mission.Earth officers and employees will store and share files with Project Directors. Instructions for accessing your Google Workspace and navigating the information and capabilities therein are provided below.
You should have received email invitations to various software platforms that will be discussed below. In addition, your ‘@mission.earth’ email has been invited to access these platforms. Please reach out to the Director of Operations if these invitations have not been received or have expired.
We use myriad other online platforms to provide features and services to our projects. We are consistently upgrading and iterating our systems to serve you better; if you have a suggestion, please let us know!
Mission.Earth’s Digital Tools
Mission.Earth’s operations are digital. All the administrative functions of running your fiscally-sponsored project can be managed remotely. We have a number of tools to help you with that.
Google Workspace
There are files contained in the shared Google Workspace that will be essential for your operation. These files are only accessible by logging into your Mission.Earth Google account; this ensures that Mission.Earth is able to maintain secure control over the sharing of sensitive information. Files may include personnel records, financial reports, tax forms, contracts, agreements, images of checks, and other documentation pertinent to your Project.
You are welcome to use any and all of our Google Workspace Apps including Gmail, Drive, Meet, Appscript, Calendar, etc. Mission.Earth officers will communicate and share files using the Mission.Earth Google Workspace, and so maintaining access to this account is a necessary piece of administering a project through Mission.Earth.
You are also free to use any external system to manage and maintain your project activities; there is no requirement that Projects use our Google Workspace resources.
Setting up a dedicated Mission.Earth workspace
Download Google Chrome
- Download Google Chrome
- Open Google Chrome and select circular profile selector in the upper-right hand corner (note that your icon will not contain the Mission.Earth logo)
- Select “+Add” under “Other Profiles”
- Sign into your mission.earth google account using the email and password that were provided at onboarding. You will be required to select a new password upon your first login.
- When prompted to “Turn on sync”, select “Yes, I’m in.”
- Name your profile and select your preferred colors.
- Download the Mission.Earth bookmark template.
- Upload the bookmark file to your chrome browser using these instructions
- Log into the various services bookmarked using the provided credentials. You may use your own email to log in, or the mission.earth email you have been provided.
Navigating the Drive
Once you have logged into your google drive, we recommend navigating to “Shared with me” on the menu on the left-hand side of the screen. You will see two folders like below: one labeled “Mission.Earth Resources for Projects,” and the other with your Project name.
Mission.Earth Resources for Projects
This is the folder maintained by the Mission.Earth officers containing information and documentation you may need in order to prove our 501(c)(3) status. It also contains insurance information, instructions for remitting payments, templates for employee and other documents, financial information, marketing collateral, policies and procedures, and copies of these onboarding guides. Please peruse this folder and familiarize yourself with its contents.
Project Folder:
This is the shared folder that Mission.Earth will be using for files associated with your project. In your drive, the folder will be named with the name of your project.
Mazlo
Mazlo is our primary banking and financial reporting partner. Mazlo provides the major functions you will need to use on a regular basis:
- Access to your fund balance
- Track donations and payments made to your account
- Deposit checks into your account
- Make payments, grants, donations, or other disbursements to vendors
- Organize and track your financial activities
- Access a virtual debit card for petty-cash expenses
- Create donation links for sharing on your websites and social media
Getting started information for Mazlo can be found here.
Fundrazr
Fundrazr is our primary online donation collection partner. Through that platform, you can set up membership campaigns, donation pages, peer-to-peer fundraising, etc and track donations that arrive digitally. You can also upload contacts and offline donations to use it as a marketing tool or a bookkeeping tool. An overview of the features and functionalities available to you with Fundrazr can be found here.
Fundrazr has detailed help and support documentation to get you started. These two links will give you a feel for the platform and create a campaign:
Others
You may also use other donation collection platforms as-needed and we will collaborate to set Mission.Earth’s accounts as your banking details. Mission.Earth uses many different software platforms to perform our function, and you will hear many names tossed about. This is a non-exhaustive list of services we currently maintain or have used in the past:
- Stripe
- Paypal
- Venmo
- GoFundMe
- RunSignUp
- RallyUp
- Mailchimp
- WeDidIt
- Wepay
- Eventbrite
- Stock Donator
- And more
Conclusion
This guide is intended to start Projects on the right foot in their Fiscal Sponsorship journey. It is certainly non-exhaustive, and customized solutions will be necessary for just about every Project based on the unique needs of your work. For clarification on anything covered or omitted in this guide, please reach out to us.