A nonprofit in the US is a formal organization that the government has certified as going towards “charitable purposes.” Officially known as 501(c)(3) status, this means that the organization does not have to pay tax on their income. Many nonprofits are formally funded by grants from foundations, governments, or businesses. On the other hand, mutual aid is collective support, where community members come together to redistribute resources to one another. Resources such as money, food, clothing, et cetera are generally shared unconditionally. Activist Benjamin Shepard describes mutual aid as "people giv[ing] what they can and get[ting] what they need." It can fill in the gaps that nonprofits leave.

Nonprofits are not inherently bad, and many of them do very good work. However, there are limitations and misconceptions, which we will firmly stand by in believing: Nonprofits often have barriers to entry, such as certain income restrictions, required participation in a program, or grant/donor requirements that are passed onto those requesting help. While many believe that nonprofits are more trustworthy or somehow more ethical, this is far from the case. Nonprofits can fall into the same traps as a for-profit organization - inflated executive salaries, unethical behavior, and lack of care for the people they claim to serve. Nonprofits do NOT fill all of the gaps, and there are many out there who need additional support that is more immediate, more flexible, and more inclusive. You can learn more about the “nonprofit industrial complex,” which regardless of our status we will continue to critique. The Snack Sack is turning to nonprofit status out of necessity. It will provide us with the ability to accept grants, and therefore have more funding to support our community. It will also mean that we are no longer required to pay taxes on donations, including those coming from individual donors. The tax burden of the $2.7 million that Chamieka has raised from community members on behalf of The Snack Sack since its founding in 2020 has been significant.

Our fiscal sponsor, Fiscal Sponsorship Allies, is an established nonprofit organization that has agreed to be legally and financially responsible for guaranteeing that The Snack Sack is operating according to all the rules and regulations that nonprofits have to follow. This allows us to use their tax-exempt status so that we can receive grants and tax-exempt donations from the government, foundations, and individuals.

A fiscal sponsor means The Snack Sack can use the benefits of nonprofit status (eligible for more grants, not having to pay taxes on donations) quickly, which ultimately means better services for our families with less waiting time. We hope to attain our own nonprofit status in the future, but it is a lengthy and bureaucratic process. In the meantime, our fiscal sponsor, Fiscal Sponsorship Allies, will provide us with support so that we can continue to focus on our programs - raising and distributing funds and resources to families in need.

We do not foresee any changes in our services. We will continue funding snack sacks and wraparound support to families in need as we have done since our inception. As individual donations are unrestricted (see next question for more information on this), we still anticipate being able to fundraise from our network and redistribute funds in the same manner as we do now, just without the additional tax burden. Once we attain our own nonprofit status, our back-end operations will change slightly. For example, we will have to fill out an IRS Form 990 every year to report our financial activity and there will likely be reporting requirements for grants that we receive.