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San Francisco Film Society
San Francisco Film Society
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Your application is not only to the Film Society as a potential fiscal sponsor, it is a blueprint that you will use to secure funding by applying to grants or to present to individual contributors. Direct your application towards potential funders as well as the Film Society. Our goal is to help you build the best proposal possible so you can go forward and be successful raising funds to make your project.

This will most likely be the first of many revisions you will prepare for your project as it evolves. Think of it as an ongoing business plan that you will update as changes are made and you develop your knowledge and vision.

UPCOMING DEADLINES:
June 24, 2013 (see below for Express Service)

You will need to
  • complete the online Application form.
  • be enrolled as a Film Society Filmmaker Pro member. Join online.
  • pay the $40 application fee. You will be asked to pay the fee before you hit the submit button on your online application form. Note that applications will not be reviewed until the next dealine —if you would like your application reviewed earlier, you must pay the Express Service fee.

Note: Applications received after the above deadline will be automatically submitted for the next application period. This is not a postmark deadline.

Express Service:
We review applications every four months. If you would like us to accept an application out of cycle or would like a faster response, we offer Express Service. This service requires an additional fee of $60 (total application fee of $100) and guarantees timely review of your application. Please note that the Express Service does not guarantee acceptance into the Fiscal Sponsorship program, but rather faster consideration for it. 

To find out whether we will be able to process your express application please contact Project Development Coordinator Athena Kalkopoulou indicating the date you would like to hear from us by. Once your Express Service application is accepted, please allow at least 10 business days for us to review it.

Contract with the San Francisco Film Society
Once you are approved into the Fiscal Sponsorship program you will be required to sign a contract with the San Francisco Film Society. If you would like to see the contract prior to the application process, please let us know. Contracts cannot be individualized and changes in the contract will not be permitted after you have been approved into the program. If you have further questions, please contact Project Development Coordinator Athena Kalkopoulou.

Project Administrator
We prefer that the filmmaker/project director is our main contact as we believe it facilitates more opportunities for the project but we recognize that filmmakers often need to hire someone to help them with the administrative aspects of the project.

You can now add on an administrator as an additional contact on your project. This person can correspond with SFFS in all matters relating to the project  e.g., grant application paperwork and donations inquiries etc. There will be a one time administrator fee of $25 but the administrator is not required to be a current member or be on the contract. All we require is a name and an email address. Please note, the project administrator is only an additional contact for the project and cannot be a substitute for the project's primary contact. The Primary and secondary contact(if applicable) must be current pro-level members. If you have  any questions about the role of administrator please contact the sponsorship department.
Eligibility Requirements
  1. You must be a Film Society Filmmaker Pro member. Join online if you are not a member, or if you are already a member and want to upgrade to Filmmaker Pro. If more than one person is applying with a project you must both be members. Identify one person as the primary contact.
  2. The project must be consistent with Film Society charitable purposes, must be noncommercial or educational and represent an imaginative contribution to the film or video art form.
  3. The project cannot be a work for hire.
  4. You must be seeking donations in the form of grants from public agencies, foundations, corporations or individual donors, including fundraising benefits.
  5. You do not need to be a U.S. citizen to apply for fiscal sponsorship with San Francisco Film Society. However, at least one of your project’s named project directors will need to have a Social Security number, EIN (employer identification number), ITIN (independent taxpayer identification number) or other type of IRS registration.

Application Dos
  • Format using single spacing.
  • Use the same font throughout.
  • Use page numbers beginning on page 2, bottom right.
  • Comply with suggested lengths in the guidelines.
  • Put name and project name in footer
  • Label sample materials clearly with your name, the title of the project with which you are applying and the title of the material you are submitting.

Application Don'ts
  • Do not double space your proposal.
  • Avoid writing in the first person.
  • Do not make your application too long or repetitive.

Grant Applications to government organizations
Please note that due to a change in grant regulations, SFFS will no longer be submitting applications on filmmakers' behalf to the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and National Science Foundation (NSF). Please contact us if you have further questions.

Please note: We no longer offer fiscal sponsorship to filmmakers that plan on using a hybrid model to fundraise for their projects, utilizing commercial and non-profit means of support.

Please note: While we encourage filmmakers to apply to the San Francisco Internation Film Festival, Cinema by the Bay and grants offered by our organization, being fiscally sponsored by the San Francsico FIlm Society does not guarantee acceptance into any of the above programs.		  
UPCOMING DEADLINE
June 24, 2013

DEVELOPER'S NOTE: http://sffs.org/content.aspx?catid=938,1004&pageid=394