Community Partner Network Fiscal Sponsorship Application Spring 2024

About the Community Partner Network Fiscal Sponsorship Application Process

The application is reviewed by the San Francisco Parks Alliance Community Team to determine whether the applicant's objectives are consistent with our charitable purposes and mission. The Community Team may consider the following factors in reviewing applications: internal capacity to meet an applicant’s needs, location, community support and engagement, feasibility of budget/project plan, letters of support, and feedback from related organizations or City departments. If accepted as a Community Partner, a virtual orientation is required.

Please carefully review our Community Partner Network page before submitting the application. Full application questions are below.

The following items are required for a Community Partner application to be considered complete:

Completed Questionnaire
Three letters of support (requires file upload)
Property Owner letter of approval (requires file upload)
Completed Budget (requires file upload)

If you have any questions, please email partners@sfparksalliance.org

Main Contact Information

First Name

Last Name

Mobile Phone

Applicant Information

What is the name of your project?

How long has your project been in existence and how long have you been working on this project?

6 months or less6 months to 2 years2 years or more

If your project has a complicated timeline, feel free to explain here:

Is your project currently fiscally sponsored or has it been fiscally sponsored in the past? If so, who is/was your fiscal sponsor?

Outside of fiscal sponsorship, do you have any formal relationship with a non-profit or other entity?

Project Information

Where is your project located? Please provide the site address. Feel free to include additional detail as needed.

Who owns the property for your project site(s) and do you have their support? Please see required attachments below.

What neighborhoods does your project serve?

In what San Francisco Supervisorial District is your project located?

What is the mission of your group?

Why do you think your group and project is a good fit for SF Parks Alliance's Community Partner Network? Please see our Community Partner Network page.

How does your group address environmental, social, and/or economic justice?

Community Partner Project Types

The Community Partner Network is made up of many different neighborhood groups throughout San Francisco who work on a variety of different projects. Below is a list of our Community Partner Network project types.

Plazas, Stairways, Streets, and Venues

These Community Partners focus on turning empty lots or civic infrastructure like medians and stairways into vibrant public spaces for a multitude of different activities.

Parks and Open Space

These Community Partners maintain and improve parks, community green spaces, and nature preserves. Groups in this category are often referred to as “Friends of” groups.

Gardens and Farms

These Community Partners focus on urban agriculture - gardens primarily for educational purposes, leisure, recreation, and/or beautification, but also farms dedicated to growing crops for people’s consumption.

Playgrounds

These Community Partners steward already existing playgrounds, help maintain them, and work with SF Recreation and Parks Department on major renovations. This does not include LetsPlaySF! playground sites.

Activation and Recreation

These Community Partners host events and promote physical activity. They do not work on physical improvements to sites, but focus on activating parks and public space through a range of activities.

Youth and Education

These Community Partners primarily function to serve youth and provide educational programs.

Based on the list above, please select the Project Type that best suits your project

If you selected "Other" as the project type, please describe your project here

Group Information

What is your current structure and what are your group's roles (e.g. steering committee, advisory committee, President, Treasurer, etc.)?

Have you or anyone in your group managed a project or initiative before? If so, please include specific experience with managing budgets, volunteers, public projects, and any other relevant qualifications.

What are three goals for your group? Please create SMART goals (specific, measurable, actionable, realistic, and time-bound)

What are the key activities or types of activities you will undertake to meet your goals?

What are the resources you will need to meet your goals? (volunteers, funds, materials, etc.)

What are some risks to achieving your goals and what measures will you take to mitigate risks?

What kind of support do you and your group anticipate needing from staff at SF Parks Alliance? Please review our base services and please indicate here if your project will need additional support.

Is your proposed project part of an official City plan, renovation, or redevelopment plan?

YesNo, our project is not part of a City plan or projectI am not sure

If you answered "yes" to the previous question, what City plan or program does your project or initiative build upon?

Required Application Materials

Three Letters of Support

Three letters of community support are required. The purpose of the letters is to demonstrate support for your project by those most impacted, to show that there is a need in the community for the proposed project, and to support your qualifications in implementing the proposed project. The following letters are acceptable:

Neighborhood Association
Site adjacent neighbor (shares property line with project)
List of neighborhood or local supporters with addresses
District Supervisor
Neighborhood local business/non-profit
Community Benefit District
SFPA Partners, staff or board member

Letter of Support (Upload as PDF)

Property Owner Letter of Approval

Your group is required to submit a letter of approval from the property owner in order to be accepted as a Community Partner.

Please upload property owner letter of approval here (Upload as PDF)

Budget

Please provide a draft budget for your project. Keep in mind that at the time of your application, some sources of funding may be “$0.” This is OK. Please include possible and/or projected costs.

Download budget form here

When you are finished filling out the budget, please download it as a PDF and upload it below.

Please upload budget here (Upload as PDF)

PLEASE READ: It takes 1 minute for the application to process and submit. You will be redirected to a confirmation page once your application is submitted. Thank you for your patience!