Independent Arts & Media

What Independent Arts & Media does

Independent Arts & Media (IAM) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization founded in 2000 and headquartered at the Pacific Felt Factory in San Francisco's Mission District. Its core function is fiscal sponsorship for non-commercial independent art and media projects that lack their own tax-exempt status. IAM offers three tiers: Model A (12% admin fee, full-service sponsorship for Bay Area projects including payroll, vendor management, and insurance), Model C (10%, basic fundraising support for pre-approved grantees), and Model C+ (11%, adding accounting and bill pay). Supporting programs include the Dandelion Arts Finance Training Program, professional development workshops, and a Member Center portal. Since founding, IAM has served 388 affiliated projects and helped them raise $30.18 million cumulatively, with $6.77 million raised in the most recent year.

IAM generates revenue through percentage-based administrative fees on funds received on behalf of affiliates (10–12%), supplemented by foundation grants from supporters including Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation, Knight Foundation, California Arts Council, and Hewlett Foundation. The go-to-market motion is community-driven and direct-to-consumer: applications are accepted twice yearly (March and September), affiliates apply directly through a formal process, and the organization supplements acquisition with workshops, events, newsletters, and a Drupal-based website. Customer segments include independent artists, journalists, filmmakers, and media producers (primary beneficiaries), foundations and donors (financial counterparties), and underserved communities served by affiliate projects.

The organization operates with 1–10 employees and has no subsidiaries, no M&A activity, no venture capital, and no disclosed parent company. Its sub-brands include Dandelion and the legacy Newsdesk.org journalism project (which won a 2010 Sigma Delta Chi Award). Geographic reach is concentrated in the San Francisco Bay Area (required for Model A) but extends nationally through Model C/C+ affiliates operating across 13+ states. Technology infrastructure is minimal—a Drupal CMS maintained by OneEach Technologies—with no APIs, mobile apps, or proprietary AI/ML capabilities disclosed.

Name

Independent Arts & Media

Legal name

Independent Arts & Media

Website

https://artsandmedia.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2000

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Independent Arts & Media is a San Francisco-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit that provides fiscal sponsorship services, allowing independent artists, journalists, and media producers to access charitable funding through its tax-exempt status. Founded in 2000, it serves 200+ active affiliates via three tiered sponsorship models.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fiscal Sponsorship Services

NAICS

Other Similar Organizations (except Business, Professional, Labor, and Political Organizations) (81399), Professional Organizations (81392)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Arts Education & Community Arts Programs (BPAGAHAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Media Arts & Film/Photography Nonprofits (BPAGAHAJ), Public Media Partnerships & Content Co-productions (NGO/Cultural) (MPABADAN)

Keywords

• Fiscal sponsorship services
• Nonprofit administration
• Arts and media programs
• Charitable giving administration
• Foundation grant management

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Fiscal Sponsorship Administrative Fees: IAM generates revenue through administrative fees charged on funds raised by affiliates: 10% for Model C affiliates, 11% for Model C+ affiliates, and 12% for Model A affiliates. These fees cover bookkeeping, donation management, programming workshops, financial accounting, auditing, insurance, and IRS compliance.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Independent Arts & Media (IAM) provides fiscal sponsorship infrastructure for independent art, journalism, and media projects through three 501(c)(3) sponsorship models: Model A (Direct Project, 12% admin fee, Bay Area only), Model C+ (11% fee, with optional accounting), and Model C (Pre-Approved Grantee, 10% fee). The organization handles donor management, payroll, accounting, vendor payments, tax reporting, insurance, and IRS compliance on behalf of affiliate projects. Supporting offerings include the Dandelion Arts Finance Training Program, professional development workshops, and a Member Center portal.

Product overview

Independent Arts & Media operates as a fiscal sponsorship organization providing infrastructure for non-commercial arts and media projects. The core offering consists of three fiscal sponsorship models (Model A, Model C, and Model C+) that enable projects to access charitable donations and grants through IAM's 501(c)(3) status. Supporting services include Programming & Services (bookkeeping, donor management, compliance support), the Dandelion Arts Finance Training Program, Events & Workshops for professional development, and a Member Center portal. IAM supports over 200 affiliate projects spanning publishing, theater, dance, music, visual art, film/video, radio, journalism, and community arts.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Dandelion: Dandelion Arts Finance Training Program
• Newsdesk.org

Products and services

• Fiscal Sponsorship (Model A)

Quantifiable outcome

• $30,177,836 raised by affiliates since 2000
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Yerba Buena Center for the ArtsmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLeading Bay Area arts institution that has partnered with IAM affiliates on exhibitions, programming, and community events.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Fractured Atlas: Fractured Atlas is the largest US fiscal sponsor for artists and arts organizations, offering Model A-style sponsorship nationwide. It is the most direct competitor to IAM's fiscal sponsorship business and serves the same independent artist/media producer customer base at much greater scale.
• New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA): NYFA provides fiscal sponsorship, grants, and professional development to individual artists and arts organizations, primarily serving New York State. It is a direct functional peer to IAM's three-model fiscal sponsorship program and offers similar donor management and compliance services.
• Springboard for the Arts: Springboard for the Arts is a Twin Cities-based fiscal sponsor and artist-services organization supporting independent artists and community-based arts projects. It mirrors IAM's combination of fiscal sponsorship with professional development programming for artists.
• United States Artists: United States Artists provides fellowships and operational support to individual artists across the US. While more grant-focused than fiscal sponsorship, it serves the same independent artist customer base and competes for the same foundation funding as IAM.
• MAP Fund: MAP Fund supports live performance and independent media projects through grants to fiscally sponsored projects. It channels significant foundation dollars through fiscal sponsors like IAM, making it both a peer in the arts funding ecosystem and a potential funding source.
• Theatre Communications Group (TCG): TCG is a national service organization for the American theatre that provides fiscal sponsorship, grants, and professional programs to nonprofit theatres and independent theatre makers. It overlaps directly with IAM's theatre, dance, and performance arts affiliates.
• National Performance Network (NPN): NPN is a national network of performing arts organizations and artists that provides fiscal sponsorship, grants, and convening. It overlaps with IAM's performance and media arts affiliates and shares the fiscal sponsorship infrastructure model.

Emerging players

• Foundation for Contemporary Arts: Foundation for Contemporary Arts provides emergency and project grants to individual performing and visual artists. It serves a similar independent artist customer segment and draws on overlapping foundation funding, though it is grant-focused rather than a fiscal sponsor.
• Creative Capital: Creative Capital provides grants, advisory services, and professional development to innovative artists across the US. It serves a comparable independent artist customer base and competes for the same high-profile foundation and donor support as IAM.

Broad incumbents

• San Francisco Foundation: San Francisco Foundation is a major Bay Area community foundation that both funds IAM and supports many of the same arts, civic engagement, and social justice causes. It represents both a funding source and a broader-incumbent operator in the same philanthropic space.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks1 record

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/indyartssf
• Facebookfacebook.com/IndependentArtsandMedia

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Independent Arts & Media