Mazlo Blog

Read news and articles about Mazlo and the Nonprofit sector.

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fiscal sponsors

The Sourdough Starter Approach to Spinning Out Fiscal Sponsorship Projects

Many fiscally sponsored projects are ready to become independent long before the systems around them are. Spin-outs today often mean rebuilding financial systems from scratch, chasing missing records, and watching recurring donations drop. We explore why this happens—and how Mazlo’s architecture keeps the “living culture” of a project intact during the transition.

nonprofits

When Federal Funding Vanishes: How to Build a More Resilient Nonprofit

Federal grants once seen as reliable are now being cut mid-cycle—leaving nonprofits scrambling. This guide helps you assess your revenue mix, understand where you're most at risk, and build a more resilient funding strategy heading into 2026.

nonprofits

Collaborating for Change: How Mazlo Helped Entertainment 2 Affect Change (E2AC) Scale Storytelling for Good

When E2AC set out to support mission-driven storytellers, they quickly ran into the limits of manually managing fiscal sponsorship. With Mazlo, they gained the infrastructure to scale more than 10x to 150+ projects, all without sacrificing transparency, control, or creative momentum.

nonprofits

Debit Cards for Nonprofits: Compliance Made Easy

Debit cards designed for nonprofits. Maintain control, ensure compliance, and track spending across projects in real time.

nonprofits

How to Simplify Nonprofit Fund Management Across Multiple Projects

Learn smarter ways to manage nonprofit project funds. Simplify tracking, stay compliant, and see every dollar in real time with Mazlo.

nonprofits

Banking for Nonprofits vs. For-Profits: Why the Difference Matters

A nonprofit bank account is more than a checking account. Learn how Mazlo helps with fund segregation, audit trails, and visibility to protect your mission.

nonprofits

Navigating the Nonprofit Polycrisis: A Framework for Clarity and Focus in 2025

Nonprofit leaders are navigating overlapping crises in funding, demand, workforce, and compliance. This framework offers practical tools to bring clarity, focus, and control to an increasingly complex landscape.

nonprofits

Beyond the Breaking Point: What America's Nonprofits Tell Us About Shared Responsibility

America’s nonprofits are stretched to their limits. The latest data shows how rising costs, shrinking support, and surging demand are reshaping the nation’s social safety net and what must change to sustain it.

nonprofits

Why Funders Should Embrace Fiscally Sponsored Projects to Drive Greater Impact

With smarter tools and a maturing model, there’s never been a better time for funders to act.

Nonprofits

Cost Recovery for Fiscal Sponsors: Moving Beyond Guesswork

Most fiscal sponsors undercharge for their services. Here's how to calculate true costs, structure sustainable fees, and have honest conversations with sponsored projects about pricing.

Nonprofits

How Fiscal Sponsors Can Avoid Common IRS Compliance Pitfalls

Fiscal sponsors play a vital role in supporting new missions, but they also carry heavy compliance responsibilities. The most common pitfalls include co-mingling funds, issuing improper receipts, misusing restricted funds, poor documentation, and late IRS reporting. These mistakes can trigger penalties, audits, and loss of donor trust.

Product

Solving The Pain Of Nonprofit Finance… But How?

Nonprofits struggle with financial chaos. Tracking donations, grants, and compliance across disconnected systems. Mazlo solves this by turning every transaction into a compliant, auditable workflow with built-in automation for accounting, donation letters, and reporting. The platform simplifies what used to take hours of manual work into a seamless process, reducing admin burdens and unlocking growth.

news

Meet Mazlo: Solving The Pain of Nonprofit Finance

Mazlo has raised a total of $4.6M from Westbound Equity Partners, super{set}, Social Good Fund, a16z, Charles Oppenheimer, along with friends, family, and advisors, to build a compliance-driven banking platform specifically for nonprofit finance. It launches with 60 organizations, totaling 1,600 users, in 47 states.

Press

Mazlo at NNFS

Mazlo was honored to join NNFS, engaging with fiscal sponsors, showcasing innovative financial tools, and driving conversations on the future of nonprofit finance.

Fundraising

How to Enhance Donor Engagement

A strategic fundraising system is essential for nonprofit success. The Donor Operations Framework (DonorOps) helps organizations understand why donors care, how they engage, and what donor success looks like, driving key performance metrics like retention, acquisition, and revenue.

Nonprofits

Should I Start a Nonprofit or Join a Fiscal Sponsorship?

If you’re passionate about launching a nonprofit, you’ve likely wondered: should I start my own 501(c)(3), or should I operate under a fiscal sponsor?

Nonprofits

Good to Great for Nonprofit Leaders: What Jim Collins Can Teach Us

Jim Collins is one of the most respected business thinkers of our time. His book Good to Great has shaped how companies think about leadership, strategy, and long-term success. But for nonprofit leaders like Sarah, his insights are even more relevant.

Nonprofits

How Critical Are Nonprofits to American Labor and the U.S. Economy?

Nonprofits are a driving force in the U.S. economy, providing jobs, strengthening communities, and fueling local and national economic growth. Yet, their role is often misunderstood.