Fiscal Sponsorship Case Study
TIFS
Transformational Investing in Food Systems
Building the Infrastructure for Regenerative Food Systems Transformation
PROJECT
TIFS (Transformational Investing in Food Systems)
WEBSITE
www.tifsinitiative.org
FISCAL SPONSOR
EarthShare
SECTOR
Regenerative Agriculture, Sustainable Food Systems, Food Systems Finance
PROGRAM TYPE
Model A
LOCATIONS
North America, East Africa, Brazil, Indonesia, and Europe
KEYWORDS
Regenerative agriculture, food systems finance, blended finance, missing middle, agroecology, natural capital, institutional investing
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
- Financing for Regenerative Agriculture (report)
- Regenerative Catalysts (article)
- Resilience in Agriculture Lending & Insurance Coalition (white paper)
- Natural Capital and Investing in Food Systems Transformation (white paper)
- Developing Precedent for Food Systems Investment (white paper)
How EarthShare’s fiscal sponsorship helps TIFS coordinate capital, collaboration, and systems change
The Challenge
Transforming food systems at scale requires coordinated action across investors, funders, intermediaries, and enterprises.
TIFS is building a multi-stakeholder network to accelerate the growth of regenerative and agroecological food systems. But operating an international, multi-partner initiative also brings significant administrative, financial, and compliance complexity.
To engage philanthropic funders, launch collaborative programs, and steward resources across a diverse ecosystem of partners, TIFS needed a trusted fiscal sponsor that could provide 501(c)(3) status, compliant fund management, and institutional credibility without slowing the pace of network building or limiting program design.
The Solution
Through EarthShare’s fiscal sponsorship, TIFS gained the legal, financial, and operational infrastructure needed to grow as a mission-driven charitable initiative.
EarthShare provides the administrative backbone that allows TIFS to receive philanthropic support, manage grants and donations, navigate compliance requirements, and operate with confidence across a complex network of partners and activities. This includes financial administration, grant management, donor receipting, contracting support, risk management infrastructure, and operational support for international travel, events, and contractors.
With this foundation in place, TIFS can focus on convening capital, coordinating stakeholders, and advancing regenerative and agroecological food system solutions rather than building its own back-office infrastructure.
The Impact
With EarthShare as its fiscal sponsor, TIFS has been able to strengthen its operational foundation and focus on accelerating collaboration and investment across the regenerative and agroecological food sectors.
Fiscal sponsorship has helped TIFS:
- Activate its network more quickly | TIFS has been able to launch and expand a cross-sector network of investors, funders, intermediaries, and enterprises without first establishing a standalone nonprofit.
- Mobilize philanthropic capital | EarthShare provides a compliant structure for receiving and stewarding funding in support of collaborative initiatives and ecosystem-wide impact.
- Build partner confidence | EarthShare’s trusted nonprofit infrastructure helps strengthen credibility with institutional funders and mission-aligned partners.
- Support international operations | TIFS is able to operate across U.S.-based and international programs with established nonprofit finance, compliance, and governance systems in place.
- Strengthen financial management | Robust reporting and fund management systems support clearer tracking across program areas and restricted funding.
Why It Matters
Systems change requires more than vision. It also requires strong infrastructure.
TIFS demonstrates how fiscal sponsorship can reduce administrative burden while supporting ambitious, systems-level innovation in climate and food. By pairing collaborative approaches to food system transformation with strong nonprofit governance and financial infrastructure, EarthShare helps initiatives like TIFS move faster, manage complexity, and unlock durable funding for long-term impact.
About TIFS
TIFS equips investors, funders, intermediaries, and businesses with the strategies, tools, and financial innovations needed to direct capital toward regenerative and agroecological food systems. Through applied research, collaborative design, and field-tested pilots, TIFS prototypes and scales investment structures that close the “missing middle”—the persistent gap between the capital needs of regenerative food producers and the mandates of institutional investors.
About EarthShare Fiscal Sponsorship
EarthShare’s fiscal sponsorship program provides mission-driven climate and environmental projects with the legal, financial, and operational infrastructure needed to launch, grow, and attract funding with confidence. As a trusted national nonprofit partner, EarthShare helps project leaders stay focused on strategy, delivery, and impact.