Categories are powerful organizational tools that help fiscal sponsors track and manage financial data across multiple organizations. As a fiscal sponsor admin, you can create category templates (like "Program", "Grant", or "Restriction") that your sponsored organizations can then use to track their specific programs, grants, and restrictions. This system enables each organization to evolve and expand their operational need and customize their data needs.
Understanding Categories
Categories are template definitions that you create to help organizations organize their financial data. Think of a category as a type of classification—for example, "Program" is a category type, while individual programs like "Youth Education" or "Food Assistance" are specific instances that organizations create.
Key characteristics of categories:
- Created by fiscal sponsor admins only
- Maximum of 10 categories per fiscal sponsor
- Can be enabled for specific organizations or all organizations
- Each category has an icon for easy visual identification
- Categories define what types of classifications organizations can use
Common category examples for nonprofits:
Program - Track different programs or initiatives
Restriction - Track restricted vs unrestricted funds
Location - Organize by physical or service locations
Department - Track expenses by organizational departments
Event - Track the different events that the organization hosts
Creating a Category
To create a new category:
1. Navigate to the Categories section in Impact Graph (accessible from the main navigation)
2. Click the Add Category button (you'll only see this if you have fewer than 10 categories)
3. In the modal that opens:
- Enter a Category Name (e.g., "Program", "Restriction")
- Select an Icon from the available options to help visually identify this category
- Choose which Organizations should have access to this category (you can select specific organizations or leave it empty to enable for all)
4. Click Create Category
The category will now be available for the organizations you've enabled. Organizations can then create their own specific instances within this category.
Example: If you create a "Program" category and enable it for Organization A, that organization can then create instances like "Youth Education Program", "Food Assistance Program", etc.
Enabling Categories for Organizations
When creating or editing a category, you can control which organizations have access to it:
1. Open the category creation or editing modal
2. In the Organizations section, you'll see a list of all organizations under your fiscal sponsorship
3. Select the checkboxes next to the organizations that should have access to this category
4. Leave all unchecked to enable the category for all organizations
5. Save your changes
Important considerations:
- If you remove an organization from a category's enabled list, any instances that organization created will be disabled (but not deleted)
- You'll see a warning if removing an organization would affect existing instances
- Organizations can only create instances for categories that are enabled for them
Use Cases for Fiscal Sponsors
Tracking Programs Across Organizations
Create a "Program" category to help all your sponsored organizations consistently track their programs. This enables you to:
- Generate reports comparing program performance across organizations
- Ensure consistent program tracking methodology
- Support organizations in meeting grant reporting requirements
Example* Create a "Program" category, enable it for all organizations, and organizations can then create instances like "After-School Tutoring", "Community Garden", "Housing Assistance", etc.
Organizing by Location
Create a "Location" category for organizations that operate in multiple locations:
- Organizations can create instances for each location (e.g., "Downtown Office", "North Branch", "Mobile Unit")
- Helps track expenses and revenue by geographic area
- Useful for organizations with multiple service sites
Department Tracking
Create a "Department" category for larger organizations that need to track expenses by department:
- Organizations can create instances like "Program Services", "Administration", "Fundraising"
- Helps with internal budgeting and cost allocation
- Supports functional expense reporting requirements
Managing Categories
Editing a Category
To edit an existing category:
1. Navigate to the Categories section
2. Find the category you want to edit in the table
3. Click the edit icon (pencil) next to the category
4. Update the name, icon, or organization access as needed
5. Click Update Category
Note: If you remove an organization from a category's enabled list, any instances that organization created will be disabled. You'll see a warning dialog before this happens.
Best Practices
When to create categories:
- Create categories for tracking dimensions that are consistent across organizations (like Programs, Grants, Restrictions)
- Consider what reporting needs you have—categories can be used in P&L reports for pivoting
- Think about what classifications organizations need to meet their grant reporting requirements
Naming conventions:
- Use clear, descriptive names (e.g., "Program" not "Prog")
- Keep names short but meaningful
- Consider how the category name will appear in reports and filters
Organization access:
- Enable categories for organizations has their complexity evolves. It is better to try and keep things simple and only introduce new categories when it is really needed
- Restrict access to specific organizations only if the category is organization-specific
- Remember that organizations can only create instances for enabled categories
Category limits:
- You can create up to 10 categories total
- Plan your categories carefully—consider which tracking dimensions are most important
- Categories can be deleted if no longer needed, but this will remove all associated instances
Working with organizations:
- Communicate with organizations about new categories you create
- Consider their reporting needs when deciding which categories to create
- Remember that organizations create their own instances—you're just providing the template