Fiscal Sponsorship in Action: How Mission Edge Supported Scientella’s Growth Into an International STEM Organization
Some of the most effective nonprofits begin with bold ideas and evolve through thoughtful structure, guidance, and partnership. Scientella’s growth as a student-run, adult-guided initiative into an international organization supporting young women in STEM reflects how the right nonprofit infrastructure can support long-term impact.
As a fiscally sponsored project of Mission Edge, Scientella has scaled programs, expanded across countries, and built measurable outcomes while maintaining a leadership model that blends youth leadership with experienced adult guidance. This case study highlights how fiscal sponsorship and nonprofit capacity building can support organizations as they grow in size, reach, and complexity.
Fiscal Sponsorship as a Foundation for Early and Growing Organizations
Emerging nonprofits often reach a point where program demand outpaces internal infrastructure. Fiscal sponsorship offers a practical pathway to scale responsibly by providing financial oversight, compliance, and administrative systems.
Through Mission Edge’s fiscal sponsorship, Scientella gained access to nonprofit infrastructure that supported fundraising, charitable compliance, and financial management. This allowed the organization to operate under an established 501(c)(3) structure while focusing on program quality, partnerships, and leadership development.
According to Candid Learning, fiscal sponsorship lets organizations access funding opportunities and compliance infrastructure earlier in their development, helping them build credibility and focus on mission delivery while they grow. This framework allowed Scientella to prioritize mission delivery while building internal capacity.
Nonprofit Capacity Building That Supports Program Growth
As Scientella’s programs expanded, their infrastructure has remained steady. Mission Edge’s role focused on providing the nonprofit back-office and compliance expertise needed to support that growth, including financial administration, HR, and organizational systems that allow programs to run consistently.
With these foundations in place, Scientella was able to refine and scale its STEM career exploration model while maintaining accountability and program continuity.
Supporting a Scalable STEM Career Exploration Model
Founded in 2020, Scientella was designed to expand access to STEM pathways for girls and young women through hands-on, real-world engagement. Led by Co-Founder and General Manager Raquel dos Santos, Scientella has built a program model that includes:
Student consulting projects addressing real-world STEM questions
One-on-one mentorships with women professionals across STEM fields
Webinars focused on emerging industries and professional development
In-person events offering experiential learning and networking
“I’m privileged to observe as students explore their passions and develop belief in their leadership capabilities. I hope that young girls are inspired to pursue STEM fields requiring increased female representation to shape a more inclusive and diverse future for the better.”
— Raquel dos Santos
Research from the National Science Foundation shows that women students who have one-on-one contact with STEM professionals and feel a sense of belonging are more likely to persist in math, science, and engineering majors. Scientella’s model reflects these findings through structured, experiential programming.
Blending Youth Leadership With Adult Guidance
A defining strength of Scientella’s model is its student-run, adult-guided leadership structure. Participants advance into chapter leadership and national headquarters roles while working alongside experienced advisors and professionals.
In partnership with Dr. Simon Ford, Scientella’s program model and outcomes were published in the peer-reviewed journal Education Sciences in 2024, documenting measurable gains related to leadership development, STEM engagement, and career readiness among participants.
Mission Edge’s fiscal sponsorship supported this leadership continuity by providing operational stability as leadership evolved, allowing the organization to mature without disruption to compliance, finances, or partnerships.
Read the peer-reviewed Education Sciences article here: Empowering Female High School Students for STEM Futures: Career Exploration and Leadership Development at Scientella
A Partnership That Supports Measurable Impact
With nonprofit infrastructure in place, Scientella has scaled responsibly across regions and countries while maintaining program quality and accountability.
Scientella’s Impact at a Glance
Since inception, Scientella has achieved:
600+ students impacted
1,000+ career exploration matches
79 mentorships, 29 webinars, and 5 in-person events
16 active chapters across eight countries
17 student consulting projects
80+ industry professionals engaged
1 peer-reviewed academic publication validating program outcomes
During the 2024–2025 fiscal year, Scientella expanded to 23 chapters across three countries, reached an all-time high in mentorship participation, and awarded a record number of impact scholarships.
These outcomes reflect the role of strong nonprofit infrastructure in supporting sustainable growth, a core focus of Mission Edge’s work in nonprofit capacity building.
Frequently Asked Questions About Fiscal Sponsorship
What does fiscal sponsorship provide to growing nonprofits?
Fiscal sponsorship provides access to nonprofit status, financial oversight, compliance support, and administrative systems that allow organizations to fundraise and operate responsibly.
How does fiscal sponsorship support long-term capacity building?
By managing back-office functions, fiscal sponsorship allows organizations to invest time and resources into leadership development, program design, and strategic growth.
Why is fiscal sponsorship effective for education and workforce nonprofits?
Education-focused organizations often rely on partnerships, grants, and donor trust. Fiscal sponsorship provides the structure needed to manage these relationships at scale.
Looking Ahead
As Scientella enters the 2025–2026 fiscal year, the organization plans to expand Title I outreach, deepen partnerships in AI and biotechnology, and continue awarding impact scholarships to leaders demonstrating measurable community impact.
Mission Edge remains a committed partner in supporting Scientella’s continued growth. Through fiscal sponsorship and nonprofit capacity building, we help organizations evolve while staying focused on mission, impact, and long-term sustainability.
