In December 2022, CA for the Arts for secured a contract to oversee Paymaster Services for Small Nonprofit Performing Arts Organizations by providing outreach, convening, reporting, accountability, and technical support to the intended recipients of the RFP paymaster.  This program provides paymaster and payroll services so that small nonprofits can access administrative services without the fees that many paymaster companies charge, which can drive the employment premium for California nonprofits as high as 30 percent. CA for the Arts will engage with community statewide partners in order to reach all segments of the performing arts community in both urban and rural communities and is prioritizing connecting with under-resourced and historically marginalized communities and the full range of statewide regional networks and state local partners in order to be as inclusive and thorough as possible in our outreach to those who will benefit from the services of the Nonprofit Performing Arts Paymaster (NPAP). As part of the program, CA for the Arts is offering a stipend to participate and attend educational webinars and the cost of initial organization onboarding for up to $250 to 250 nonprofit performing arts organizations with a priority for BIPOC led and serving organizations with a budget of $250,000 and under.  

The service is now available for interested parties to sign up and access the benefits of a non profit paymaster.  

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What is a paymaster?

A paymaster works hand-in-hand with your organization by becoming the official Employer of Record for your employees assuming most of the employer’s responsibilities. A paymaster works as an administrative entity with your organization to facilitate the payroll process from start to finish, taking on all responsibility to ensure compliance with all employment and tax laws.

A paymaster is more than a mere payroll service company. Yes, a paymaster does provide payroll services, but those services are complemented with a host of administrative duties managed for you on behalf of your organization to ease the burden for you and your staff. These services include:

• Administration of employment agreements (running payroll): Permanent full-time employees/workers (hourly or salaried, union or non-union); Permanent part-time employees/workers (hourly or salaried, union or non-union); Temporary employees/workers (hourly or salaried, union or non-union)
• Comprehensive administration of union agreements and contracts
• Assured compliance with all relevant employment & employment tax laws
• Administration of required tax reporting and payments
• Administration of annual W-2 filings, generation, and delivery
• CalSavers administration
• Administration of unemployment and workers compensation claims (as needed)

Working with the California Performing Arts Paymaster will also provide:

• Deep familiarity and understanding of the nuanced complexities of small performing arts organizations
• Stability to lowest cost workman’s compensation & unemployment insurance
• Convenient service application supported by reliable and knowledgeable administrative staff
• An encrypted and secure client portal to facilitate safe and compliant information exchange between you and the CA Performing Arts Paymaster
• A secure employee-facing interface that allows employee’s full access to manage their personal payroll information safely and securely no matter which organization(s) they are working with throughout the calendar year
• Reduced cost compared to for-profit paymasters and standard payroll service companies

 To request more information, please complete this form.