Charity State Disclosure Notices

Twenty-six states’ fundraising laws require the “disclosure” of information about the soliciting nonprofitThese charitable disclosures serve to educate prospective donors about the organization, its leadership, and its financial standing. Organizations can use charitable disclosure statements to safeguard public trust and increase the effectiveness of their fundraising appeals.

Generally, states require these disclosures to be included in all written materials sent by any method to potential donors and in all follow-up communication. The required information may include the organization’s name, address, and telephone number, a description of the charitable purpose or program, or whether the solicited gift (or a portion of it) may be deducted as a charitable contribution.

Nonprofit webpages that solicit donations are no exception to state regulations requiring disclosures. Charitable disclosure statements must be conspicuously displayed on any webpage that identifies a mailing address to send contributions, identifies a telephone number to call to process donations, or provides for online processing of gifts.

The below table lists the required disclosure language by state for your convenience. Charitable registration requirements vary by state and frequently change. We offer a Dynamic Disclosure tool that automates the maintenance of your charitable disclosures. We also offer a full suite of fundraising compliance services to reduce your workload in managing state charitable registration and disclosure requirements.

 

Florida

496.411 of the Florida Code states:

Every charitable organization or sponsor which is required to register under s. 496.405 must conspicuously display in capital letters the following statement on every printed solicitation, written confirmation, receipt, or reminder of contribution:

“A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.”

The statement must include a toll-free telephone number for the division that can be used to obtain the registration information. When the solicitation consists of more than one piece, the statement must be displayed prominently in the solicitation material.

Georgia

43-17-8 of the Official Code of Georgia requires that:

Any person soliciting charitable contributions shall disclose to any person from whom such contributions are being solicited the name and address of the charitable organization for which such solicitation is being made, the name and address of the person soliciting the contributions, and the charitable purpose for which such solicitation is being made.

Maryland

Section 6-101g of the Maryland Charitable Solicitations act defines “Disclosure Act” in the following terms:

Disclosure statement – “Disclosure statement” means a written statement that includes the following information:
(1) a statement that a copy of the current financial statement of the charitable organization is available on request;
(2) the name of the charitable organization and the address and telephone number where requests for a copy of the financial statement should be directed; and
(3) a statement that, for the cost of copies and postage, documents and information submitted under this title are available from the Secretary of State.

Mississippi
Section 79-11-523 of the Mississippi Code of 1992 requires that:

Any written confirmation, receipt and reminder of a contribution made pursuant to an oral solicitation and any written solicitation shall conspicuously state verbatim:
“The official registration and financial information of (insert the legal name of the charity as registered with the Secretary of State) may be obtained from the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office by calling 1-888-236-6167. Registration by the Secretary of State does not imply endorsement by the Secretary of State.

New Jersey
Section 21 of Statute (N.J.S.A. 45:17A-18 et seq.) states:

Any printed solicitation, written confirmation, receipt or written reminder of a contribution issued by a charitable organization, independent paid fund raiser or solicitor concerning a solicitation or contribution on behalf of a charitable organization that is registered pursuant to this act shall contain the following statement which shall be conspicuously printed: “INFORMATION FILED WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONCERNING THIS CHARITABLE SOLICITATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY BY CALLING 973-504-6262. REGISTRATION WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT.”

New York
Article 7-A, Executive Law, Section 174-b states:

Any Solicitation used by a charitable organization which is required to have previously filed an annual report pursuant to this article, shall include therein a statement that upon request, a person may obtain from the organization or from the secretary, a copy of the last annual report filed by the oprganization with the secretary. Such statement shall specify the address of the organization and the address of the secretary in Albany*, to which such request should be addressed and in the case of written solicitation, must be placed conspicuously in the material with print no smaller than ten point bold face type or, alternatively, no smaller than the size print used for the most number of words in the statements. Provided, however, such statement need not be made where the space for a printed advertisement or promotional time in the broadcast media has been donated or made available to the charitable organization at no cost and such space or time does not reasonably permit inclusion of such statement.

* They have since moved to New York City

North Carolina
Section 131F-9b to 131F-9c of the General Statutes of North Carolina list disclosure requirements as follows:

(B) Disclosures. — A charitable organization or sponsor in the State shall include all the following disclosures at the point of solicitation:
(1) The name of the charitable organization and the state of the principal place of business of the charitable organization or sponsor.
(2) A description of the purpose for which the solicitation is being made.
(3) Upon a request, the name and either the address or telephone number of a representative to whom inquiries could be addressed.
(4) Upon request, the amount of the contribution which may be deducted as a charitable contribution under federal income tax laws.
(5) Upon request, the source from which a written financial statement may be obtained. The financial statement shall be for the immediate past fiscal year and shall be consistent with G.S. 131F-6. The written financial statement shall be provided within 14 days after the request and shall state the purpose for which funds are raised, the total amount of all contributions raised, the total costs and expenses incurred in raising contributions, the total amount of contributions dedicated to the stated purpose or disbursed for the stated purpose, and whether the services of another person or organization have been contracted to conduct solicitation activities.

(c) Printed Disclosure. — Every charitable organization or sponsor that is required to obtain a license under G.S. 131F-5 shall conspicuously display in capital letters in bold type of a minimum size 10 points, the following statement on every printed solicitation, written confirmation, receipt, or reminder of a contribution:

“A COPY OF THE LICENSE TO SOLICIT CHARITABLE CONTRIBUTIONS AS A CHARITABLE ORGANIZATION OR SPONSOR AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES, SOLICITATION LICENSING BRANCH, BY CALLING (919) 733-4510. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMENDATION BY THE STATE”

When the solicitation consists of more than one piece, the statement shall be displayed prominently in the solicitation materials, but not necessarily on every page.

Pennsylvania
Act 202, Section 13 of the Pennsylvania Law states:

(c) Notice on printed solicitation. -On every printed solicitation or written confirmation, receipt or reminder of a contribution, the following statement must be conspicuously printed:

A copy of the official registration and financial information may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll free, within Pennsylvania, 1 (000)-000-0000.* Registration does not imply endorsement.

* Their number is 1 (800)-732-0999

Virginia
Section 57-55.3 of the Virginia Solicitation of Contributions Law states:

Every charitable organization, required to be registered pursuant to section 57-49, and every professional solicitor, required to be registered pursuant to section 57-61, soliciting contributions from prospective contributors, shall disclose to the potential donor contemporaneously at the point of a written request or on a written receipt for donations made in response to an oral request that a financial statement is available from the State Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services upon request.

Washington
RCW 19.09.100 of the Washington state code requires that:

A charitable organization, whether or not required to register pursuant to this chapter, that directly solicits contributions from the public in this state shall make the following clear and conspicuous disclosures at the point of solicitation:
(a) The name of the individual making the solicitation;
(b) The identity of the charitable organization and the city of the principal place of business of the charitable organization;
(c) If requested by the solicitee, the published number in the office of the secretary for the donor to obtain additional financial disclosure information on file with the secretary.

West Virginia
Section 29-19-8 of the West Virginia code of laws includes the phrase:

All required charitable organizations and their professional fund-raisers and solicitors are required to disclose in writing: (1) The name of a representative of the charitable organization to whom inquiries can be made; (2) the name of the charitable organization; (3) the purpose of the solicitation; (4) upon request of the person solicited, the estimated percentage of the money collected which will be applied to the cost of solicitation and administration or how much of the money collected will be applied directly for the charitable purpose; and (5) the number of the raffle, bingo or other such state permit used for fund-raising.
Every printed solicitation shall include the following statement “West Virginia residents may obtain a summary of the registration and financial documents from the Secretary of State, State Capitol, Charleston, West Virginia 25305. Registration does not imply endorsement.”
The disclosure statement shall be conspicuously displayed on any written or printed solicitation. Where the solicitation consists of more than one piece, the disclosure statement shall be displayed on a prominent part of the solicitation materials.