Glossary of Charity State Registration Terms

Annual Fundraising Activity Report
The Annual Fundraising Activity Report is a form that needs to be filed each year by nonprofits that would like to register to solicit contributions in Maine. This filing requirement is in addition of the normal Maine registration statement.

AG 990-IL
The AG 990-IL form is a registration form that nonprofits who solicit contributions in Illinois need to submit annually to Illinois to report their financial information and other required information to the state.

Audited Financial Statement
These are Financial Statements which have been audited by a Certified Public Accountant in accordance with Generally Accepted Accounting Principles.

BCO-10
Form BCO-10 is Pennsylvania’s registration form for nonprofits. It is used by nonprofits to register to solicit contributions in Pennsylvania.

California Form 199
The California Form 199 is a form that California corporations or organizations that have registered as a foreign corporation in California need to file. This filing in addition to the California solicitation registration form for those nonprofits to solicit contributions in California.

CHAR410
CHAR410 is the initial registration form which nonprofits must file in New York in order to become registered to solicit contributions.

CHAR500
New York’s Form CHAR500, is a renewal registration form used by nonprofits to renew their charitable solicitation registration.

CT-12F
CT-12F is an annual report that nonprofits file in Oregon in order to remain registered to solicit contributions.

Charitable Gift Annuity
A transfer of cash or other property by a donor to a charitable organization in return for an annuity payable over one or two lives, under which the actuarial value of the annuity is less than the value of the cash or other property transferred and the difference in value constitutes a charitable deduction for federal tax purposes.

Charitable Organization
An organization that is tax exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code or any organization established for any voluntary health and welfare, benevolent, philanthropic, patriotic, educational, humane, scientific, public health, environmental conservation, civic, or other charitable purpose.

Charitable Purpose
Any purpose described in Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that describes an organization’s reason for being. The purpose is often detailed in the charity’s Articles of Incorporation.

CHR-1
Form CHR-1 is the form used in West Virginia by charities wanting to register to solicit contributions within West Virginia.

Combined Federal Campaign
The Combined Federal Campaign (CFC) was established by a Presidential Executive Order by President John F. Kennedy in 1961. It is a program allowing certain charitable organizations to solicit contributions from employees of the Federal Government of the United States. The CFC is the largest workplace charity campaign in the United States. In addition, the CFC is the only campaign authorized to solicit and collect contributions from federal employees in the workplace on behalf of charitable organizations.

Compiled Financial Statements
Compiled financial statements are financial statements that were not audited adequately and no opinion on the quality of the financial statements is given. Statements and guarantees about the accuracy of the financial statements are much less than that given by certified financial statements. Accountants that compile a company’s financial statements are not required to verify or confirm the records and they do not need to analyze the statements for accuracy.

CCV
CCV is a abbreviation for commercial co-venture. It is any person or firm who, for profit, regularly conducts a charitable sales promotion or underwrites, arranges, or sponsors a sale, performance, or event of any kind which is advertised to benefit a charitable organization.

Commercial Co-Venturer
A commercial co-venturer is any person or firm who, for profit, regularly conducts a charitable sales promotion or underwrites, arranges, or sponsors a sale, performance, or event of any kind which is advertised to benefit a charitable organization.

Contribution
The promise or grant of any money or property of any kind or value, including the promise to pay.

COR-92
The COR-92 form is the form used by a charity to initially register to solicit contributions in Maryland.

CRI-150R
CRI-150R is the initial registration form that New Jersey requires charities to file in order to become registered to solicit contributions in the state.

CRI-300R
CRI-300R is the renewal registration form that most charities must file in New Jersey in order to renew their registration to solicit contributions.

E-postcard
E-postcard is another name for IRS Form 990-N is an which must be filed by tax-exempt organizations that received less than $50,000 in gross receipts during their fiscal year. If a nonprofit fails to file their e-postcard filing for three years the IRS may revoke their tax-exempt status. Several websites, such as http://www.file990.org, allow a nonprofit to file their 990-N.

Educational Institution Exemption
Educational institutions for the purpose of charitable law are colleges, universities, and schools. Some states exempt educational institutions from state solicitation registration requirements. The states with these exemptions generally exempt education institutions that are accredited by some accrediting authority or organization. Some states also exempt foundations having an established identity with the educational institution from the registration requirements. As such, your organization may qualify as an Education Institution exempt from registration requirements in some states and must register in other states. Thus, the applicable state exemptions related to Educational Institutions must be examined in each state where your organization anticipates soliciting contributions.

Form 102
Virginia Form 102 is the registration form that charities that must file with the state in order to solicit contributions in Virginia.

Form 990-EZ
Form 990-EZ is an IRS form used by tax-exempt organizations, nonexempt charitable trusts, and section 527 political organizations to provide the IRS with financial information. An organization can file a 990-EZ rather than a Form 990 if it takes in less than $200,000 in gross receipts and has less than $500,000 in total assets.

Form 990-N
Form 990-N is an IRS form used by tax-exempt organizations that received less than $50,000 in gross receipts during their fiscal year. A 990-N must be e-filed. Several websites, such as http://www.file990.org, allow a nonprofit to file their 990-N.

Form 990-PF
Form 990-PF is an IRS form used by private foundations to provide the IRS with financial information. Among other information listed on the 990-PF is information about grants and investment income.

Form RF-C
Form RF-C is Oregon’s initial registration form. Nonprofits that wish to solicit contributions in Oregon must file this form to become registered to solicit contributions.

FRC
An FRC, short for fundraising counsel, is an entity who for compensation under a written agreement plans, manages, advises or consults with respect to the solicitation of contributions by a charitable organization, who does not at any time, whether directly or indirectly, receive or have custody or control of contributions.

Fundraising Counsel
An entity who for compensation under a written agreement plans, manages, advises or consults with respect to the solicitation of contributions by a charitable organization, who does not at any time, whether directly or indirectly, receive or have custody or control of contributions.

In-kind Donation
An in-kind donation is a donation of goods or services.

Internal Revenue Service Form 990
The Form 990 and Form 990-EZ are used by tax-exempt organizations, nonexempt charitable trusts, and section 527 political organizations to provide the IRS with financial information. The form is an information return and, as such, an organization’s completed Form 990, Form 990-EZ, and the Form 990-T of 501(c)(3) organizations is available for public inspection. Schedule B (Form 990, 990-EZ, or 990-PF), Schedule of Contributors, is open for public inspection for section 527 organizations filing Form 990 or Form 990-EZ. For other organizations that file Form 990 or Form 990-EZ, parts of Schedule B may be open to public inspection. Most state agencies that regulate charitable solicitations require charitable organizations to file Form 990s annually by specific due dates.

Massachusetts Form PC
The Form PC and Schedule A are registration forms that charities need to file to solicit contributions in Massachusetts.

NHCT-1
Form NHCT-1 is the initial registration form that charities must file in New Hampshire in order to become registered to solicit contributions in the state.

PFR
A PFR, an abbreviation for Professional Fundraiser, is an entity who is retained by a charitable organization to solicit contributions for charitable purposes in exchange for receiving compensation.

PFC-O1
PFC-01 is the form that fundraising counsels need to file in Illinois to work on behalf of their nonprofit clients.

Professional Fundraiser
A Professional Fundraiser is an entity who is retained by a charitable organization to solicit contributions for charitable purposes in exchange for receiving compensation.

Qualified Charitable Gift Annuity
A charitable gift annuity described in Section 501(m)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 USC Section 501(m)(5)), and Section 514(c)(5) of the Internal Revenue Code (26 USC Section 514(c)(5)), that is issued by a charitable organization that on the date of the annuity agreement: (1) Has a minimum of three hundred thousand dollars in unrestricted cash, cash equivalents or publicly traded securities, exclusive of the assets funding the annuity agreement; and (2) has been in continuous operation for at least three years or is a successor or affiliate of a charitable organization that has been in continuous operation for at least three years.

Registered Agent
Whenever an organization incorporates, applies for a Certificate of Authority, or registers with a state in order to solicit charitable contributions, then it will most likely be required to identify a registered agent. A registered agent is the contact of the organization for legal purposes. The registered agent can be a business or an individual, depending on the applicable state law, designated to receive service of process when a business entity is a party in a legal action or for other correspondence. An organization can set up registered agent services at Registered Agent Legal Services.

Religious Organization Exemption
Many states offer an exemption for religious organizations from the registration requirements regarding soliciting contributions. However, how a particular state defines “religious organization” is not consistent. In addition, some states’ definition is much more restrictive than others. As such, your organization may qualify as a religious organization exempt from the registration requirements in some states and must register in other states. Thus, the definition of religious organization and the applicable state exemptions must be examined in each state where your organization anticipates soliciting contributions.

Schedule RO
The Schedule RO is an attachment to the Massachusetts charity registration form in which a charity reports information about organizations that are related to the reporting organization and about officers of the organizations that receive compensation from a related organization.

SS6001
Form SS6001 is the initial registration form that must be filed in Tennessee for a nonprofit to legally be allowed to solicit contributions in the state. Tennessee requires Form SS6002, Summary of Financial Activities, to be filed along with the SS6001.


SS6007
Form SS6007 is the renewal registration form used by nonprofits in order to renew their registration to solicit contributions in the state. It needs to be filed along with Tennessee’s Summary of Financial Activities.

Solicitation or “Solicit”
The request, directly or indirectly, for money, credit, property, financial assistance, or any other thing of value on the plea or representation that such money, credit, property, financial assistance, or any other thing of value or a portion of it will be used for a charitable purpose or will benefit a charitable organization.

Tax Exempt Determination Letter
Upon application and recognition of an organization’s tax exempt status, the IRS will issue an organization a determination letter indicating that the organization is a tax exempt organization as described in a certain section of the Internal Revenue Code (i.e. Section 501(c)(3)). This letter is important for the organization to keep in its records because it demonstrates to potential donors that, in the case of a Section 501(c)(3) organization, contributions are tax deductible. As such, a potential donor may request a copy of your organization’s tax exempt determination letter from the IRS. In addition, most state agencies regulating charitable solicitations require that your organization submit its IRS determination letter to the respective agency within a certain number of days upon receipt (i.e. within 30 days in some states). Only a few states, including Maine, Maryland, and Oklahoma require that an organization obtain tax exempt status from the IRS prior to registering to solicit contributions in these states. There is some real question as to whether this requirement passes constitutional muster.

Telemarketing Registration
There is no federal telemarketing registration. Some states require commercial telemarketers to register by paying a fee and sometimes posting a bond prior to calling into their state with commercial telephone solicitations,. These registration statutes often have many types of exemptions. State telemarketing registration is different than compliance with the federal “do-not-call” registry or state “do-not-call” lists, although sometimes regulators refer to “registration” with regard to their “do-not-call” list.

Unified Registration Statement
This is a multi-state charity registration form that represents an effort to consolidate the information and data requirements of all states that require registration of nonprofit organizations performing charitable solicitations within their jurisdictions. The National Association of State Charities Officials and the National Association of Attorneys General collaborated in creating the form in order to standardize and simplify registration. Despite the goal of standardization and simplification, most states only accept the URS in lieu of the respective state’s specific form as long as it is submitted with additional state-specific addendums and other information. It is generally easier to complete the state-specific forms and avoid the often patchwork of convoluted addendums and other information that is required when a Unified Registration Statement is submitted in lieu of the state specific form.

URS Form
URS is short for Unified registration Statement. It is a multi-state charity registration form that represents an effort to consolidate the information and data requirements of all states that require registration of nonprofit organizations performing charitable solicitations within their jurisdictions. The National Association of State Charities Officials and the National Association of Attorneys General collaborated in creating the form in order to standardize and simplify registration. Despite the goal of standardization and simplification, most states only accept the URS in lieu of the respective state’s specific form as long as it is submitted with additional state-specific addendums and other information. It is generally easier to complete the state specific forms and avoid the often patchwork of convoluted addendums and other information that is required when a URS is submitted in lieu of the state specific form.

Workplace Giving Campaign
In addition to the Combined Federal Campaign, there are also other programs allowing certain charitable organizations to solicit contributions from employees. Various states, municipal governments, and businesses also organize and manage workplace payroll deduction fund drives for charitable organizations. These states require registration by charities or federated fundraisers to participate in these programs.