To comply with the Charitable Registration requirement, an organization2 that is engaged in fundraising activities must:
Register with the Attorney General, State of New Jersey, prior to engaging in solicitation activities, and annually thereafter,
Place special language on every written solicitation or pledge reminder (see below); and
Register other solicitation activity, such as sales promotions, with the State.
Additionally, the CRI Act obligates professional fundraising counsel to register their contracts to provide services to NJ charities, and their failure to file can result in penalties to the NJ charity.
Summary: Registration requires that organizations submit a copy of their Articles of Incorporation, Bylaws, Determination Letter from the IRS, and other financial information such as a copy of an independent audit or certified financial statements, depending on the budget size of the organization. Organizations that are newly formed or that have received less than $25,000 in contributions and whose fundraising is conducted by volunteers or paid staff file a "short form" registration statement, the "CRI-200," along with the organization's by-laws, articles of incorporation, IRS determination letter and most recently filed IRS Form 990, if applicable.
Organizations with contributions exceeding $25,000 annually, or those using "fund raising counsel" or "independent paid fund raisers", must submit the "CRI-150I" and "CRI-150IC" initially and thereafter the CRI-300R must be completed and submitted with an IRS Form 990 for the applicable year. If the organization is a CRI-300R filer, and has over $100,000 in gross revenue, the charity must also submit a certified audit. (The certified audit requirement does not apply to CRI-200 form filers.) Additionally, if a charity is engaged in a sales promotion or other activity where the charity receives a percentage of sales, the specifics of this arrangement, known as a "commercial co-venture" must also be registered. (See below.)
Pointers:
Some organizations are exempt from the registration requirement, such as libraries, religious organizations and schools that solicit only from among students, alumni, faculty and trustees and their families. N.J.S.A. 45:17A-26.
- Every organization that is engaged in "solicitation activity" (fund raising) in NJ must register with the Attorney General, Bureau of Charitable Registration and Investigation, PRIOR to engaging in solicitation activities.
- "Solicitation activity" consists of fundraising special events, letter-writing, phone calls, personal requests to a potential donor for a contribution, websites that ask for donations and permit a donor to pledge or give "on-line," written confirmations of verbal pledges and all-related fundraising activity, such as commercial co-ventures and charitable sales promotions.
- NJ law imposes criminal penalties on those organizations that fail to register.
- In addition to the initial registration procedures, each organization must RENEW its registration annually.
- "Fund raising counsel" or "independent paid fundraisers" (defined as professional paid-fundraisers retained for a fixed fee to plan, manage, or advise a charitable organization with respect to solicitation activity) are also required to register. Nonprofits employing professional fundraisers should check to make sure that their fundraising consultants are registered because the charity will be held responsible, and penalties imposed, if the individual fundraising counsel fails to register.
- Registrations must be renewed annually. Renewal registrations are due six months after the close of the organization's fiscal year. Extensions may be granted using a special form for that purpose that is available from the Charities Bureau.
Phone: 914-328-0674
www.probonopartnership.org
Copyright 2001 Pro Bono Partnership
