In California, the Attorney General regulates charities, the professional fundraisers who solicit on their behalf, and other persons and entities that hold charitable assets or operate charitable fundraising platforms. The information below (except for the headings and an additional hyperlink for our readers’ convenience to the Registry Verification Search...
FUNDRAISING & CHARITABLE GIVING
Online Fundraising: California Proposed Regulations – Article 1
In 2021, California passed a new set of laws (referred to as AB 488) regulating charitable crowdfunding that go into effect on January 1, 2023. The state’s Department of Justice (DOJ) initially proposed regulations implementing AB 488 in May 2022, but following comments and feedback at a public hearing in July,...
California’s New Law for Charitable Fundraising Platforms
In 2021, California passed a new set of laws (referred to as AB 488) regulating charitable crowdfunding that go into effect on January 1, 2023. While regulations to fully implement AB 488 have yet to be finalized, the Attorney General published a notice earlier today noting the key provisions that take...
Crowdfunding Laws: Platform Charities
In 2021, California passed a new set of laws (referred to as AB 488) regulating charitable crowdfunding that go into effect on January 1, 2023. AB 488 makes changes to the Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act, which governs charitable corporations, unincorporated associations, trustees, commercial fundraisers,...
Highlights from the ABA Exempt Organizations Committee Meeting 2/1/22 – Part Three
Tax Issues for Fundraising Platforms, Donors and Donees “Charitable fundraising platforms” are websites, mobile apps, or other internet-based technology platforms that facilitate or enable charitable solicitation or charitable giving. There are many types of charitable fundraising platforms – both for-profit and nonprofit. Among the many types are those focused...
Highlights from the ABA Exempt Organizations Committee Meeting 2/1/22 – Part Two
Consequences of Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Bonta We are left to conclude that the Attorney General’s disclosure requirement imposes a widespread burden on donors’ associational rights. And this burden cannot be justified on the ground that the regime is narrowly tailored to investigating charitable wrongdoing, or that the...
Important Considerations for your Nonprofit’s Gift Acceptance Policy
While it may seem intuitive for a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to openly accept gifts without question, certain gifts can result in consequences that harm the nonprofit’s mission, drain its finances, and/or damage the nonprofit’s reputation. In order to avoid such consequences, it’s best practice for nonprofits to adopt a Gift Acceptance...
Supreme Court Rules on Mandatory Donor Disclosures
The Supreme Court of the United States ruled on July 1 that California could not mandate the disclosure of major donors by charities to the State even though such disclosure is already required to be made to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The 6-3 decision in Americans for Prosperity...
Fundraising for Your Nonprofit in the Start-Up Phase
After a domestic nonprofit takes the first exciting steps of incorporating and filing its Application for Recognition for Exemption (Form 1023) with the IRS, it may be surprised to find out that it may take the IRS 6 months, or even much longer, to grant the nonprofit its official...
2020 Western Conference on Tax Exempt Organizations (WCTEO)
The 24th Annual Western Conference on Tax-Exempt Organizations (WCTEO), my #1 go-to conference every year for the past 15 years, will be held virtually on Thursday, December 3, and Friday, December 4. The conference will be focused on the unique issues of these times and, in light of Zoom...