Nonprofit Legal Advice before Launching a Fundraising Campaign

Map the campaign's email, advertising, event, and online audiences. Out-of-state organizations may have registration duties when conducting charitable activities or actively soliciting in California. Review each additional state's requirements before targeting its residents.

Under Government Code § 12585, covered organizations generally must register within 30 days after first receiving charitable assets. These include cash, property, grants, and other contributions of value. Earlier grants or donated equipment may start the clock. Initial registration generally requires Form CT-1 and supporting organizational documents.

Some religious organizations, hospitals, and educational institutions qualify for statutory exemptions. Neither incorporation nor federal tax-exempt status establishes a registration exemption. A pending IRS application does not postpone an applicable filing duty. These nonprofit compliance requirements need separate review.

Business and Professions Code § 17510.8 requires solicited contributions to serve the declared charitable purposes for which they were sought. A promise to fund a named program can therefore limit later spending. Review claims about beneficiaries, administrative costs, matching gifts, and tax deductibility before publication. Do not describe gifts as fully deductible merely because the recipient is incorporated as a nonprofit.

If donations may support operating expenses or related programs, describe that scope clearly before accepting them. Later page edits do not release restrictions on accepted gifts. Keep dated copies of the appeals.

Paid solicitors and consultants who plan fundraising may fall into different regulated categories. Check registration, contract, and advance notice duties against the provider's actual role, including solicitation or control of donations, before signing or starting services.

For online platforms, review the rules governing use of the charity's name, fees, receipts, transfer timing, and donation reports. Using a platform does not automatically make the charity a platform operator, and the platform's registration does not replace the charity's own filings.

Distinguish donor restrictions from internal board designations, which generally carry different constraints. Record the gift, purpose or time limit, and supporting correspondence. Donor agreement review can address ambiguous terms before acceptance.

Track restricted receipts and expenditures through appropriate accounting records. A separate bank account is not automatically required for each restricted gift, although an agreement or applicable rule may require one. Pooling cash does not eliminate the obligation to identify restricted balances.

A cash shortage does not permit unrelated spending of restricted gifts. If a project ends or raises excess funds, check the accepted terms before redirecting the balance. Modification procedures depend on the gift and fund. They may require documented donor consent or a statutory procedure involving Attorney General notice or court approval. A board vote alone does not release donor restrictions. Record the legal basis before spending.

For a donor to deduct a single contribution of $250 or more, federal rules generally require a contemporaneous written acknowledgment. The acknowledgment must identify the charity, state the cash amount or describe noncash property without valuing it, and address any goods or services provided. The donor generally must obtain it before filing the return or the filing deadline, including extensions, whichever comes first.

A separate rule generally requires a written disclosure when a payment exceeding $75 is partly a gift and partly payment for goods or services. The disclosure explains that deductibility is limited to the amount above the benefit's fair market value and gives a good faith estimate of that value. That threshold concerns the total payment, not merely its charitable portion. Exceptions include qualifying insubstantial benefits and certain intangible religious benefits.

Covered registrants generally file Form RRF-1 annually with the required financial report and fee. The usual deadline is four months and 15 days after fiscal year-end, subject to applicable extensions, including those the Registry honors from the IRS. Organizations eligible for and filing IRS Form 990-N generally submit Form CT-TR-1 with RRF-1 instead of sending the Registry the electronic postcard.

Assign filing and reconciliation responsibilities before launch. A fundraising compliance review should reconcile registration records, approved appeals, gift terms, and financial reports.