Navigating the Complex Charitable Registration Process

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh

Navigating the Complex Charitable Registration

ProcessDeborah Desjardins – Development Director

Natalie Bulger – Compliance Manager

April 26, 2012Emerging Philanthropy Conference

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh

Agenda

• Background of system• How to prepare• Organizing your application• Registered agents• Renewals• Helpful resources• Q&A


Background

• Learning process

• Complicated/difficult

• Because majority of business is in PA, we were unsure what applied to us


Background

• What we discovered was…– Some states generating income by setting up

guidelines• Webpage with donate button – softly soliciting for

donations• Webpages available to EVERYONE

• If you do not file and the states decide to pursue fines – it can add up


Fundraisers

• Many will require registration for own purposes

• Professional solicitors also have to be registered in all required states and can face fines if they solicit for an organization that is not registered

• Solicitation v. Fundraising v. Consulting


How to prepare

• Begin with a list of questions that you will need to answer*– What type of organization are we?– What was our gross revenue for the past

fiscal year?– What were our total charity contributions for

the past fiscal year?– Did we utilize a professional solicitor?

• What about a fundraising consultant?* See URS worksheet


How to prepare

• These questions will guide decisions on whether your organization is exempt from registration or not, and to what extent

• Identify those who will be responsible for signatures– CEO– CFO– Board of Directors

• Treasurer• Secretary


How to prepare

• Prepare and gather the following:– List of board of directors– Board bylaws– Tax exempt determination letter– 990 statement for the past fiscal year– Financial audit for the past fiscal year– List of those in organization responsible for:

• Custody of funds• Fundraising, etc

– List of any other offices/chapters/branches/affiliates– What state(s) you are already registered in– License(s) for operation– List of donations from foundations– Any promotional documents describing what your organization is and what it

does– Fundraising contracts

Use that check sheet!


States that don’t require registration

As of January 2012 the following states do not require registration:• Delaware• Idaho• Indiana• Iowa• Montana• Nebraska

• Nevada• South Dakota• Texas• Vermont• Wyoming

Just forget about it!!!


Organizing your application

• Remember the answers to those questions about who you are, how much revenue collected from past fiscal year, etc?

• Use this check sheet to identify in which states your organization is exempt

• Categorize states requiring registration into two groups– Exempt– Not Exempt (do first)


Organizing your application - TIP

Spreadsheets will be your best friend during

this process


Organizing your applicationExempt States

• Exempt states will vary in what they require– Some will require a full application– Others will only ask for a cover letter and proof of IRS tax

exempt determination

• When in doubt – CALL THE STATE• Exemption applications often have separate

application documents– Utilize state websites and links provided on multistatefiling.org– Note difference in application costs as many states have a lower

fee for exemption registration


Organizing your applicationNon-Exempt States

• All applications for non-exempt states* will require the following:– URS item 4 – list of all other offices/chapters/branches/affiliates– URS item 7F – other states in which your organization is

registered– URS item 7G – states in which donations were solicited

• # of mailings that went to each state

– URS item 13 – list of board of directors– URS item 15 – persons responsible for tasks including

fundraising, disbursement of funds, etc– Purpose statement for the organization

*Colorado, Florida, South Carolina and Oklahoma do not accept the URS and have separate state applications


Online Filing

• New Mexico and Colorado require filing to be done online

• Many other states offer some form of online filing– Initial applications– Supplements– Renewal information



• Print any supplemental materials required by individual states

• Create hard copy files for each of the applications– except for the main URS application – cannot save*

• Make a spreadsheet of required payments for registration – You will need your cheat sheet of questions for this as

some payments depend on revenue or gross donations



• Multistatefiling.org provides a checklist of what each state requires HOWEVER– This can get confusing if your organization is exempt

in some states but not others• The URS instructions also provide a breakdown

of each state– This is what you will use to find exemption rules and

specifics regarding if the state requires a 990, audit, board bylaws etc.


Organizing your application - TIP

• Don’t be afraid of the sticky note!– Use a sticky note on each state’s file to note what additional

documentation it will require.– This is an on-going process that may take time and you will add

to the file as you go


Registered agents

• In most cases, a person or organization, located in the given state, that will be willing to act as the liaison for documentation should a state bring action against the filing organization

• This may be difficult! Sometimes people are concerned about what their role really is


Registered agents

• If you cannot ID a registered agent on your own…– Some states will allow you to use the office

through which you are applying such as South Carolina – Secretary of State

– Can also purchase a registered agent through multiple different services – be aware of the costs!!!

• Look for multi-year deals and organizations that offer additional services that you may need


Registered Agents

• Colorado• District of Columbia• Michigan• Mississippi• New Mexico• North Dakota• South Carolina• Utah


Renewals

• Renewal dates will vary– Many are 4 ½-6 months after the end of the

fiscal year– In order to renew, must have the most recent

year IRS 990– Some states will require only a combination of

• FY990• Audited financials• Financial report


Renewals

• You may ask…• What if we do not have our FY 990

completed 6 months after the end of the fiscal year?– EXTENSIONS!– Many states will offer an extension on renewal

but must apply in time to avoid a late fee


Helpful resources

• Multistate Filer Project - http://www.multistatefiling.org/

• Individual state websites• Registered Agent websites

– www.Incorp.com – www.registeredagent.com– www.nrai.com

http://www.multistatefiling.org/

http://www.incorp.com/

http://www.registeredagent.com/

http://www.nrai.com/

Navigating the Complex Charitable Registration Process

Documents

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