Lee Switz and Associates - Fund Raising Online




		Lee Switz & Associates - Hot Sheets - Fund Raising Online Legal Considerations of Fund Raising Online by Karin Allen


		This is Part 3 in a series of articles on Fund Raising Online. Part 1 is titled Fund Raising Via E-Mail, and Part 2 is Fund Raising Through Your Website. If your non-profit raises funds via the internet, you might be soliciting donations across state lines. Think of it this way: even if you're based in Virginia and serve only Virginians, your website will be accessible to residents of North Dakota, Arizona - or Singapore, for that matter. The same holds true for e-mail solicitations, unless you can be certain your mail only goes to Virginians. You don't have to worry about other countries; but legally, you are required by law to register in 39 of the 50 states if you plan to fund raise indiscriminately online.	Home Services Associates Clients Hot Sheets Links
		But don't give up hope yet. Charity watchdog groups call the current system unreasonable and unenforceable, and they are working to change it. The National Association of State Charity Officials (NASCO)'s Charleston Principles are one attempt at a solution. They propose that non-profits which are clearly local in scope, and which receive donations exclusively or almost exclusively from donors in their home state, should only have to register in that state if they want to solicit donations online. NASCO hopes individual states will use these principles as guidelines in creating new, more reasonable laws concerning online fund raising. Stay tuned for more information as it develops. In the meantime, what should your non-profit do if it wants to solicit donations online? Assuming you lack the time and money to register in 39 different states each year, you can use your ingenuity to solicit contributions only from Virginians. For instance, if you have an e-mail newsletter and your mailing list is composed entirely or almost entirely of Virginians, you can ask them for donations and include a link directly to your secure server or donation portal. Or you can solicit donations on your website but make it clear that you are only asking for contributions from Virginians. Talk to your lawyer for clarification and for more ideas. More Hot Sheets.... Fund Raising Via E-Mail Fund Raising Through Your Website Hot Sheets Main Menu For Further Information.... Some Legal Implications of Soliciting Online: brief and very helpful, discusses several different issues related to online fund raising. Out of State Solicitation and Registration: a very long (29 pages printed), comprehensive report on state regulation issues; discusses official laws vs. actual practice; includes synopses of some pertinent court cases. If you decide to register in the 39 states that require it, a "Unified Registration Form"* (accepted in 33 of the 39 states) is available for downloading at http://www.nonprofits.org/library/gov/urs/. --Karin Allen is a web designer and a former member of Lee Switz and Associates. This article was last updated December 2000. Home Services Associates Clients Hot Sheets Links


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