Navigating the Complex
Charitable Registration Process
Deborah Desjardins – Development Director
Natalie Bulger – Compliance Manager
April 26, 2012
Emerging Philanthropy Conference
© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh
Agenda
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Background of system
How to prepare
Organizing your application
Registered agents
Renewals
Helpful resources
Q&A
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Background
• Learning process
• Complicated/difficult
• Because majority of business is in PA, we
were unsure what applied to us
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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
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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
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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
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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
© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh
How to prepare
• Prepare and gather the following:
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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:
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Use that
check sheet!
Custody of funds
Fundraising, etc
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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
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States that don’t require
registration
As of January 2012 the following states do not require
registration:
• Delaware
• Nevada
• Idaho
• South Dakota
• Indiana
• Texas
• Iowa
• Vermont
• Montana
• Wyoming
• Nebraska
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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)
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Organizing your application TIP
Spreadsheets will be
your best friend during
this process
© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh
Organizing your application
Exempt 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
© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh
Organizing your application
Non-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
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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
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Organizing your application
• 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
© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh
Organizing your application
• 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.
© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh
Organizing your application
© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh
© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh
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
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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
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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
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Registered Agents
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Colorado
District of Columbia
Michigan
Mississippi
New Mexico
North Dakota
South Carolina
Utah
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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
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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
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Helpful resources
• Multistate Filer Project http://www.multistatefiling.org/
• Individual state websites
• Registered Agent websites
– www.Incorp.com
– www.registeredagent.com
– www.nrai.com
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