© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh 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 Background of system How to prepare Organizing your application Registered agents Renewals Helpful resources Q&A

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh Background Learning process Complicated/difficult Because majority of business is in PA, we were unsure what applied to us

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh 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

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh 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

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh 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

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh 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: –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!

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

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh 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)

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh 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

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh 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

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh 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

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

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh 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

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh 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

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh Registered Agents Colorado District of Columbia Michigan Mississippi New Mexico North Dakota South Carolina Utah

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh 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

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh 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

© Copyright 2011 The Children’s Institute of Pittsburgh Helpful resources Multistate Filer Project Individual state websites Registered Agent websites – – –