Why Charities Need to Pay Attention to State Registration Laws

Is your nonprofit group registered to solicit money in all 50 states?

In the past, it wasn’t necessary for many groups to file registration papers outside of their home states. But with the advent of online fund raising, many organizations are probably violating laws in some states because they are collecting donations without letting state authorities know.

Tony Martignetti, a planned-giving adviser in New York and author of Charity Registration: State-by-State Guidelines for Compliance, says he believes as many as 90 percent of all nonprofit groups have not complied with state registration laws.

And some states are starting to crack down.

This month, for instance, a foundation operated by H. Lamar Willis, an Atlanta city-council member, was fined $25,000 by Georgia regulators because it was not registered in that state, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports.

What should your organization be doing to make sure it is following these laws? Listen to the latest episode of Philanthropy This Week, which features an interview with Mr. Martignetti about charity registration.