Massachusetts Fundraising Licensing

• An organization that is primarily religious in purpose and falls under the regulations 940 CMR 2.00
• An organization that does not raise or receive contributions from the public in excess of $5,000 during a calendar year or does not receive contributions from more than ten persons during a calendar year, if all of their functions, including fundraising activities, are performed by persons who are not paid for their services and if no part of their assets or income inures to the benefit of, or is paid to, any officer or members

Charity Registration Form (and Form PC if filing after the initial fiscal year end date of the charity).

• For Initial Charity Registrations:
  • Organizations that have never filed with the Attorney General's Office and do not currently have an Attorney General Account Number assigned can take the following steps: 
    • Start by submitting the Registration eForm online and attaching required supporting documents such as Articles of Organization, Bylaws, and IRS determination letter.  
    • After your Registration eForm has been reviewed, you will receive specific instructions via email on how to complete your registration through the new Charity Portal. 
    • You will then be able to pay the registration fee and submit any required filings through the Charity Portal after you have been assigned an Attorney General Account Number. 
• For Annual Form PC Filings
  • Organizations that have been assigned an Attorney General Account Number and wish to submit Annual Form PC Filings:
    • Charities may now meet their annual filing requirements through the AGO’s new Charity Portal. 
    • Filers must first create a free Charity Portal account.  Click here for instructions on how to create this account. 
    • After creating a Charity Portal account, filers may complete the Form PC through the Charity Portal, available here.  Electronic signatures and payment of required fees will also be accomplished through the Charity Portal. 

Mail or online.

Initial registration fee of $100 plus:

• $50 Schedule A-2 fee for organizations registering before their initial fiscal year end date, or
• $35-$2,000 (depending on gross support and revenue) for organizations registering in subsequent fiscal years

4-6 months

• The President and another officer or trustee must sign. Signatures need not be notarized.
• Some Massachusetts counties and municipalities may require charities that solicit in-person to register prior to fundraising.
• Please submit each registration document required as a separate PDF attachment.  When naming PDF files, please use the following naming conventions, and include the organization name and the type of submission being made:
  • For Charity Registration Form: “OrgName RegistrationForm.pdf”
  • For Articles of Incorporation: “OrgName Articles.pdf”
  • For Bylaws: “OrgName Bylaws.pdf”
  • For IRS determination letter: “OrgName IRS letter.pdf”
  • For Board of Directors list: “OrgName BoD list.pdf”
  • For Schedule A-2 Form: “OrgName ScheduleA2.pdf”
• For any submission which includes one or more Form PC filings, please label each part of the filings (Form PC, 990, financial statement) as separate files and include the fiscal year. 

Domestic Applicants:

• Check the available exemptions to see if your charity is eligible for exemption from the full registration requirement.
• If your charity meets the audit threshold, obtain an audited financial report to submit with your registration application.
• Look through the list of required attachments and make sure that you have each required document in hand before starting the registration application.

Foreign Applicants:

• Check the available exemptions to see if your charity is eligible for exemption from the full registration requirement.
• If your charity meets the audit threshold, obtain an audited financial report to submit with your registration application.
• Look through the list of required attachments and make sure that you have each required document in hand before starting the registration application.
• If you will foreign qualify in Massachusetts, obtain a certificate of good standing from your home state to submit during the foreign qualification process. The certificate cannot be more than 60 days old when filing foreign qualification documents.

Domestic Applicants:

1. File entity formation documents with the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth.
2. Submit a Charity Registration Form, Form PC (if applicable), and all required attachments to the Massachusetts Attorney General - Non-Profit Organizations/Public Charities Division.

Foreign Applicants:

1. Determine whether or not your charity will need to foreign qualify based on your activity in Massachusetts. If not required, skip to number 3.
2. File foreign qualification documents with the Massachusetts Secretary of the Commonwealth.
3. Submit a Charity Registration Form, Form PC (if applicable), and all required attachments to the Massachusetts Attorney General - Non-Profit Organizations/Public Charities Division.

• IRS form 990
• Audited financials (if applicable)
• Articles of incorporation
• Bylaws
• IRS determination letter
• List of officers and directors

Form PC

Mail or online.

$35-$2,000, depending on gross support and revenue.

• Annually within 4.5 months after the close of your nonprofit's fiscal year. So if your fiscal calendar ends December 31, then the renewal is due by May 15.
• There is no official start to the renewal period, so renewals may be submitted as soon as financials become available for the most recently completed fiscal year.

Due dates can be extended for 6 months beyond the original due date by emailing charitiesextensions@state.ma.us with an explanation of your request for extension.

Charities raising $200K+ must submit a financial statement

Wet ink signatures are required.

• IRS form 990
• Audited financials (if applicable)
• List of officers and directors
• Only if amended: IRS determination letter, articles of incorporation, and bylaws

Form 10B: Addendum to Registration Statement to be Filed by Commercial Co-venturers

Mail

$0

Within 10 days of signing and prior to the commencement of any new co-venturing activity.

Every contract or agreement between a professional solicitor or a commercial co-venturer and a charitable organization must include:

1. A statement of the charitable purposes to be described in the solicitation; and
2. A statement of the guaranteed minimum percentage of the gross receipts from fund-raising which will be utilized exclusively for the charitable purposes described in the solicitation.

Form PC

Send a cover letter explaining the change in fiscal year along with the Form PC and a copy of the amended Articles of Incorporation.

$0

To close out your registration, submit a letter indicating the desire to withdraw and include the date Massachusetts solicitations will end. If soliciting took place in a partial fiscal year, submit a renewal for that year.

Form 10: Registration Statement to be filed by Commercial Co-Venturers

Mail

$200

$25,000

Form 10: Registration Statement to be filed by Commercial Co-Venturers (Renewal)

Mail

$200

Annually by December 31.

$25,000

Form 10B: Addendum to Registration Statement to be Filed by Commercial Co-venturers

Mail

$0

Within 10 days of signing and prior to the commencement of any new co-venturing activity.

Every contract or agreement between a professional solicitor or a commercial co-venturer and a charitable organization must include:

1. A statement of the charitable purposes to be described in the solicitation; and
2. A statement of the guaranteed minimum percentage of the gross receipts from fund-raising which will be utilized exclusively for the charitable purposes described in the solicitation.

The charity must be registered to solicit charitable contributions or otherwise exempt for the contract to be accepted.

$0

An amendment filing should be made before the expiration date of a campaign in order to extend the campaign.

To report an extension of a campaign or another change to a campaign agreement, submit a cover letter describing the change and include a copy of the amended agreement.

Form 11B: Commercial Co-Venturer’s Annual Financial Report

Mail

$0

Annually by February 28 of the year following the reporting year.

Annual financial reports need to be filed for every campaign the co-venturer engages in.

Form 10 (RTF): Registration Statement

$400

• A list of all employees or agents who will be primarily responsible for conduction or supervision campaigns. Include subcontractors.

• A copy of each fundraising contract (to be filed with registration or within 10 days of signing).

Form 10 (RTF): Registration Statement (Renewal)

$400

Annually by December 31.

$0

File a copy of each additional fundraising contract within 10 days of signing.

Form 10 (RTF): Registration Statement

Any individual or business that is hired by a charitable organization to conduct a fund raising campaign on the charity's behalf is considered a professional solicitor. Individuals or businesses hired by a a non-charity to conduct a fundraising campaign with a charitable appeal are also considered professional solicitors. If an individual or business is working as a subcontractor for another registered fundraiser, that individual or business must separately register with the AGO as a fundraiser. A professional solicitor must file the following:

$1,000

• Professional solicitors should ensure that the charities for whom they are soliciting are registered and in possession of a valid Certificate for Solicitation prior to commencing solicitations.

• Additional names by which the registrant is known or conducts business

• Registrant’s employee(s) or agent(s) who will be primarily responsible for conducting and supervising campaigns at each office listed above.
  • Include ALL sub-contractors
  • Sub-contractors must be registered and bonded with Massachusetts before solicitation occurs
• Report all states in which you are registered as a professional fundraiser, fundraising counsel or commercial co-venturer
• Report details about all current and previous license or permit denial, cancellation, revocation or suspension, as well as any legal action taken against you in connection with the solicitation of funds for charitable purposes
• Report details about all misdemeanor convictions for any employee or agent, including misappropriation, misapplication, or misuse of money of another or felonies. 
• Report ALL solicitation-related employment from the last five years on another sheet.  
  • Include the name, address, and phone number of the employer, the nature of the employment, and the length of employment
•  

• A copy of each fundraising contract along with Form 10A (RTF), Registration Addendum (to be filed with registration or within 10 days or signing and prior to the commencement of any solicitation)
  • Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 68, Section 22 states that “Every contract or agreement between a professional fund-raising counsel or a commercial co-venturer or a professional solicitor and a charitable organization required to have a certificate of registration pursuant to [chapter sixty-eight] section nineteen shall be in writing, signed by two officers of the charitable organization, and filed with the director of the division within ten days after such contract or agreement is entered into.  No solicitation shall be conducted prior to the filing of such contract or agreement.”
• A list including the  name and address of the charitable organization and the dates of the current or planned campaign

$25,000

http://www.mass.gov/ago/doing-business-in-massachusetts/public-charities-or-not-for-profits/soliciting-funds/professional-fundraiser-guide.html

$1,000

Annually by December 31.

Form 10A: Addendum to Registration Statement to be Filed by Professional Solicitors

$0

Within 10 days of signing and prior to the commencement of any new solicitation contract.

Form 11A: Professional Solicitor’s Annual Financial Report

$0

Annually by February 28 of the year following the reporting year.

Annual financial reports need to be filed for every charitable campaign the solicitor works on.