Massachusetts Nonprofit Compliance

• 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 $25,000 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

Massachusetts Law Title XI Chapter 86 Section 20

Fraternal groups, such as police and fire associations/unions, are generally not considered public charities and thus do not have to register and file annually with the Division, with the following important exception: if a fundraising appeal by a police or fire group states that a charitable purpose (for example: scholarship fund, or assistance to the police or fire department) will benefit in any way by the donations, then the group must register and file.

• 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. 

Online

$100 initial registration fee + either a $50 Schedule A-2 fee for organizations registering before their initial fiscal year end, or a fee based on gross support and revenue received during the preceding fiscal year for organizations that have already completed at least one fiscal year. The fee is calculated as follows:

• $35 for gross support and revenue of $100,000 or less
• $70 for gross support and revenue of more than $100,000 but no more than $250,000
• $125 for gross support and revenue of more than $250,000 but no more than $500,000
• $250 for gross support and revenue of more than $500,000 but no more than $1,000,000
• $500 for gross support and revenue of more than $1,000,000 but no more than $10,000,000
• $1,000 for gross support and revenue of more than $10,000,000 but no more than $100,000,000
• $2,000 for gross support and revenue of more than $100,000,000

4-6 months

• The President and another officer or trustee must sign.
• 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. 
• Charities that have been operating in the State before initially registering with the Attorney General need to provide financial statements for every year they were in operation, up to four years. 

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. Complete a Public Charity Registration through the Charity Portal.

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. Complete a Public Charity Registration through the Charity Portal.

• IRS form 990 (charities with gross support and revenue of less than $25,000 are not required to submit)
• Audited financials (if applicable)
• Articles of incorporation
• Bylaws
• IRS determination letter
• List of officers and directors

Online

Depends on gross support and revenue for the preceding fiscal year:

• $35 for gross support and revenue of $100,000 or less
• $70 for gross support and revenue of more than $100,000 but no more than $250,000
• $125 for gross support and revenue of more than $250,000 but no more than $500,000
• $250 for gross support and revenue of more than $500,000 but no more than $1,000,000
• $500 for gross support and revenue of more than $1,000,000 but no more than $10,000,000
• $1,000 for gross support and revenue of more than $10,000,000 but no more than $100,000,000
• $2,000 for gross support and revenue of more than $100,000,000

• Annually by the 15th day of the 5th month 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 are automatically extended for 6 months beyond the original due date if a charity is in compliance.

There is a late fee of $25 per month.

• IRS form 990 (charities with gross support and revenue of less than $25,000 are not required to submit)
• Audited financials (if applicable)
• List of officers and directors
• Only if amended: IRS determination letter, articles of incorporation, and bylaws
• If applicable: list of other states the organization is registered in

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

Email to professionalfundraiser@mass.gov

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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.

Online

The fiscal year can be changed during the standard renewal process. Be sure to submit a cover letter and a copy of the organization's amended Articles of Incorporation with the annual filing. 

Email to charities@mass.gov

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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.