Advancement · Grants & Funding

Register before you ask,
in every state you ask.

Most states with a charitable solicitation law expect a nonprofit to register before it asks residents for gifts, and to renew every year with a financial report. Keep one record per state with its status, renewal date, fee and report, exactly as the state’s charity office describes them. The organizer counts down to each renewal and flags appeals heading to a state before registration.

Add a stateWhat you get
$12one-time · every device you sign in on
Buy · $12

Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the Grant writer’s desk, $49 for 55 items.

States

The worked example is made up: a home state renewing in four days, a neighboring state about to get a mail appeal before registration and a state where an exemption was never confirmed. Saved on this device only.

Loading the state form. If nothing appears, turn on JavaScript.

What you get

Advancement · Grants & Funding$12 · included with Classroom and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A record per state: status as confirmed with the state, how the organization solicits there, registration number, renewal date, fee, the financial report required, five checks and notes. Works out days to each renewal and total fees; lists renewals in date order; flags soliciting before registering, renewals overdue or within 30 days, exemptions without written confirmation and unresolved states.
Who it is for
Development directors, nonprofit finance and compliance staff and school foundation leaders.
Format
Browser organizer with a saved record per state. Prints one state, every state in a table or a blank state record; downloads a spreadsheet (.csv); exports and imports a file.
Access
$12 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the tool opens once you are signed in with it. Included with Caveat Classroom and Whole-school licenses. Also in the Grant writer’s desk ($49) and the Advancement Suite pass ($99), and 1 more bundle. Everything you type stays in this browser; nothing is sent to Caveat.
Where it lives
The Grants & Funding space in Caveat Advancement.
Support
Questions about access, an order or a correction: team@caveatacademic.com.

How to use it

  1. List every state you ask donors in.
  2. Check each state’s charity office yourself.
  3. Record the status exactly as they confirm it.
  4. Register before the next appeal there.
  5. Put every renewal on the shared calendar.

Add a state

Before a new state

Before an appeal goes to a new state1Find the charity officeUsually the attorney generalor secretary of state.2Read its rulesWho must register, exemptions,fees and reports.3Register or confirm the exemptionIn writing, before the firstappeal.4Add the disclosureAny wording the state requireson appeals.5Calendar the renewalMost registrations renew everyyear.Before an appeal goes to a new state1Find the charity officeUsually the attorney general orsecretary of state.2Read its rulesWho must register, exemptions, fees andreports.3Register or confirm the exemptionIn writing, before the first appeal.4Add the disclosureAny wording the state requires onappeals.5Calendar the renewalMost registrations renew every year.
Most states with a charitable solicitation law expect registration before soliciting. Online appeals raise their own questions; many regulators look at whether you target or regularly receive gifts from a state.

No state rules here

Thresholds, exemptions, fees and reports differ from state to state and change. This organizer does not tell you any state’s rules; it keeps what each state’s charity office tells you in one place, with dates you will not miss.

Online giving

The Charleston Principles, adopted by state charity officials, suggest a nonprofit is soliciting in a state online when it targets residents there or receives repeated or substantial gifts from them through its website. Many regulators still use them as a guide.

Sources

  1. National Association of State Charity Officials (NASCO). Directory of state charity offices and registration information (nasconet.org).
  2. NASCO (2001). The Charleston Principles: guidelines on charitable solicitations using the internet.
  3. Internal Revenue Service. Charitable solicitation: state requirements, an overview for exempt organizations (irs.gov).
  4. Single Portal Initiative. Multi-state online registration for charities (charitysingleportal.org).

The worked example is made up; the states in it are placeholders. This is a record keeper, not legal advice. Nothing you type is sent to Caveat. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.