When notice is required to be given to the State of California or the Attorney General on probate matters, the notice shall be mailed to the Attorney General’s Office in Sacramento: Office of the Attorney General Charitable Trusts Section 1300 I Street Sacramento, CA 95814-2919
Attorney General’s Guide for Online Charitable Giving | 3. not in compliance with a particular law or donation policy established by the platform, or that the charity has not agreed to the terms the platform requires to accept donated funds. 3. If the charity can’t …
Jun 07, 2019 · Notice to or Request of Waiver from the Attorney General Before Taking Certain Actions. California law requires directors of charitable corporations to give notice or obtain consent from the Attorney General before taking certain actions. The following are transactions requiring notice or Attorney General approval: Voluntary dissolution.
Aug 25, 2017 · obligations in Chapter 9. Chapter 10 and Chapter 11 explain the Attorney General’s oversight over charities and nonprofit transactions. Meanwhile, Chapter 12 discusses the Attorney General’s oversight of charitable trusts, religious nonprofits, and non-California entities. LEGAL NOTICES . This publication does not constitute legal advice.
When notice is required to be given to the State of California or the Attorney General on probate matters, the notice shall be mailed to the Attorney General’s Office in Sacramento:
The Attorney General is entitled to notice of a petition to approve an account when any portion of the estate is to escheat to the state and its interest would be affected by the account.
of proposed action to the Attorney General if any portion of the estate is to escheat to the state and its interest in the estate would be affected by the proposed action.
Notice of a hearing with a copy of the petition must be provided to the Attorney General if the petition relates to a charitable trust subject to the jurisdiction of the Attorney General .
Every charitable corporation, unincorporated association, or trustee holding assets subject to a charitable trust must register with the Attorney General within 30 days of the initial receipt of assets. A trustee is not required to register as long as the charitable interest in a trust is a future interest, but shall do so within 30 days after any charitable interest in a trust becomes a present interest. Additional information and registration forms can be found at the Attorney General’s
Some chartable fundraising platforms limit the charities you can support to those charities that have previously consented to receive donations through the platform. Other platforms let you choose any charity, even if the charity has no knowledge of and has not chosen to participate with a platform.
On most charitable fundraising platforms, donors make donations not to the charity they select, but instead to the charitable fundraising platform or its partnering platform charity. In doing so, donors are merely recommending a donation to the charity the donor selects from a list or database of charities.
Many donors want to know whether their donations are tax deductible not only because they may be able to deduct the donations from their federal and state income taxes, but also because this indicates the donation is made to charity, as opposed to an individual, a for-profit company, or a nonprofit that isn’t a charity (like a political action committee). Hence, it’s important to know who your donation is going to, as discussed above.
If it’s not clear or the information is not provided, consider giving to the charity of your choice through the charity’s website. In addition, submit a complaint to the Attorney General when a platform does not adequately and clearly disclose the details on how donations are made and processed.
A fiduciary relationship exists between any person soliciting on behalf of a charity and the donor who is solicited. Hence, when a platform or its partnering platform charity solicits and accepts donations on behalf of a charity, a charitable trust is created. This requires the platform or platform charity, and the charity that ultimately receives the donated funds, to use these restricted donations for the declared charitable purposes for which they were sought. (Bus. & Prof. Code, § 17510.8.) This further underscores the importance of disclosing material information accurately, clearly, and conspicuously on charitable fundraising platforms as this informs donors as to the declared charitable purposes for donations that are given through the platforms.
The Attorney General’s Registry of Charitable Trusts (Registry) regulates charities and other nonprofit organizations by administering the registration and reporting requirements in the Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act (Gov. Code, § 12580 et seq.), and its regulations. The Registry does this through its various programs: Initial Registration, Registration Renewals, Delinquency, Dissolution, Commercial Fundraising, Raffles, Complaints, and Administrative. The Registry also maintains a searchable database for the public to research registered charitable organizations and fundraising professionals.
Whether the charitable organization can look to its insurance carrier to defend the action depends on the type of insurance coverage purchased. A “general liability” insurance policy may provide for legal assistance, but may exclude coverage for employment matters.
Even if the organization fails to be recognized as tax-exempt by the IRS, the funds must be used for charitable purposes and cannot be refunded to the donors.
Even when a charitable organization’s revenue is exempt from paying federal and state taxes, the income paid to staff as wages generally are subject to taxes. As a result, when tax-exempt organizations pay their staff, they are obligated to report that income, and make tax and withholding payments to federal and state governments.
Legally, a charitable organization is treated like any other employer . To promote evenhanded personnel practices and avoid misunderstandings with employees (which can lead to lawsuits), it is a best practice to put personnel policies in writing. The organization’s personnel policies should include policies pertaining to:
The goal of this review is to ensure charitable assets are not being diverted for private gain.
Under federal, state, and local law, a nonprofit employer may not refuse to hire an applicant , or treat an employee less favorably in the terms and conditions of employment, or terminate an employee, because of the race, color, religion, gender, gender identity, pregnancy, marital status, disabling condition, age, or national origin of the applicant or employee.
“Do not list charities as potential donation recipients, or distribute donated funds or provide your services to charities unless they are in good standing with the IRS, the California Franchise Tax Board, and the Attorney General (specifically the Attorney General’s Registry of Charitable Trusts), when applicable.”
“Ensure that donors have a clear opportunity to choose whether their contact information will be given to the charities they have designated to receive donations. This also applies to consumers who make purchases on platforms that cause donations to be made as a part of their purchases. … Furthermore, ensure compliance with all consumer privacy and protection laws when handling donor or consumer information.”
“Do not use the name of a charity for solicitation purposes, unless the platform has the written consent of that charity in advance. … In addition to creating donor confusion and deception issues, the lack of consent interferes with a charity’s legal duty to control its fundraising and to prevent objectionable solicitations.”
“A fiduciary relationship exists between any person soliciting on behalf of a charity and the donor who is solicited. Hence, when a platform or its partnering platform charity solicits and accepts donations on behalf of a charity, a charitable trust is created. This requires the platform or platform charity, and the charity that ultimately receives the donated funds, to use these restricted donations for the declared charitable purposes for which they were sought.”