Charities operating in California are required to report to many different government agencies, including the Secretary of State, the Franchise Tax Board and the Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts. The Attorney General has primary supervisory jurisdiction over charitable organizations to assure that their assets are used ...
Every charitable corporation, unincorporated association, and trustee doing business in or holding property in California is required to register with the Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts within 30 days of receiving charitable assets.
Under Government Code section 12585, initial registration must be filed within 30 days ...
The objective of the Registration Program is to review materials to determine which nonprofit organizations are required to register and report annually, and which organizations are exempt from registration and reporting requirements.
The objective of the Registration Program is to review materials to determine which nonprofit organizations are required to register and report annually, and which organizations are exempt from registration and reporting requirements.
For unincorporated entities, bylaws, articles of association or articles of organization are required. The founding document should be signed and dated by the founders and contain organizational information such as, but not limited to: the charitable purpose and what will happen to the entity's assets should it dissolve.
Under Government Code section 12585, initial registration must be filed within 30 days of first receiving charitable assets. Assets include public donations, property, government grants, noncash donations, and/or any contribution of value. NOTE: after the initial registration, there are also annual registration renewal and reporting requirements.
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.
Every charitable nonprofit corporation, unincorporated association, charitable trustee, and other legal entities holding assets (cash or other forms of property) for charitable purposes, must file with the California Attorney General an initial registration form Form CT-1 and other documents required by law.
Certain organizations, such as the following, are exempt from the Attorney General’s CT-1 registration requirements:
Every charitable nonprofit corporation, unincorporated association or trustee holding assets for charitable purposes that is required to register with the California Attorney General’s Office is also required to file an Annual Registration Renewal Fee Report ( RRF-1 ).
Extensions of time for filing the RRF-1 will be allowed if an organization has received an extension from the IRS for filing the IRS Form 990, 990-PF, or 990-EZ.
If you are a tax-exempt organization and have questions regarding registration or annual renewal filings with the Attorney General’s office, please contact Jonathan Grissom, an attorney specializing in California nonprofits.