Give Smart, Episode 2
Charitable fundraising can look simple on the surface, but the legal picture can change depending on who is asking for money, where the campaign runs, and which companies or vendors are involved.
In this episode of Give Smart, Nathan Thomas, nonprofit and fundraising attorney at Copilevitz, Lam & Raney, joins Change to break down how charitable solicitation rules work and what nonprofits and companies should think about before launching a campaign.
One of Nathan’s main points is that charitable solicitation is regulated at the state level, which means there is no single nationwide set of rules.
A nonprofit may have its federal tax-exempt status in order and still have separate registration requirements in states where it fundraises.
The picture can become even more complex when other parties are involved, such as professional fundraisers, fundraising consultants, commercial co-venturers, or online fundraising platforms.
Nathan talks through some of the questions that can change the analysis:
Who is actually making the fundraising appeal? Is anyone being paid to help? Does a purchase benefit a nonprofit? Who receives the money? And where will people see the campaign?
Those details help determine which rules may apply and what needs to happen before launch.
That is especially important for companies running cause marketing campaigns, where marketing, legal, finance, and nonprofit partners may all be involved in different parts of the program.
Digital campaigns can reach people across many states at once, which makes it harder to think about fundraising as a purely local activity.
For nonprofits and platforms, that means understanding where campaigns are reaching donors and how different state requirements may come into play.
Nathan also discusses why companies and service providers should understand their own role in the fundraising process rather than assuming the nonprofit is the only regulated party.
For organizations running campaigns across multiple states, the challenge is often keeping track of different registrations, deadlines, agreements, and reporting requirements.
Change helps law firms and nonprofit service providers manage charitable registration workflows and filing data across multiple clients and jurisdictions.
Learn more about our charitable registration product.
Watch the full episode above to hear Nathan discuss charitable solicitation, multi-state fundraising, and the different roles companies and service providers can play in a campaign.
Explore more conversations with legal, nonprofit, and impact leaders in the Give Smart video series.
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