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This blog is a summary of compliance rules and environment review of the State of Massachusetts for Professional Fundraisers (known as Professional Solicitors in Massachusetts).
In this post, we’ll explore the following:
Massachusetts regulations are more burdensome and expensive than a typical state.
But from our experience and tracking their publicly announced regulatory actions, the Massachusetts Attorney General doesn’t devote a lot of attention or resources to Professional Solicitor compliance monitoring or assessing fines or penalties.
That being said, failure to comply with registration, reporting, and disclosure requirements can result in significant fines and penalties.
According to Massachusetts General Laws, specifically Chapter 68, Section 32, the Attorney General (“AG”) office can impose fines and penalties for non-compliance.
For example, if a professional solicitor fails to file the required registration applications, statements, or annual reports, the AGO can cancel or suspend their registration.
Additionally, false or misleading information in filings can lead to the revocation of their registration and potential fines.
Massachusetts requires a surety bond of $25,000 from any registered Professional Solicitors.
Based on the above information, the lack of public announcements or tracking and reporting by the AG of fines and penalties imposed, the requirement for a surety bond, and our professional experience with the State of Massachusetts, our Change Regulatory Environment Rating for Massachusetts is:
Rating: Average
Massachusetts asserts its legal jurisdiction over professional solicitors who engage in charitable solicitation within the state’s borders.
This means that any individual or organization soliciting charitable contributions from residents of Massachusetts must comply with the state's laws and regulations, regardless of where the solicitor is based or what method the solicitor uses to solicit donations.
Note that Massachusetts calls Professional Fundraisers “Professional Solicitors.”
According to Chapter 68, Section 32 of the Massachusetts Code, the definition of a Professional Solicitor is as follows:
“Any individual or business that is hired by a charitable organization to conduct a fund raising campaign on the charity's behalf is considered a professional solicitor. Individuals or businesses hired by a non-charity to conduct a fundraising campaign with a charitable appeal are also considered professional solicitors. If an individual or business is working as a subcontractor for another registered fundraiser, that individual or business must separately register with the AGO as a fundraiser.”
In summary, if you are helping a charity raise money (as a business or individual) and you are not an employee of the charity, but the charity is paying you any consideration for your efforts, you are a Professional Solicitor.
The state of Massachusetts requires the following filings:
Below are the detailed links and instructions for each required filing.
Professional Solicitors must file a Registration Application with the AG’s Office prior to any solicitation activity and on an annual basis.
Professional Solicitors must file a registration and payment of a $15,000 surety bond with the Secretary of State’s Office prior to any solicitation activity and on an annual basis.
Professional solicitors must file a Notice of Solicitation and all contracts they have with charitable organizations.
Professional solicitors must submit a report for each solicitation campaign, in partnership with the relevant charity.
Massachusetts defines specific ethical requirements for any solicitation.
Ethical prohibitions are:
Violation of the above requirements can lead to fines, penalties, or loss of Massachusetts' licensure.
Change has an all-in-one solution for businesses that raise money for charities via sweepstakes, auctions, events, raffles, and direct contact.
Change allows you to:
Massachusetts takes legal compliance for Professional Fundraisers (Professional Solicitors in Massachusetts) seriously.
Use the resources above to ensure you are compliant.
You might also consider using Change to manage ongoing compliance and automate your back-office functions (including payouts, reporting, and expense ratio management) with the charities you work with.
Professional Fundraisers who work with Change typically see a reduction of 50-70% in their compliance expenses and an increased capacity to manage additional campaigns and clients with their current team levels of staffing.
With Change, you can do more campaigns and at a lower cost.
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