Section 7:28-b Reports of Solicitations for Charitable Purposes by a Fund Raising Counsel.


   I. There shall be a written contract between a charitable trust and a fund raising counsel which shall be filed by the fund raising counsel with the attorney general prior to the performance by the fund raising counsel of any material services pursuant to it. The contract shall contain information which shall enable the attorney general to identify the services the fund raising counsel is to provide, including whether the fund raising counsel shall at any time have custody of contributions.
   II. A fund raising counsel shall comply with subparagraphs (a) and (b) of this paragraph. A fund raising counsel who at any time has custody of contributions from a solicitation shall also comply with subparagraphs (c) through (e) of this paragraph:
      (a) He shall register with the attorney general. Applications for registration or re-registration shall be in writing, under oath, in the form prescribed by the attorney general, and shall be accompanied by a fee of $150. The application shall contain such information as the attorney general shall require. Each registration is valid for one year and may be renewed for additional one-year periods upon application and payment of the fee.
      (b) [Repealed.]
      (c) Within 90 days after a solicitation campaign has been completed, and on the anniversary of the commencement of a solicitation campaign lasting more than one year, the fund raising counsel shall account to the charitable trust with whom it has contracted for all contributions collected and expenses paid. The accounting shall be in writing, shall be retained by the charitable trust for 3 years, and shall be available to the attorney general upon request.
      (d) Each contribution collected by the fund raising counsel shall, in its entirety and within 5 days of its receipt, be deposited in an account at a bank or other federally insured financial institution. The account shall be in the name of the charitable trust with whom the fund raising counsel has contracted, and the charitable trust shall have sole control of all withdrawals from the account.
      (e) The fund raising counsel shall maintain during each solicitation campaign and for not less than 3 years after its completion, the following records:
         (1) A record of all contributions at any time in the custody of the fund raising counsel, including the name and address of each contributor and the date and amount of the contribution; and
         (2) The location and account number of all bank or other financial institution accounts in which the fund raising counsel has deposited revenue from the solicitation campaign.
   III. No person shall act as a fund raising counsel without first complying with the requirements of this section.
   IV. The attorney general shall examine such fund raising counsel contract and registration application to determine compliance with the applicable requirements of this subdivision. The attorney general shall notify the fund raising counsel within 10 days of receipt of a contract or registration application of any deficiencies in it; otherwise it shall be deemed accepted as filed.

Source. 1987, 260:3. 1989, 408:100, eff. July 1, 1989. 2003, 135:1, eff. July 1, 2003. 2007, 116:1, eff. Aug. 10, 2007.