57-61 - Registration of professional fund-raising counsels and solicitors.
§ 57-61. Registration of professional fund-raising counsels and solicitors.
A. No person shall act as a professional fund-raising counsel or professionalsolicitor for a charitable or civic organization, unless he has firstregistered with the Commissioner. Applications for registration shall be inwriting under oath or affirmation in the form prescribed by the Commissionerand contain such information as he may require. The application shall beaccompanied by an annual fee of $100 for the professional fund-raisingcounsel. The fee for a professional solicitor shall be $500. Any professionalsolicitor who fails to register prior to any solicitation shall be requiredto pay a late filing fee of $250. A partnership or corporation which is aprofessional fund-raising counsel or professional solicitor, may register forand pay a single fee on behalf of all its members, officers, agents andemployees.
B. Each professional solicitor shall, at the time of making application, filewith and have approved by the Commissioner a bond in which the applicantshall be the principal obligor in the sum of $20,000 with one or moresureties satisfactory to the Commissioner, whose liability in the aggregateas such sureties will at least equal $20,000, and maintain the bond in effectso long as the registration is in effect. The bond shall run to theCommonwealth of Virginia for the use of the bonds in reimbursement for anypenalties or losses resulting from malfeasance, nonfeasance or misfeasance inthe conduct of solicitation activities. A partnership or corporation which isa professional solicitor may file a consolidated bond on behalf of all itsmembers, officers, agents and employees.
C. Each registration shall be valid throughout the Commonwealth of Virginiafor a period of one year from the date of issue and may be renewed foradditional one-year periods upon written application, under oath oraffirmation, in the form prescribed by the Commissioner and the payment ofthe fee prescribed herein.
D. At least ten days prior to the commencement of each solicitation campaign,the solicitor shall file with the Commissioner a copy of the contract enteredinto with any charitable or civic organization and shall file a completed"Solicitation Notice" on forms prescribed by the Commissioner. TheSolicitation Notice shall be in writing and under oath, and shall include adescription of the solicitation event or campaign, the projected starting andending dates of the campaign, and the location and telephone number fromwhich the solicitation will be conducted. The charitable or civicorganization on whose behalf the solicitor is acting shall certify that theSolicitation Notice and accompanying material are true and complete.
E. Professional solicitors shall file a final accounting report with theCommissioner after the completion of the solicitation campaign, showing allfunds collected and such other information as the Commissioner may require.The final accounting report shall be filed within ninety days of thecampaign's completion. Professional solicitors may file a written requestwith the Commissioner for an extension, not to exceed ninety days, for filingthe final accounting report. The extension period shall be calculated fromthe first day following the expiration of the initial ninety-day period forfiling the report.
A late filing fee of twenty-five dollars shall be imposed for each thirty-dayperiod, or any portion thereof, that an extension request or the finalaccounting report is not timely filed with the Commissioner. No late feesshall be imposed for the period between the date the extension request isfiled with the Commissioner through 180 days following the completion of thesolicitation campaign. An additional late filing fee of twenty-five dollarsshall be imposed for each thirty-day period, or any portion thereof, that thefinal accounting report is not filed with the Commissioner, calculated fromthe end of any extension period. The late filing fees shall be in addition toall other penalties authorized by law.
F. The solicitor shall maintain during each solicitation campaign and for notless than three years after its completion, the following records: (i) thename and address of each contributor and the date and amount of thecontribution, provided that the Commissioner shall not disclose thisinformation except to the extent necessary for investigative orlaw-enforcement purposes; (ii) the name and residence address of eachemployee, agent, or other person involved in the solicitation; (iii) recordsof all expenses incurred in the course of the solicitation campaign; and (iv)the account number and location of all bank accounts where receipts from thecampaign will be deposited.
G. All funds collected by the solicitor shall be deposited in a bank account.The bank account shall include the name of the charitable or civicorganization with whom the solicitor has contracted. The professionalsolicitor shall promptly provide to the charitable or civic organization acopy of all monthly bank statements.
H. Any change in information filed with the Commissioner pursuant to thissection shall be reported in writing to the Commissioner within seven daysafter the change occurs.
(1974, c. 574; 1979, c. 595; 1983, c. 374; 1984, c. 268; 1987, c. 561; 1988,c. 322; 1990, c. 711; 1996, c. 461; 1999, c. 40.)