The Attorney General’s Office and Me: A Cautionary Tale
Meg Sheridan
Several years ago, as a newcomer to consulting, I was unaware that I was required to register with the New York State Attorney General’s Office as a professional fundraiser. I learned of the requirement from a speaker at a seminar who cautioned that registering would trigger the $800 annual fee retroactive to the day the first consulting agreement was signed. I was willing to comply with the law but was not eager to pay back fees.
I went on line to the Charities Bureau website (http://www.oag.state.ny.us/home.html), completed form CHAR 014, attached copies of current contracts, attached a check for $800, and sent it off to Albany. Admittedly, I left some dates blank.
Within days I received a frosty call from an official from the Attorney General’s Office, who accused me of perjury and was vague about what the consequences might be unless I submitted revised copies of my contracts forthwith. I was more than a little rattled. Lucky for me my original client (whose contract determined the date I was required to register) was a faith based organization whose contracts turned out to be exempt from registration. I was not liable for any back fees.
Eager to share my lesson with fellow professional fundraising consultants, I reached out to the Attorney General’s Office in writing this article. Repeated requests to both the Albany and New York offices did not yield an interview. Here are some of the questions I wanted to ask:
Other than to raise revenue for the state, what is the purpose of asking the professional fund raiser to register? According to the website, both donors and beneficiaries need to be protected from possible unscrupulous practices in the solicitation and management of charitable assets. Laws have been in existence for years—the non-profits must register as well—and the Attorney General’s Office is charged with oversight. Fair enough, but does it cost the state $800 to maintain the fundraiser’s name? Every year?
Many fundraising professionals are not registered because they are unaware of the requirements, and they have been in business for several years. If they register now, they are fearful they will be required to pay thousands in fees for prior years. Therefore, they don’t register. Has the Attorney General’s Office ever considered an amnesty program, like the IRS does, in order to encourage compliance? Good question! In my conversation about my own application, the Attorney General’s Office said it was necessary to pay back registration fees in order to make it fair to the professionals who have been paying the fees each year as required, and it should not be thought of as a punitive measure, but one that leveled the playing field. Wouldn’t it be better, though, to encourage compliance? Further, one would think if the Attorney General’s Office was genuinely interested in encouraging compliance, it would have granted an interview to this author who writing on the topic for the AFP chapter newsletter.
Does the Attorney General’s Office make a distinction between fundraising professionals who receive money (and then turn it over to the charity) and those who act as facilitators between the donor and the charity
(a grant writer, for example)? Are they both treated the same in the eyes of the Attorney General? It appears the Attorney General’s Office makes no distinction. The registration requirement and fees are the same for both. One could respectfully argue that it is difficult for the professional fundraiser, who never actually touches the check that is transmitted from the donor to the charity, to abscond with said check.
What are the benefits of registering? The Attorney General’s Office requires the professional fund raiser to submit copies of all contracts each year. This does require the fundraiser to be disciplined with the contracts and may actually provide an opportunity to renegotiate the terms. Otherwise, the professional fundraiser gains the personal satisfaction of knowing she is in compliance with the law, and can sleep better at night, knowing that somewhere, somehow, her $800 is protecting the citizens of New York.
If you have any further questions or comments on this article", please email us at nycafp@nycafp.org.
Meg Sheridan is the principal of Crossroads. She is registered with the Attorney General’s Office as a fundraising professional.
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