§467B-2.3 Charitable fundraising platforms. [Section effective July 1, 2026. L 2025, c 108, §§10, 13.] (a) Before soliciting, permitting, or otherwise enabling any solicitations for purported charitable purposes, a charitable fundraising platform shall register with the department on a form or in a manner as provided by the department. The registration statement shall contain the information set forth in subsection (b). The registration under this section shall be accompanied by a fee in the amount of $250, or in the amount and with any additional sums as may be prescribed by the attorney general. Renewal registration statements shall be filed with the department on or before July 1 of each calendar year by each charitable fundraising platform. The renewal statement shall contain the information set forth in subsection (b). A renewal fee of $250, or in any amount and with any additional sums as may be prescribed by the attorney general, shall accompany the renewal statement. If a renewal registration required under this subsection is not filed, unless it is shown that the failure is due to reasonable cause, a fine of $20 shall be imposed for each day during which the violation continues; provided that the total amount imposed under this subsection shall not exceed $1,000.
(b) Each registration and renewal registration report shall:
(1) Enable the department to ascertain whether charitable funds have been properly solicited, received, held, controlled, or distributed;
(2) Provide information on the number of donations made, amount raised, length of time for distributing donations or grants of recommended donations, fees charged by or through a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity, and names of recipient charitable organizations or other charitable organizations that were sent or have not yet been sent donations or grants of recommended donations; and
(3) Protect from disclosure any personally identifiable information of donors or other users of the charitable fundraising platform.
(c) A charitable fundraising platform shall only solicit, permit, or otherwise enable solicitations, or receive, control, or distribute funds from donations for purported charitable purposes for recipient charitable organizations or other charitable organizations in good standing. To determine good standing of a recipient charitable organization or other charitable organization, a charitable fundraising platform may rely on the department's registry.
(d) With respect to purported charitable purposes, a charitable fundraising platform that performs, permits, or otherwise enables solicitation activities shall, before a person can complete a donation or select or change a recipient charitable organization, provide conspicuous disclosures that reduce the likelihood of deception, confusion, or misunderstanding, including:
(1) A statement that donations are made to the charitable fundraising platform, platform charity, recipient charitable organization, or person engaging in peer-to-peer charitable fundraising, whichever is applicable;
(2) A statement that a recipient charitable organization may not receive donations or grants, with an explanation identifying the most pertinent reasons that a recipient charitable organization may not receive the funds; provided that the explanation of the most pertinent reasons that a recipient charitable organization may not receive the funds may be provided through a conspicuous hyperlink, so long as the disclosure is conspicuous when the hyperlink is selected; provided further that this paragraph shall not apply when there are no circumstances under which a recipient charitable organization may not receive the funds;
(3) The maximum length of time it will take to send the donation or a grant of the recommended donation to a recipient charitable organization with an explanation of the time needed, unless the donation is sent contemporaneously to a recipient charitable organization after the donation is made; provided that the explanation as to the maximum length of time may be provided through a conspicuous hyperlink, so long as the disclosure is conspicuous when the hyperlink is selected;
(4) The fees or any other amounts that will be deducted from or added to the donation or a grant of the recommended donation and that are charged or retained by the charitable fundraising platform, or any other partnering vendor, other than any applicable digital payment processing fees; and
(5) A statement as to the tax deductibility of the donation.
(e) Each charitable fundraising platform that solicits, permits, or otherwise enables solicitations shall obtain the written consent of a recipient charitable organization before using the recipient charitable organization's name in a solicitation for a purported charitable purpose. Written consent shall be provided directly to the charitable fundraising platform, or may be provided to a charitable fundraising platform by one authorized officer, director, trustee, or other duly authorized representative of the recipient charitable organization and may apply to multiple affiliated charitable fundraising platforms expressly identified in the agreement providing consent.
(f) After a donor contributes donations and with respect to purported charitable purposes, the charitable fundraising platform shall promptly provide a tax donation receipt to the donor in a manner provided by section 170(f)(8) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended.
(g) The charitable fundraising platform shall not divert or otherwise misuse any donations made for purported charitable purposes that the charitable fundraising platform receives through solicitation on the charitable fundraising platform, and shall hold the donations in a separate account or accounts from other funds belonging to the charitable fundraising platform. The charitable fundraising platform shall promptly ensure that donations and grants of recommended donations are sent to the recipient charitable organizations with an accounting of any fees assessed for processing the funds, and in accordance with any rules adopted by the department pursuant to chapter 91. A platform charity shall be liable for its misuse of funds. A charitable fundraising platform shall maintain and operate a process for complaints about any fundraising activity regulated by this chapter and shall investigate and make findings on complaints, and, at the request of the department, shall report its findings to the department along with its actions for resolution, including any full refunds of contributions.
(h) If a charitable fundraising platform enters into any contract with a vendor to solicit, receive, control, process, distribute, and otherwise account for donations on the charitable fundraising platform, the contract shall be available for inspection by the department.
(i) The attorney general may require that registration and renewal registration and contracts be filed with the department electronically and may require the use of electronic signatures.
(j) As used in this section, "good standing" means that a platform charity, recipient charitable organization, or other charitable organization is not prohibited from soliciting or operating in the State by the department. [L 2024, c 205, §1; am L 2025, c 108, §5]