§ 45:17A-25 — Short form registration.

8. a. The following charitable organizations shall be required to file a short form registration on forms prescribed by the Attorney General: (1) Charitable organizations or organizations engaging in a charitable fund raising campaign which do not receive gross contributions in excess of $25,000 during a fiscal year, if all of their functions including fund raising activities are carried on by volunteers, members, officers or persons who are not compensated for soliciting contributions; except that, if the gross contributions, whether or not all is received by any charitable organization during any fiscal year, are in excess of $25,000 it shall, within 30 days after the date on which it shall have received the contributions, register with and report to the Attorney General as required by section 7 of this act; (2) Fraternal, patriotic, social or alumni organizations, historical societies, and similar organizations organized under the provisions of Title 15 of the Revised Statutes or Title 15A of the New Jersey Statutes, when solicitation of contributions is confined to their membership and solicitation is performed by members of that organization; (3) Persons requesting any contributions for the relief of any individual, specified by name at the time of the solicitation, if all of the contributions collected, without any deductions whatsoever, are turned over to the named beneficiary; (4) Any local post, camp, chapter or similarly designated element, or a county unit of that element, of a bona fide veterans' organization which issues charters to the local elements throughout this State, or to any veterans' organization chartered under federal law or to any service foundation of such an organization recognized in its bylaws. b. The short form shall contain the following: (1) Name and street address of the organization; (2) The name of any independent paid fund raiser, fund raising counsel or commercial co-venturer the charitable organization has engaged; (3) The purpose for which the charitable organization is organized; (4) The purposes for which the funds are raised; (5) The tax status of the charitable organization; (6) The reason the organization is eligible to file a short form registration; (7) A copy of the organization's most recent Internal Revenue Service Form 990 and Schedule (A) 990 if the organization filed these forms; (8) The name, street address and telephone number of each officer, director and trustee and each principal salaried executive staff employee and whether the person has been adjudged liable in an administrative or civil action, or convicted in a criminal action, involving theft, fraud or deceptive business practices. For the purposes of this paragraph: (a) a plea of guilty, non vult, nolo contendere or any similar disposition of alleged criminal activity shall be deemed a conviction; (b) "each principal salaried executive staff employee" shall be limited to no more than the five most highly compensated employees in the organization; and (c) a judgment of liability in an administrative or civil action shall include, but not be limited to, any finding or admission that the officer, director, trustee or principal salaried executive staff employee engaged in an unlawful practice or practices related to the solicitation of contributions or the administration of charitable assets, regardless of whether that finding was made in the context of an injunction, a proceeding resulting in the denial, suspension or revocation of an organization's registration, consented to in an assurance of voluntary compliance or any similar order or legal agreement with any state or federal agency. (9) A statement whether: (a) The organization is authorized by any other state to solicit contributions and, if so, a listing of the states in which authorization has been obtained; (b) The organization is or has ever been enjoined in any jurisdiction from soliciting contributions or has been found to have engaged in unlawful practices in the solicitation of contributions or the administration of charitable assets; (c) The organization's registration has been denied, suspended or revoked by any jurisdiction, together with the reasons for that denial, suspension or revocation; and (d) The organization has voluntarily entered into an assurance of voluntary compliance agreement or any similar order or legal agreement with any jurisdiction or federal agency or officer; and (10) Any other information as may be prescribed by rules adopted by the Attorney General. c. In order to register its qualified local units pursuant to subsection d. of section 9 of this act, a parent organization registered pursuant to this section shall include with its initial registration, a copy of the parent organization's charter, articles of organization, agreement of association, instrument of trust, constitution or other organizational instrument and bylaws, and shall include with its initial registration and annual renewal statement a separate statement that provides the following: (1) The name, principal street address, and phone number of all local units within this State that it is registering; (2) The amount of gross contributions received by each such unit and the purpose or purposes for which these funds were raised in the preceding fiscal year; (3) A statement asserting that each such local unit has provided the parent organization with a written statement reporting the information included on its behalf and asserting that the local unit meets all of the requirements of subsection d. of section 9 of this act. d. Nothing in subsection c. of this section shall be construed to require a parent organization to register any or all of its local units. L.1994,c.16,s.8; amended 2005, c.283, s.4.