General Counsel Manual

• Current Active
• Expired
• Cancelled
• Current Active - Filing Extension Granted
• In-Process
• CSL Exempt
• Expired Exempt

Practice Tip: If a charity says it is exempt, your client may want to ask if they have filed an exemption letter with the Secretary of State. If not, you may want to ask why.

Practice Tip: If your clients have knowledge of possible violations of the Charitable Solicitation Act, please encourage them to contact the CSL Division and make a complaint or referral.

Charity Fraud and Other Violations:

Practice Tip: You can file a complaint with us if you think there is fraud or other violations of the Charitable Solicitation Act. You can file a complaint about: a charitable organization, a sponsor, a fundraising consultant, or a solicitor that may have violated the Charitable Solicitation Act. Complaint forms can be found at Charities Complaint Forms.

Protect Yourself, Clients and Family:

As you may have seen in news reports, crooks often use a façade or pretense of charitable purpose. Crooks may even say that they are affiliated with legitimate (or not-so-legitimate) charitable organizations to steal from good-hearted people.

• Do not give to a charity you know nothing about.
• Get the name of the charity and confirm if a charity is registered with the Secretary of State’s office before making a gift.
• Visit the charity’s website.
• Determine if the person asking for your gift is a volunteer or a paid fundraiser.
• If the person is a paid fundraiser, exercise your legal right to ask for something in writing regarding the fixed % of the gross revenue that the charitable organization or sponsor will receive as a benefit from the solicitation campaign.
• Ask who will benefit from your donation.
• Never give cash.