Fundraising rules in Oregon

Registering a charity or school

A charity registers with the Department of Justice's Charitable Activities Section once it receives property for charitable purposes, with no dollar threshold, then files a yearly report with a fee based on revenue and fund balance; the only school exemption covers an educational institution that holds no property in Oregon and asks only its own alumni there for gifts, so it serves an out-of-state institution and not a school operating in Oregon, which holds property there, and any exemption must be documented to the Department or it is not granted. A religious organization holding property for religious purposes is exempt, but neither the law nor the Department's published guidance settles whether a parish or separately incorporated religious school qualifies, a question for the Charitable Activities Section; hiring a paid fundraising firm does not end an exemption.

Professional solicitors

A business paid to manage or conduct solicitations for any nonprofit registers with the Attorney General before acting, files a sworn notice at least ten days before each campaign with the financial plan and, per the Department, the contract, and files a sworn financial report within 90 days after the campaign unless the nonprofit collects the funds; its solicitors disclose that they work under a named fundraising firm. These duties apply to work for any nonprofit, including a religious organization exempt from charity registration, which must itself obtain the firm's financial plan before solicitation begins and co-sign the firm's campaign report.

Fundraising counsel

Oregon has no separate category for fundraising counsel; the Department treats counsel as exempt only while it has no primary responsibility for producing or managing a campaign, no access to contributions or authority to pay campaign expenses, and does not solicit directly. Counsel that does any of those things falls within the definition of a paid fundraising firm, which must register, file campaign notices and file reports, and the Department does not itself state the consequence, so questions go to its Professional Fundraising Registrar.

References

• Search Oregon Charities, Oregon Department of Justice (religious and mutual benefit corporations may not be listed)
• IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search

Regulator: Oregon Department of Justice, Charitable Activities Section (Office of the Attorney General)