Following pictures are off of the ct.gov website which is linked at the top. I have not removed any part. I did exclude the last parts about applications etc. Not really relevant at this point.
Anyways, let's go over what this says and what this means..
"The Act defines a charitable organization as "any person who is or holds himself out to be established for any benevolent, educational, philanthropic, humane, scientific, patriotic, social welfare or advocacy, public health, environmental conservation, civic or eleemosynary purpose, or for the benefit of law enforcement officers, firefighters or other persons who protect the public safety.”
A4CWSN= definitely meets those standards.
Next...
"The Act defines “solicit” very broadly. In essence, it includes any request, however made, for any kind of support, financial or otherwise. This includes fund-raising by mail, telephone, in-person contact, posters, raffles and the sale of goods or services. For purposes of the Act, the extent of solicitation is largely irrelevant. Thus, an organization is covered even if it only solicits grants from corporations or foundations and does no "public" fund-raising. Anything received in response to a solicitation is a contribution. However, the statute specifically excludes from the definition of contribution "bona fide fees, dues or assessments paid by members, provided membership is not conferred solely as consideration for making a contribution in response to a solicitation."
A4CWSN= Why, again, yes. There was all sorts of fundraising going on!
Exhibit A:
Exhibit B:
Exhibit C:
You get the idea, I'm sure? Now, where was I... oh yes..
"Who Must Register? Who is Exempt?
Any organization that solicits contributions for charitable purposes must register with the Department of Consumer Protection prior to the commencement of solicitation and must remain registered at all times during which it solicits funds in Connecticut, unless the organization meets one of the following criteria for exemption. Registrations expire after the last day of the fifth month following the end of the organization’s fiscal year. Organizations entitled to claim an exemption from registration are:
- Any duly organized religious corporation, religious institution or religious society;
- Any parent-teacher association or educational institution, the curricula of which in whole or in part are registered or approved by any state or the United States either directly or by acceptance of accreditation by an accrediting body;
- Any non-profit hospital licensed under the laws of Connecticut or another state;
- Any governmental unit or instrumentality of any state or the United States;
- Any person who solicits solely for the benefit of an organization described in (1) through (4) above; and
- Any organization that normally receives less than fifty thousand dollars ($50,000) in contributions annually, provided such organization does not compensate any person primarily to conduct solicitations.
The word “contribution” as used in item 6 of this list means any grant, promise or pledge of money, credit, property, financial assistance, or other thing of value received as a result of a fund-raising activity. It includes the gross amount received (before deducting expenses) in connection with a special fund-raising event. It does not include other kinds of revenue such as membership dues (see Part D) and fees received in exchange for providing a charitable service. "Normally" means for any two out of the last three consecutive years. If your organization has not been in existence that long, you may make a good faith estimate as to the amount of contributions that will be received each year. All amounts include world-wide contributions."
1. Nope, A4CWSN doesn't fall under that.
2. Nope, still doesn't fall under that.3. Again, nope.
4. Nope.
5. Nope.
5. Maybe... let's dig a little deeper into this one..
Seems he knew he'd be well over this 50k before this post, made in July... I mean, that's only the app codes a4cwsn had received to this point.
In my opinion, a4cwsn most certainly had intentions of going over that 50k limit, just in iPads, back in September.
Do note, these do not include donated iPads, over 100+ iPad cases that have been donated to a4cwsn, nor all of the codes (remember, that 50k worth of codes was posted in July), this does not include the total from the 5% iTunes widget, percentage of sales from developers, donations received on giveforward, or through paypal, the iCheer event, etc.
Seems pretty clear to me, that he's well over that 50k/year limit, and that he would have had a general idea he'd be over that limit well before the end of the year. Let's for one moment give him the benefit of the doubt, that he didn't anticipate this when he began, he should have a) filed for exemption, b)as soon as it was realized, he should have been filling out papers and filing as soon as possible, right?
Moving on though...
"An organization falling within one of the classes described above is not automatically exempt. Exemption must be claimed by filing Form CPC-54, Claim of Exemption From Registration. There is no filing fee. Exemption need be claimed only once and does not have to be renewed, although the Department may from time to time require an organization to verify its continued eligibility for exemption. There is no annual financial reporting requirement. However, if the circumstances of the organization change so that the exemption no longer applies, it is the duty of the organization to register at that time."
If he did truly believe that he would not reach that 50k limit, why did he not then file for an exemption? It says right there, that there is no filing fee. It also clearly states that should the situation change, a4cwsn would need to register.
Not just another charity, but the one he created that has solicited over the 50k/year limit.
Certainly gives one food for though, no?
If you would like to file a complaint with the Attorney Generals Office of Connecticut, please follow this link to a previous blog post that gives step by step directions - Linky-do
