Internet Law and Charities

Most charitable organizations must register within their domiciled state. Thirty-eight states and the District of Columbia require charities to register instate and file financial and other information prior to soliciting in those states. States, however, also routinely impose their registration requirements on out-of-state charities that solicit instate in traditional ways (ie, by having solicitors enter the state) or through the Internet. Charitable organizations that use the Internet to solicit contributions must register if they use their Internet solicitation to specifically target people in that state, or receive Internet contributions from the state on a repeated and ongoing basis or a substantial basis.