NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS AND CHARITIES

Resources for Organizations and Donors

Introduction 

Maryland is home to 31,800 nonprofit organizations that employ nearly 280,000 people, representing 13% of the state's workforce. The Office of the Attorney General is committed to helping Maryland's nonprofit institutions locate the resources they need to build strong, well-managed, and responsible organizations, as well as ensuring that the Marylanders who donate billions of dollars each year to charities have the information they need to give wisely.

Charitable Enforcement and Protection of Charitable Assets

​The Attorney General represents the public interest in the protection of charitable assets.  Together with the Secretary of State, the Attorney General works to shut down sham charities and other unlawful fundraising schemes to ensure charitable contributions are used for their intended charitable purpose.  
 
Under the Maryland Solicitations Act, a charitable organization or fundraiser who intends to solicit in Maryland generally must first register with the Office of the Secretary of State.  In addition to requiring annual registration and reporting, this law also prohibits deceptive acts and false and misleading statements in charitable solicitations. 
 
To report a suspected violation of the Maryland Solicitations Act, please submit a complaint to the Charitable Organizations Division at the Office of the Secretary of State online here or by phone at 410-974-5521.   
 
You can contact the Office of the Attorney General for the Office of the Secretary of State at 410-260-3855 with any questions or comments about the Attorney General's charitable enforcement actions. 

 

​​​Relevant Maryland Statutes*

• Maryland Solicitations Act, Business Regulation Article, §§ 6-101 to 6-701
• Business Regulation Article, §§ 6.5-101 to 6.5-105
• Estates and Trusts Article, §14-301
• Estates and Trusts Article, § 14-302
• Estates and Trusts Article, § 15-407
• Corporations & Associations Article, § 3-513
• Corporations & Associations, Title 5, Special Types of Corporations
  Tax - General Article, § 11-204

*These statutory citations are to the Maryland Annotated Code and for reference only. The Attorney General does not represent that this is an exhaustive list of relevant Maryland statutes, nor by referencing these statutes is the Attorney General providing legal advice..

Resources for nonprofit Organizations:

Secretary of State Charitable Organization Division
 http://sos.maryland.gov/Charity/Pages/default.aspx 

Starting a nonprofit Organization

http://sos.maryland.gov/Charity/Pages/Non-Profit-Organization.aspx

​Ethics and Accountability in the nonprofit Sector

The Maryland Association of nonprofit Organizations (MANO) has adopted Standards for Excellence and certifies nonprofits that follow these standards. MANO offers a full range of services and education programs designed to assist nonprofits with start up, good governance, fundraising, and more.
http://www.marylandnonprofits.org

Sample Best Practice Policies

We offer these sample policies for nonprofits to consider when developing policies to govern their operations and the conduct of the board. These policies are not offered to prescribe the manner in which nonprofits must act. Nor are they offered as legal advice.

• Conflicts of Interest Policy

• Executive Compensation Policy

• Gift Policy & Disclosure Form

• Third Party Contracts

• Code of Ethics

• Transparency

Registering a Charity

http://sos.maryland.gov/Charity/Pages/Registering-Charity.aspx

Disclosure & Financial Statement Requirements

http://sos.maryland.gov/Charity/Pages/Disclosure-Requirements.aspx

Tax Information
Information is available from the Internal Revenue Service for charities and other nonprofit organizations.

https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits

Resources for the Charitable Donor:

Guidance on Giving Wisely
Resources to help you know more about the charity to which you are giving, information about their finances, your rights as a donor, and more.

http://sos.maryland.gov/Charity/Pages/Giving-Wisely.aspx

 

Maryland Charities Database
Find summary information filed by charitable organizations with the Office of the Secretary of State of Maryland.

https://onestop.md.gov/list_views/62f3e1797f7e3200016a3dab?8a4c8053-7ea7-4f7a-b215-52c9ab0779ae=f_1​​​

Guidestar
Access a database with information on more than 1.5 million U.S. nonprofit organizations. View a copy of the organization's IRS Form 990, a description of the organization's charitable programs, and other information about the administration and finances of the organization.
www.guidestar.org

Charity Navigator
Evaluates and analyzes charities, and provides tips on charitable giving.
www.charitynavigator.org

Avoiding Charity Fraud
Tips from the Federal Trade Commission on avoiding charity fraud.
http://www.consumer.ftc.gov/articles/0074-giving-charity

Report Concerns About a Charity
If you have been contacted by a charity, and things just don't sound right to you, please report your concerns to the Secretary of State.

http://sos.maryland.gov/Charity/Pages/Concern.aspx

http://sos.maryland.gov/Charity/Pages/Report-A-Charity.aspx

Tips for Retailers: How to review charity requests

As a business leader in your community, you may be asked to support local or national charities. Supporting a charity can be a great thing to do, but before you give your time, money, or your business's name, make sure the request isn't a scam.

To raise money for a charity, people or groups might ask your business to help - do things like:

• Conduct a raffle
• Collect donations through a table at your store's entrance or a jar at your cashier's stand
• Set up a donation bin on your business's property
• Sell products to raise money, or promote a fundraising event to your customers
• Have your business buy advertising or sponsor an event

Before you agree, make sure you're dealing with a legitimate organization – and that the person asking for your help actually works with them. Because scammers are happy to take advantage of your generosity – and that of your customers, who may believe that you've vetted the people and charities raising money in your business property.

So, what next? A little bit of due diligence can help you.

Do some research

1. Make it a policy to get anyone asking for fundraising help to give you basic information about the charity and the fundraiser. You can use this Charity Request Form.  Be suspicious if they can't give you this information.
2. Search online for the charity's name, plus words like “complaint," “review," “rating," and “scam." You can do the same search with the name of the person who submitted the form.
3. Look up the charity's name on Maryland's Charity Database to ensure that they are registered and in compliance with any applicable reporting requirements.
4. Check with groups like: BBB Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, CharityWatch, and GuideStar. Check out the charity's ratings and what these organizations say about them.

If you have questions about information that appears on Maryland's Charity Database or wish to report suspicious fundraising activity, you can contact the Charitable Organizations Division, Office of the Secretary of State, 16 Francis Street, Annapolis, Maryland 21401, 410-974-5521​ / 800-825-4510.

Resources for Everyone:

National Center for Charitable Statistics
A national clearinghouse of data on the nonprofit sector in the United States. Site contains resources for the nonprofit organization and the charitable donor.
http://nccs.urban.org

Search for Charities

The Internal Revenue Service hosts a searchable database of organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible charitable contributions.
www.irs.gov/app/pub-78/