2020 Colorado Revised Statutes
Title 6 - Consumer And Commercial Affairs
Article 16. Colorado Charitable Solicitations Act
Section 6-16-104.3. Professional fundraising consultants - annual registration - fees.

(1) No person shall act as a professional fundraising consultant without first complying with the requirements of this section.

(2) Every contract between a professional fundraising consultant and a charitable organization or sponsor shall be in writing and signed by an authorized official of the charitable organization. The professional fundraising consultant shall provide a copy of the contract to the charitable organization prior to the performance of any material services under the contract and shall make a copy of the contract available to the secretary of state upon request. The contract shall contain all of the following provisions:

1. A statement of the charitable purpose for which the solicitation campaign is beingconducted;

2. A statement of the respective obligations of the professional fundraising consultantand the charitable organization;

3. Whether the professional fundraising consultant will at any time have custody orcontrol of contributions;

4. A clear statement of the fees that will be paid to the professional fundraising consultant or, if the fees are to be calculated based on a percentage of contributions or other formula, a clear statement of the percentage or other formula; and (e) The effective and termination dates of the contract.

3. A professional fundraising consultant who at any time has or will have custody orcontrol of contributions from a solicitation conducted on behalf of a charitable organization in this state shall also comply with the registration requirements of this section before performing any material services with respect to such solicitation.

4. Applications for registration or renewal of registration must be submitted on a formprescribed by the secretary of state, signed and affirmed under penalty of perjury as defined in section 18-8-503, and must include the following information:

(a) The address and telephone number of the principal place of business of the applicant and the address and telephone number of any office located in this state if the principal place of business is located outside the state;

(a.5) The form of the applicant's business and, if the applicant is not an individual, the place and date when the applicant was incorporated or otherwise legally established;

2. The name, address, and telephone number of the person that has custody of the applicant's financial records;

3. If the applicant is not an individual, the names and addresses of the owners, officers,and executive personnel of the applicant;

4. Whether the applicant or any of its owners, officers, directors, trustees, or employeeshave, within the immediately preceding five years, been convicted of, found guilty of, pled guilty or nolo contendere to, been adjudicated a juvenile violator of, or been incarcerated for any felony involving fraud, theft, larceny, embezzlement, fraudulent conversion, or misappropriation of property or any crime arising from the conduct of a solicitation for a charitable organization or sponsor, under the laws of this or any other state or of the United States, and if so, the name of such person, the nature of the offense, the date of the offense, the court having jurisdiction in the case, the date of conviction or other disposition, and the disposition of the offense;

5. Whether the applicant or any of its owners, officers, directors, trustees, or employeeshave been enjoined from violating any law relating to a charitable solicitation or from engaging in charitable solicitation and, if so, the name of such person, the date of the injunction, and the court issuing the injunction;

6. Whether the applicant is registered with or otherwise authorized by any other state toact as a professional fundraising consultant; and

7. Whether the applicant has had such registration or authority denied, suspended, revoked, or enjoined by any court or other governmental authority in this state or another state.

5. The application for registration or for renewal shall be accompanied by the fee established pursuant to subsection (12) of this section. A professional fundraising consultant that is a partnership, corporation, or limited liability company may register for and pay a single fee on behalf of all its partners, members, officers, directors, agents, and employees. In such case, the names and street addresses of all the partners, members, officers, directors, employees, and agents of the fundraising consultant and all other persons with whom the fundraising consultant has contracted to work under its direction shall be listed in the application or furnished to the secretary of state within five days after the date of employment or contractual arrangement.

6. Each registration is valid for a period of one year and may be renewed, on or beforethe anniversary date, for an additional one-year period upon application to the secretary of state and payment of the registration fee. Any material changes to the information contained in the application for registration shall be reported in writing to the secretary of state within thirty days.

7. The secretary of state shall examine each registration to determine whether the applicable requirements of this section are satisfied. The secretary of state shall notify the applicant within ten days after receipt of its application of any deficiencies therein, otherwise the application shall be deemed approved as filed. The secretary of state shall issue each approved applicant a registration number.

8. If a professional fundraising consultant will have custody of any contribution received during a solicitation campaign, each such contribution shall be deposited within two business days after its receipt in an account at a bank or other federally insured financial institution. The account shall be in the name of the charitable organization with whom the professional fundraising consultant has contracted, and the charitable organization shall have sole control over all withdrawals from the account.

9. Within ninety days after a solicitation campaign has been concluded, and on theanniversary of the commencement of a solicitation campaign lasting more than one year, the professional fundraising consultant shall provide to the charitable organization a financial report of the campaign, including gross proceeds and an itemization of all expenses or disbursements for any purpose. The report shall be signed by the professional fundraising consultant or, if the professional fundraising consultant is not an individual, by an authorized officer or agent of the professional fundraising consultant, who shall certify that the financial report is true and complete to the best of the person's knowledge. The professional fundraising consultant shall provide a copy of the report to the secretary of state upon request.

10. No person may act as a professional fundraising consultant and no professionalfundraising consultant required to be registered under this section shall knowingly employ any person as an officer, trustee, director, or employee if such person, within the immediately preceding five years, has been convicted of, found guilty of, pled guilty or nolo contendere to, been adjudicated a juvenile violator of, or been incarcerated for any felony involving fraud, theft, larceny, embezzlement, fraudulent conversion, or misappropriation of property or any crime arising from the conduct of a solicitation for a charitable organization or sponsor, under the laws of this or any other state or of the United States, or has been enjoined within the immediately preceding five years under the laws of this or any other state or of the United States from engaging in deceptive conduct relating to charitable solicitations.

11. Information filed pursuant to this section, except for residential addresses and telephone numbers of individuals and account numbers at banks or other financial institutions, is a public record for purposes of the public records law, part 2 of article 72 of title 24, C.R.S.

12. Filing fees for the annual registration of a professional fundraising consultant andfor amendments thereto shall be established by the secretary of state in an amount that reflects the costs of the secretary of state in administering the provisions of this article. All such fees collected shall be deposited in the department of state cash fund created in section 24-21-104 (3)(b), C.R.S.

Source: L. 2001: Entire section added, p. 1239, § 3, effective May 9, 2002. L. 2003: IP(2) amended, p. 2497, § 3, effective June 5. L. 2005: (4)(a.5) added and (4)(c) amended, p. 1288, § 3, effective June 3. L. 2014: (11) amended, (HB 14-1206), ch. 118, p. 421, § 2, effective August 6. L. 2017: IP(4) amended, (HB 17-1158), ch. 160, p. 594, § 2, effective October 1, 2018.