2012 New York Consolidated Laws
EXC - Executive
Article 7-A - (171-A - 177) SOLICITATION AND COLLECTION OF FUNDS FOR CHARITABLE PURPOSES
172-A - Certain persons exempted.

 
    § 172-a. Certain  persons exempted. 1. This article shall not apply to
  corporations organized under the religious corporations law,  and  other
  religious  agencies  and  organizations,  and  charities,  agencies, and
  organizations operated, supervised, or controlled by  or  in  connection
  with a religious organization.
    2.  The  following  persons shall not be required to register with the
  attorney general:
    (a)  An  educational  institution  confining   its   solicitation   of
  contributions  to  its  student  body, alumni, faculty and trustees, and
  their families.
    (b) Fraternal, patriotic,  social,  alumni,  law  enforcement  support
  organizations  and  historical societies chartered by the New York state
  board of regents when solicitation of contributions is confined to their
  membership.
    (c) Persons  requesting  any  contributions  for  the  relief  of  any
  individual, specified by name at the time of the solicitation, if all of
  the contributions collected, without any deductions whatsoever, are paid
  to   or  for  the  benefit  of  the  named  beneficiary.  Prior  to  the
  commencement of any such solicitation, the principal  person  requesting
  contributions may file with the attorney general a form, provided by the
  attorney general, which shall read as follows:
 
           CHARITABLE SOLICITATION FOR THE RELIEF OF AN INDIVIDUAL
 
   ______________________________________________________________________
      NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE PRINCIPAL PERSON REQUESTING CONTRIBUTIONS
 
   ______________________________________________________________________
                         PURPOSE OF THE SOLICITATION
 
   ______________________________________________________________________
           NAME AND ADDRESS OF THE PRIMARY INDIVIDUAL BENEFICIARY
 
   ______________________________________________________________________
             NAME AND ADDRESS OF SECONDARY BENEFICIARY (IF ANY)
               LIST NO MORE THAN THREE SECONDARY BENEFICIARIES
 
  The   principal  person  requesting  contributions  may,  on  such  form
  designate up to three secondary individuals or charitable  organizations
  as  charitable beneficiaries who shall be entitled to such contributions
  in  the  event  circumstances  change   rendering   it   impossible   or
  impracticable  to  use any or all of the money collected for the primary
  beneficiary. The designation of  one  or  more  secondary  beneficiaries
  shall  be  ineffective unless such form has been filed with the attorney
  general and all persons requesting contributions shall have informed any
  person solicited at the time of any solicitation of such filing. In  the
  event that it is or may be impossible or impracticable to use any or all
  of  the  money collected for the benefit of the primary beneficiary, and
  (i) no secondary beneficiary has been properly  designated  pursuant  to
  this  paragraph,  or  (ii)  no  secondary  beneficiary  exists, then the
  attorney general, the primary beneficiary, or any person  who  requested
  contributions  may petition the supreme court, on notice to the attorney
  general, the primary beneficiary if living, any secondary beneficiaries,
  and the principal person who requested the contributions  for  an  order
  directing that any moneys remaining shall be transferred to a charitable
  organization with purposes similar to those for which such contributions
  were  collected. In the event that money collected for the relief of any
  individual, without any deductions whatsoever, is paid  to  or  for  the

  benefit  of  the  primary  beneficiary within sixty days of its receipt,
  then all requirements of this paragraph shall be  deemed  to  have  been
  complied  with.  For  the  purposes of this section, the term "principal
  person  requesting  the  contributions"  shall  mean  any  person who is
  primarily  responsible  for  soliciting  funds  for  the  relief  of  an
  individual, but shall not include any person who solicits funds when all
  such  funds  are  subsequently  transferred  over  to a principal person
  requesting contributions.
    (d) Any charitable  organization  which  solicits  or  receives  gross
  contributions  of less than twenty-five thousand dollars during a fiscal
  year of such organization, provided none of its fund raising is  carried
  on by professional fund raisers or fund raising counsel. However, if the
  gross  contributions received by such charitable organization during any
  fiscal year of such organization  shall  be  in  excess  of  twenty-five
  thousand  dollars,  it  shall within thirty days after the date it shall
  have received gross contributions  in  excess  of  twenty-five  thousand
  dollars  register  with  the attorney general as required by section one
  hundred seventy-two of this article.
    (e)  Any  charitable  organization  receiving  an  allocation  from  a
  federated  fund, incorporated community appeal or a united way, provided
  such fund, appeal or united way is complying with the provisions of this
  article relating to registration and filing of  financial  reports  with
  the  attorney  general, and provided such organization does not receive,
  in addition  to  such  allocation,  gross  contributions  in  excess  of
  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  during  the  fiscal  year,  and provided
  further that all the fund-raising functions of  such  organizations  are
  carried  on by persons who are unpaid for such services. However, if the
  gross  contributions  other  than  such  allocation  received  by   such
  charitable  organization  during  any  fiscal  year of such organization
  shall be in excess of twenty-five  thousand  dollars,  it  shall  within
  thirty  days after the date it shall have received such contributions in
  excess of  twenty-five  thousand  dollars  register  with  the  attorney
  general as required by section one hundred seventy-two of this article.
    (f)  A local post, camp, chapter or similarly designated element, or a
  county unit of such elements, of  a  bona  fide  veterans'  organization
  which  issues  charters  to such local elements throughout this state, a
  bona fide organization of volunteer firemen, an  organization  providing
  volunteer ambulance service (as defined in section three thousand one of
  the  public  health  law)  or a bona fide auxiliary or affiliate of such
  organizations, provided all its fund-raising activities are  carried  on
  by  members  of  such  an  organization or an affiliate thereof and such
  members receive no compensation, directly or indirectly, therefor.
    (g) An educational institution which files  annual  financial  reports
  with  the regents of the university of the state of New York as required
  by the education law or with an agency having  similar  jurisdiction  in
  another  state  or  a  library  which  files annual financial reports as
  required by the state education department.
    (h) A charitable organization which receives all or substantially  all
  of  its  funds from a single governmental agency and reports annually to
  that  agency  provided  such  reports  contain   financial   information
  substantially  similar in content to that required by subdivision one of
  section one hundred seventy-two-b of this  article;  provided,  however,
  that  such  organization  may  receive no more than twenty-five thousand
  dollars from sources other  than  the  government  agency  to  which  it
  reports.
    (i)  Any police department, sheriff's department or other governmental
  law enforcement agency.

    (j) The state parent teachers  association  and  any  parent  teachers
  association  affiliated  with an educational institution that is subject
  to the jurisdiction of the state education department.