Current through Register Vol. 41, No. 3, September 23, 2024
A.
Documentation required for registration. Any professional solicitor subject to
registration, pursuant to § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia , shall file
with the commissioner a registration statement on a form prescribed by the
commissioner , with all questions answered and with an officer's notarized
signature . In accordance with subsection A of § 57-61 of the Code of
Virginia , a professional solicitor may register for and pay a single fee on
behalf of all its members, officers, agents (including any subcontractors), and
employees. For any specific campaign, any agent or subcontractor not directly
under contract or agreement to the registered professional solicitor must file
with the commissioner its own registration. The completed registration
statement shall include the following attachments :
1. Fee. An annual fee and late filing fee, if
applicable, in the amount prescribed in subsection A of § 57-61 of the
Code of Virginia, made payable to "Treasurer of Virginia";
2. Bond. The completed professional
solicitor's bond form prescribed by the commissioner as required in subsection
B of § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia , with corporate surety authorized by
the Virginia State Corporation Commission to act as a surety within the
Commonwealth;
3. Governing
documents. A copy of the certificate and articles of incorporation , if the
solicitor is incorporated, and , if a nonresident (foreign) partnership or
corporation, the certificate of authority to transact business in Virginia, as
required by the Virginia State Corporation Commission; and
4. Contracts. A signed copy of all current
contracts with charitable or civic organizations soliciting in Virginia, as
required by § 57-54 of the Code of Virginia , and all current contracts
with any agents or subcontractors hired to fulfill the terms o f the contracts
with those charitable or civic organizations.
B. Written authorization from charitable
organizations. No professional solicitor or subcontractor shall solicit in the
name of, or on behalf of, any charitable or civic organization unless such
solicitor has filed with the commissioner one copy of a written authorization
from two officers of such organization, as required in subsection F of §
57-57 of the Code of Virginia . Such written authorization shall be submitted
as a solicitation notice or consent to solicit on a form prescribed by the
commissioner. The consent to solicit shall be submitted by the professional
solicitor for each agent or subcontractor authorized by the charitable or civic
organization to conduct the fund-raising campaign. The consent to solicit shall
be submitted by the professional solicitor for each charitable or civic
organization named in a fund-raising campaign, in addition to the charitable or
civic organization with which the professional solicit or has a contract or
agreement.
C. Disclosures.
1. Pursuant to § 57-55.2 of the Code of
Virginia , each professional solicitor shall, in the course of an oral
solicitation:
a. Identify himself by:
(1) Disclosing his own real first name and
surname;
(2) Stating affirmatively
that he is a "paid solicitor"; and
(3) Disclosing the primary name under which
the professional solicitor is registered with the commissioner or , if he is
employed by a subcontractor, disclosing the primary name of the subcontractor
as identified on the consent to solicit form prescribed by the commissioner ;
and
b. Identify his
employing charitable or civic organization by disclosing the primary name, as
registered with the commissioner, of the charitable or civic organization for
which the solicitation is being made.
An example of the disclosure for a professional solicitor
would be: "This is John Doe, a paid solicitor of XYZ Company. I'm calling on
behalf of DEF Charity."
An example of the disclosure for a subcontractor would be:
"This is John Doe, a paid solicitor of XYZ Company. I'm calling on behalf of
DEF Charity."
An example of the disclosure for an employee of a
subcontractor would be: "This is John Doe, a paid solicitor of ABC
subcontractor. I'm calling on behalf of DEF Charity."
2. Pursuant to clause (iii) of
§ 57-55.2 of the Code of Virginia , each professional solicitor shall, in
the course of a written solicitation, include the following statement: "The
professional solicitor conducting this campaign, (primary name of professional
solicitor), files a financial report for each campaign it conducts. Copies of
these financial reports are available from the Virginia Department of
Agriculture and Consumer Services, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA 23218." This
statement shall be in bold typeface no smaller than 10-point with grammatically
correct capitalization and lowercase letters. The statement shall appear on the
front side of the document on a portion that is retained by the potential
donor.
3. Pursuant to subsection L
of § 57-57 of the Code of Virginia , the preprinted address on any return
envelope, prepared under the direction of the professional solicitor and
provided to a potential donor, that is not addressed to the charitable or civic
organization's own primary address , shall include the name of the business
located at the address on the return envelope in the following format:
ABC Charity
c/o XYZ Company
111 Main Street (#)
City, ST Zip Code
The name on line two may be the name of the professional
solicitor, a third party caging company or bank, a commercial mail-receiving
agency, or other receiver, but , in any case , must be the name of the company
that actually resides at the preprinted address on the return envelope. This
requirement does not apply to mail addressed to a United States Post Office box
rented from the U.S. Postal Service.
D. Contribution collection devices.
1. Pursuant to subsections A and D and clause
(i) of subsection F of § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia , for a
solicitation campaign employing collection devices including, but not limited
to, vending machines or canisters, the professional solicitor shall maintain a
record listing each establishment in which a collection device is placed
including:
a. The name of the
establishment;
b. The primary
address of the establishment;
c.
The name of the person in the establishment who granted permission to place the
collection device there;
d. The
date the collection device was placed in the establishment; and
e. The date on which the collection device
was removed.
2. The
professional solicitor employing contribution collection devices shall comply
with the disclosure provisions of subsection C of this section and with the
campaign documents provisions of subsection E of this section.
E. Fund-raising campaign forms.
1. The professional solicitor shall submit
the solicitation notice and final accounting report, on forms prescribed by the
commissioner, as required in subsections A and D of § 57-61 of the Code of
Virginia , and such forms shall not be considered as filed unless all questions
are answered and contain original signatures of all required parties.
2. The professional solicitor shall submit
the completed solicitation notice on a form prescribed by the commissioner :
a. Prior to any fund-raising campaign;
and
b. Annually, on or before the
anniversary of the contract date, for any continuous fund-raising
campaign.
3. The
professional solicitor shall submit an amended solicitation notice on a form
prescribed by the commissioner within seven days of any changes to information
previously submitted.
4. The
professional solicitor shall submit, upon cancellation of a fund-raising
campaign prior to any solicitations, a copy of the completed solicitation
notice form previously filed, with a statement indicating that the campaign has
been canceled. If a campaign is canceled after solicitations have begun, the
professional solicitor shall notify the commissioner of the cancellation within
seven days of the cancellation and submit the final accounting report on a form
prescribed by the commissioner in accordance with subsection E of § 57-61
of the Code of Virginia and this section.
5. The professional solicitor shall submit
the final accounting report on a form prescribed by the commissioner :
a. Not later than 90 days after the
completion date of the solicitation campaign, or in accordance with extensions
granted pursuant to subsection E of § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia , and
any subsequent changes in the information submitted shall be reported every 90
days thereafter for a fund-raising campaign of finite duration; and
b. On an annual basis, not later than 90 days
after the anniversary of the contract date, or in accordance with extensions
granted pursuant to subsection E of § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia , for
a continuous fund-raising campaign.
6. The final accounting report required by
subdivision E 5 of this section shall not be considered as filed if the
completed form does not contain original signatures or if any blanks are not
filled in or attachments are missing. Any applicable late filing fees, pursuant
to subsection E of § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia , will continue to
accrue until a completed final accounting report is filed.
7. The professional solicitor shall maintain
during the solicitation, and for a period of three years thereafter,
acknowledgment of receipt of donated tickets on a form prescribed by the
commissioner from each person or charitable or civic organization to accept
tickets and specifying the number of persons on whose behalf tickets were to be
accepted. Such completed forms shall be submitted after notice from the
commissioner to produce such, pursuant to subsection M of § 57-57 of the
Code of Virginia .
F.
Subcontractors.
1. Filing requirements.
a. Any subcontractor operating under a
contract or agreement with a registered professional solicitor shall be treated
as an agent of that professional solicitor and is not required to
register.
b. Any agent (but not an
employee) of a subcontractor operating under a contract or agreement with that
subcontractor to solicit shall register separately.
2. Authorizations to solicit.
a. Subcontractors shall operate under a
written contract and such contract shall be filed with the commissioner,
pursuant to subdivision A 4 of this section.
b. Subcontractors shall have written
authorization from two officers of the charitable or civic organization to
solicit on their behalf. Such authorization may be filed on a consent to
solicit form prescribed by the commissioner.
3. Subcontractors shall keep records in
accordance with subsection F of § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia and shall
furnish either the originals or copies to the registered professional
solicitor.
Statutory Authority: § 57-66 of the Code of
Virginia.
