1.    A person may not act as a professional fundraiser subject to this chapter unless that person has registered with the secretary of state. The registration statement must be in writing in the form prescribed by the secretary of state and must be accompanied by a fee of one hundred dollars. The registration information must be available to the public as a matter of public record. Each registration expires on September first unless, prior to September first, the public fundraiser registers by filing a new registration statement, accompanied by a fee of one hundred dollars. The forms containing the information must include the following:

Terms Used In North Dakota Code 50-22-02.1

  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute means the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
  • Organization: includes a foreign or domestic association, business trust, corporation, enterprise, estate, joint venture, limited liability company, limited liability partnership, limited partnership, partnership, trust, or any legal or commercial entity. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • Person: means an individual, organization, government, political subdivision, or government agency or instrumentality. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49
  • State: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See North Dakota Code 1-01-49

a.    The name of the professional fundraiser.

b. The street and mailing address and telephone number of the professional fundraiser.

c.    The type of fundraising to be conducted in this state.

d.    The name of the auditor, accountant, employee, agent, or other person who maintains or possesses the professional fundraiser’s records.

e.    A list of all officers, agents, or employees to work under the applicant’s direction.

f.    A list of all licensed charitable organizations with which the applicant has contracts within this state.

2.    The professional fundraiser shall also include, as part of the registration statement, a bond in which the professional fundraiser is the principal obligor. The bond must be in the sum of twenty thousand dollars, with one or more responsible sureties whose liability in the aggregate as the sureties will at least equal that sum. In order to maintain the registration, the bond must be in effect for the full term of the registration. The bond, which may be in the form of a rider to a larger blanket liability bond, must run to the state and to any person who may have a cause of action against the principal obligor of the bond for any liabilities resulting from the obligor’s conduct of any activities subject to this chapter.

3.    The professional fundraiser shall also include, as part of the registration statement, a copy of the contract between any charitable organization and the professional fundraiser. The contract must:

a.    Be in writing; b.    Contain information that will enable the secretary of state to identify the services the professional fundraiser is to provide, including whether the professional fundraiser will at any time have custody of contributions; and

c.    Be submitted within ten days of the date of execution.

4.    A parent organization filing on behalf of one or more chapters, branches, or affiliates and a federated fundraising organization filing on behalf of its member agencies shall pay a single annual registration fee for itself and the chapters, branches, affiliates, or member agencies included in the registration statement. If any professional fundraiser fails to file any registration statement or other information required to be filed by the secretary of state under this chapter or otherwise violates this chapter, the secretary of state, upon notice by certified mail to its last-known address, may deny or suspend the application for registration. Any adjudicative proceedings under this chapter must be conducted in accordance with chapter 28-32 unless otherwise specifically herein provided. Any notice required under this chapter or chapter 28-32 may be made by certified mail.

5.    A professional fundraiser may not solicit on behalf of a charitable organization that is not registered.