(a)  The following persons shall not be required to file a registration statement with the department:

(1)  Educational institutions, including parent-teacher associations, the curricula of which in whole or in part are registered or approved by a governmental agency as well as all other educational institutions within this state recognized or certified as educational institutions by a generally recognized and accepted regional or national educational accrediting organization.

(2)  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 turned over to the named beneficiary.

(3)(i)  Any charitable organization that does not intend to solicit and receive and does not actually raise or receive contributions in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) during a fiscal year of the charitable organization, provided none of its fundraising functions are carried on by professional fundraisers and no part of its assets or income inures to the benefit of or is paid to any officer, director, member (if a limited-liability company), trustee, partner, or member of the charitable organization.

(ii)  For the purpose of this subdivision, contributions received from corporations, charitable foundations, government agencies, or a duly registered federated fund, incorporated community appeal, or United Way, shall not be included in determining the total amount of contributions received.

(iii)  If, during the fiscal year of any charitable organization, the gross contributions received by the charitable organization during that fiscal year exceed twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), it shall, within thirty (30) days after the date it shall have received total contributions in excess of twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000), register with the director as required by § 5-53.1-2.

(4)  Organizations that solicit only from their own membership. The term “membership” shall not include those persons who are granted a membership upon making a contribution as the result of a solicitation.

(5)  Persons soliciting contributions solely from corporations, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies.

(6)  Foundations or associations exclusively for the benefit of religious organizations, education institutions, nonprofit or charitable hospitals, and public libraries.

(7)  Hospitals that are nonprofit and charitable.

(8)  Veterans’ organizations and their auxiliaries so long as the veterans’ organizations are chartered under chapter 6 of Title 7.

(9)  Public libraries.

(10)  Historical societies duly organized under the laws of this state.

(11)  Free, not-for-profit, public art museums.

(12)  Grange organizations and their auxiliaries.

(13)  Churches or recognized denominations and religious organizations, societies, and institutions operated, supervised, or controlled by a religious organization or society that solicit from other than their own membership. Institutions indirectly or affiliated with but that are not operated, supervised, or controlled by any religious organizations or religious society that own, maintain, and operate homes for the aged, orphanages, and homes for unwed mothers.

(14)  Volunteer fire and rescue associations.

(15)  Land trusts duly organized under the laws of this state.

(16)  Not-for-profit and nonprofit food banks or food pantries; provided, however, the Rhode Island community food bank shall not be included within this classification.

Terms Used In Rhode Island General Laws 5-53.1-3

  • Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
  • Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
  • Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. Source: OCC
  • Charitable organization: means any organization soliciting for a charitable purpose or any organization holding themselves out as such. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-53.1-1
  • Contribution: means the promise or grant of any money, property, or anything of value obtained through solicitation, except payments by members of any organization for fees, dues, fines, assessments, or for services rendered to individual members. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-53.1-1
  • Department: means the department of business regulation. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-53.1-1
  • Director: means the director of the department. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-53.1-1
  • Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
  • Membership: means the collective body of any charitable organization comprised of persons having voting rights and other powers of governance and who derive a direct benefit or privilege as a member thereof. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-53.1-1
  • solicitation: means to appeal or request, directly or indirectly, whether express or implied, for money, credit, property, financial assistance, or any other thing of value by means of mail, personal contact, written material, radio, telephone, television, news media, magazines or other periodicals, or any other means of plea or representation that the money, credit, property, financial assistance, or other thing of value will be used for a charitable purpose. See Rhode Island General Laws 5-53.1-1
  • Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.

(b)  Any charitable organization claiming to be exempt from the registration requirements of this chapter shall submit any information that the director may request to substantiate an exemption under this section.

History of Section.
P.L. 1999, ch. 152, § 2; P.L. 2009, ch. 57, § 1; P.L. 2009, ch. 80, § 1; P.L. 2022, ch. 131, § 1, effective June 21, 2022; P.L. 2022, ch. 132, § 1, effective June 21, 2022.