The purpose of this article is to protect the people of the State of West Virginia by requiring full public disclosure by persons and organizations who solicit funds from the public and the purposes for which such funds are solicited and how they are actually used, and to prevent deceptive and dishonest statements and conduct in the solicitation and reporting of funds for or in the name of charity.

Terms Used In West Virginia Code 29-19-1a

  • Charity: An agency, institution, or organization in existence and operating for the benefit of an indefinite number of persons and conducted for educational, religious, scientific, medical, or other beneficent purposes.
  • solicitation: means the request or appeal, directly or indirectly, for any contribution on the plea or representation that the contribution will be used for a charitable purpose, including, without limitation, the following methods of requesting a contribution:

    (A) Any oral or written request. See West Virginia Code 29-19-2

  • State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10