NOTE: West Virginia Code §29-19-6 was amended by two bills passed during the 2020 Regular Session of the Legislature. When two acts of the Legislature amend the same section of the Code without express recognition in the bill of the action of the other bill, the Legislative Manager makes no determination as to the appropriate, legal effect of the two acts. Therefore, both versions of this section are set out below.

House Bill 4747 (passed last on March 7, 2020) amended West Virginia Code §29-19-6 to read as follows:

The following charitable organizations are not required to file an annual registration statement with the Secretary of State:

Terms Used In West Virginia Code 29-19-6

• 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 a person who is or holds itself out to be a benevolent, educational, philanthropic, humane, patriotic, religious or eleemosynary organization, or any person who solicits or obtains contributions solicited from the public for charitable purposes, or any person who in any manner employs any appeal for contributions which may be reasonably interpreted to suggest that any part of those contributions will be used for charitable purposes. See West Virginia Code 29-19-2
• Contribution: means the promise or grant of any money or property of any kind or value. See West Virginia Code 29-19-2
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Person: means any individual, organization, trust, foundation, group, association, partnership, corporation, society or any combination of them. See West Virginia Code 29-19-2
• Professional solicitor: means any person who, for a financial or other consideration, solicits contributions for, or on behalf of a charitable organization, whether the solicitation is performed personally or through that person's agents, servants or employees specially employed by, or for a charitable organization, who are engaged in the solicitation of contributions under the direction of that person, or a person who plans, conducts, manages, carries on, advises or acts as a consultant to a charitable organization in connection with the solicitation of contributions but does not qualify as "professional fund-raising counsel" within the meaning of this article. See West Virginia Code 29-19-2
• 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

(1) Educational institutions, the curriculums of which, in whole or in part, are registered or approved by the State Board of Education, either directly or by acceptance of accreditation by an accrediting body recognized by the State Board of Education; and any auxiliary associations, foundations and support groups which are directly responsible to the educational institutions;

(2) Persons requesting contributions for the relief of any individual specified by name at the time of the solicitation when all of the contributions collected without any deductions whatsoever are turned over to the named beneficiary for his or her use;

(3) Hospitals and licensed nursing homes which are nonprofit and charitable;

(4) Organizations which solicit only within the membership of the organization by the members thereof: Provided, That the term “membership” does not include those persons who are granted a membership upon making a contribution as the result of solicitation. For the purpose of this section, “member” means a person having membership in a nonprofit corporation, or other organization, in accordance with the provisions of its articles of incorporation, bylaws or other instruments creating its form and organization; and having bona fide rights and privileges in the organization, including the right to vote, to elect officers, directors and issues, to hold office or otherwise as ordinarily conferred on members of the organizations;

(5) Churches, synagogues, associations or conventions of churches, religious orders or religious organizations that are an integral part of a church which qualifies as tax exempt under the provisions of 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) and which qualifies as being exempt from filing an annual return under the provisions of 26 U.S.C. § 6033;

(6) Any person, firm, corporation or organization that sponsors a single fundraising event for the benefit of a named charitable organization where all or part of the funds collected are donated to the named charitable organization: Provided, That the named charitable organization receiving the funds is registered pursuant to this article, reports each of these donations individually and certifies that no funds were withheld by the organization that solicited the funds;

(7) Any charitable organization that does not employ a professional solicitor or fundraiser and does not intend to solicit and receive and does not actually raise or receive contributions, donations or grants from the public in excess of $50,000 during a calendar year.

Charitable organizations which do not intend to solicit and receive contributions, donations or grants in excess of $50,000, but do receive in excess of that amount from the public, shall file the annual registration statement within 30 days after contributions are in excess of $50,000.

House Bill 4714 (passed first on March 4, 2020) amended West Virginia Code §29-19-6 to read as follows:

The following charitable organizations are not required to file an annual registration statement with the Secretary of State:

(1) Educational institutions, the curriculums of which, in whole or in part, are registered or approved by the State Board of Education, either directly or by acceptance of accreditation by an accrediting body recognized by the State Board of Education; and any auxiliary associations, foundations and support groups which are directly responsible to the educational institutions;

(2) Persons requesting contributions for the relief of any individual specified by name at the time of the solicitation when all of the contributions collected without any deductions whatsoever are turned over to the named beneficiary for his or her use;

(3) Hospitals and licensed nursing homes which are nonprofit and charitable;

(4) Organizations which solicit only within the membership of the organization by the members thereof: Provided, That the term “membership” does not include those persons who are granted a membership upon making a contribution as the result of solicitation. For the purpose of this section, “member” means a person having membership in a nonprofit corporation, or other organization, in accordance with the provisions of its articles of incorporation, bylaws or other instruments creating its form and organization; and having bona fide rights and privileges in the organization, including the right to vote, to elect officers, directors and issues, to hold office or otherwise as ordinarily conferred on members of the organizations;

(5) Churches, synagogues, associations or conventions of churches, religious orders or religious organizations that are an integral part of a church which qualifies as tax exempt under the provisions of 26 U.S.C. § 501(c)(3) and which qualifies as being exempt from filing an annual return under the provisions of 26 U.S.C. § 6033;

(6) Any person, firm, corporation or organization that sponsors a single fund-raising event for the benefit of a named charitable organization where all or part of the funds collected are donated to the named charitable organization: Provided, That the named charitable organization receiving the funds is registered pursuant to this article, reports each of these donations individually and certifies that no funds were withheld by the organization that solicited the funds; and

(7) (A) Any charitable organization that does not employ a professional solicitor or fundraiser and does not intend to solicit and receive and does not actually raise or receive contributions, donations or grants from the public in excess of $50,000 during a calendar year.

(B) Charitable organizations which do not intend to solicit and receive contributions, donations or grants in excess of $50,000, but do receive in excess of that amount from the public, shall file the annual registration statement within 30 days after contributions are in excess of $50,000.