State of Illinois
91st General Assembly
Legislation

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[ Senate Amendment 002 ]

91_SB1540

 
                                               LRB9112929ACmg

 1        AN ACT to amend the Solicitation for Charity Act.

 2        Be it enacted by the People of  the  State  of  Illinois,
 3    represented in the General Assembly:

 4        Section  5.   The Solicitation for Charity Act is amended
 5    by changing Sections 15 and 23 as follows:

 6        (225 ILCS 460/15) (from Ch. 23, par. 5115)
 7        Sec.   15.    (a)   Trustees   of   charitable    trusts,
 8    organizations  and corporations have a duty to supervise fund
 9    raising  activities  to   ensure   that   contributions   are
10    adequately  protected  and  devoted to the proper purpose and
11    that statements or representations made during  solicitations
12    to the public are true and correct.
13        (b)  If  any person, including a charitable organization,
14    a  professional  fund  raiser,  a  trustee,  a   professional
15    consultant, or a professional solicitor, in conducting a fund
16    raising   campaign  for  a  charitable  organization  or  for
17    charitable or ostensibly charitable purposes:
18             (1)  Represents that tickets for a show or goods  or
19        services   shall   be   made   available   to   children,
20        disadvantaged  persons  or for a like charitable purpose,
21        and  that  such  will  be  distributed  by  the   persons
22        soliciting or the organization, the tickets shall be held
23        in  trust  for the use as a charitable trust and adequate
24        records and accounting for same maintained.
25             (2)  Disseminates   an   educational   message    or
26        materials  to  the  public  with or in the course of fund
27        raising activities and allocates the costs  between  fund
28        raising  and  education  programs,  he  shall prepare and
29        maintain written worksheets of how the allocation is made
30        and the reasoning behind the allocation.
31             (3)  Sells or offers for sale advertising space in a
 
                            -2-                LRB9112929ACmg
 1        publication or ad book or periodical, he  shall  maintain
 2        adequate  records  for  all ads sold and written document
 3        receipts shall  provide  the  name  of  the  organization
 4        involved,  the  publication's name, and its proposed date
 5        of publication, as well as the number of copies  proposed
 6        to be printed or a reasonable estimate.
 7             (4)  Engages   in  the  dissemination  of  education
 8        program services as a part of or in physical  conjunction
 9        with  its  solicitation  of  charitable contributions, it
10        shall record and report all  expenses  incurred  as  fund
11        raising  unless  it  allocates  the expenses between fund
12        raising and  other  functions  pursuant  to  professional
13        accounting  standards  and  provisions as promulgated and
14        set forth by the American Institute of  Certified  Public
15        Accountants  or  the Financial Accounting Standards Board
16        from time to time in their  official  publications.   For
17        purposes  of making all such allocations, the factors and
18        considerations utilized must be reduced to writing.
19             (5)  Engages in any public solicitation and  therein
20        purports  to relate the purpose or purposes for which the
21        funds  are  solicited,  such  shall  then  be  fully  and
22        accurately identified to the  prospective  donor.   If  a
23        charitable   organization   whose  purposes  include  the
24        rendering of noneducational program services  intends  to
25        expend  or  budget  more  than 50% of its program service
26        expenditures for informing or educating  the  public  and
27        the  funds being solicited will be used for such purpose,
28        the donor at his or her  request  must  be  told  that  a
29        primary  use  of  the  program  funds  will be for public
30        education.
31             (6)  Collects and takes  control  or  possession  of
32        contributions  made  for  a  charitable  purpose  or to a
33        charitable organization, they owe a fiduciary duty to the
34        public  to  deal  with  the  said  contributions  in   an
 
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 1        appropriate  fiduciary manner, to keep complete books and
 2        records for at least  3  years,  to  keep  records  in  a
 3        comprehensive  manner  to  permit  accurate reporting and
 4        auditing as required by law, and to not commingle   funds
 5        with  noncharitable  funds  and to be able to account for
 6        the funds, and will be subject to surcharge for any funds
 7        not  accounted  for  or  wasted,  in  addition  to  other
 8        remedies available at equity.  A presumption shall  exist
 9        that  expenditures  not properly documented and disclosed
10        by records were not properly spent.
11             (7)  Uses written materials to  solicit  or  seek  a
12        contribution  from the public, those materials must state
13        at the bottom of the  last  page  that  "a  copy  of  the
14        charitable  organization's  annual financial report is or
15        will be on file at the Office of the Attorney General and
16        available  for  public   inspection",   in   a   typeface
17        consistent  with  the body of the document in which it is
18        inserted.  However, this statement shall not be  required
19        if fewer than 500 pieces of the material are used.
20        (c)  Any person who violates this Section may be enjoined
21    from  acting  as or continuing to act on behalf of charitable
22    organizations  or  charitable  causes  within  Illinois   the
23    charity for a period of up to 5 years and if the violation is
24    intentional  or willful they shall not be entitled to keep or
25    receive fees, salaries, commissions or any compensation as  a
26    result  of or on account of the solicitations or fund raising
27    campaigns.  At the request of the Attorney  General  a  court
28    shall   order   that  the  fees,  salaries,  commissions,  or
29    compensation shall be forfeited and used for a charitable use
30    as the court determines.
31        (d)  In addition to any other penalty available  in  this
32    Act  or  at  law,  each  charitable organization on behalf of
33    which  a  professional  fundraiser,   trustee,   professional
34    consultant,  or  professional  solicitor,  or employee of the
 
                            -4-                LRB9112929ACmg
 1    charitable organization places in use or causes  the  use  of
 2    materials  bearing  the  statement  required  by  item (7) of
 3    subsection (b) in  seeking  contributions  for  a  charitable
 4    organization,   if   that  charitable  organization  has  not
 5    registered or maintained registration as required by this Act
 6    during the period when the materials carrying  the  statement
 7    are  used  or placed in use, is subject to a civil penalty of
 8    $5,000.
 9    (Source: P.A. 87-755.)

10        (225 ILCS 460/23)
11        Sec. 23.  Charitable Advisory  Council.   As  a  part  of
12    charitable  trust  enforcement  and public disclosure, a task
13    force composed of citizens chosen by the Attorney General  to
14    be  known  as  the  Attorney  General's  Charitable  Advisory
15    Council  shall be and is hereby formed and shall exist for as
16    long as the Attorney General deems that it is necessary for a
17    3-year period.  This Advisory Council shall study  issues  of
18    charitable  giving,  volunteerism,  and  fundraising  in this
19    State.  The Advisory  Council  members  shall  serve  without
20    compensation, and the expenses of the Council may be paid for
21    out  of  the Illinois Charity Bureau Fund in an amount not to
22    exceed $10,000 per year and in the discretion of the Attorney
23    General.
24    (Source: P.A. 90-469, eff. 8-17-97; 91-444, eff. 8-6-99.)

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