§ 57-54. Contracts between charitable or civic organizations and professional fund-raising counsel or professional solicitors

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Code of Virginia
Title 57. Religious and Charitable Matters; Cemeteries
Chapter 5. Solicitation of Contributions

5/21/2025

§ 57-54. Contracts between charitable or civic organizations and professional fund-raising counsel or professional solicitors.

A. Every contract or agreement between professional fund-raising counsel and a charitable or civic organization shall be in writing and shall be filed with the Commissioner within 10 days after such contract or written agreement is entered into.

B. Every contract, or a written statement of the nature of the arrangement to prevail in the absence of a contract, between a professional solicitor and a charitable or civic organization shall be filed with the Commissioner at least 10 days prior to commencement of the contract.

C. All agreements and arrangements between professional fund-raising counsel and charitable or civic organizations shall be reduced to writing before executed or acted upon.

D. Any contract between a professional solicitor and a charitable or civic organization shall specify the percentage of gross contributions that the charitable or civic organization will receive or the terms upon which a determination can be made as to the amount of the gross revenue from the solicitation campaign that the charitable or civic organization will receive. If a reasonable estimate is used to make such determination, the contract shall clearly disclose the assumptions or the formula upon which the estimate is based; however, if a fixed percentage is used, such percentage shall exclude any amount that the charitable or civic organization is to pay as an expense of the solicitation campaign, including the cost of any merchandise or services sold. The professional solicitor shall, at the conclusion of a charitable appeal, provide to the charitable or civic organization a final accounting of all expenditures. Such final accounting may not be used in violation of any state or federal trade secret laws. The contract shall disclose the average percentage of gross contributions collected on behalf of charitable or civic organizations that such organizations received from the professional solicitor for the three years preceding the year in which the contract was formed. The contract shall also specify that at least every 90 days the professional solicitor shall provide the charitable or civic organization with access to and use of all information in the professional solicitor's possession concerning contributors, including the name, mailing address, email address, and telephone number of each contributor and the date and amount of each contribution. A professional solicitor shall not restrict a charitable or civic organization's use of any such contributor information.

1974, c. 574; 1979, c. 595; 1983, c. 374; 1988, c. 322; 2023, c. 289.