Attorney General Bonta Releases Updated Guide for Charities

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta today announced the release of the updated Guide for Charities, which provides best practices for charitable organizations (including charities, charitable trusts, and other nonprofits), fundraising professionals, and charitable fundraising platforms that operate in California. The Attorney General has the primary responsibility for supervising charities and professional fundraisers who solicit on their behalf. Under Government Code section 12580 et seq., the Attorney General may investigate and bring legal actions against charities and fundraisers that misuse charitable assets or engage in fraudulent fundraising practices. 

“From providing food to families in need to helping dogs and cats find their forever homes, charities perform important functions throughout California. With our updated Guide for Charities, and through other outreach efforts, my office is committed to helping them operate legally,” said Attorney General Bonta. “At the same time, let there be no doubt that we will continue going after those who divert donations for personal use and otherwise commit fraud against generous California donors.”  

The Attorney General’s Registry of Charities and Fundraisers (Registry) administers the registration and reporting requirements set forth under Government Code section 12580 et seq. The Registry does this through its various programs, such as: Initial Registration, Registration Renewals, Delinquency, Dissolution, Professional Fundraising, Raffles, and Complaints. The Registry also maintains the Registry Search Tool for the public to research registered charitable organizations, fundraising professionals, and charitable fundraising platforms.  

The updated Guide for Charities is intended to help directors and officers of charities understand what is required of them under state law. The previous version of the Guide for Charities was published in June 2021. The Guide for Charities that is being released today contains important updates, including: 

• An overview of, and regulatory requirements for, charitable fundraising platforms (found in Chapter 9). Effective June 12, 2024, charitable fundraising platforms — or crowdfunding websites like GoFundMe, Meta, and PayPal and other online platforms that perform, permit, or enable solicitations for charitable donations through their platforms — are required to register with the Registry. 
• An addition of a section on “behested payments.” A behested payment generally occurs when monetary or in-kind donations are made at the request, suggestion, or solicitation of a public official for a principally legislative, governmental, or charitable purpose. The Political Reform Act requires a public official to report behested payments to the California Fair Political Practices Commission on Form 803.
• Now reflecting the Registry’s new name — it was formerly called the Registry of Charitable Trusts — and the renumbering of the regulations applicable to charities and fundraisers.

Over 109,000 charitable organizations are registered with the Registry. As of June 2022, registered charities reported total revenues over $473 billion, an increase of $69 billion from June 2021. Donation tips can be found here. 

The updated Guide for Charities is available here.