Georgia Fundraising Licensing

Georgia charities must provide notice on the day they first enter into a charitable gift annuity agreement. Notices must identify the organization, certify that the organization is a charity and that the annuities issued are qualified charitable gift annuities, and be signed by an officer or director.

• Educational institutions and those organizations, foundations, associations, corporations, charities, and agencies operated, supervised, or controlled by or in connection with a nonprofit educational institution, provided that those entities qualify for exemption under IRC 501(c)
• Business, professional, and trade associations and federations which do not solicit members or funds from the general public
• Fraternal, civic, benevolent, patriotic, and social organizations, when solicitation of contributions is carried on by persons without any form of compensation and which solicitation is confined to their membership
• Appeals for individuals provided that 100% of proceeds are turned over to the named beneficiary and that if the contributions collected exceed $5,000, the person requesting contributions shall file a written accounting of funds with the Secretary of State
• Any charitable organization which does not have any agreement with a paid solicitor and whose total revenue from contributions has been less than $25,000 for both the immediately preceding and current calendar years
• Any local or state-wide organization of hunters, fishermen, and target shooters which has been recognized as an organization described in Section 501(c)(3) or Section 501(c)(4) of the IRC
• Any volunteer fire department or rescue service operating in conjunction with a city or county government in this state and which has received less than $25,000 in both the immediately preceding and current calendar years
• Religious organizations
• Political parties, candidates for federal or state office, and political action committees required to file financial information with federal or state elections commissions
• Local community and state-wide organizations affiliated with or acting on behalf of a registered or exempt state-wide or national parent organization by contract or agreement
• National charitable organizations having a Georgia affiliate registered under this chapter need not register separately with the Secretary of State; provided, however, that all records of such national organizations which relate to charitable solicitations or charitable contributions shall be subject to such reasonable periodic, special, or other examinations by the Secretary of State

Email to Charities@sos.ga.gov

Georgia Code Ann. § 43-17-9

To claim an exemption, send the following information to Charities@sos.ga.gov:

• Name of organization
• Physical and mailing address
• Phone number
• Contact person
• Email person
• Which rule the organization is claiming for their exemption

Form C-100: Charitable Organization Registration

Mail or online.

$35

4-6 weeks

• Only the Affidavit of Applicant must be notarized. Notarization is not required on the Execution Page nor the Control Persons page.
• Some Georgia counties and municipalities may require charities that solicit in-person to register prior to fundraising.

Domestic Applicants:

• Check the available exemptions to see if your charity is eligible for exemption from the full registration requirement.
• If your charity meets the audit threshold, obtain an audited financial report to submit with your registration application.
• Look through the list of required attachments and make sure that you have each required document in hand before starting the registration application.

Foreign Applicants:

• Check the available exemptions to see if your charity is eligible for exemption from the full registration requirement.
• If your charity meets the audit threshold, obtain an audited financial report to submit with your registration application.
• Look through the list of required attachments and make sure that you have each required document in hand before starting the registration application.
• If you will foreign qualify in Georgia, obtain a certificate of good standing from your home state to submit during the foreign qualification process. The certificate cannot be more than 90 days old when filing foreign qualification documents.

Domestic Applicants:

1. File formation documents with the Georgia Secretary of State - Corporations Division.
2. Submit a completed Charitable Organization Registration form and all required attachments to the Georgia Professional Licensing Boards and Securities Division.

Foreign Applicants:

1. Determine whether or not your charity will need to foreign qualify based on your activity in Georgia. If not required, skip to number 3.
2. File foreign qualification documents with the Georgia Secretary of State - Corporations Division.
3. Submit a completed Charitable Organization Registration form and all required attachments to the Georgia Professional Licensing Boards and Securities Division.

• IRS form 990
• Either audited financials, reviewed financials, or a financial statement depending on contributions received during the previous fiscal year (If no funds have been received or collected, attach a signed statement to that effect).
• IRS determination letter
• List of officers and directors
• Control person addendum and 10-year employment history for each control person

Charitable Organization Renewal

Mail or online.

$20

• Biennially by the registration anniversary date. If you registered on January 15, 2024, your registration is due by January 15, 2026.
• Renewals may be filed up to 90 days prior to the expiration date.

Due dates can be extended by submitting the renewal form, renewal fee, and a letter that specifies the reason the financial statements cannot be filed and a date when such financial statements will be completed and filed.

• A renewal notice will be sent in the mail in the month prior to the expiration month. The notice should be returned with all required attachments and the renewal fee.
• Notarization is only required if the application is signed by an individual other than the original signer.
• Organizations can renew a registration that has expired as long as the status of the registration with the Secretary of State still reads Active. The moment the status changes to expired, lapsed, or withdrawn, the organization must go through the reinstatement process. This is NOT a set time amount of time. 

• IRS form 990 for the preceding 2 fiscal years unless previously filed
• Audited financials for the preceding 2 fiscal years (if applicable)
• Paid solicitor information (if applicable)
• Citizenship affidavit
• Secure and Verifiable Document for each new control person of the organization (if applicable)

Contracts can be emailed to charities@sos.ga.gov.

$0

1-2 business days.

Charities that contract with a commercial co-venturer for a charitable sales promotion should submit a copy of the contract within 30 days of the contract being signed.

The agreement must be signed by an authorized representative of the charitable organization and the commercial coventurer and it must include, at a minimum, the following:

1. The goods or services to be offered to the public;
2. The geographic area where, and the starting and final date when, the offering will be made;
3. The manner in which the charitable organization's name will be used, including the representation to be made to the public as to the actual or estimated dollar amount or percent per unit of goods or services purchased or used that will benefit the charitable organization;
4. If applicable, the maximum dollar amount that will benefit the charitable organization;
5. The estimated number of units of goods or services to be sold or used;
6. A provision for a final accounting on a per unit basis to be given by the commercial coventurer to the charitable organization and the date by which it will be made;
7. A statement that the charitable sales promotion is subject to the requirements of this chapter; and
8. The date by when, and the manner in which, the benefit will be conferred on the charitable organization.

The charity must be registered to solicit charitable contributions or otherwise exempt for the contract to be accepted.

Form C-100: Charitable Organization Registration (Reinstatement)

Charity Reinstatement Checklist

Online

$35

Charities suspected of violating the Georgia Charitable Solicitations Act of 1988  are subject to an investigation by the Secretary of State who can issue one or more of the following administrative sanctions:

• deny, suspend, or revoke an organization's registration
• cease & desist orders
• censure or bar specific individuals
• civil penalties of up to $10,000 for a single violation and up to $100,000 for multiple violations

Upon application for civil sanctions by the Secretary of State, the court can issue one or more of the following judgments:

• temporary restraining order
• temporary or permanent injunctions
• civil penalties of up to $10,000 for a single violation and up to $100,000 for multiple violations
• declaratory judgment
• restitution to contributors
• order of disgorgement
• appointment of a receiver, auditor, or conservator
• other relief the court deems equitable

Organizations face class action lawsuits from parties who suffered injury or damage as a result of the violation(s). A violation of this Act is a misdemeanor. Except, willful violations of § 43-17-12 are considered felonies and can result in fines up to $5,000 and/or imprisonment for 1-5 years. 

• Organizations can renew a registration that has expired as long as the status of the registration with the Secretary of State still reads Active. The moment the status changes to expired, lapsed, or withdrawn, the organization must go through the reinstatement process. This is NOT a set time amount of time. 
• Only the Affidavit of Applicant must be notarized. Notarization is not required on the Execution Page nor the Control Persons page.
• The reinstatement effective date will act as the new anniversary date for all future renewals.

• IRS Forms 990 for the two most recent fiscal years
  • If the Charity submitted a 990N then they must submit Form C-200 for the year(s) preceding their filing(s) of the 990N
• If contributions were received in the previous two fiscal years, submit both year's Financial Statements or Audited Financials
• IRS determination letter
• No funds received statement (if applicable)
• List of officers and directors
• Control person addendum and 10-year employment history for each control person
• SVD Form and copy of chosen SVD for each control person. Each assigned control person must submit this.

Continuous Filing Form (C-100)

Mail or email to charities@sos.ga.gov

$0

Only complete the section of the form that denotes the change in the fiscal year and the form's execution page. Leave everything else blank.

Charitable Organization Withdrawal Form

Mail or email to charities@sos.ga.gov.

$0

To close out your registration, submit the withdrawal of charitable organization form.

Contract

Contracts can be emailed to charities@sos.ga.gov.

$0

The agreement must be signed by an authorized representative of the charitable organization and the commercial coventurer and it must include, at a minimum, the following:

1. The goods or services to be offered to the public;
2. The geographic area where, and the starting and final date when, the offering will be made;
3. The manner in which the charitable organization's name will be used, including the representation to be made to the public as to the actual or estimated dollar amount or percent per unit of goods or services purchased or used that will benefit the charitable organization;
4. If applicable, the maximum dollar amount that will benefit the charitable organization;
5. The estimated number of units of goods or services to be sold or used;
6. A provision for a final accounting on a per unit basis to be given by the commercial coventurer to the charitable organization and the date by which it will be made;
7. A statement that the charitable sales promotion is subject to the requirements of this chapter; and
8. The date by when, and the manner in which, the benefit will be conferred on the charitable organization.

Charities that contract with a commercial co-venturer for a charitable sales promotion should submit a copy of the contract within 30 days of the contract being signed.

$0

An amendment filing should be made before the expiration date of a campaign in order to extend the campaign.

To report an extension of a campaign or another change to a campaign agreement, submit a cover letter describing the change and include a copy of the amended agreement.