Mississippi Fundraising Licensing
Below, you'll find licensing requirements for a range of fundraising activities. At a glance, you can see requirements, fees, filing instructions, and links to forms for everything from charitable gaming and cause marketing to professional fundraisers and charitable gift annuities.
Make sure your fundraising activities meet the unique requirements of each jurisdiction where you’re soliciting. Feel free to explore, bookmark, and share!
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- Mississippi Nonprofit & Fundraising Company Licenses
- Mississippi Individual Nonprofit & Fundraising Licenses
Company Licenses
Mississippi Nonprofit & Fundraising Company Licenses
Mississippi Bingo and Pull-Tab Licenses
Game Type: | Bingo and pull-tabs |
Agency: | Mississippi Gaming Commission - Charitable Gaming Division |
Initial Registration
Agency: | Mississippi Gaming Commission - Charitable Gaming Division |
Form: | |
Agency Fee: | $50 |
Registration Renewal
Agency: | Mississippi Gaming Commission - Charitable Gaming Division |
Form: | Application for License to Conduct Charitable Bingo (Renewal) |
Agency Fee: | $50 |
Due: | Triennially by the date of issuance. License renewals are due 6 months before the expiration date. |
Mississippi Charitable Gift Annuity Registration
Initial Registration
Notes: | Mississippi 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. |
Renewal Not Required
Not required
Mississippi Charitable Organization Registration
Agency: | Mississippi Secretary of State - Charities Division |
Law: | |
Foreign Qualification is Prerequisite: | No |
Registered Agent (Special Agency) Required? | Yes |
Automatic Exemption
Exemption Eligible Organizations: | Bona fide duly constituted religious institutions and such separate groups or corporations which form an integral part of religious institutions, provided that:
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Law: | |
Notes: | Religious organizations that meet the definition in Miss. Code Ann. Section 79-11-501(a)(iii) are excluded from registration requirements. |
One-Time Exemption Registration
Exemption Eligible Organizations: |
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Filing Method: | |
Agency Fee: | $50 + $4 online filing fee. |
Law: | |
Notes: | Notices of exemption do not expire, but charities must update their exemption within 30 days if any information changes. |
Required Attachments: |
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Initial Registration
Filing Method: | |
Agency Fee: | $50 + $3.14 online filing fee. |
Turnaround: | 1 week |
Original Ink: | Not required |
Notarization Required?: | Not required |
Notes: |
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Before you Apply: | Domestic Applicants:
Foreign Applicants:
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How to Apply: | Domestic Applicants:
Foreign Applicants:
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Required Attachments: |
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Registration Renewal
Filing Method: | |
Agency Fee: | $50 + $3.14 online filing fee. |
Due: |
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Due Date Extension: | Due dates can be extended for 180 days beyond the original due date by submitting a request for extension through the online portal. A copy of IRS form 8868 must be included when requesting an extension. |
Original Ink: | Not required |
Notarization Required?: | Not required |
Notes: |
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Required Attachments: |
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Reinstatement
Instructions: |
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Filing Method: | Mail and online |
Agency Fee: |
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Penalties: | Charities suspected of violating Mississippi Code §79-11-501 - §79-11-527 are subject to investigation(s) by the Secretary of State and/or Attorney General. Upon application from either one of these agencies, the court can issue the following judgments:
The Secretary of State, in addition to other remedies authorized by the law, may issue one or more of the following remedies:
A conviction of knowingly violating this Act is a misdemeanor charge and is punishable by a fine of up to $2,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 1 year in county jail. In connection with any solicitation, any attempt to defraud or obtain money or property using false pretenses is a felony conviction and is punishable by a fine of up to $25,000 and/or imprisonment of up to 5 years. |
Notes: | Organizations can renew a registration up to 6 months past its due date. After this point, they will receive a registration revocation notice from the Secretary of State which gives them 30 days to submit the late renewal. Once the registration is revoked, an organization must undergo the reinstatement process. |
Required Attachments: |
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Change of Fiscal Year
Agency Fee: | $0 |
Turnaround: | 1-2 business days |
Notes: | Fiscal year can be changed during the standard renewal process. |
Cancelation
Filing Method: | |
Agency Fee: | $0 |
Notes: | To close out your registration, file a final report and attach the necessary documents. |
Required Attachments: |
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Commercial Co-venturer shall mean any person or entity who is regularly and primarily engaged in the production, trade, sale or commerce of goods other than in connection with the raising or solicitation of funds, assets, or other property for charitable organizations or charitable purposes, who for indirect compensation (including contractually arranged fees, commissions or other monetary remuneration), conducts, promotes, underwrites, arranges, markets, sponsors or advertises a sale, performance, or event of any kind which will benefit, to any extent, a Charitable Organization, or
A person or entity who contracts with a Charitable Organization to benefit that charity to any extent, and who receives only indirect compensation limited to goodwill or tax benefits as a result of that contractual agreement, is considered neither a commercial co-venturer nor a professional fund-raiser so long as neither the person (or entity) nor the Charitable Organization conducts, promotes, underwrites, arranges, markets, sponsors, or advertises the relationship to the public during the contract period.
Mississippi Commercial Co-Venturer Registration
Agency: | Mississippi Secretary of State - Charities Division |
Law: |
Initial Registration
Filing Method: | |
Agency Fee: | $0 |
Turnaround: | Immediately online. |
Bond Amount: | None |
Renewal Not Required
Not required
Commercial co-venturer registrations do not need to be renewed, however, contact information should be kept up to date.
Contract Filing
Filing Method: | |
Agency Fee: | $0 |
Turnaround: | Immediately online. |
Due: | A Commercial Co-venturer engaging in a charitable sales promotion is required to file with the Secretary of State notice of the promotion no less than seven (7) days prior to the start of said promotion. Such notice must include a copy of the contract between the Co-venturer and the Charitable Organization. |
Original Ink: | Not required |
Notarization Required?: | Not required |
How to Apply: | The charity must be registered to solicit charitable contributions or otherwise exempt for the contract to be accepted. |
Contract Amendment
Agency Fee: | $0 |
Due: | An amendment filing should be made before the expiration date of a campaign in order to extend the campaign. |
Notes: | 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. |
Financial Reporting
Filing Method: | |
Agency Fee: | $0 |
Turnaround: | Immediately online. |
Due: | A financial accounting must be filed no later than thirty 30 days after the conclusion of the promotion if the charitable sales promotion is less than 1 year and no later than thirty 30 days after the anniversary date of the first notice of promotion filing if the promotion is greater than 1 year, and shall file a final financial accounting of the charitable sales promotion no later than thirty 30 days after the conclusion of said promotion. |
Fund-raising counsel means a person (i) who for a fixed fee or rate under a written agreement plans, manages, advises or consults with respect to the solicitation in this state of contributions by a charitable organization, (ii) who neither solicits contributions nor directly or indirectly employ, procure or engage any person compensated to solicit contributions, and (iii) who does not at any time, whether directly or indirectly, receive or have custody or control of contributions. A bona fide nontemporary salaried officer or employee of a charitable organization shall not be deemed to be a fund-raising counsel. No attorney, accountant or banker who renders professional services to a charitable organization or advises a person to make a charitable contribution during the course of rendering professional services to that person shall be deemed, as a result of the professional service or advice rendered, to be a fund-raising counsel.
Mississippi Fund-Raising Counsel Registration
Agency: | Mississippi Secretary of State |
Law: |
Initial Registration
Filing Method: | |
Agency Fee: | $250 |
Registration Renewal
Filing Method: | |
Agency Fee: | $250 |
Due: | Annually by June 30. |
Contract Filing
Agency Fee: | $0 |
Due: | All contracts entered into between fund-raising counsels and charitable organizations shall be in writing and a true and correct copy of such contract shall be filed by the fund-raising counsel who is a party thereto with the Secretary of State at least ten (10) days prior to the performance by the fund-raising counsel of any service. |
Professional fund-raiser means any person who for compensation or other consideration is retained by a charitable organization to solicit in or from this state contributions for charitable purposes directly or in the form of payment for goods, services or admission to fund-raising events, whether such solicitation is performed personally or through his agents, servants or employees or through agents, servants or employees especially employed by or for a charitable organization who are engaged in the solicitation of contributions, the sale of goods or services or the production of fundraising events under the direction of such person, or a person who plans, conducts, manages, carries on, advises or consults, whether directly or indirectly, in connection with the solicitation of contributions, sale of goods or services or the production of fundraising events for or on behalf of any charitable organization, but does not qualify as a fund-raising counsel within the meaning of Sections 79-11-501 through 79-11-529, or who engages in the business of or holds himself out as independently engaged in the
business of soliciting contributions for such purposes.
A bona fide officer or employee of a charitable organization shall not be deemed a professional fund-raiser unless his salary or other compensation is paid as a commission which is computed on the basis of funds to be raised or actually raised.
Mississippi Professional Fund-Raiser Registration
Agency: | Mississippi Secretary of State |
Law: | |
Bond Requirements: | $10,000 |
Initial Registration
Filing Method: | |
Agency Fee: | $250 |
Before you Apply: |
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Required Attachments: |
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Registration Renewal
Filing Method: | |
Agency Fee: | $250 |
Due: | Annually by June 30. |
Required Attachments: |
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Contract Filing
Agency Fee: | $0 |
Due: | All contracts entered into between professional fund-raisers and charitable organizations shall be in writing and a true and correct copy of such contract shall be filed by the professional fund-raiser who is a party thereto with the Secretary of State at least ten (10) days prior to the performance by the professional fund-raiser of any service. |
Financial Reporting
Agency Fee: | $0 |
Due: | Within 90 days after a campaign has ended and on the anniversary of commencement for campaigns lasting more than a year. |
Individual Licenses
Mississippi Individual Nonprofit & Fundraising Licenses
Professional solicitor means any person who is employed or retained for compensation by a professional fund-raiser to solicit contributions for charitable purposes from persons in this state.
Mississippi Professional Solicitor Registration
Agency: | Mississippi Secretary of State |
Law: |
Initial Registration
Filing Method: | |
Agency Fee: | $0 |
Notes: | To register, professional fundraisers must provide the names and email addresses of individuals to be registered as professional solicitors on their account. Emails containing applications and instructions will then be sent to these individuals. |
Registration Renewal
Filing Method: | |
Agency Fee: | $0 |
Due: | Annually by June 30. |
Notes: | To renew, professional fundraisers must provide the names and email addresses of individuals to be registered as professional solicitors on their account. Emails containing applications and instructions will then be sent to these individuals. |