Chapter 496 — Chapter 496
33 sections in this chapter.
Fla. Stat. § 496.401 Short title
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Sections 496.401-496.424 may be cited as the “Solicitation of Contributions Act.”
Fla. Stat. § 496.402 Legislative intent
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It is the intent of the Legislature to recognize the right of persons or organizations to conduct solicitation activities. It is also the intent of the Legislature to protect the public by requiring full public disclosure of the identity of persons who solicit contributions from …
Fla. Stat. § 496.403 Application
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Sections 496.401-496.424 do not apply to bona fide religious institutions, educational institutions, and state agencies or other government entities or persons or organizations who solicit or act as professional fundraising consultants solely on behalf of those entities, or to bl…
Fla. Stat. § 496.404 Definitions
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As used in ss. 496.401-496.424, the term:(1) “Charitable organization” means a person who is or holds herself or himself out to be established for any benevolent, educational, philanthropic, humane, scientific, artistic, patriotic, social welfare or advocacy, public health, envir…
Fla. Stat. § 496.405 Registration statements by charitable organizations and sponsors
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(1) A charitable organization or sponsor, unless exempted pursuant to s. 496.406, which intends to solicit contributions in or from this state by any means or have funds solicited on its behalf by any other person, charitable organization, sponsor, commercial co-venturer, or prof…
Fla. Stat. § 496.4055 Charitable organization or sponsor board duties
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(1) As used in this section, the term “conflict of interest transaction” means a transaction between a charitable organization or sponsor and another party in which a director, officer, or trustee of the charitable organization or sponsor has a direct or indirect financial intere…
Fla. Stat. § 496.406 Exemption from registration
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(1) The following charitable organizations and sponsors are exempt from the requirements of s. 496.405:(a) A person who is soliciting for a named individual, provided that all the contributions collected without any deductions whatsoever are turned over to the beneficiary for her…
Fla. Stat. § 496.407 Financial statement
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(1) A charitable organization or sponsor that is required to initially register or annually renew registration must file an annual financial statement for the immediately preceding fiscal year on a form prescribed by the department.(a) The statement must include the following:1. …
Fla. Stat. § 496.4071 Supplemental financial disclosure
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(1) If, for the immediately preceding fiscal year, a charitable organization or sponsor had more than $1 million in total revenue and spent less than 25 percent of the organization or sponsor’s total annual functional expenses on program service costs, in addition to any financia…
Fla. Stat. § 496.4072 Financial statements for specific disaster relief solicitations
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(1) A charitable organization or sponsor that solicits contributions in this state for a charitable purpose related to a specific disaster or crisis and receives at least $50,000 in contributions in response to such solicitation shall file quarterly disaster relief financial stat…
Fla. Stat. § 496.409 Registration and duties of professional fundraising consultant
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(1) A person may not act as a professional fundraising consultant unless he or she has first complied with the requirements of ss. 496.401-496.424 and has obtained approval of the department of a registration statement in accordance with subsection (6). A person may not act as a …
Fla. Stat. § 496.410 Registration and duties of professional solicitors
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(1) No person may act as a professional solicitor unless the person has first complied with the requirements of ss. 496.401-496.424 and has obtained approval of the department of a registration statement in accordance with subsection (5). A person may not act as a professional so…
Fla. Stat. § 496.4101 Licensure of professional solicitors and certain employees thereof
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(1) Each officer, director, trustee, or owner of a professional solicitor and any employee of a professional solicitor conducting telephonic solicitations during which a donor’s or potential donor’s personal financial information is requested or provided must, before engaging in …
Fla. Stat. § 496.411 Disclosure requirements and duties of charitable organizations and sponsors
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(1) A charitable organization or sponsor may solicit contributions only for the purpose expressed in the solicitation for contributions or the registration statement of the charitable organization or sponsor and may apply contributions only in a manner substantially consistent wi…
Fla. Stat. § 496.412 Disclosure requirements and duties of professional solicitors
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(1) A professional solicitor must comply with and be responsible for complying or causing compliance with the following disclosures:(a) Before orally requesting a contribution, or contemporaneously with a written request for a contribution, a professional solicitor must clearly d…
Fla. Stat. § 496.4121 Collection receptacles used for donations
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(1) As used in this section, the term “collection receptacle” means a receptacle used to collect donated clothing, household items, or other goods for resale.(2) A collection receptacle must display a permanent sign or label on each side which contains the following information p…
Fla. Stat. § 496.413 Contributions solicited for or accepted on behalf of a named individual
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(1) Contributions solicited for, or accepted by or on behalf of, a named individual must be deposited in a trust account opened by a trustee named in a properly established trust document or must be deposited in a depository established in accordance with s. 69.031. The circuit c…
Fla. Stat. § 496.414 Duties of commercial co-venturers
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(1) Prior to the commencement of any charitable or sponsor sales promotion in this state conducted by a commercial co-venturer on behalf of a charitable organization or sponsor, the commercial co-venturer must obtain the written consent of the charitable organization or sponsor w…
Fla. Stat. § 496.415 Prohibited acts
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It is unlawful for any person in connection with the planning, conduct, or execution of any solicitation or charitable or sponsor sales promotion to:(1) Operate in violation of, or fail to comply with, the requirements of ss. 496.401-496.424.(2) Submit false, misleading, or inacc…
Fla. Stat. § 496.416 Violation as deceptive or unfair trade practice
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Any person who commits an act or practice that violates any provision of ss. 496.401-496.424 commits an unfair or deceptive act or practice or unfair method of competition in violation of chapter 501, part II, and is subject to the penalties and remedies provided for such violati…
Fla. Stat. § 496.417 Criminal penalties
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Except as otherwise provided in ss. 496.401-496.424, and in addition to any administrative or civil penalties, any person who willfully and knowingly violates ss. 496.401-496.424 commits a felony of the third degree, punishable as provided in s. 775.082, s. 775.083, or s. 775.084…
Fla. Stat. § 496.418 Recordkeeping and accounting
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(1) Each charitable organization, sponsor, professional fundraising consultant, and professional solicitor that collects or takes control or possession of contributions made for a charitable purpose must keep records to permit accurate reporting and auditing as required by law, m…
Fla. Stat. § 496.419 Powers of the department
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(1) The department may conduct an investigation of any person or organization whenever there is an appearance, either upon complaint or otherwise, that a violation of ss. 496.401-496.424 or s. 496.426 or of any rule adopted or of any order issued pursuant thereto has been committ…
Fla. Stat. § 496.4191 Additional penalty; immediate suspension
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Upon notification and subsequent written verification by a law enforcement agency, a court, a state attorney, or the Department of Law Enforcement, the department shall immediately suspend a registration or the processing of an application for a registration if the registrant, ap…
Fla. Stat. § 496.420 Civil remedies and enforcement
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(1) In addition to other remedies authorized by law, the department may bring a civil action in circuit court to enforce ss. 496.401-496.424 or s. 496.426. Upon a finding that a person has violated any of these sections, a court may make any necessary order or enter a judgment in…
Fla. Stat. § 496.421 More stringent local provisions not preempted by ss. 496.401-496.424
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Sections 496.401-496.424 do not preempt more stringent county or municipal provisions or restrict local units of government from adopting more stringent provisions, and, in such case, such provisions must be complied with if the registrant desires to solicit within the geographic…
Fla. Stat. § 496.422 Duties of the Department of State
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The Department of State shall include in the materials it sends to persons or organizations seeking to register as nonprofit corporations, pursuant to chapter 617, and include with the annual report notice to be filed with the Department of State each year, a notice of the regist…
Fla. Stat. § 496.423 Public information; annual report
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(1) The department shall develop a public information program, which should include a plan to distribute information to the public, to further the purposes of ss. 496.401-496.424.(2) The purpose of the program is to help the public recognize unlawful, misleading, deceptive, or fr…
Fla. Stat. § 496.424 Rulemaking authority
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The department has the authority to adopt rules pursuant to ss. 120.536(1) and 120.54 to implement the provisions of ss. 496.401-496.424 or s. 496.426.
Fla. Stat. § 496.425 Solicitation of funds within public transportation facilities
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(1) As used in this section:(a) “Authority” means this state or any agency thereof, a county or municipality, or any entity established by law for the purpose of operating a public transportation facility.(b) “Facility” means any public transportation facility, including, but not…
Fla. Stat. § 496.4255 Public airport not required to grant permit or access
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Notwithstanding s. 496.425, a governmental entity or authority that owns or operates an airport, as defined in s. 332.01, may not be required to issue a permit or grant any person access to airport property for the purpose of soliciting funds.
Fla. Stat. § 496.426 Registration and solicitation requirements
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(1) In addition to the other requirements of this chapter, a sponsor is eligible to register and solicit contributions in this state only if the sponsor is a bona fide membership organization that consists of members:(a) Who are individuals;(b) Of whom at least 10 percent or 100 …
Fla. Stat. § 496.430 Disqualification from certain tax exemptions
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(1) In addition to the penalties provided for in s. 496.419(5), the department may issue an order to disqualify a charitable organization or sponsor from receiving any sales tax exemption certificate issued by the Department of Revenue if the department finds a violation of s. 49…