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What is the statutory authority for charities registration?
In creating the Charitable Registration and Investigation Act of 1994, the Legislature declared; "...in order to protect the public from fraud and deceptive practices, it is essential that information concerning charitable fund raising activities of charitable organizations, professional fund raisers, commercial co-ventures and solicitors be readily available to the people of the State." By enacting the law, the Governor and the Legislature intended to make information concerning the financial activities of charitable organizations "more readily available to the citizens by whose generosity such funds are raised. " To make this possible, the Legislature stated, "...it is necessary to require the registration of charitable organizations, professional fund raisers, and solicitors with the Attorney General, and that the Attorney General have the powers necessary to obtain and disseminate to the public data concerning fund raising practices of these persons." Since the law's enactment, more than 34,000 charities have registered with the Division of Consumer Affairs Charities Registration and Investigation Section.
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What is the Charities Registration and Investigation Section?
The Division of Consumer Affairs' Charities Registration and Investigation Section registers and regulates charitable organizations, professional fund raisers, and fund raising counsels operating in New Jersey. Each year, these groups must renew their registrations with the Charities Registration Section and submit financial documents relating to their activities as well as fund-raising contracts and reports. The section, in turn, reviews those documents to ensure the charity is in compliance with the law.
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How do I reach the Charities Registration Section?
The mailing address is Charities Registration Section, P.O. Box 45021, Newark, NJ 07101; Telephone is (973) 504-6215; The e-mail address is:
CharitiesPortalSupport@dca.lps.state.nj.us.
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Who must register?
- Any organization that has been granted a 501(c)(3) tax exempt status by the IRS;
- Charities that is domiciled in New Jersey;
- Those charities that solicit New Jersey residents for a charitable cause, or any cause that a prospective donor may perceive to be charitable; and
- Any fund raiser receiving compensation to conduct fund raising on behalf of a charity or who acts as fund raising counsel to a charity. In addition, copies of contracts between the charity and the fund raiser must also be filed with the Charities Registration Section.
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Are any charities exempt from registering?
- Charities taking in less than $10,000 in Gross Contributions if all functions and fund raising activities are done by volunteers.
- Religious organizations and schools that file their curricula with the Department of Education.
- Libraries registered by the State Department of Education who meet their prescribed financial reporting requirements.
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Does New Jersey accept the "multistate" filers form?
No. All charity registrations must be filed online through the NJ Charities portal.
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When is a charity's annual renewal registration due?
Six months after an organization's fiscal year ends.
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How does a charity request an extension of time to file its registration?
Extension requests can
only be filed through the NJ Charities Portal.
Although registration renewals are due within 180 days after the charity's fiscal year-ending, compliant charities whose gross contributions exceed $10,000 may request an extension of time to file. Extension requests must be submitted by the registration renewal due date. Charities whose gross contributions are less than $10,000 cannot be granted an extension and should file by the original due date. If a charity of this type is late in filing, a $25 late fee should be included with the registration fee of $30.
Only eligible charities will be able to access the extensions link. If your charity takes in less than the $10,000 threshold or is not compliant, you will not be eligible and therefore will not see an extensions link.
PLEASE NOTE: IRS extensions
(of time to file the IRS990) alone are not recognized by the CRI Act in relation to filing the annual Charities Registration Renewal. A separate extension request, as described above, must be submitted.
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What are the two different levels of registration filings?
Short form filers who receive less than $25,000 in gross contributions from the public should use registration form CRI-200 for both their initial registration and their annual renewal registrations.
Long form filers who receive more than $25,000 in gross contributions from the public should use registration form CRI-150-I for their initial registration and form CRI-300R for their annual renewal registrations.
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Registration Forms?
Charity registration forms CRI 200, CRI 150-I, CRI 300-R, CRI 400, must now be completed on line through our NJ Charities Portal.
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Registration Fees?
There are filing fees associated with the annual filings which are based on gross contributions reported:
- Short form filers raising $0 - $10,000 = $30 fee
- Short form filers raising between $10,001 - $25,000 = $30 fee
- Long form filers raising between $25,001 - $100,000 = $60 fee
- Long form filers raising between $100,001 - $500,000 = $150 fee
- Long form filers raising over $500,000 = $250 fee
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Late Fees?
Based on the due date of the registration renewal, late filers are required to submit a $25 late fee with their filing fee. The late fee is the same, regardless of the form used or the gross contributions being reported.
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Methods of Payment?
Payment must be made online through the
NJ DCA Portal by credit or debit card.
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Glossary of Terms
REVENUE / INCOME
Direct Public Contributions
Those funds that are directly received from the donors either in person or by mail.
Indirect Public Contributions
Those funds that are received by the charity that were solicited for that charity by another charity. An example of that is the United Way that distributes funds raised to agencies.
Gross Contributions
the total of Direct Public Contributions and Indirect Public Contributions.
Government Grants
Any funds that are received by the charity that are issued by municipal, county, state or federal governments.
Other Support
Those funds that are received by the charity that come from other sources of revenue.
Total Gross Revenue
The total of direct public contributions, indirect public contributions, government grants and any other support.
EXPENSES
Program Expenses
The dollars that are spent on the activities or programs for which the charity was founded.
Management Expenses
The dollars that are spent running the organization such as salaries, office expenses, etc.
Fund Raising
The dollars that are sent raising money to enable the charity to continue to exist.
Payments to Affiliates
The dollars that are spent by national charities to the local or state chapters; conversely, some local chapters pay dues to national offices.
Total Expenses
The sum of the expenses catagories.
Report in File
The most recent filing of financial information.
