Florida Statutes 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 disclose:
1. The name of the professional solicitor as on file with the department.
2. If the individual acting on behalf of the professional solicitor identifies himself or herself by name, the individual’s legal name.
3. The name and state of the principal place of business of the charitable organization or sponsor and a description of how the contributions raised by the solicitation will be used for a charitable or sponsor purpose or, if there is no charitable organization or sponsor, a description as to how the contributions raised by the solicitation will be used for a charitable or sponsor purpose.
Terms Used In Florida Statutes 496.412
- person: includes individuals, children, firms, associations, joint adventures, partnerships, estates, trusts, business trusts, syndicates, fiduciaries, corporations, and all other groups or combinations. See Florida Statutes 1.01
- writing: includes handwriting, printing, typewriting, and all other methods and means of forming letters and characters upon paper, stone, wood, or other materials. See Florida Statutes 1.01
(b) In the case of a solicitation campaign conducted orally, whether by telephone or otherwise, any written confirmation, receipt, or reminder sent to any person who has contributed or has pledged to contribute shall include a clear disclosure of the information required by paragraph (a).
(c) In addition to the information required by paragraph (a), any written confirmation, receipt, or reminder of contribution made pursuant to an oral solicitation and any solicitation shall conspicuously state:
“A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE WITHIN THE STATE. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE.”
The statement must include a toll-free number and website for the division which can be used to obtain the registration information. If the solicitation consists of more than one piece, the statement must be displayed prominently in the solicitation materials. If the solicitation occurs on a website, the statement must be conspicuously displayed on any web page that identifies a mailing address where contributions are to be sent, identifies a telephone number to call to process contributions, or provides for online processing of contributions.
(d) If requested by the person being solicited, the professional solicitor shall inform that person in writing, within 14 days after the request, of the fixed percentage of the gross revenue or the reasonable estimate of the percentage of the gross revenue that the charitable organization or sponsor will receive as a benefit from the solicitation campaign or shall immediately notify the person being solicited that the information is available on the department’s website or by calling the division’s toll-free number.
(e) If requested by the person being solicited, the professional solicitor shall inform that person in writing, within 14 days after the request, of the percentage of the contribution which may be deducted as a charitable contribution under federal income tax laws or shall immediately notify the person being solicited that the information is available on the department’s website or by calling the division’s toll-free number.
(2) A professional solicitor must not represent that tickets to any event will be donated for use by another person, unless the following requirements are complied with:
(a) The professional solicitor must have the written commitments from persons stating that they will accept donated tickets and specifying the number of tickets they are willing to accept.
(b) The written commitments are filed with the department prior to any solicitation.
(3) The contributions solicited for donated tickets must not be more than the amount representing the number of ticket commitments received from persons and filed with the department.
(4) At least 7 calendar days before the date of the event, the professional solicitor must give all donated tickets to each person that made the written commitment to accept them.