Ohio Code 1716.17 – Fiduciary duties
Every person who solicits, collects, or expends contributions on behalf of a charitable organization or for a charitable purpose, or who conducts a charitable sales promotion, and every officer, director, trustee, or employee of that person who is concerned with the solicitation, collection, or expenditure of those contributions shall be considered a fiduciary and as acting in a fiduciary capacity.
Terms Used In Ohio Code 1716.17
- Charitable organization: means either of the following:
(a) Any person that is determined by the internal revenue service to be a tax exempt organization pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;
(b) Any person that is or holds itself out to be established for any benevolent, philanthropic, patriotic, educational, humane, scientific, public health, environmental conservation, civic, or other eleemosynary purpose or for the benefit of law enforcement personnel, firefighters, or other persons who protect the public safety, or any person who in any manner employs a charitable appeal as the basis of any solicitation or an appeal that suggests that there is a charitable purpose to any solicitation. See Ohio Code 1716.01
- Charitable purpose: means either of the following:
(a) Any purpose described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;
(b) Any benevolent, philanthropic, patriotic, educational, humane, scientific, public health, environmental conservation, civic, or other eleemosynary objective or any objective that benefits law enforcement personnel, firefighters, or other persons who protect the public safety. See Ohio Code 1716.01
- Charitable sales promotion: means any advertising or sale conducted by a person who represents that the purchase or use of goods or services offered by the person will benefit, in whole or in part, any charitable organization or charitable purpose. See Ohio Code 1716.01
- Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- solicitation: includes but is not limited to the following methods of requesting or securing the promise, pledge, or grant of money, property, financial assistance, or any other thing of value:
(a) Any oral or written request;
(b) Making any announcement to the press, on radio or television, by telephone or telegraph, or by any other communication device concerning an appeal or campaign by or for any charitable organization or for any charitable purpose;
(c) Distributing, circulating, posting, or publishing any handbill, written advertisement, or other publication that directly or by implication seeks to obtain any contribution;
(d) Selling or offering or attempting to sell any advertisement, advertising space, book, card, tag, coupon, chance, device, magazine, membership, merchandise, subscription, sponsorship, flower, ticket, admission, candy, cookies, or other tangible item, or any right of any description in connection with which an appeal is made for any charitable organization or charitable purpose, or when the name of any charitable organization is used or referred to in any such appeal as an inducement or reason for making the sale, or when in connection with the sale or offer or attempt to sell, any statement is made that all or part of the proceeds from the sale will be used for any charitable purpose or will benefit any charitable organization. See Ohio Code 1716.01
- Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
This section does not supersede or otherwise alter the standard of care or the limitations on the liability of volunteers under section 1702.30 or 2305.38 of the Revised Code.