South Carolina Code 33-56-110. Registration of professional solicitor, fund-raising counsel, or commercial co-venturer; application; surety bond; duration of registration; penalties; ineligible persons
(B) The application for a professional solicitor must be signed by its chief executive officer and chief financial officer and certified as true, and must include the following:
Terms Used In South Carolina Code 33-56-110
- Charitable organization: means a person, as defined in item (7):
(i) determined by the Internal Revenue Service to be a tax exempt organization pursuant to Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code;
(ii) that is or holds itself out to be established for any benevolent, social welfare, scientific, educational, environmental, philanthropic, humane, patriotic, public health, civic, or other eleemosynary purpose, or for the benefit of law enforcement personnel, firefighters, or other persons who protect the public safety; or
(iii) that employs a charitable appeal as the basis of solicitation or an appeal that suggests that there is a charitable purpose to a solicitation, or that solicits or obtains contributions solicited from the public for a charitable purpose. See South Carolina Code 33-56-20 - Commercial co-venturer: means a person that regularly and primarily engages in trade or commerce for profit that, for the benefit of a charitable organization, may raise funds by advertising that the purchase or use of goods, services, entertainment, or other thing of value benefits the charitable organization, if it is offered at a price comparable to similar goods or services in the market. See South Carolina Code 33-56-20
- Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
- Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
- Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
- Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. Source: OCC
- Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
- Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Nolo contendere: No contest-has the same effect as a plea of guilty, as far as the criminal sentence is concerned, but may not be considered as an admission of guilt for any other purpose.
- Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
- Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
- Person: means an individual, an organization, a trust, a foundation, a group, an association, a partnership, a corporation, a society, or a combination of them. See South Carolina Code 33-56-20
- Professional fundraising counsel: means a person that for a fixed rate of compensation plans, conducts, manages, prepares materials for, advises, or acts as a consultant, directly or indirectly, in connection with soliciting contributions for or on behalf of a charitable organization, but that actually does not solicit, receive, or collect contributions as a part of these services. See South Carolina Code 33-56-20
- Professional solicitor: means a person that, for monetary or other consideration, solicits contributions for or on behalf of a charitable organization, either personally or through its agents, servants, or employees or through agents, servants, or employees who are specially employed by or for a charitable organization, who are engaged in the solicitation of contributions under the direction of that person. See South Carolina Code 33-56-20
- solicitation: means to request and the request for money, credit, property, financial assistance, or other thing of value, or a portion of it, to be used for a charitable purpose or to benefit a charitable organization. See South Carolina Code 33-56-20
(1) legal name of the applicant and all other names under which the professional solicitor is known or operates;
(2) principal address of the applicant and address of officers and directors of the applicant;
(3) list of employees, whether full time, part time, or contract, and their job titles;
(4) form of the applicant’s business;
(5) names, addresses, and titles of all current principal officers, directors, individual owners, or partners, and those for the preceding three years;
(6) list of the full names and addresses of each state in which an applicant is registered currently as a professional solicitor or professional fundraising counsel;
(7) list of charitable organizations with which an applicant contracted in this State for the previous three years;
(8) registration fee of fifty dollars;
(9) statement as to whether the applicant, or its directors, principal officers, individual owners, or partners is or has been the subject of a legal or administrative action, including an injunction, concerning a charitable solicitation, fundraising campaign, or campaign with a commercial co-venturer by another local, state, or federal governmental authority including, but not limited to, registration or license revocation or denial, fines, injunctions, suspensions, or voluntary agreement to discontinue any charitable solicitation activity and, if so, a written explanation of those actions;
(10) statement as to whether the applicant, or its directors, principal officers, individual owners, or partners has been the subject of a criminal conviction, including guilty or nolo contendere pleas, involving any charitable solicitations act, fraud, dishonesty, false statement, forgery, or theft, including identity theft, in a jurisdiction within the United States and, if so, a description and date of any such conviction;
(11) list of individuals who serve as couriers or employees to personally collect contributed funds from solicited parties, as applicable; and
(12) statement as to the relationship of any of the officers, directors, trustees, or board members of the professional solicitor to:
(a) each other; or
(b) a director, officer, agent, or employee of a charitable organization under contract with the professional fundraising counsel or solicitor.
(C) The application for an individual professional solicitor employed by a professional solicitor company registered pursuant to subsection (B) must be signed by the applicant and certified as true, and must include the following:
(1) legal name and address of the applicant;
(2) legal name and address of the applicant’s employer;
(3) list of the full names and addresses of each state in which an applicant is registered currently as a professional solicitor or professional fundraising counsel;
(4) list of charitable organizations with which an applicant contracted in this State for the previous three years;
(5) registration fee of fifty dollars;
(6) statement as to whether the applicant is or has been the subject of a legal or administrative action, including an injunction, concerning a charitable solicitation, fundraising campaign, or campaign with a commercial co-venturer by another local, state, or federal governmental authority including, but not limited to, registration or license revocation or denial, fines, injunctions, suspensions, or voluntary agreement to discontinue any charitable solicitation activity and, if so, a written explanation of those actions; and
(7) statement as to whether the applicant is or has been the subject of a criminal conviction, including guilty or nolo contendere pleas, involving any charitable solicitations act, fraud, dishonesty, false statement, forgery, or theft, including identity theft, in a jurisdiction within the United States and, if so, a description and date of any such conviction.
(D) The application for a professional fundraising counsel must be signed by its chief executive officer and chief financial officer and certified as true, and must include the following:
(1) legal name of the applicant and all other names under which the professional fundraising counsel is known or operates;
(2) principal address of the applicant and address of officers and directors of the applicant;
(3) list of employees, whether full time, part time, or contract, and their job titles;
(4) form of the applicant’s business;
(5) names, addresses, and titles of all current principal officers, directors, individual owners, or partners, and those for the preceding three years;
(6) list of the full names and addresses of each state in which an applicant is registered currently as a professional fundraising counsel or professional solicitor;
(7) list of charitable organizations with which an applicant contracted in this State for the previous three years;
(8) registration fee of fifty dollars;
(9) statement as to whether the applicant, or its directors, principal officers, individual owners, or partners is or has been the subject of a legal or administrative action, including an injunction, concerning a charitable solicitation, fundraising campaign, or campaign with a commercial co-venturer by another local, state, or federal governmental authority including, but not limited to, registration or license revocation or denial, fines, injunctions, suspensions, or voluntary agreement to discontinue any charitable solicitation activity and, if so, a written explanation of those actions;
(10) statement as to whether the applicant, or its directors, principal officers, individual owners, or partners has been the subject of a criminal conviction, including guilty or nolo contendere pleas, involving any charitable solicitations act, fraud, dishonesty, false statement, forgery, or theft, including identity theft, in a jurisdiction within the United States and, if so, a description and date of any such conviction;
(11) statement as to the relationship of any of the officers, directors, trustees, or board members to:
(a) each other; or
(b) a director, officer, agent, or employee of a charitable organization under contract with the professional fundraising counsel.
(E) The application for a commercial co-venturer must be signed by its chief executive officer and chief financial officer and certified as true, and must include the following:
(1) legal name of the applicant and all other names under which the commercial co-venturer is known or operates;
(2) principal address of the applicant and address of officers and directors of the applicant;
(3) form of the applicant’s business;
(4) list of the full names and addresses of each state in which an applicant is registered currently as a commercial co-venturer;
(5) list of charitable organizations with which an applicant contracted in this State for the previous three years;
(6) registration fee of fifty dollars;
(7) statement as to whether the applicant, or its directors, principal officers, individual owners, or partners is or has been the subject of a legal or administrative action, including an injunction, concerning a charitable solicitation, fundraising campaign, or campaign with a commercial co-venturer by another local, state, or federal governmental authority including, but not limited to, registration or license revocation or denial, fines, injunctions, suspensions, or voluntary agreement to discontinue any charitable solicitation activity and, if so, a written explanation of those actions;
(8) statement as to whether the applicant, or its directors, principal officers, individual owners, or partners has been the subject of a criminal conviction, including guilty or nolo contendere pleas, involving any charitable solicitations act, fraud, dishonesty, false statement, forgery, or theft, including identity theft, in a jurisdiction within the United States and, if so, a description and date of any such conviction;
(9) statement as to the relationship of any of the officers, directors, trustees, or board members to:
(a) each other; or
(b) a director, officer, agent, or employee of a charitable organization under contract with the commercial co-venturer.
(F) At the time of application, a professional solicitor registered pursuant to subsection (B) shall file with and have approved by the Secretary of State a surety bond, and a list of all professional solicitors operating under the bond. The applicant or its employer must be the principal obligor in the sum of fifteen thousand dollars, with one or more sureties that are satisfactory to the Secretary of State and whose liability in the aggregate as the sureties at least equals that sum, and shall maintain the bond in effect so long as a registration is in effect. A deposit of cash in the amount of fifteen thousand dollars may be accepted instead of the bond. The bond shall run to the State of South Carolina for the use of the Secretary of State or his appropriate division and a person who has cause of action against the obligor of the bond for losses resulting from malfeasance, nonfeasance, or misfeasance in the conduct of solicitation activities or any violation of this chapter. A partnership or corporation which is a professional solicitor may file a consolidated bond on behalf of all its members, officers, and employees.
(G) Each registration is valid throughout the State for one year and may be renewed for additional one-year periods upon written application under oath in the form prescribed by the Secretary of State and upon payment of the fee prescribed in this chapter.
(H) A professional solicitor, professional fundraising counsel, or commercial co-venturer that fails to comply with the provisions of this section is liable for an administrative fine of ten dollars for each day of noncompliance, not to exceed two thousand dollars for each separate violation.
(I) A professional solicitor or professional fundraising counsel that has been convicted of or pled guilty or nolo contendere to a crime involving charitable solicitation activities or a felony involving fraud, dishonesty, false statement, forgery, or theft, including identity theft, in a jurisdiction within the United States in the past five years may be ineligible for registration as a professional solicitor or professional fundraising counsel in the State of South Carolina.