A.
Documentation required for registration. Any professional solicitor subject to
registration, pursuant to §
57-61 of the
Code of Virginia,
shall
file with the commissioner a registration statement on a form prescribed
by the
commissioner, with all questions answered and with an officer's
notarized signature . In accordance with subsection A of §
57-61 of the
Code of Virginia, a
professional solicitor may
register for and pay a single fee on behalf of all
its members, officers,
agents (including any subcontractors), and employees.
For any specific campaign, any agent or
subcontractor not directly under
contract or agreement to the registered professional solicitor must
file with
the commissioner its own registration. The completed registration statement
shall include the following attachments :
1.
Fee. An annual fee and late filing fee, if applicable, in the amount prescribed
in subsection A of §
57-61 of the Code of Virginia,
made payable to "Treasurer of Virginia";
2. Bond. The completed professional
solicitor's bond form prescribed by the commissioner as required in subsection
B of §
57-61 of the Code of Virginia,
with corporate surety authorized by the Virginia State Corporation Commission
to act as a surety within the Commonwealth;
3. Governing documents. A copy of the
certificate and articles of incorporation, if the solicitor is incorporated,
and, if a nonresident (foreign) partnership or corporation, the certificate of
authority to transact business in Virginia, as required by the Virginia State
Corporation Commission; and
4.
Contracts. A signed copy of all current contracts with charitable or civic
organizations soliciting in Virginia, as required by §
57-54 of the Code of Virginia, and
all current contracts with any agents or subcontractors hired to fulfill the
terms o f the contracts with those charitable or civic organizations.
B. Written authorization from
charitable organizations. No professional solicitor or subcontractor shall
solicit in the name of, or on behalf of, any charitable or civic organization
unless such solicitor has filed with the commissioner one copy of a written
authorization from two officers of such organization, as required in subsection
F of §
57-57 of the Code of Virginia .
Such written authorization shall be submitted as a solicitation notice or
consent to solicit on a form prescribed by the commissioner. The consent to
solicit shall be submitted by the professional solicitor for each agent or
subcontractor authorized by the charitable or civic organization to conduct the
fund-raising campaign. The consent to solicit shall be submitted by the
professional solicitor for each charitable or civic organization named in a
fund-raising campaign, in addition to the charitable or civic organization with
which the professional solicit or has a contract or agreement.
C. Disclosures.
1. Pursuant to §
57-55.2 of the
Code of Virginia,
each professional solicitor shall, in the course of an oral solicitation:
a. Identify himself by:
(1) Disclosing his own real first name and
surname;
(2) Stating affirmatively
that he is a "paid solicitor"; and
(3) Disclosing the primary name under which
the professional solicitor is registered with the commissioner or, if he is
employed by a subcontractor, disclosing the primary name of the subcontractor
as identified on the consent to solicit form prescribed by the commissioner ;
and
b. Identify his
employing charitable or civic organization by disclosing the
primary name, as
registered with the
commissioner, of the charitable or civic organization for
which the solicitation is being made.
An example of the disclosure for a professional solicitor
would be: "This is John Doe, a paid solicitor of XYZ Company. I'm calling on
behalf of DEF Charity."
An example of the disclosure for a subcontractor would be:
"This is John Doe, a paid solicitor of XYZ Company. I'm calling on behalf of
DEF Charity."
An example of the disclosure for an employee of a
subcontractor would be: "This is John Doe, a paid solicitor of ABC
subcontractor. I'm calling on behalf of DEF Charity."
2. Pursuant to clause (iii) of
§
57-55.2 of the Code of Virginia,
each professional solicitor shall, in the course of a written solicitation,
include the following statement: "The professional solicitor conducting this
campaign, (primary name of professional solicitor), files a financial report
for each campaign it conducts. Copies of these financial reports are available
from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, P.O. Box
1163, Richmond, VA 23218." This statement shall be in bold typeface no smaller
than 10-point with grammatically correct capitalization and lowercase letters.
The statement shall appear on the front side of the document on a portion that
is retained by the potential donor.
3. Pursuant to subsection L of §
57-57 of the
Code of Virginia, the
preprinted address on any return envelope, prepared under the direction of the
professional solicitor and provided to a potential donor, that is not addressed
to the charitable or civic organization's own
primary address, shall include
the name of the business located at the address on the return envelope in the
following format:
ABC Charity
c/o XYZ Company
111 Main Street (#)
City, ST Zip Code
The name on line two may be the name of the professional
solicitor, a third party caging company or bank, a commercial mail-receiving
agency, or other receiver, but, in any case, must be the name of the company
that actually resides at the preprinted address on the return envelope. This
requirement does not apply to mail addressed to a United States Post Office box
rented from the U.S. Postal Service.
D. Contribution collection devices.
1. Pursuant to subsections A and D and clause
(i) of subsection F of §
57-61 of the
Code of Virginia, for
a solicitation campaign employing collection devices including, but not limited
to, vending machines or canisters, the professional solicitor shall maintain a
record listing each establishment in which a collection device is placed
including:
a. The name of the
establishment;
b. The primary
address of the establishment;
c.
The name of the person in the establishment who granted permission to place the
collection device there;
d. The
date the collection device was placed in the establishment; and
e. The date on which the collection device
was removed.
2. The
professional solicitor employing contribution collection devices shall comply
with the disclosure provisions of subsection C of this section and with the
campaign documents provisions of subsection E of this section.
E. Fund-raising campaign forms.
1. The professional solicitor shall submit
the solicitation notice and final accounting report, on forms prescribed by the
commissioner, as required in subsections A and D of §
57-61 of the Code of Virginia, and
such forms shall not be considered as filed unless all questions are answered
and contain original signatures of all required parties.
2. The professional solicitor shall
submit
the completed solicitation notice on a form prescribed by the
commissioner :
a. Prior to any fund-raising campaign;
and
b. Annually, on or before the
anniversary of the contract date, for any continuous fund-raising
campaign.
3. The
professional solicitor shall submit an amended solicitation notice on a form
prescribed by the commissioner within seven days of any changes to information
previously submitted.
4. The
professional solicitor shall submit, upon cancellation of a fund-raising
campaign prior to any solicitations, a copy of the completed solicitation
notice form previously filed, with a statement indicating that the campaign has
been canceled. If a campaign is canceled after solicitations have begun, the
professional solicitor shall notify the commissioner of the cancellation within
seven days of the cancellation and submit the final accounting report on a form
prescribed by the commissioner in accordance with subsection E of §
57-61 of the Code of Virginia and
this section.
5. The professional
solicitor shall
submit the final accounting
report on a form prescribed by the
commissioner :
a. Not later than 90 days
after the completion date of the solicitation campaign, or in accordance with
extensions granted pursuant to subsection E of §
57-61 of the Code of Virginia, and
any subsequent changes in the information submitted shall be reported every 90
days thereafter for a fund-raising campaign of finite duration; and
b. On an annual basis, not later than 90 days
after the anniversary of the contract date, or in accordance with extensions
granted pursuant to subsection E of §
57-61 of the Code of Virginia, for
a continuous fund-raising campaign.
6. The final accounting report required by
subdivision E 5 of this section shall not be considered as filed if the
completed form does not contain original signatures or if any blanks are not
filled in or attachments are missing. Any applicable late filing fees, pursuant
to subsection E of §
57-61 of the Code of Virginia,
will continue to accrue until a completed final accounting report is
filed.
7. The professional
solicitor shall maintain during the solicitation, and for a period of three
years thereafter, acknowledgment of receipt of donated tickets on a form
prescribed by the commissioner from each person or charitable or civic
organization to accept tickets and specifying the number of persons on whose
behalf tickets were to be accepted. Such completed forms shall be submitted
after notice from the commissioner to produce such, pursuant to subsection M of
§
57-57 of the Code of
Virginia.
F.
Subcontractors.
1. Filing requirements.
a. Any subcontractor operating under a
contract or agreement with a registered professional solicitor shall be treated
as an agent of that professional solicitor and is not required to
register.
b. Any agent (but not an
employee) of a subcontractor operating under a contract or agreement with that
subcontractor to solicit shall register separately.
2. Authorizations to solicit.
a. Subcontractors shall operate under a
written contract and such contract shall be filed with the commissioner,
pursuant to subdivision A 4 of this section.
b. Subcontractors shall have written
authorization from two officers of the charitable or civic organization to
solicit on their behalf. Such authorization may be filed on a consent to
solicit form prescribed by the commissioner.
3. Subcontractors shall keep records in
accordance with subsection F of §
57-61 of the Code of Virginia and
shall furnish either the originals or copies to the registered professional
solicitor.