ROA MEMBERS:
Only after trying unsuccessfully to secure, from the ROA Board, very basic ROA operating and financial information
which every member has a right to know, we had to resort to going to appropriate Commonwealth of Virginia
agencies where this information should have been properly filed at formation and kept current thereafter. The result
was a negative search since Richmond Orchid Alliance never filed all necessary information pertaining to fund raising and
other activity in the Commonwealth of Virginia.
The Freedom of Information Act is applicable and every ROA member and anyone else has the right to ask for the operating
and financial information of this 501c3 group receiving donations of any kind in the Commonwealth of Virginia. The
various information that follows, can lead you to the regulations that govern this situation. ROA has never properly
operated under these regulations and as a result is non-compliant with their obligation to the Commonwealth of Virginia and to properly represent
the ROA membership.
† Nonprofits are accountable to the public, their funders, and, in some instances, government granting bodies, and
it is vital to establish a system of controls (checks and balances) when establishing the organization’s accounting
practices. Responsible financial management requires the establishment of an accounting system that meets both current and
anticipated needs.
† Fulfill charitable
solicitation law requirements. If your organization’s plans include fundraising, be aware that many states and few local
jurisdictions regulate organizations that solicit funds within that state, county, or city.
Pertinent INFO and LINKS:
Charitable Search
The Office of Consumer Affairs (OCA) is responsible for
the administration of the Virginia Solicitation of Contributions Law. The law requires any organization soliciting in Virginia
to file with OCA. Registration does not imply endorsement of a public solicitation for contributions. Before contributing
it is always advisable to determine if the group is filed with OCA and to review financial information on the organization
to determine how they intend to spend your contribution. Use this search to determine the filing status and other information
about charitable organizations, professional fundraising counsel and professional solicitors.
Definitions
"Charitable organization" means any person which is or holds
itself out to be organized or operated for any charitable purpose, or any person which solicits or obtains contributions solicited
from the public. This definition shall not be deemed to include (i) any church or convention or association of churches, primarily
operated for nonsecular purposes and no part of the net income of which inures to the direct benefit of any individual; (ii)
any political party as defined in § 24.2-101 or any political campaign committee or political action committee or other political committee
required by state or federal law to file a report or statement of contributions and expenditures; or (iii) any authorized
individual who solicits, by authority of such organization, solely on behalf of a registered or exempt charitable organization
or on behalf of an organization excluded from the definition of charitable organization.
Contribution" means
any gift, bequest, devise or other grant of any money, credit, financial assistance or property of any kind or value, including
the promise to contribute, except payments by the membership of an organization for membership fees, dues, fines, or assessments,
or for services rendered to individual members, and except money, credit, financial assistance or property received from any
governmental authority. The term "contribution" shall not include any donation of blood or any gift made pursuant to Article
2 (§ 32.1-289 et seq.) of Chapter 8 of Title 32.1.
"Solicit" and "solicitation" mean the request or appeal, directly
or indirectly, for any contribution on the plea or representation that such contribution will be used for a charitable purpose,
including, without limitation, the following methods of requesting such contribution:
1. Any oral or written request;
2. Any announcement to the press, over the radio or television,
or by telephone or telegraph concerning an appeal or campaign to which the public is requested to make a contribution for
any charitable purpose connected therewith;
3. The distribution, circulation, posting or publishing of any
handbill, written advertisement or other publication which directly or by implication seeks to obtain public support; or
4. The sale of, offer or attempt to sell, any advertisement,
advertising space, subscription, ticket, or any service or tangible item in connection with which any appeal is made for any
charitable purpose or where the name of any charitable or civic organization is used or referred to in any such appeal as
an inducement or reason for making any such sale, or when or where in connection with any such sale, any statement is made
that the whole or any part of the proceeds from any such sale will be donated to any charitable purpose.
A. Every charitable organization, except as otherwise provided
in this chapter, which intends to solicit contributions within the Commonwealth, or have funds solicited on its behalf, shall,
prior to any solicitation, file an initial registration statement with the Commissioner upon forms acceptable to him. Each
registration statement shall thereafter be refiled on or before the fifteenth day of the fifth calendar month of the next
and each following fiscal year in which such charitable organization is engaged in solicitation activities within the Commonwealth.
It shall be the duty of the president, chairman or principal officer of such charitable organization to file the statements
required under this chapter. A charitable organization's registration statement may alternatively be filed online on a website
approved by the Commissioner.
Link: http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+57-48
Links:
Website info: Rules Governing the Solicitation of Contributions (PDF 89KB)
§ 57-56. Information filed to become public records.
Registration statements, reports, professional fund-raising counsel
contracts or professional solicitor contracts and all other documents and information required to be filed under this chapter
shall become public records in the office of the Commissioner, and shall be open to the general public for inspection at such
time and under such conditions as the Commissioner may prescribe. A charge not exceeding one dollar per page may be made for
any copy of such documents and information as may be furnished any person by the Commissioner.
(1974, c. 574; 1979, c. 595.)
§ 57-53. Records to be kept by charitable organizations.
Every charitable organization shall keep true fiscal records
for all fiscal years beginning on and after January 1, 1975, in accordance with the standards and practices set out in Standards
of Accounting and Financial Reporting for Voluntary Health and Welfare Organizations adopted and approved in December, 1964,
by the National Health Council and National Social Welfare Assembly, and as may be modified from time to time by the National
Health Council and the National Assembly for Policy and Development, or in accordance with the standards and practices set
out in Uniform Chart of Accounts and Definitions for Hospitals as approved by, and as may be modified by, the American Hospital
Association, or in accordance with such other uniform standards of accounting as the Commissioner may find to be as appropriate.
A copy of such standards shall be maintained on file in the office of the Commissioner. Such records shall be retained for
a period of at least three years after the end of the period of registration to which they relate.
(1974, c. 574; 1979, c. 595.)
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+57-53
Other links
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+57-48
http://leg1.state.va.us/cgi-bin/legp504.exe?000+cod+57-49
