Description
State Charitable Solicitation Statutes: Everything You Wanted to Know but Were Afraid to Ask
Originally presented on Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Presented by: Don Kramer, Esq., Of Counsel, Montgomery, McCracken with Karl Emerson, Esq., of Montgomery, McCracken
Moderated by: Ashley Suhler Tobin, Standards for Excellence Director, PANO
Offered in Partnership with: Nonprofit Issues
If your nonprofit raises money outside your home state, you probably need to register. Right now, 38 states and the District of Columbia require registration before you can ask for donations. If you use a professional fundraising company, many states require those companies to register and file their contracts.
States are paying closer attention than ever. Regulators are stepping up enforcement, and groups that skip registration face big fines and penalties. Don’t let that happen to your organization.
Does your website have a “Donate Now” button? If so, you may need to register in every state that requires it. The rules aren’t always simple, and state regulators are still clarifying how online fundraising fits in.
The good news: not every group has to register. Some nonprofits qualify for exemptions. Registration also doesn’t always mean sending a full Schedule B with your IRS Form 990—it depends on the state. California, for example, is rolling out new rules to cover crowdfunding platforms.
If you don’t follow the rules, you put your nonprofit at risk. Understanding state charitable registration isn’t just for lawyers or accountants. Nonprofit leaders and board members need to know the basics, too—because protecting your nonprofit’s reputation and finances is everyone’s job.
ABOUT THE PRESENTERS
Donald W. Kramer, Esq., Nonprofit Issues & Montgomery McCracken
Donald W. Kramer serves as chair of Montgomery McCracken’s Nonprofit practice group. Don has more than 45 years of experience dealing with the concerns of nonprofit organizations, not only as a lawyer, but also as a teacher, writer, publisher, and board member. He has worked with nonprofits of all types and sizes, helping structure startup situations and restructure multiorganizational health and educational systems. He counsels on a wide range of nonprofit corporate structure and governance, private and community foundations, continuing care retirement communities, exempt organization taxation, low-income housing tax credit transactions, real estate, charitable giving, and other nonprofit issues. Don serves as the editor and publisher of Don Kramer’s Nonprofit Issues®, a national newsletter of “Nonprofit Law You Need to Know,” which he founded in 1989. Prior to joining Montgomery McCracken in 1972, Don served as deputy development coordinator and assistant to the mayor of Philadelphia.
Karl Emerson, Esq., Montgomery McCracken
Karl E. Emerson provides legal counsel and advice to nonprofit organizations, including advising charitable organizations and their fundraisers on compliance with state charitable solicitation statutes, conducting charitable organization compliance assessments, and conducting internal investigations for charitable and other tax-exempt organizations. Prior to joining Montgomery McCracken, Karl served as director of the Pennsylvania Bureau of Charitable Organizations where he was responsible for administering and enforcing Pennsylvania's charitable solicitation law. Under his direction, the number of registered organizations increased from approximately 3,700 to more than 9,800. He streamlined and eliminated cumbersome registration procedures and policies, implemented the first electronic registration system in the country and set up a Special Investigation and Audit Unit that pursues fraud and other abuses in the nonprofit sector. He worked closely with state and federal law enforcement agencies as well as foreign law enforcement agencies on several terrorist financing cases.
Ashley Suhler Tobin, PANO Standards for Excellence Director
Ashley Suhler Tobin is a strategic nonprofit professional with over 16 years of experience in program development, program management and relationship management. As a Licensed Consultant for the Standards for Excellence in Pennsylvania and nationally, she brings deep expertise in nonprofit governance and management for PANO’s Standards for Excellence program. Ashley’s career includes roles such as Program Development Director at Turning Points for Children and as a consultant for a variety of nonprofits in Pennsylvania. Ashley also ran a nonprofit networking program in Philadelphia called Connecting Coffee. With a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in Nonprofit Management from The George Washington University, Ashley is dedicated to fostering transparency, upholding ethical standards, and delivering high-impact results.
Once you have purchased this webinar, you will be emailed the link and password to access the video, along with a link to download any supporting materials (e.g., copy of the PowerPoint, handouts, etc.). This email will be sent to the address that you list when you check out. If you have any questions, please email info@pano.org or call PANO’s main business line at 717-236-8584.
