League of California Community Foundations

Tuesday, February 24, 2015 Contact: (415) 703-5837, agpressoffice@doj.ca.gov SACRAMENTO – Today, Attorney General Kamala D. Harris and Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) unveiled legislation aimed at maintaining consumer confidence in charitable giving.  The bill would close a loophole in disclosure requirements for paid commercial fundraising campaigns and include for-profit fundraising firms and other third parties who engage in misconduct in the Attorney General’s 10-year statute of limitations. “Californians should have complete confidence that the donation they make to a charitable organization will go toward the cause they support, and feel secure knowing their gift won’t be diverted to the pockets of a third-party, for-profit fundraiser,” said Attorney General Harris.  “I thank Assemblymember Irwin for standing with me to increase transparency and empower Californians with the information they need to donate wisely.” Assembly Bill 556 (pdf) closes a loophole in existing charitable giving transparency requirements that currently allows third parties to solicit funds from donors without disclosing whether a portion of their gift will be diverted to a paid company by establishing their operations as “fundraising counsel” instead of “commercial fundraisers.”  Attorney General Harris’ office recently released a report summarizing the results of charitable solicitation campaigns conducted by commercial fundraisers in 2013, which reveals the alarming extent to which charitable donations are often diverted to for-profit companies. Full Legislative text available here.