New rules on fundraising platforms progress through California legislature

• Published date: 01 August 2020
• Date: 01 August 2020
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/nba.30819

AUGUST 2020 NONPROFIT BUSINESS ADVISOR

7

© 2020 Wiley Periodicals LLC • All rights reserved

DOI: 10.1002/nba

Industry News

New rules on fundraising platforms progress

through California legislature

The California Assembly has passed a bill that

would establish a slew of new requirements for chari-

table fundraising platforms operating in the state. The

bill, California AB 2208, is currently pending consid-

eration in the State Senate Appropriations Committee.

Under the bill, a “charitable fundraising platform” is

a legal entity that uses the Internet to provide a website,

service or other platform to persons in the state, and

performs, permits or otherwise enables certain acts of

solicitation to occur. A “platform charity” refers to a

trustee or charitable corporation that facilitates acts

of solicitation on a charitable fundraising platform.

According to a summary of the legislation provid-

ed by the Assembly, the bill would:

• Require a charitable fundraising platform, before

soliciting, permitting or otherwise enabling solicita-

tions, to register with the Attorney General’s Registry

of Charitable Trusts.

• Require a charitable fundraising platform to le

annual reports with the registry.

• Restrict charitable fundraising platforms or

platform charities from soliciting, permitting or oth-

erwise enabling solicitations, or receiving, controlling

or distributing funds from donations for recipient or

other charitable organizations not in good standing.

• Require a charitable fundraising platform or

platform charity that also operates as a charitable

fundraising platform to provide disclosures that

prevent the likelihood of deception, confusion or

misunderstanding on the part of their donors.

• Require a charitable fundraising platform or

platform charity to obtain the written consent of

a recipient charitable organization before using its

name in a solicitation. Written consent would not

be required for certain acts of solicitation if specic

requirements are met.

• Prohibit a charitable fundraising platform or

Ultra-high-net-worth individuals not fully engaged in philanthropy

A new study from the Milken Institute Center

for Strategic Philanthropy shows that the bulk of

ultra-high-net-worth individuals the world over are

disengaged in philanthropy, keeping much-needed

funding on the sidelines at a time when large seg-

ments of the global population are facing hardship.

The report, Stepping off the Sidelines: The Unre-

alized Potential of Strategic Ultra-High Net-Worth

Philanthropy highlights the philanthropic behavior

of those individuals with more than $30 million

in assets. Currently, just over a third of these indi-

viduals are engaged in philanthropy to one extent

or another. The report shares the following details

about this group:

• About a third of the world’s UHNW individu-

als live in the United States, with Asia close behind.

However, the Middle East and parts of Asia—par-

ticularly China, Japan and Hong Kong—have seen

a steep rise in their ultra-wealthy populations.

• UHNW individuals are usually older men. In

fact, upwards of 85% of wealth is held by individ-

uals aged 50 and older.

• The share of women in this population is

growing. Among UHNW individuals below the age

of 50, women account for almost one in ve. That’s

important because approximately 92% of UHNW

women give to charity—far more than their male

counterparts.

The report offers several strategies for encour-

aging these individuals to begin or increase their

philanthropic engagement in ways that create a

sustainable impact. These include:

• Deploy the full spectrum of assets available.

They should contribute their time, talents and social

capital, in addition to their nancial capital, to the

nonprots and causes they care about.

• Invest in the nonprot sector. Providing funding

for capacity building efforts—helping to build out

the sector’s infrastructure, human resources and

technology capacity—will allow charities to scale

effective solutions and further their impact.

• Collaborate with others. UHNW donors should

work with other philanthropists and partner with

community leaders and other key stakeholders.

For more information, visit https://bit.

ly/2VcQb5q. ■

(See CALIFORNIA on page 8)