Commercial Fundraiser

Commercial Fundraiser Reports

The latest annual report issued by the Attorney General shows that in 2007 the average charity received less than 45 percent of the revenue raised in donation campaigns run by commercial fundraisers, with about 30 percent of the campaigns netting nonprofits 15 percent or less of the total revenue. On the other hand, some of these campaigns were quite successful, returning to the charity over 70 percent of the funds collected. Historical data shows, however, that a campaign conducted by a commercial fundraiser returns, on average, less than 50 percent of the contributions to the charity. Commercial fundraisers retain the rest as a fundraising fee.

See Publications for commercial fundraising annual reports since 1997.

A commercial fundraiser generally is a person or corporation who is paid by a charity to raise money on the charity's behalf. The for-profit business usually arranges a flat fee or charges the charity a percentage of the donations collected in the charity's name.

By law, the California Attorney General oversees the activities of commercial fundraisers for charitable purposes. These commercial fundraisers must file financial reports with the Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts.

By using the CFR Search link, you may search the commercial fundraiser database by the name of the commercial fundraiser or the charity on whose behalf solicitations have been made. Here you may view copies of unaudited reports scanned exactly as filed by the commercial fundraiser. There is no federal or state requirement that commercial fundraisers prepare audited financial returns. Reports on the site are only available for report years 2005 or older. To view current information on registered commercial fundraisers, please use the new Registry Search feature.

It is an individual decision whether a charity uses a commercial fundraiser. Historically, use of a commercial fundraiser has meant higher costs for a charity. According to reports filed with the Attorney General, only about one-third of the total dollars collected by the commercial fund-raisers in California actually go to charities. However, most of the over 80,000 charities registered with the Attorney General do not use commercial fundraisers to solicit donations.

Public Notice

Ten Giving Tips for Newtown Tragedy
Operation False Charity Sweep: Settlements and Judgments
People v. Mexican Benefit Corporation, pdf
People v. Help Hospitalized Veterans, Roger Chapin, et al, pdf
Chinese-American Mutual Assistance Association
Settlement Agreement and documents filed in the voluntary dissolution proceeding in Santa Clara County
Read the documents

Change in Raffle Reporting Requirements

A single aggregate report for all raffles held during the reporting year is due on or before October 1st. The Nonprofit Raffle Report (Form CT-NRP-2) must be used by all organizations, regardless of the number of raffles held. Precise record-keeping is required as reports that include estimates of proceeds and expenses will not be accepted for filing.

Organizations that host raffles as part of a larger fundraising event must maintain a record of raffle proceeds and expenses separate from all other event monies and report only raffle proceeds and expenses on Form CT-NRP-2.

There is no fee associated with filing the Nonprofit Raffle Report.

Charities

Contact the Registrar

Filing a Complaint

Have a complaint against a charity? Please use our complaint form, pdf. Mail the completed form and any attachments to:

Registry of Charitable Trusts
Office of the Attorney General
P.O. Box 903447
Sacramento, CA 94203-4470

Megan's Law

For Businesses

Service on the Attorney General

Resources

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