Arkansas charitable solicitation registration

The current Secretary of State guide and CR-01 say a charitable organization registers before soliciting contributions, using fundraising counsel, paid solicitors, or professional telemarketers, or conducting a charitable sales promotion. Review the actual campaign: donation pages, email and direct mail, events, web ads, peer-to-peer activity, grant appeals, sales promotions, and any person acting for the organization. CR-01 specifically asks about websites and web-banner ads, so an online campaign belongs in the filing analysis.

Do not merge the charity filing with Arkansas corporation authority or federal tax recognition. A domestic or foreign nonprofit may have a corporation record and an IRS determination yet still need the separate solicitation registration. Conversely, the solicitation record does not create entity authority or federal exemption. Record which activity triggers each workstream and who owns it.

Arkansas publishes exemption categories for qualifying religious entities, educational institutions, political candidates or organizations, governmental instrumentalities, nonprofit hospitals, qualifying organizations within the contribution-limited category, and persons soliciting solely for exempt organizations. The contribution-limited route includes additional volunteer-fundraising and no-private-benefit conditions; it is not a revenue-only shortcut.

A claimed exemption still requires substantiation. The current EX-01 asks for the selected category, legal and solicitation names, purpose, contribution use, tax information, filed articles, proof of good standing, and a notarized affirmation. Use the form’s current wording, reconcile the contribution measure and calendar period, and save the Secretary of State’s determination. Federal recognition alone does not prove the state exemption.

The current CR-01 packet includes the form, the applicable IRS tax-exempt status form or pending application, filed articles of incorporation, CR-02 consent for service when applicable, CR-03 with its required financial records, and current contracts with paid solicitors, fundraising counsel, or commercial co-venturers. The Secretary of State states that charitable-organization registration has no fee.

Create an attachment index before emailing. Reconcile the exact legal name, previous and fictitious names, addresses, website and email, designated contact, formation jurisdiction and date, tax status, solicitation names, chapters or affiliates, purpose, fiscal year, custodian and distributor of contributions, campaign methods, fundraising relationships, and contract dates. Explain a genuinely inapplicable item instead of substituting an unrelated document.

CR-01 ends with an affirmation signed under penalty of law and a notary block. CR-02 is the consent-for-service form for a nonresident charitable organization when applicable and also contains a notarized execution. Identify the authorized signer and notary requirements before the deadline so the packet is not held for an avoidable execution defect.

List each paid solicitor, fundraising counsel, or commercial co-venturer consistently with the operative contract. A charity’s CR-01 does not replace the intermediary’s own registration, bond, notice, contract, or campaign-report duties. A sales promotion with a commercial co-venturer also has a separate CR-04 notice and written-agreement path before the promotion begins. Match the campaign launch calendar to all required records.

The current forms direct the organization to email the form and attachments to charities@sos.arkansas.gov and warn that incomplete submissions will not be accepted. Send one controlled packet, keep the exact sent files and transmission record, and route any agency question back to that evidence set. Do not create a second organization identity merely because the first submission is not immediately visible.

After processing, search the Arkansas charity database using the legal name and reasonable variants. Save the displayed identity and dates as a status signal, not an endorsement. The Secretary of State says registrants must immediately update or revise changed information or documents. Install a change-control handoff and calendar the separate CR-03 annual report due within 180 days after fiscal year end.