Hawaii AG reminds nonprofits they must register

From the Office of the Attorney General

Section 2 of Act 174, Session Laws of Hawaii 2008, provides that, effective Jan. 1, 2009, every public benefit corporation domiciled in Hawaii and every charitable organization not exempted by section 467B-11.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, shall register with the Department of the Attorney General prior to conducting any solicitation or prior to having any solicitation conducted on its behalf by others.

[Only charities that solicit contributions must register. In general, nonprofits which obtain their funds from grants, contracts and membership dues and do not solicit contributions or host events to raise funds do not have to register. Exempted organizations include religious organizations, hospitals, governmental organizations and charities that receive less than $25,000 annually in contributions.]

Effective March 1, 2009, the Department of the Attorney General required that registration forms be filed electronically at www.efile.form990.org.

The electronic filing system will help the Department of the Attorney General to make information regarding registered charities available to the public on the Internet in searchable form. For more information, contact Supervising Deputy Attorney General Hugh Jones, (808) 586-1470 or hugh.r.jones@hawaii.gov.