Section 70. Rules governing a professional solicitor

Part IV. Rules Governing a Professional Solicitor

A. Documentation required for registration. Any professional solicitor subject to registration, pursuant to § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia, shall file with the commissioner a registration statement on a form prescribed by the commissioner, with all questions answered and with an officer's notarized signature. In accordance with subsection A of § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia, a professional solicitor may register for and pay a single fee on behalf of all its members, officers, agents (including any subcontractors), and employees. For any specific campaign, any agent or subcontractor not directly under contract or agreement to the registered professional solicitor must file with the commissioner its own registration. The completed registration statement shall include the following attachments:

1. Fee. An annual fee and late filing fee, if applicable, in the amount prescribed in subsection A of § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia, made payable to "Treasurer of Virginia";

2. Bond. The completed professional solicitor's bond form prescribed by the commissioner as required in subsection B of § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia, with corporate surety authorized by the Virginia State Corporation Commission to act as a surety within the Commonwealth;

3. Governing documents. A copy of the certificate and articles of incorporation, if the solicitor is incorporated, and, if a nonresident (foreign) partnership or corporation, the certificate of authority to transact business in Virginia, as required by the Virginia State Corporation Commission; and

4. Contracts. A signed copy of all current contracts with charitable or civic organizations soliciting in Virginia, as required by § 57-54 of the Code of Virginia, and all current contracts with any agents or subcontractors hired to fulfill the terms of the contracts with those charitable or civic organizations.

B. Written authorization from charitable organizations. No professional solicitor or subcontractor shall solicit in the name of, or on behalf of, any charitable or civic organization unless such solicitor has filed with the commissioner one copy of a written authorization from two officers of such organization, as required in subsection F of § 57-57 of the Code of Virginia. Such written authorization shall be submitted as a solicitation notice or consent to solicit on a form prescribed by the commissioner. The consent to solicit shall be submitted by the professional solicitor for each agent or subcontractor authorized by the charitable or civic organization to conduct the fund-raising campaign. The consent to solicit shall be submitted by the professional solicitor for each charitable or civic organization named in a fund-raising campaign, in addition to the charitable or civic organization with which the professional solicitor has a contract or agreement.

C. Disclosures.

1. Pursuant to § 57-55.2 of the Code of Virginia, each professional solicitor shall, in the course of an oral solicitation:

a. Identify himself by:

(1) Disclosing his own real first name and surname;

(2) Stating affirmatively that he is a "paid solicitor"; and

(3) Disclosing the primary name under which the professional solicitor is registered with the commissioner or, if he is employed by a subcontractor, disclosing the primary name of the subcontractor as identified on the consent to solicit form prescribed by the commissioner; and

b. Identify his employing charitable or civic organization by disclosing the primary name, as registered with the commissioner, of the charitable or civic organization for which the solicitation is being made.

An example of the disclosure for a professional solicitor would be: "This is John Doe, a paid solicitor of XYZ Company. I'm calling on behalf of DEF Charity."

An example of the disclosure for a subcontractor would be: "This is John Doe, a paid solicitor of XYZ Company. I'm calling on behalf of DEF Charity."

An example of the disclosure for an employee of a subcontractor would be: "This is John Doe, a paid solicitor of ABC subcontractor. I'm calling on behalf of DEF Charity."

2. Pursuant to clause (iii) of § 57-55.2 of the Code of Virginia, each professional solicitor shall, in the course of a written solicitation, include the following statement: "The professional solicitor conducting this campaign, (primary name of professional solicitor), files a financial report for each campaign it conducts. Copies of these financial reports are available from the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA 23218." This statement shall be in bold typeface no smaller than 10-point with grammatically correct capitalization and lowercase letters. The statement shall appear on the front side of the document on a portion that is retained by the potential donor.

3. Pursuant to subsection L of § 57-57 of the Code of Virginia, the preprinted address on any return envelope, prepared under the direction of the professional solicitor and provided to a potential donor, that is not addressed to the charitable or civic organization's own primary address, shall include the name of the business located at the address on the return envelope in the following format:

ABC Charity

c/o XYZ Company

111 Main Street (#)

City, ST Zip Code

The name on line two may be the name of the professional solicitor, a third party caging company or bank, a commercial mail-receiving agency, or other receiver, but, in any case, must be the name of the company that actually resides at the preprinted address on the return envelope. This requirement does not apply to mail addressed to a United States Post Office box rented from the U.S. Postal Service.

D. Contribution collection devices.

1. Pursuant to subsections A and D and clause (i) of subsection F of § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia, for a solicitation campaign employing collection devices including, but not limited to, vending machines or canisters, the professional solicitor shall maintain a record listing each establishment in which a collection device is placed including:

a. The name of the establishment;

b. The primary address of the establishment;

c. The name of the person in the establishment who granted permission to place the collection device there;

d. The date the collection device was placed in the establishment; and

e. The date on which the collection device was removed.

2. The professional solicitor employing contribution collection devices shall comply with the disclosure provisions of subsection C of this section and with the campaign documents provisions of subsection E of this section.

E. Fund-raising campaign forms.

1. The professional solicitor shall submit the solicitation notice and final accounting report, on forms prescribed by the commissioner, as required in subsections A and D of § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia, and such forms shall not be considered as filed unless all questions are answered and contain original signatures of all required parties.

2. The professional solicitor shall submit the completed solicitation notice on a form prescribed by the commissioner:

a. Prior to any fund-raising campaign; and

b. Annually, on or before the anniversary of the contract date, for any continuous fund-raising campaign.

3. The professional solicitor shall submit an amended solicitation notice on a form prescribed by the commissioner within seven days of any changes to information previously submitted.

4. The professional solicitor shall submit, upon cancellation of a fund-raising campaign prior to any solicitations, a copy of the completed solicitation notice form previously filed, with a statement indicating that the campaign has been canceled. If a campaign is canceled after solicitations have begun, the professional solicitor shall notify the commissioner of the cancellation within seven days of the cancellation and submit the final accounting report on a form prescribed by the commissioner in accordance with subsection E of § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia and this section.

5. The professional solicitor shall submit the final accounting report on a form prescribed by the commissioner:

a. Not later than 90 days after the completion date of the solicitation campaign, or in accordance with extensions granted pursuant to subsection E of § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia, and any subsequent changes in the information submitted shall be reported every 90 days thereafter for a fund-raising campaign of finite duration; and

b. On an annual basis, not later than 90 days after the anniversary of the contract date, or in accordance with extensions granted pursuant to subsection E of § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia, for a continuous fund-raising campaign.

6. The final accounting report required by subdivision E 5 of this section shall not be considered as filed if the completed form does not contain original signatures or if any blanks are not filled in or attachments are missing. Any applicable late filing fees, pursuant to subsection E of § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia, will continue to accrue until a completed final accounting report is filed.

7. The professional solicitor shall maintain during the solicitation, and for a period of three years thereafter, acknowledgment of receipt of donated tickets on a form prescribed by the commissioner from each person or charitable or civic organization to accept tickets and specifying the number of persons on whose behalf tickets were to be accepted. Such completed forms shall be submitted after notice from the commissioner to produce such, pursuant to subsection M of § 57-57 of the Code of Virginia.

F. Subcontractors.

1. Filing requirements.

a. Any subcontractor operating under a contract or agreement with a registered professional solicitor shall be treated as an agent of that professional solicitor and is not required to register.

b. Any agent, but not an employee, of a subcontractor operating under a contract or agreement with that subcontractor to solicit shall register separately.

2. Authorizations to solicit.

a. Subcontractors shall operate under a written contract and such contract shall be filed with the commissioner, pursuant to subdivision A 4 of this section.

b. Subcontractors shall have written authorization from two officers of the charitable or civic organization to solicit on their behalf. Such authorization may be filed on a consent to solicit form prescribed by the commissioner.

3. Subcontractors shall keep records in accordance with subsection F of § 57-61 of the Code of Virginia and shall furnish either the originals or copies to the registered professional solicitor.

Historical Notes

Derived from VR115-06-01 § 7, eff. March 14, 1991; amended, Volume 18, Issue 21, eff. August 1, 2002; Volume 32, Issue 03, eff. November 5, 2015.

Statutory Authority

§ 57-66 of the Code of Virginia.