Professional Fundraiser ($10,000) Bond - Statewide in Alabama

Brief Summary

Charity staff on salary do not need this bond. Anyone paid to plan or run a fundraising campaign for an Alabama charity does. Code of Ala. 13A-9-71 sets a flat $10,000 surety bond running to the Attorney General, written on the Attorney General's one page form, and it is the only thing standing between a signed fundraising contract and a legal first solicitation.

Alabama requires every professional fundraiser to register with the Attorney General and post a $10,000 surety bond under Code of Ala. 13A-9-71 before soliciting contributions for a charitable organization. The bond runs to the Attorney General of the State of Alabama and covers malfeasance or misfeasance in the conduct of the solicitation. The registration fee is $100, the registration expires September 30 each year, and the bond is filed with the registration.

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How to Apply for a Professional Fundraiser ($10,000) Bond:

• Confirm you are a professional fundraiser under 13A-9-70. Salaried charity employees and political fundraisers are excluded, commission paid staff are not.
• Provide the legal name of the firm exactly as it will appear on the Attorney General registration, plus the owner's name, home address and Social Security number for the credit review.
• Complete the bond application, review the premium quoted on the $10,000 amount and pay it.
• Receive the executed Attorney General bond form with the surety's signature and seal, and sign as principal.
• File the bond with the online registration and the $100 fee through the Attorney General's iGov portal before the first solicitation.
• Register each professional solicitor for $25, renew by September 30 each year, and file a closing statement within 90 days after each contract ends.

Detailed Information About the Alabama Professional Fundraiser ($10,000) Bond:

Who is a professional fundraiser

Code of Ala. 13A-9-70 defines a professional fund raiser as any person who, for compensation or other consideration, plans, conducts, manages or carries on any drive or campaign in Alabama for the purpose of soliciting contributions for or on behalf of a charitable organization. Two groups are carved out. A bona fide officer or employee of the charity is not a professional fundraiser unless his or her compensation is computed on the basis of funds to be raised or actually raised. People who solicit political campaign contributions for candidates or ballot initiatives are also excluded. A consultant paid a flat fee to design a campaign is covered the same as a firm that runs a phone room, and a development director paid on commission loses the employee exclusion.

The bond

Code of Ala. 13A-9-71 requires a bond in the amount of ten thousand dollars with one or more sureties, running to the Attorney General for the use of the state and of any person who has a cause of action against the obligor. The condition is the absence of malfeasance or misfeasance in the conduct of the solicitation. The amount is flat. It does not scale with the number of campaigns, the size of the charity or the dollars raised. The Attorney General's Consumer Interest Division prescribes the form, titled Professional Fundraiser or Commercial Co-Venturer Surety Bond, revision 07/12/23. The same form serves commercial co-venturers, so check the correct box for your registration type. The surety signs and seals it, the principal signs it, and the term dates are filled in to match the registration year.

Registration, fee and renewal

Registration is filed online through the Attorney General's iGov portal. The fee is $100 for the initial registration and $100 each year after. Every registration expires September 30, regardless of issue date, so a fundraiser registering in the summer renews within weeks. Keep the bond term tied to that date. Within 90 days after a fundraising contract ends, the fundraiser files a closing statement with the Attorney General showing gross receipts and all expenditures from the campaign.

Solicitors and charities are separate filings

Each professional solicitor employed by the fundraiser registers individually with the Attorney General for $25 a year. The solicitor does not post a bond. The fundraiser's bond is the one instrument covering the campaign. The charitable organization files its own registration for $25 unless it falls within an exemption in 13A-9-71(f), such as a school, church, political organization or a small charity raising under $25,000 with no paid fundraiser. Those exemptions belong to the charity. A professional fundraiser working for an exempt charity still registers and still posts the bond.

Eligibility and Requirements for a Alabama Professional Fundraiser ($10,000) Bond:

• Bond amount of exactly $10,000, with no tiers, as set by Code of Ala. 13A-9-71.
• The Attorney General of the State of Alabama named as obligee on the prescribed Professional Fundraiser or Commercial Co-Venturer Surety Bond form.
• A surety authorized to write bonds in Alabama, with the surety seal on the form.
• Principal name on the bond matching the registration exactly.
• Owner credit review. At $10,000 the review mostly sets the rate rather than eligibility.

Alabama Professional Fundraiser ($10,000) Bond FAQs:

Official and Additional Resources for the Alabama Professional Fundraiser ($10,000) Bond: