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And unfortunately, tax law is complicated and confusing.
What some nonprofits do not know is that there are nonprofit state fundraising registration rules that if you don't follow, the IRS can get involved and make a huge headache for the unknowing and unsuspecting nonprofit.
Fines, public embarrassment and even returning donations can result from not following the rules.
To assist with this quagmire of rules and regulations, Stephen Fishman, J.
D.
, wrote "Nonprofit Fundraising Registration: The 50-State Guide.
" This book will show you how to fundraise legally in all states, complete the Unified Registration Statement, and understand Internet fundraising rules.
This isn't a fun book, nor is it enjoyable.
It's not a book you want to just sit down and read.
In fact, all the rules and regulations just might annoy you or make you angry.
However, if you are a nonprofit and are wanting to fundraise across the country, this book has some good information you will want to know and have on hand to ensure you follow the rules and don't have big brother IRS paying you a visit that you really don't want to happen.
There is a brief introduction explaining how things are even tougher for nonprofits these days, and then it goes into the first chapter that focuses on the basics of state regulation of nonprofit fundraising.
From there, it goes into an overview of the fundraising registration process in chapter two, and continues in chapter three with information about the IRS and State Registration.
(This includes some of the newer forms) Chapter four covers Internet fundraising and registration.
Chapter five is a short chapter on The Unified Registration Statement.
The final chapter, six, covers qualifying to do business out of state.
These six chapters comprise of 113 pages.
So you can get the information pretty quick, and like all Nolo books, the information is presented in an easy to understand format.
If nothing else, the book will better prepare you to discuss the issues with your tax professional or attorney.
The remainder of the book, pages 115 through 348 consists of Appendix A which contains state by state rules for registration, Appendix B which has supplemental state forms for the URS, and an Index.
Obviously, you will only need the sections on the states you are interested in.
I also must caution people using this book to ensure that the state law is still accurate.
The problem is that States and our Federal Government are always changing laws, so make sure you double check anything from a book to ensure it is still accurate and up to date.
Nolo does a good job of keeping information updated, but still check to make sure.
This book has limited use, but for those that are involved with nonprofit fundraising, it is a good reference to have.
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