2006 Minnesota Statutes

309.501 REGISTERED COMBINED CHARITABLE ORGANIZATIONS.
    Subdivision 1. Definitions. (a) As used in this section, the following terms have the
meanings given them.
(b) "Registered combined charitable organization" means a federated funding organization:
(1) which is tax exempt under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986,
as amended through December 31, 1992 (hereinafter "Internal Revenue Code"), and to which
contributions are deductible under section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code;
(2) which exists for purposes other than solely fund-raising;
(3) which secures funds for distribution to 14 or more affiliated agencies in a single, annual
consolidated effort;
(4) which is governed either by a local, independent, voluntary board of directors which
represents the broad interests of the public and 90 percent of the directors of the governing
board live or work in the community or surrounding area or, if the charitable agencies are
solely educational institutions which meet the requirements of paragraph (c), by a national
board of directors that has a local advisory board composed of members who live or work in
the community or surrounding area;
(5) which distributes at least 70 percent of its total campaign income and revenue, plus donor
designated amounts raised to its affiliated agencies and to the designated agencies it supports and
expends no more than 30 percent of its total income and revenue, plus donor designated amounts
raised for management and general costs and fund-raising costs;
(6) which distributes at least 70 percent of its total campaign income and revenue to affiliated
agencies and designated agencies that are incorporated in Minnesota or headquartered in the
service area in which the state employee combined charitable campaign takes place or, if the
charitable agencies are solely educational institutions which meet the requirements of paragraph
(c), distributes at least 70 percent of the state employee combined charitable campaign income
and revenue directly to Minnesota residents using established eligibility criteria;
(7) and each designated or affiliated agency supported by the recipient institution devotes
substantially all of its activities directly to providing health, welfare, social, or other human
services to individuals;
(8) and each designated or affiliated agency supported by the recipient institution with
funds contributed by state employees through the combined charitable campaign provides all or
substantially all of its health, welfare, social, or other human services, in the community and
surrounding area in which the state employee combined charitable campaign takes place;
(9) and each charitable agency is affiliated with no more than one registered combined
charitable organization within the registered combined charitable organization's service area in
the state's employee combined charitable campaign; and
(10) which has been registered with the commissioner of employee relations in accordance
with this section.
Registered combined charitable organization includes a charitable organization organized
by Minnesota state employees and their exclusive representatives for the purpose of providing
grants to nonprofit agencies providing Minnesota residents with food or shelter if the charitable
organization meets the requirements of clauses (1), (4), and (5).
(c) "Affiliated agency" means a charitable agency that is represented by a federation and has
an ongoing relationship with that federation which involves a review and monitoring process to
ensure financial, managerial, and programmatic responsibility.
(d) "Charitable agency" means a governmental agency or an organization (1) which is tax
exempt under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code; (2) to which contributions are
deductible under section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code; and (3) which is in compliance
with the provisions of this chapter.
(e) "State employees combined charitable campaign" means the annual state campaign
whereby a state employee may designate that the employee's contribution to a registered combined
charitable organization may be deducted from the pay of the employee for each pay period.
    Subd. 2. Designated contributions. A registered combined charitable organization may offer
a state officer or employee the option of designating in writing that the amount deducted in section
16A.134, be designated to any charitable agency, whether or not the charitable agency receives
funds from the single, annual consolidated effort. A registered combined charitable organization
which offers this option shall provide a list of charitable agencies receiving funds and the amount
each charitable agency receives in the annual report required pursuant to section 309.53.
    Subd. 3. Registration. (a) In order to participate in the state employee combined charitable
campaign, a federated funding organization shall apply to the commissioner of employee relations
as a registered combined charitable organization on or before June 1, 1993, and in 1994 and
thereafter on or before March 1 in order to be eligible to participate in the campaign for that year.
(b) A federated funding organization which applies to the commissioner of employee
relations shall provide the commissioner with all information the commissioner deems necessary
to identify the charitable and tax exempt status of the organization and its compliance with the
provisions of this chapter including, but not limited to the following:
(1) assurance of tax exempt status for the federated funding organization and each of the
charitable agencies identified by the federated funding organization as an affiliated agency;
(2) assurance of proper registration with the attorney general of Minnesota to solicit
contributions in the state of Minnesota for the federated funding organization and each of the
charitable agencies identified by the federated funding organization as an affiliated agency. A
copy of the registration letter must be available upon request;
(3) an affidavit signed by a duly constituted officer of the federated funding organization
attesting to the fact that the federated funding organization and its affiliated agencies are in
compliance with each of the provisions of this section;
(4) a list of the board of directors for the federated funding organization which identifies
the address for each director; and
(5) a fee of $100, or ten percent of the funds raised from state employees in the previous
campaign, whichever is less.
(c) A registered combined charitable organization shall disclose in its solicitation and its
annual report filed under section 309.53:
(1) gross dollars received in contributions in the prior year;
(2) names of, business addresses, and amount of money distributed to each affiliated
charitable agency by the registered combined charitable organization;
(3) percentage of gross dollars contributed which was directly received by the charitable
agencies; and
(4) projected percentage of the contribution to be received by the charitable agencies in the
year for which the solicitation is being made.
If participating charitable agencies are required to pay any fees to the combined charitable
organization, it shall also be disclosed in the solicitation and annual report. In the annual report
the combined charitable organization shall include a list of charitable agencies to which donors
specifically designated funds, and the amount designated to each agency. Notwithstanding section
309.53, subdivision 1a, each charitable agency shall file the report required in section 309.53.
The commissioner shall consult with the attorney general to determine if the combined charitable
organization and its charitable agencies are in compliance with this chapter.
(d) The commissioner shall register or not register the application of an organization within
75 days. No organization may apply to the commissioner more than once in a calendar year. An
organization whose application is denied has ten calendar days after receiving notice of the denial
to appeal the decision or file an amended application correcting the deficiency. The commissioner
shall register or not register the organization within ten calendar days of the submission of the
appeal. If the organization fails to correct the deficiency and registration is denied a second time,
the organization may appeal within five calendar days after being notified by the commissioner or
the commissioner's designee that the deficiency has not been cured and the organization is not
registered. A hearing shall be scheduled by the commissioner of employee relations and shall be
held within 15 calendar days after receiving notice of the appeal. The provisions of chapter 14 do
not apply to the hearing. The hearing shall be conducted in a manner considered appropriate by the
commissioner. The commissioner's determination following the hearing shall be made within five
calendar days after the hearing has been completed. Registered combined charitable organizations
shall file the report required in section 309.53. The commissioner shall notify the commissioner of
finance in writing of the decision to register an organization under this section by July 15.
(e) An organization whose application as a registered combined charitable organization is
denied shall not be eligible to participate in the state employee combined charitable campaign for
that year. Only organizations that are approved may participate in the state employee combined
charitable campaign for the year of approval and only contributions authorized during the
campaign may be deducted from an employee's pay pursuant to section 16A.134.
    Subd. 3a. Related organization. No two federated funding campaigns that are related
organizations, as defined in section 317A.011, subdivision 18, may participate simultaneously in
the state employee combined charitable campaign.
    Subd. 4. Compliance waiver. This subdivision applies only to the 1993 state employee
combined charitable organization fund drive. A registered combined charitable organization
that participated in the 1992 state employee's combined charitable organization's fund drive but
that would not be qualified to participate in future fund drives because it will not satisfy the
standards of this section, may certify to the commissioner of employee relations those provisions
of subdivision 1 that it fails to meet and the extent of the inability to meet the specified standards,
and may request a waiver of compliance. The commissioner shall issue a waiver to the registered
combined charitable organization unless the provisions of subdivision 1 that the registered
combined charitable organization fails to meet is subdivision 1, paragraph (b), clause (1) or (5).
To be entitled to a waiver, an organization must apply to the commissioner by the registration
dates specified in subdivision 3.
History: 1983 c 289 s 114 subd 1; 1983 c 355 s 2; 1984 c 655 art 1 s 92; 1986 c 444; 1991 c
145 s 1; 1993 c 192 s 86; 1994 c 535 s 1,2; 1995 c 235 s 1; 1996 c 268 s 1