Nonprofits Registered to Solicit in Florida Must Now Consider the Source of Donations

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Highlights

  • Effective July 1, 2025, a new Florida law prohibits nonprofits registered to solicit donations from accepting donations from individuals or entities associated with "foreign countries of concern" (e.g., China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela and Syria).
  • Nonprofits soliciting donations in Florida must file an attestation of compliance and may be listed in a new "Honest Services Registry."
  • Violations can result in civil and criminal penalties, including cease-and-desist orders. A safe harbor exists for first-time, inadvertent violations if promptly corrected.

Following the 2025 regular legislative session, Florida has enacted new limitations impacting persons from "foreign countries of concern" and nonprofits registered to solicit donations in Florida. Effective July 1, 2025, Senate Bill (S.B.) 700, codified at Section 41-46 of Chapter 2025-22, Laws of Florida (Sections 496.401, et al.), prohibits nonprofits, fundraisers and related entities from accepting contributions from persons associated with "foreign countries of concern."

Overview of the New Requirements

Charities registered to solicit contributions or have funds solicited on their behalf in Florida, no matter what a charity's state of formation is, must file an attestation of compliance to register. Furthermore, the law creates a new state registry, called the "Honest Services Registry," which will list nonprofits certifying that they do not solicit or accept contributions from prohibited persons.

"Foreign countries of concern" include the People's Republic of China, Russian Federation, Islamic Republic of Iran, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Republic of Cuba, Venezuelan regime of Nicolas Maduro and the Syrian Arab Republic. Direct and indirect contributions are implicated. This includes contributions from the governments themselves and nonresidents domiciled in these countries who are not U.S. citizens; party members; entities incorporated in these countries, having their principal place of business there and such entities' subsidiaries; agents or affiliates acting on their behalf; and any of these foregoing persons with a "controlling interest" in an entity. The last few of these may be the trickiest to spot.

In particular, for nonprofits receiving grants from other nonprofit organizations, the definition of a "controlling interest" states that a person or entity that directly or indirectly has 25 percent or more of the voting rights of an organization is presumed to possess a controlling interest.

Certain nonprofit organizations are exempt from the requirement to register to solicit in Florida, such as charities that limit solicitation to the membership of the charitable organization or sponsor; chapters of a veterans' service organization; charitable organizations or sponsors that have less than $50,000 in total contributions during a fiscal year if the fundraising activities of the organization or sponsor are carried on by volunteers; and religious institutions, educational institutions and government entities who solicit solely on their own behalf. The exempt organizations must claim the exemption by submitting a form.

The bill does not otherwise distinguish between types of charitable organizations, large or small donations, direct or indirect donations (such as through an intermediary), or anonymous or attributed donations. The law does not require nonprofits to publish their donors to the state, except foreseeably in connection with any enforcement action by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services or Florida Elections Commission.

Implementation, Oversight and Compliance

Guidance and rulemaking by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services will promulgate an attestation form and may clarify implementation challenges, but the law is effective July 1, 2025.

In addition, the board of directors or an authorized committee of charitable organizations or sponsors required to register to solicit funds must adopt a conflict of interest policy, taking into account compliance with S.B. 700. Directors, officers and trustees will need to annually certify compliance by submitting the nonprofit's certification to the department with its annual registration statement.

Tipping off a key reason for the new limitation, nonprofits involved in state or local election-related activities must certify their registration with the Florida Department of State when renewing or amending their solicitation registration. Preventing persons from foreign countries of concern from influencing elections is a foremost concern of Florida policymakers. However, the limitation is also broader.

Civil penalties, cease-and-desist orders and limitations on conducting fundraising activities in Florida may be imposed for violation of the law. S.B. 700 establishes a safe haven for first-time, inadvertent violations but only if certain conditions are met, namely, providing the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services with a copy of a contribution form showing the donor falsely asserted that they were not a foreign source of concern, timely refunding of the donation and adopting a plan of action to prevent the acceptance of contributions from foreign sources of concern in future solicitations. Second and subsequent violations of the law fall outside the safe harbor. Criminal penalties apply for knowing and willful violations of the law.

Nonprofits should review their donor and grantor lists for known prohibited persons. They also should implement a donor-screening process and consider incorporating donor attestations to the effect that the donor is not a prohibited person. Donation and gift acceptance policies compliant with the new law, training on the policies, monitoring compliance and recordkeeping relating to donations will now be important for all nonprofits that solicit in Florida. Intermediaries such as sponsoring organizations holding donor-advised funds may themselves be required to comply, or if not soliciting in Florida, may ultimately assist institutions with compliance by proactively taking the steps to comply.

DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations. Attorney Advertising.

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