N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. tit. 9 § 335.7

Current through Register Vol. 46, No. 25, June 18, 2024

Section 335.7 - Federated community campaign, eligibility provisions, functions and duties

(a) To be eligible as a federated community campaign, a charitable organization shall:

(1) comply with all qualifications for SEFA participants specified in section 335.6 of this Part;

(2) have successfully conducted fundraising campaigns of a similar scope or nature for at least two years preceding its approval.

(b) The application for a federated community campaign shall be submitted to the commissioner and include:

(1) the legal name and official office address of the organization and any other name it uses to solicit contributions;

(2) the names, titles and addresses of all of its directors or principals and executive officers in the campaign area;

(3) a concise description of the organization's structure, origin and history of charitable activities in the campaign area;

(4) a summary of its experience in conducting fundraising campaigns, including detailed information regarding the fundraising methods used, the amounts raised, the administrative and other costs incurred and remaining amounts actually used for program services or provided to other charitable organizations;

(5) a statement of its plan for performing or supporting SEFA campaign services within the campaign area over the next three-year period, with a particular description of projected benefits to the People of New York State;

(6) a copy of its charter, certificate of incorporation or other organizational document, and a copy of its bylaws;

(7) a description of its plan for advising charitable organizations in the campaign area of the SEFA eligibility criteria and application process;

(8) financial statements for its two immediately preceding years of operation. Financial statements must be prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles, including compliance with all pronouncements of the Financial Accounting Standards Board and the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants that establish principles relevant to charitable organizations, with certification by an independent certified public accountant that the report was prepared in conformity with such standards;

(9) specification of the extent to which its operations have been performed by volunteer services;

(10) written confirmation that it is exempt from taxation pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and registered with the Department of Law or exempt from such registration; and

(11) such additional information and documentation as may be requested by the commissioner pertaining to its evaluation for approval as a federated community campaign.

(c) A federated community campaign shall:

(1) manage the campaign fairly and equitably, conduct its own organization's operations separately from the operations conducted on behalf of SEFA participants, consult with other participants, and be subject to the decisions and supervision of the local SEFA committee;

(2) call the first local SEFA committee meeting of each year for the campaign area it is responsible for;

(3) assist the local SEFA committee in fulfilling its responsibilities as described in these regulations, including, at a minimum, conducting the review of applications for participation in SEFA, drafting and producing the annual SEFA campaign brochure and other campaign materials, training State employee campaign volunteers, and maintaining the records of the committee's decisions on distributions of designated as well as undesignated funds.

(i) SEFA campaign brochures shall:

(a) provide the names of the members of the local SEFA committee and the organization that each member represents;

(b) state that funds designated to a particular participant charitable organization are provided directly to that charitable organization, minus a specified percentage to cover the administrative fees of the campaign;

(c) state that undesignated contributions are allocated in the manner described in section 335.10 of this Part;

(d) provide the name and address of the federated community campaign publishing the campaign brochure;

(e) describe how individuals may obtain a copy of the financial report of the annual solicitation campaign for the prior year;

(f) utilize the participant numbering system established by the statewide SEFA council;

(g) notify employees that they can make contributions to participants in other campaign areas; and

(h) include the statement and description required by Executive Law, section 174-b, subdivisions 1 and 2, respectively;

(ii) if the statewide SEFA council requires participants to provide the computation described in section 335.6(b)(2)(ii) of this Part, the statewide SEFA council may require that the computation be included in the brochure;

(4) prepare an annual budget, based on a calendar year, for approval by the local SEFA committee. The budget will provide for estimated opening cash balances, receipts, shrinkage, expenses, distributions and approximate timing of distributions;

(5) prepare the financial report of the campaign. The financial report must include a calendar year cash reconciliation of opening cash balances, receipts, income, expenses, distributions to participants, and ending cash balances. The financial report is to be filed with the federated community campaign's annual filing required under article 7-A of the Executive Law;

(6) determine the proper designation of contributions. In the event it receives a pledge card that is not legible, the employee's intent must, in some reasonable manner, be confirmed. If the employee's intent cannot reasonably be confirmed, the pledge card is to be returned to the employee with a notice that it is not legible or otherwise in error. A request shall be made that the pledge card be clarified and notice shall be given that the statute allows the employee to withdraw the pledge. A statement shall be provided that, without clarification, the received funds and/or contributions will be treated as undesignated funds. If the pledge card designations add up to less than the total amount pledged the remainder is to be treated as undesignated funds. If the designations are more than the total, each designation is to be proportionately reduced;

(7) act as the recipient in the first instance of all contributions within a campaign area, including contributions made directly by check or cash and those made by payroll deductions. The federated community campaign shall act as a fiduciary with respect to its receipt and timely distribution of contributions;

(8) prepare a plan for performing or supporting charitable services within the campaign over the next campaign term;

(9) respond in a timely and appropriate manner to reasonable inquiries from participating organizations;

(10) maintain SEFA records and interest bearing bank accounts separate from the federated community campaign's internal organizational records and bank accounts. Interest earned on all SEFA accounts must be distributed in the same manner as undesignated funds pursuant to section 335.10 of this Part.

(d) A federated community campaign may not make any use of an employee's name, address, contribution amount, or any other employee data it acquires except as specifically authorized on the employee's pledge card.

N.Y. Comp. Codes R. & Regs. Tit. 9 § 335.7