LEGAL ALERT FOR NONPROFIT CLIENTS
The Solicitation of Contributions Act of Florida protects the rights of persons and organizations to conduct solicitation activities and provides guidelines for anyone who solicits donations in or from Florida. Specifically, solicitors and sponsors for charitable organizations must register with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (the “Department”) and adhere to certain compliance requirements.
Effective July 1, 2025, the recently enacted Florida law, Senate Bill 700, has amended five major sections of the Solicitation of Contributions Act, which may affect your organization. Please see below a brief Q&A summarizing these changes. We encourage you to reach out to us if you have any questions and for further information regarding how your organization may be impacted.
Q: What are the recent changes to the Solicitation of Contributions Act?
A: Section 496.405, Florida Statutes (2025), entitled “Registration statements by charitable organizations and sponsors,” now includes language requiring an attestation statement in the initial registration statement, which must be submitted to the Department. An attestation statement must be (1) submitted on a form prescribed by the Department and (2) signed by an authorized official of the charitable organization (the “nonprofit”). In doing so, the certified official must attest and certify that the nonprofit, if engaged in activities that would require registration for campaign financing, is registered with the Department of State pursuant to the same chapter. Likewise, the certified official must also certify and attest that the nonprofit, if prohibited by federal or state law, is not engaged in activities that would require registration for campaigning. In the event of any violations, the consequences of suspension and related civil penalties remain the same, but a new provision will permit the Department to investigate and refer a nonprofit or sponsor to the Florida Elections Commission for investigation of violations related to political and campaigning activities.
Section 496.415, Florida Statutes, entitled “Prohibited acts,” will expressly prohibit any person in connection with the planning, conduct, or execution of any solicitation or charitable or sponsor sales promotion to “[s]olicit or accept contributions or anything of value from a foreign source of concern.” A first violation will be considered “involuntary” and the nonprofit or sponsor will not receive any punitive action if the nonprofit provides the Department with all of the following:
- A solicitation or contribution form containing an attestation from the foreign source or country of concern falsely certifying that they are not a foreign country or source of concern, as defined in section 496.404;
- A copy of a refund to the foreign source or country of concern within 30 days after notification by the Department; and
- A plan of action to prevent acceptance of contributions from a foreign country or source of concern in future solicitation activities (i.e., a POA to avoid this violation again).
A second or subsequent violation will be considered “voluntary” and subject the nonprofit to the penalties specified in section 496.419(5) at the Department’s discretion.
Section 496.417, Florida Statutes, entitled “Criminal penalties,” will permit the Department to investigate and refer a nonprofit or sponsor to the Florida Elections Commission for investigation of violations pursuant to campaigning and elections. This closely parallels the new language for violations under section 496.405.
Section 496.419, Florida Statutes, includes a new subsection stating that a nonprofit or sponsor whose registration is denied or revoked for submitting a false attestation required pursuant to additional subsections under section 496.405 is subject to penalties specified in subsection (5) at the Department’s discretion. These penalties will include civil penalties and a potential ban from raising contributions in or from Florida or conducting charitable sales promotions within Florida.
Section 496.431, Florida Statutes, will introduce a new policy called the “Honest Services Registry.” The Department will create the Honest Services Registry to provide Florida residents with the information necessary to make informed decisions when deciding which nonprofits to support. To be “registered,” a nonprofit must submit an attestation statement (on a form prescribed by the Department and verified as provided in section 92.525) to the Department affirming that (1) the nonprofit “does not solicit or accept, directly or indirectly, contributions, funding, support, or services from a foreign source of concern;” and (2) its “messaging and content are not directly or indirectly produced or influenced by a foreign source of concern.” The Honest Services Registry will be published on the Department’s site. Lastly, the Department will adopt rules implementing the Honest Services Registry. Notably, inclusion in the Registry is voluntary, but it can be perceived by donors as a state-approved list.
Q: What are the current foreign countries and sources of concern?
A: Currently, as defined in section 496.404(13), Florida Statutes, a foreign country of concern includes the People’s Republic of China, the Russian Federation, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Cuba, the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro, and the Syrian Arab Republic. This definition has the same meaning as in section 286.101(1)(b), Florida Statutes. Pursuant to section 496.404(14), Florida Statutes, a foreign source of concern includes (1) a government or government official from an aforementioned country; (2) a political party or affiliated member or any related subdivision in a foreign country of concern; (3) a partnership, association, corporation, organization, or other combination of persons so organized under any laws of or having its principal place of business in a foreign country of concern, or a subsidiary of such entity; (4) any person domiciled in a foreign country of concern who is not a citizen or lawful permanent U.S. resident; (5) any agent acting on behalf of the foreign principals described above; and (6) any person, entity, or collection of persons or entities in which any of the foreign principles described above hold a controlling interest. Controlling interest is broadly defined as possession of the power to direct or cause the direction of the management or policies of an entity; with the right to vote, directly or indirectly, 25% or more of the voting interests; or with entitlement to 25% or more of profits.