2023 California Code › Business and Professions Code - BPC › DIVISION 7 - GENERAL BUSINESS REGULATIONS › PART 3 - REPRESENTATIONS TO THE PUBLIC › CHAPTER 1 - Advertising › ARTICLE 1.3 - Charitable Solicitations › Section 17510.3.

17510.3. (a) Prior to any solicitation or sales solicitation for charitable purposes, the solicitor or seller shall exhibit to the prospective donor or purchaser a card entitled “Solicitation or Sale for Charitable Purposes Card.” The card shall be signed and dated under penalty of perjury by an individual who is a principal, staff member, or officer of the soliciting organization. The card shall give the name and address of the soliciting organization or the person who signed the card and the name and business address of the paid individual who is doing the actual soliciting.
In lieu of exhibiting a card, the solicitor or seller may distribute during the course of the solicitation any printed material, such as a solicitation brochure, provided the material complies with the standards set forth below, and provided that the solicitor or seller informs the prospective donor or purchaser that the information as required below is contained in the printed material.
Information on the card or printed material shall be presented in at least 10-point type and shall include the following:
(1) The name and address of the combined campaign, each organization, or fund on behalf of which all or any part of the money collected will be utilized for charitable purposes.
(2) If there is no organization or fund, the manner in which the money collected will be utilized for charitable purposes.
(3) The non-tax-exempt status of the organization or fund, if the organization or fund for which the money or funds are being solicited does not have a charitable tax exemption under both federal and state law.
(4) The percentage of the total gift or purchase price which may be deducted as a charitable contribution under both federal and state law. If no portion is so deductible the card shall state that “This contribution is not tax deductible.”
(5) If the organization making the solicitation represents any nongovernmental organization by any name which includes, but is not limited to, the term “officer,” “peace officer,” “police,” “law enforcement,” “reserve officer,” “deputy,” “California Highway Patrol,” “Highway Patrol,” “deputy sheriff,” “firefighter,” or “fire marshall,” which would reasonably be understood to imply that the organization is composed of law enforcement or firefighting personnel, the solicitor shall give the total number of members in the organization and the number of members working or living within the county where the solicitation is being made, and if the solicitation is for advertising, the statewide circulation of the publication in which the solicited ad will appear.
(6) If the organization making the solicitation represents any nongovernmental organization by any name which includes, but is not limited to, the term “veteran” or “veterans,” which would reasonably be understood to imply that the organization is composed of veterans, the solicitor shall give the total number of members in the organization and the number of members working or living within the county where the solicitation is being made. This paragraph does not apply to federally chartered or state incorporated veterans’ organizations with 200 or more dues paying members or to a thrift store operated or controlled by a federally chartered or state incorporated veterans’ organization. This paragraph does not apply to any state incorporated community-based organization that provides direct services to veterans and their families and qualifies as a tax-exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) or 501(c)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code and Section 23701d of the Revenue and Taxation Code.
(b) Knowing and willful noncompliance by any individual volunteer who receives no compensation of any type from or in connection with a solicitation by any charitable organization shall subject the solicitor or seller to the penalties of the law.
(c) When the solicitation is not a sales solicitation, any individual volunteer who receives no compensation of any type from, or in connection with, a solicitation by any charitable organization may comply with the disclosure provisions by providing the name and address of the charitable organization on behalf of which all or any part of the money collected will be utilized for charitable purposes, by stating the charitable purposes for which the solicitation is made, and by stating to the person solicited that information about revenues and expenses of the organization, including its administration and fundraising costs, may be obtained by contacting the organization’s office at the address disclosed. The organization shall provide this information to the person solicited within seven days after receipt of the request.
(d) A volunteer who receives no compensation of any type from, or in connection with, a solicitation or sales solicitation by a charitable organization which has qualified for a tax exemption under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, and who is 18 years of age or younger, is not required to make any disclosures pursuant to this section.
(e) If any provision of this section or the application thereof to any person or circumstances is held invalid, that invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this section which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this section are severable.
(Amended by Stats. 2005, Ch. 212, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2006.)