Charitable fundraiser not required to register in Iowa

Ten states, including Iowa, do not require charitable organizations to register.

“The weakness of this registration of fundraisers only, as opposed to charities, is that if a charity does not use a paid professional fundraiser, it is much more difficult for us to possess information about its fundraising activities, including how much it raises and how much goes to the purpose and how much goes to fundraiser expenses,” said William Brauch, chief of the Consumer Protection Division.

“We'd like to be able to arm Iowans with the information they need to prevent the fraud in the first place, to put them on par with residents in the 40 states who require charities to register,” he said.

Iowa requires professional fundraisers to register if they work with an Iowa charity or if they call on Iowans on behalf of an out-of-state organization.

Any Iowan can request financial information from a commercial fundraiser. By law, it must be provided within one day.