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About Harvey Mechanic
Expertise
US Federal tax issues of nonprofit 501(c)(3) public charities only. Establishing and maintaining legal requirements for such non-profit organizations in the United States, including Internal Revenue service filings and requirements. I will not be working on this free forum to answer questions about Nonprofit's unrelated or for-profit businesses or how to fill out forms. This forum is only for general questions about federal tax law, not as the law applies to your specific situation. To search my previous answers you can do a Google search:
site:allexperts.com/q/nonprofit
[with your other search terms appended].

Experience
I have been practicing law and especially the law of nonprofit organizations since 1990 when I was admitted to the New York Bar.

Education/Credentials
B.S. Columbia University in New York City, 1970

J.D. (Law Degree) Brooklyn Law School, 1990 -- Cum Laude

You are here: Experts > Real Estate > Tax Planning: U.S. > Nonprofit Law > Collecting Donations in Miami Without a 501(c)(3)

Nonprofit Law - Collecting Donations in Miami Without a 501(c)(3)

Expert: Harvey Mechanic - 11/5/2009

Question
Hello.

I am in the creation phases of a non-profit to clean up the channel that runs through Miami Beach and South Beach Florida. I am working on a zero budget with limited tools to start, and I will not be able to afford to apply for a 501(c)(3) until income is generated for this cause. My question is: can I legally collect non-tax deductible donations in Miami without a 501c? I do intend to file for a 501(c)(3) and incorporate this project as a non-profit in the future.

Thank you

Answer
I have in my profile that this free forum is only for relevant IRS federal exemption issues of 501(c)(3) organizations. The IRS warns, "If an exempt organization is ineligible to receive tax-deductible contributions, it must disclose that fact when soliciting contributions."
http://bit.ly/MFlZ5
They are referring to 26 U.S.C. §6113 but they neglected to
specify that "[the law] shall not apply to any organization the
gross receipts of which in each taxable year are normally not
more than $100,000."
http://snipurl.com/ffcth

Therefore, your issue is controlled by state law and states may differ somewhat with how they would treat such issues. Even though this forum is not for such state law issues, I will refer you to the Florida regulations at:
http://doacs.state.fl.us/onestop/cs/solicit.htm
---Start of Excerpt--
he Solicitation of Contributions Act requires anyone who solicits donations from people in the State of Florida to register with the Department and renew annually. This applies to charitable organizations, sponsors, professional solicitors, as well as professional fund raising consultants. The Department collects registration fees and has authority to impose penalties for non-compliance. The Department provides financial disclosure regarding organizations on the online Gift Givers' Guide or you can obtain information about a specific charity by calling our Consumer Assistance Call Center at 1-800-HELP-FLA (435-7352), or out of state 850-488-2221.
Florida Laws

* Chapter 496, Florida Statutes (F.S.)
* 5J-7, Florida Administrative Code (FAC)

---End of Excerpt--

Harvey Mechanic, Attorney at Law -
Harvey108@hotmail.com

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