The Nonprofit FAQ

How can we streamline our charitable solicitations registration?

Note: The Unified Registration Statement is provided at the following website: http://www.multistatefiling.org. Bob Tigner wrote on November 9, 2005: The URS represents an effort to consolidate, for reporting purposes, the information and data requirements of all states requiring registration under solicitation laws. Organized by the National Association of State Charities Officials (NASCO) and the National Association of Attorneys General, the project’s aim is to standardize, simplify, and economize compliance under the states' solicitation laws. The most recent version of the Unified Registration Statement (URS v. 3.01) was made available to the public in November of 2005. Please visit the site (http://www.multistatefiling.org) and see what the form and accompanying materials look like now that 35 of the 39 jurisdictions requiring registration under state solicitation laws have signed on. The form and/or packet can be downloaded or printed from the website. Anyone wishing a hard copy of URS v. 3.01 may phone or email a request to the Multi-State Filer Project office (or you can contact any one of the URS distribution sites listed on the website). Robert Tigner General Counsel Multi-State Filer Project MFPDC@msn.com In March 1997 the first version of the Unified (then called, “Uniform”) Registration Statement was released to the public. The URS packet, designed as a do-it-yourself kit to fulfill registration reporting requirements under state solicitation laws, was a huge success. In that year, over 1000 copies of the URS (v.1.0) were distributed from six distribution sites to nonprofit filers and to the lawyers and accountants who assist them. MFP continues to negotiate with and encourage these non-participating states in order to achieve the goal of universal acceptance of the URS. Said then Multi-State Filer Project chair John Lindholm, "The acceptance of the URS by the states exceeds our expectations. While we'd like to take credit for our own hard work, frankly, it’s the states themselves that are responsible. NASCO, led by Karin Goldman and her committee, has stayed the course. They patiently and diligently kept this project on center stage and that effort has now paid off." As with previous version, URS v. 3.01 is packaged as a registration do-it-yourself kit. The kit includes the form, thorough instructions, supplementary forms for nine jurisdictions requiring them, and a state-by-state compilation of the basic information necessary to make a complete registration filing. Also included in the kit is a section entitled "Information on Annual Financial Reporting". This section provides filers with the basic requirements necessary for annual financial reporting and registration renewal. Also, to help those already familiar with the URS, included in a "Helps" section is a detailed comparison of prior versions. Many of the corrections, clarifications and improvements made to the URS v. 3.01 packet derived from suggestions by state regulators and individual nonprofit filers, based upon their experience with previous versions. The establishment of the Multi-State Filer Project office permits the Project to continue to improve the URS and to pursue the goal of universal participation by the states. The Unified Registration Statement version 3.01 is now accepted by 35 jurisdictions and is available at the four distribution sites listed at http://www.multistatefiling.org/r_distribution_sites.htm. Each site is an organization that has volunteered to make the packets available to any nonprofit requesting one. In addition, the URS may be viewed and downloaded from an Internet website at the address: http://www.multistatefiling.org . States that accept the Unified Registration Statement are listed on the website at http://www.multistatefiling.org. Revised version 11/9/05