Any charitable organization other than a bona fide religious institution, that solicits and receives contributions exceeding twenty-five thousand dollars ($25,000) for a charitable purpose related to a disaster in this state, must file certain financial reports with the Tennessee Secretary of State. (TCA §48-101-522)
The initial financial report must be filed on the last day of the third month following the commencement of fundraising.
Quarterly reports must be filed every three months thereafter until all of the funds are dispersed.
Reports must be submitted on the forms provided by the Secretary of State which are found on this website.
These reports must only be filed for fundraising undertaken for an official disaster that occurred in the State of Tennessee. Donations collected for incidents outside the state do not require the filing of Disaster Relief Reports.
Official Disasters are those declared by the Governor, TEMA, or FEMA. Applicable fundraising may only be applied within the officially declared disaster area. These disasters, and their geographic limits such as particular counties or towns, can be found on the FEMA website.
A Charitable Organization is:
1) A group which holds itself out to be a benevolent, educational, voluntary health, philanthropic, humane, patriotic, religious, or eleemosynary (related to or dependent on charity) organization, or for the benefit of law enforcement personnel, firefighters, or other persons who protect the public safety. Or,
2) A person, individual, organization, trust, foundation, group, association, partnership, corporation, society, or any combination of these, who solicits or obtains contributions solicited from the public for the charitable purposes listed above, regardless of their usual purpose. So, for example, a business that raises contributions for disaster relief may be required to file a Disaster Relief Report.
Services Column