The following words, terms and phrases, when used in this division,
shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this section, except where
the context clearly indicates a different meaning:
Charitable solicitations campaign
means any course of conduct whereby any person shall solicit
property or financial assistance of any kind or sell or offer to sell
any article, tag, service, emblem, publication, ticket, advertisement,
subscription or anything of value on the plea or representation that
such sale or solicitation or the proceeds from such sale or solicitation
are for a charitable, educational, political, patriotic or philanthropic
purpose.
(1999 Code, sec. 74-91)
It shall be unlawful to conduct any charitable solicitations
campaign on the streets, in any office building or any other public
or private place, by house-to-house canvass, or by telephone in the
city unless the person conducting and responsible for the campaign
shall first have obtained a permit with the city in compliance with
the terms of this division.
(1999 Code, sec. 74-92)
The provisions of this division shall not apply to:
(1) Any
organization which solicits funds solely from its own members or from
its own assemblies, not using public streets or public places for
such purposes;
(2) Any
public school which controls the solicitations of funds by parent-teacher
association organizations and the solicitations of funds by other
activity groups which may be sponsored by the public school or by
an association or club whose primary purpose is to sponsor certain
student and parent activities for the benefit of such association,
club or activity;
(3) Any
solicitation for the benefit of an individual or family that has suffered
a personal tragedy resulting from personal injury, illness or the
loss of housing; and
(4) A
solicitations campaign conducted through the use of television or
radio as to those activities directly related to the use of television
or radio.
(1999 Code, sec. 74-93)
(a) Application.
A person desiring to conduct a charitable
solicitations campaign on the streets or in any public place or by
house-to-house canvass in the city shall file an application provided
by the office of the city administrator with the city secretary’s
office. Such registration statement shall be sworn to by the applicant
and shall contain at least the following information:
(1) The full name of the organization applying for a permit to solicit
and the address of the headquarters in the city; if the organization
is a chapter or other affiliate of an organization having its principal
office outside the city, the name and address of the parent organization;
(2) The names and addresses of all officers and directors or trustees
of the organization and the name and city of residence of all officers,
directors or trustees of the parent organization, if any;
(3) The purpose for which the gross receipts derived from such solicitations
or other activities are to be used;
(4) The name of the person by whom the receipts or such solicitation
shall be disbursed; if the receipts are transmitted to a parent organization
for further disbursement, detailed information on the methods of handling
and disbursement of all funds and a detailed and complete financial
statement of the parent organization for the last preceding fiscal
year;
(5) The name and address of the person who will be in charge of conducting
the charitable solicitations campaign;
(6) An outline of the methods to be used in conducting the charitable
solicitations campaign;
(7) The period within which such charitable solicitations campaign shall
be conducted, including the proposed dates for the beginning and ending
of such campaign;
(8) The total amount of funds proposed to be raised;
(9) The amount of all salaries, wages, fees, commissions, expenses and
costs to be expended or paid to anyone in connection with such campaign,
together with the manner in which such wages, fees, commissions, expenses
and costs are to be expended, and the maximum percentage of funds
collected which are to be used to pay such expenses of solicitation
and collection;
(10) A detailed and complete statement of the funds (if any) collected
by the applicant during the preceding year from solicitations which
were the same or substantially the same as those for which the applicant
is seeking a permit, such statement to show the gross amount collected,
all costs of collection or solicitation and their final distribution;
(11) A full statement of the character and extent of the charitable, educational,
political, patriotic or philanthropic work done by the applicant within
the city during the last preceding year; and
(12) If the applicant is a charitable corporation or other organization,
proof of its current status as an organization to which contributions
are tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.
(b) Fee.
A fee in the amount set forth in the fee schedule in appendix
A of this code must be submitted with each application unless the applicant can prove indigence or inability to pay, in which case arrangements may be made to pay the requisite fee in installments.
(c) Issuance or denial.
The city administrator shall review
the application, and when he is satisfied that such application is
complete, he shall issue a permit to an applicant unless he determines
that:
(1) One or more of the statements made in the registration statements
are not true;
(2) The applicant or person in charge of the charitable solicitations
campaign has made or caused to be made false statements or misrepresentations
to any member of the public with regard to the charitable solicitations
campaign or other activities described in the permit, or has made
or caused to be made false statements or misrepresentations in the
registration statement, or has in any way publicly represented that
the registration granted under this division is an endorsement or
recommendation of the cause for which the charitable solicitations
campaign is being conducted, or has otherwise violated any of the
terms of registration or this division;
(3) The applicant’s fundraising expense in any charitable solicitations
campaign conducted by it, during any of the three years immediately
preceding the date of registration, exceeded 25 percent of the gross
amount collected, and the expected fundraising expense of the applicant
in the campaign for which application is made will exceed 25 percent
of the gross amount collected, based upon data concerning prior campaigns
of the applicant and such other data as may be adduced; if such fundraising
expenses exceed 25 percent, the applicant shall furnish additional
information to justify the need to exceed such expense level; or
(4) Under a prior registration obtained from the city, the applicant
failed to submit the required reports at the end of the solicitations
campaign, or upon investigation of the applicant’s financial
records, the financial report submitted was found to be false.
(1999 Code, sec. 74-94; Ordinance
adopting 2018 Code)
Should an applicant under this division have a permit revoked,
he may appeal that action to the city council by submitting a letter
to the city administrator’s office within ten days of the action
complained of. A hearing on the revocation will then be scheduled
for the next regular meeting of the council, or a special meeting
of the council, to be held within 15 days of the appeal. The council
will render a decision on the appeal within ten days of the hearing.
(1999 Code, sec. 74-95)
All persons or organizations issued a permit under this division
shall furnish to the city administrator, within 30 days after the
charitable solicitations campaign has been completed, a detailed report
and financial statement showing the amount of funds raised by the
charitable solicitations campaign, the amount expended in collecting
such funds, including a detailed report of the wages, fees, commissions
and expenses paid to any person in connection with such solicitation,
and the disposition of the balance of the funds collected by the campaign;
however, the city administrator may extend the time of filing of the
report required by this section for an additional period of 30 days
upon proof that the filing of the report within the time specified
will work unnecessary hardship on the permit holder. The permit holder
shall make available to the city administrator, or to any person designated
in writing by the city administrator as his representative for such
purpose, all books, records and papers whereby the accuracy of the
report required by this section may be investigated.
(1999 Code, sec. 74-96)
The registrant for a charitable solicitations campaign shall
be responsible for the acts of his authorized representatives in connection
with such campaign.
(1999 Code, sec. 74-98)