Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 11, § 314 - Definitions Regarding Charitable Fundraising Platforms and Platform Charities

As used in Government Code sections 12599.9 and 12599.10 and sections 314 to 323 of these regulations:

(a) "Conspicuous" means:

(1) The information disclosed is located adjacent to the content that is being explained to prevent a likelihood of deception, confusion, or misunderstanding. When such placement of information is technically impossible when viewed on smaller screens, the information disclosed shall be located as close as possible to the content being explained, with use of visual cues that encourage scrolling or text that conveys the nature and importance of the information to be disclosed.

(2) The information disclosed shall be formatted to clearly call attention to the information so that the information is difficult to miss (i.e., easily noticeable). For audio disclosures, the information disclosed shall use a volume and cadence to be easily understood and heard.

(3) When hyperlinks are permitted, the hyperlink selected is adjacent to the content that is being explained, with formatting that clearly calls attention to the hyperlink so that the hyperlink is difficult to miss (i.e., easily noticeable). The hyperlink's text shall convey the nature and importance of the information disclosed, and the information disclosed by hyperlink shall be immediately viewable.

(b) "Digital payment processing fee" means a fee incurred by a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity from a payment processor, credit card network, or a bank to accept and process payments of donations or recommended donations made online via credit card, debit card, bank accounts, or cryptocurrency.

(c) "Donated funds" means a donation or grant of a recommended donation, such as when a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity sends a donation or grant of a recommended donation to a recipient charitable organization or alternate charitable organization.

(d) "Fee" means any amount that is charged by a charitable fundraising platform, platform charity, or a vendor that provides services to a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity, for donations or recommended donations made pursuant to the acts of solicitation described in Government Code section 12599.9, subdivision (a)(1) or (5), and deducted from donations or recommended donations. When donations or recommended donations are made, any amount deducted and not passed on to charitable organizations constitutes a fee, and it does not matter if a fee is deducted before or after donated funds are sent to charitable organizations. Examples of a fee include distribution, platform, service, technology, or transaction fees to receive or process a donation or recommended donation and digital payment processing fees. "Fee" does not include the registration or registration renewal fee imposed by the Attorney General, tips or other amounts requested and added to a donation or recommended donation to cover expenses or fees incurred by a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity, or amounts paid by an employer to provide a charitable fundraising platform to employees that use the platform to make donations or recommended donations.

(e) "May Not Operate or Solicit for Charitable Purposes List" means the electronic list of organizations that are not in good standing with the Attorney General pursuant to section 312 of these regulations, and available on the Attorney General's Registry Reports web page.

(f) "Misuse" means failing to send the full amount of donations or recommended donations, minus fees, to charitable organizations, or incorrectly holding or spending donations or recommended donations before the donated funds are sent to charitable organizations. "Misuse" includes borrowing from donations or recommended donations, or commingling the donations or recommended donations with other funds belonging to a charitable fundraising platform or platform charity.

(g) "Partner" means a platform charity that was retained by a charitable fundraising platform to facilitate solicitations on the charitable fundraising platform pursuant to a partnership. "Partner" also means a charitable fundraising platform (platform A) that acts similarly to a platform charity and was retained by another charitable fundraising platform (platform B) to facilitate solicitations on the other (platform B) charitable fundraising platform pursuant to a partnership. A charitable fundraising platform acts similarly to a platform charity when it meets the definition of both a platform charity and charitable fundraising platform, but is deemed only a charitable fundraising platform pursuant to Government Code section 12599.9, subdivision (b)(1).

(h) "Partnering platform" means a charitable fundraising platform that retained a platform charity or another charitable fundraising platform (that acts similarly to a platform charity) to facilitate solicitations on its charitable fundraising platform pursuant to a partnership.

(i) "Partnership" means a contractual relationship between a charitable fundraising platform and a platform charity, or between two charitable fundraising platforms, where one of the purposes of the contract is to facilitate acts of solicitation on a charitable fundraising platform.

(j) "Platform" means a website, mobile device application, computer software application, or other internet-based interactive electronic medium.

(k) "Platform user" means a person who uses a charitable fundraising platform. "Platform user" includes a donor who makes a donation or recommended donation to a charitable organization through use of a charitable fundraising platform, a person who engages in peer-to-peer charitable fundraising through use of a charitable fundraising platform, and a person who makes purchases or performs other activity through use of a charitable fundraising platform that causes donated funds to be sent to a charitable organization.

(l) "Registry Search Tool" means the search tool that enables a query of the Registry of Charities and Fundraisers database to determine whether an organization is in good standing with the Attorney General pursuant to section 312 of these regulations, and available on the Attorney General's Registry Search Tool web page.

(m) "Solicitation type A" means performing, permitting, or otherwise enabling the acts of solicitation described in Government Code section 12599.9, subdivision (a)(1)(A). "Solicitation type A" includes soliciting donations or recommended donations, such as micro donations, round up donations, or donations of any amount, from donors who are platform users by listing or referencing by name one or more recipient charitable organizations to be sent donated funds.

(n) "Solicitation type B" means performing, permitting, or otherwise enabling the acts of solicitation described in Government Code section 12599.9, subdivision (a)(1)(B). "Solicitation type B" includes permitting or enabling crowdfunding campaigns created by platform users engaging in peer-to-peer charitable fundraising, or otherwise permitting or enabling platform users to solicit donations or recommended donations made by other platform users for one or more recipient charitable organizations.

(o) "Solicitation type C" means performing, permitting, or otherwise enabling the acts of solicitation described in Government Code section 12599.9, subdivision (a)(1)(C). "Solicitation type C" includes performing solicitations through charitable sales promotions, coventuring or cause marketing campaigns, or free action programs. In these solicitations, platform users have the option to select one or more recipient charitable organizations to be sent donated funds. The charitable fundraising platform or a third party would make the donations or recommended donations based on the purchases made or other activity performed by platform users.

(p) "Solicitation type D" means performing, permitting, or otherwise enabling the acts of solicitation described in Government Code section 12599.9, subdivision (a)(1)(D). "Solicitation type D" includes performing solicitations through charitable sales promotions, coventuring or cause marketing campaigns, or free action programs. In these solicitations, the charitable fundraising platform selects one or more recipient charitable organizations to be sent donated funds, and makes the donations or recommended donations based on the purchases made or other activity performed by platform users.

(q) "Solicitation type E" means performing, permitting, or otherwise enabling the acts of solicitation described in Government Code section 12599.9, subdivision (a)(1)(E). "Solicitation type E" includes providing a charitable fundraising platform to charitable organizations that can be private-labeled or otherwise customized, that is subject to a software as a service license agreement between the charitable fundraising platform and charitable organizations, and allows charitable organizations to solicit donations made to them from donors.

Notes

Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 11, § 314

Note: Authority cited: Sections 12586, 12587 and 12599.10, Government Code. Reference: Sections 12599.6, 12599.9 and 12599.10, Government Code.

Note: Authority cited: Sections 12581, 12584, 12585, 12587 and 12598, Government Code. Reference: Sections 11400 et seq., 11500 et seq., 12581, 12581.2, 12584, 12585, 12586, 12588, 12591, 12591.1, 12595, 12596, 12597, 12599, 12599.1, 12599.2, 12599.6 and 12599.7, Government Code; Sections 17510, 17510.2, 17510.25, 17510.3, 17510.4, 17510.5, 17510.8, 17510.85 and 17510.9, Business and Professions Code; and Sections 5142, 5230, 5231, 5232, 5233, 5235, 5236, 5237, 5238, 5250, 6215, 6320, 7231, 7233, 7236, 7237 and 7238, Corporations Code.

1. New section filed 10-27-2015; operative 1/1/2016 (Register 2015, No. 44).
2. Renumbering of section 314 to section 337 and new section 314 filed 3-26-2024; operative 3/26/2024 pursuant to Government Code section 11343.4(b)(3) (Register 2024, No. 13).