February 13, 2009 — Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley announced that her office has begun posting online the names, locations, and contact persons of charitable organizations that consistently fail to register or file reports with the office as required by law.

The website postings – www.mass.gov/ago/noncompliant_charities – includes two lists:

• Non-Compliant Public Charities, which includes organizations that may be still operating, but which have failed to register or file required reports after multiple notices.

• De-Activated Organizations, which includes organizations that are likely inactive, but which have failed to dissolve or to notify the division that they have ceased operations.

“Charitable organizations operate solely and exclusively for the benefit of the public and Massachusetts has always taken a lead in requiring key financial and other information to be made available to the public served,” said Coakley.

“We currently have over 22,000 charitable organizations operating in Massachusetts, and while most organizations are diligent in meeting their registration, filing and disclosure obligations under the law, a small minority are not. Members of the public should consider a charity’s lack of compliance when dealing with, or contributing to, any charity that appears on these lists.”

Massachusetts law requires public charities to register and file annual reports with the Non-Profit Organizations/Public Charities Division of the attorney general’s Office.

In addition, they require public charities to register with and report to the division on charitable fund raising and solicitation campaigns. The law also requires all public charities seeking to dissolve to do so by judicial order. All registrations and reports filed with the division are available to the public online.

The attorney general said neither of the lists now posted online are all-inclusive, and failure to appear on a list does not mean that an organization is in compliance or active.

Earlier this month, the attorney general’s office launched an online Public Charities Annual Filing Document Search, providing access to annual financial reports filed with the Non-Profit Organizations/Public Charities Division by charitable organizations operating in Massachusetts.

Annual filings typically include a Form Public Charity (Form PC), a copy of the organization’s federal tax filing, and financial statements.