Hawaii Charity Finder gives the public access to the Hawaii Attorney General’s Charity registration database from their mobile phone. Charities that solicit contributions in Hawaii must register with the Attorney General and annually provide financial reports, unless they are granted an exemption by the Attorney General from the registration requirement.
When used in conjunction with other services, such as the Better Business Bureau’s Wise Giving Alliance, Charity Navigator, Charity Watch, and other rating services, Hawaii Charity Finder allows donors to make better informed “giving” decisions about charities requesting donations and direct their donations to charities that spend their donations properly and wisely. Hawaii Charity Finder allows you to determine if a charity is registered in Hawaii. If it is not, you should think twice about making a contribution, because the solicitation of contributions without being registered is unlawful. If a charity is not registered, there is good possibility that your contribution will not be tax deductible for federal income tax purposes.
The Hawaii Attorney General’s Charity registration database provides access to each registered charity’s registration statement and Financial Reports.
A Charity’s registration statement provides information including: the address and location of the charity; its website; the methods by which it solicits funds (direct mail, radio/TV, newspaper/magazine ads, special events, and other methods); a summary of financial information and information on whether the charity has been subject to an enforcement or disciplinary proceeding or had its registration suspended or revoked elsewhere; whether any person soliciting funds has been convicted of a crime involving dishonesty or arising from the conduct of a solicitation for a charitable organization or purpose; and whether any of the officers or directors are related to any other officer, director or trustee, or any officer director or trustee of a professional fundraising firm under contract.
The Attorney General’s Charity registration database also contains a registered charity’s Internal Revenue Service Form 990 or 990EZ. Forms 990 and 990EZ are annual information returns, and provide a wealth of information about each registered charity, including but not limited to:
Sources of revenue.
Detailed information on expenses.
Information about compensation paid to executive and independent contractors. Important information about the governance of the charity, for example:
Whether it has adopted conflicts of interest, whistleblower, and document retention policies, and monitors compliance with the policies.
Whether the charity has loaned money to, or engaged in other transactions with an officer or director.
Whether the charity has a process to set and review executive compensation. Whether there
was a theft or material diversion of its assets during the year.
Allocation of the charities’ expenditures among program services, management and general expenses, and fundraising activities.
Number of employees.
Number of board members.
Names, titles, and compensation paid to trustee, officers, directors or key employees. Professional fundraising fees paid.
Assets and Revenue.
Grants paid.
Whether there were any changes to the organizations’ governing documents or operations. Lobbying expenses.
Income from gambling activities.
A detailed statement of its functional expenses, including.
Payments for travel. Payments for entertainment. Conferences.
Investment management.
The Hawaii Attorney General hopes that you find Hawaii Charity Finder useful and will allow you to make safe, wise decisions about which charitable organizations to donate contributions to.
Answers to frequently asked questions about Hawaii’s charitable registration law may be found at http://ag .hawaii.gov/tax/files/2013/01/faqs2.pdf.