Minnesota State Fundraising Registration
Resources for charities, businesses, professional fundraisers, and individuals conducting fundraising activities
Minnesota Nonprofit & Fundraising Company Licenses
Labyrinth provides the state fundraising regulations below as a guide to help you apply for and maintain your ability to fundraise. Need help? We can manage your state registrations for you. Contact us today to learn more.
Minnesota defines requirements for:
• Charitable Organization Registration
• Commercial Co-Venturer Registration
• Professional Fundraiser Registration
• Individual Nonprofit & Fundraising Licenses
• Charitable Gift Annuity Registration
Need a different state? Visit our 50-state Compliance Guide
Minnesota Charitable Organization Registration
Agency: Minnesota Attorney General - Charities
Law: Minnesota Statutes Annotated §309.50; 309.515; 309.52; 309.53. A Guide to Minnesota's Charities Laws
Foreign Qualification is Prerequisite: No
Registered Agent (Special Agency) Required? No
One-Time Exemption Registration
Exemption Eligible Organizations:
Form: Charitable Organization - Exemption Form
Filing Method: Mail or email to charity.registration@ag.state.mn.us.
Agency Fee: $0
Law: Minn. Stat. § 309.515
Notes:
Initial Registration
Form: Charitable Organization Initial Registration & Annual Report Form
Instructions: File initial registration or exemption. See Initial Registration Instructions and Information for Charitable Organizations and Trusts.
Filing Method: File by mail or email to charity.registration@ag.state.mn.us.
Agency Fee: $25
Turnaround: 2 - 3 weeks
Notes:
- Before you Apply -
All Applicants:
- How to Apply -
Domestic Applicants:
1. File entity formation documents with the Minnesota Secretary of State.
2. Submit a Charitable Organization Initial Registration form and all required attachments to the Minnesota Attorney General - Charities Section.
Foreign Applicants:
1.Determine whether or not your charity will need to foreign qualify based on your activity in Minnesota. If not required, skip to number 3.
2. File foreign qualification documents with the Minnesota Secretary of State.
3. Submit a Charitable Organization Initial Registration form and all required attachments to the Minnesota Attorney General - Charities Section.
- Required Attachments -
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Registration Renewal
Form: Charitable Organization Initial Registration & Annual Report Form
Filing Method: Mail or email
Agency Fee: $25
Due: Annually within 6.5 months after the close of your nonprofit's fiscal year. So if your fiscal calendar ends December 31, then the renewal is due by July 15.
Due Date Extension: Due dates can be extended for 4 months beyond the original due date by submitting a request for extension through the online portal.
Penalties: There is a $50 late fee.
Notes:
Required Attachments:
Change of Fiscal Year
Notes: Fiscal year can be changed during the standard renewal process.
Cancellation
Agency Fee: $0
Notes: To close out your registration, send a letter indicating that your organization wishes to cancel its registration. No final report or renewal is required.

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Minnesota Commercial Co-Venturer Registration
NOT REQUIRED
Commercial Co-venturer licensure is not required on the State level in Minnesota.
Minnesota does not currently have a traditional registration requirement for commercial co-venturers, but they may need to follow other regulations before and after fundraising events.

Labyrinth has taken the stress out of ensuring our organization is current with all state requirements. Their knowledgeable staff are always available to answer questions and provide guidance giving me peace of mind. I can’t say enough about the value they bring to our organization.
Minnesota Professional Fundraiser Registration
A professional fundraiser is any person who, for compensation or profit, performs for a charitable organization any service in connection with which contributions are, or will be, solicited. This includes any person who plans, manages, advises, consults, or prepares material for or with respect to the solicitation of contributions.
Solicitor vs. Consultant. Professional fundraisers are treated differently depending on whether they are involved in soliciting contributions or only consult or assist a charity without soliciting. Soliciting professional fundraisers are those who request, either directly or indirectly, a contribution to the charity. The terms “solicit” and “solicitation” are very broadly defined under Minnesota law. They include not only written and verbal requests for contributions, but also advertising for charitable events and the sale of goods or services that benefit a charity (among other things). See Minn. Stat. § 309.50, subd. 10. A consulting professional fundraiser is not involved in soliciting contributions in any manner. A consulting professional fundraiser instead, for example, advises the charity on how to run its own solicitation campaign or prepares materials that the charity will use to solicit on its own.
Agency: Minnesota Attorney General - Charities
Bond Requirements: A $20,000 surety bond is required for entities with custody of or access to contributions.
Initial Registration
Form: Professional Fundraiser Registration Statement
Instructions: Email to charity.registration@ag.state.mn.us
Filing Method: Email
Agency Fee: $200
Original Ink: Not required
Notarize: Not required
Notes:
- Be in writing;
- Contain information which will enable the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office to identify the services the professional fundraiser is to provide, including whether the professional fundraiser will at any time have access to or custody of contributions; and
- The contract must disclose the percentage or a reasonable estimate of the percentage of the total amount solicited from each person which will be received by the charitable organization
- For example, a professional fundraiser and a charitable organization estimate that a solicitation campaign will yield $10,000 in contributions. The charitable organization agrees to pay the professional fundraiser a flat fee of $2,500. In this example, the estimated percentage of funds received by the charitable organization from the campaign is 75%. Unless a charitable organization pays a professional fundraiser nothing, the estimated percentage retained by the charitable organization is unlikely to be 100%.
Required Attachments:
- For each, provide the complete legal name, EIN, and address, and indicate whether the contract is currently on file or attached with the application
- The financial report should be on the form available at the Minnesota Attorney General’s Office’s website
Bond Amount: $20,000
Registration Renewal
Form: Professional Fundraiser Registration Statement (Renewal)
Agency Fee: $200
Due: Annually by April 30.
Original Ink: Not required
Notarize: Not required
Contract Filing
Form: Professional Fundraiser Solicitation Notice
Agency Fee: $0
Due: File a solicitation notice before beginning a new campaign.
Financial Reporting
Form: Professional Fundraiser Solicitation Campaign Financial Report
Agency Fee: $0
Due: Within 90 days after a campaign has ended and within 90 days after the anniversary of commencement for campaigns lasting more than a year.
Notarize: Required
Minnesota Individual Professional Fundraiser Registration
NOT REQUIRED
Professional Solicitor licensure is not required on the State level in Minnesota.
Solicitors who are not employed by a professional fundraising firm but operate independently may be required to register. Employees of professional fundraising firms are generally not required to register as an individual solicitor in Minnesota.

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Minnesota Charitable Gift Annuity Registration
NOT REQUIRED
Charitable Gift Annuity licensure is not required on the State level in Minnesota.
No filing is required, but charities need to meet certain conditions before issuing charitable gift annuities. Minnesota statutes exempt religious, educational, benevolent, fraternal, charitable, social, athletic, and reformatory organizations from security regulation related to charitable gift annuities.
Law: MN Rev. Stat. § 80A.45(7)

Thank you, you truly are amazing! And frankly we would be lost in all of this if it wasn’t for you.
Learn about fundraising in other jurisdictions:
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