225 ILCS 460/7

(225 ILCS 460/7) (from Ch. 23, par. 5107)

Sec. 7. (a) All contracts entered into by a professional fund raiser to conduct a fundraising campaign for a charitable purpose or charitable organization must be in writing in conformity with this Act. A true and correct copy of each contract shall be filed by the professional fund raiser and the charitable trustee or organization who is party thereto with the Attorney General prior to the conduct of a fundraising campaign under the contract and annually by the professional fund raiser at and with each reregistration. Each professional fund raiser shall pay an annual filing fee of $25 for each active contract filed or on file under this Act. The fee shall be paid at initial and annual re-registration. True and correct copies of such contracts shall be kept on file in the offices of the charitable organization and the professional fund raiser during the term thereof and until the expiration of a period of 3 years subsequent to the date the solicitation of contributions provided for therein actually terminates. Any person who violates the provisions of this Section is guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.

(b) Any contract between a trust or charitable organization and a professional fund raiser must contain an estimated reasonable budget disclosing the target amount of funds to be raised over the contract period, the type and amount of projected expenses related thereto, and the amount projected to be paid to the charitable organization. In addition, the contract shall disclose the period of its duration, the geographic scope for fundraising, describe the methods of fundraising to be employed and provide assurance of record keeping and accountability. If the contract provides that the professional fund raiser will retain or be paid a stated percentage of the gross amount raised, an estimate of the target gross amount to be raised and to be paid to charity shall be stated in the contract. If the contract provides for payment on an hourly rate for fund raising, the total estimated hourly amount, as well as the estimated number of hours to be spent in fund raising, shall be stated.

(c) All professional fund raiser contracts shall be approved and accepted by a majority of the charitable organization's trustees, and in the case of a not for profit charitable corporation, by its president and at least one member of its Board of Directors, and the contract shall recite said approval and acceptance by certification by a trustee or the corporation's president.

(d) All professional fund raiser contracts shall disclose the amounts of all commissions, salaries and fees charged by the fund raiser, its agents, employees and solicitors and the method used for computing such.

(e) If the professional fund raiser, its agents, solicitors or employees or members of the families thereof own an interest in, manage or are a supplier or vendor of fund raising goods or services, the relationship shall be fully disclosed in the contract, as well as the method of determining the related supplier's or vendor's charges.

(f) If the professional fund raiser, in the course of raising funds, is also providing charitable education program services to the public, the charitable organization shall approve or provide to the fund raiser a written text of all public educational program materials to be disseminated when fund raising, copies of which shall be maintained by the parties.

(g) Any person who knowingly violates any provision of this Section may be subject to injunctive relief and removal from office. Failure to file a contract and pay the prescribed annual contract filing fee prior to conducting a fund raiser for an organization shall in addition to other relief subject the professional fund raiser to a late filing fee of $1,000 for each contract not timely filed.

(h) A professional fund raiser or professional solicitor that materially fails to comply with this Section shall not be entitled to collect or retain any compensation, commission, fee or salary received in any campaign in which the violation occurs. Upon application, by the Attorney General to a court of competent jurisdiction, the court may apply equitable considerations in enforcing this Section.

(Source: P.A. 90-469, eff. 8-17-97.)