You, The Internet, Money & Your Privacy: The Law of Electronic Solicitation

Transcription

1 You, The Internet, Money & Your Privacy: The Law of Electronic Solicitation

2 Speaker Errol Copilevitz, ESQ Copilevitz & Canter, LLC Errol Copilevitz is the senior partner of the national law firm Copilevitz & Canter, LLC, headquartered in Kansas City, Missouri. He acted as the lead counsel for the charitable community in both the Riley and Madigan victories before the Supreme Court. He has given the keynote address at the Indiana School of Philanthropy and acts as general counsel to numerous national charities. He is a frequent writer and speaker on the issues facing the nonprofit community, and has been the subject of many interviews and profiles in the media.

3 Speaker Maggie Haynes, Director of Combat Stress Program Wounded Warrior Project Maggie Haynes is the director of the combat stress program for Wounded Warrior Project. Her primary responsibilities include overseeing WWP mental health initiatives including Project Odyssey and WWP Restore, as well as educating staff and communities about combat stress to ease readjustment for returning warriors. Maggie received her B.S. in Communications from Northwestern University and her M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University. Her masters thesis focused on barriers to seeking mental health care for OEF/OIF veterans.

4 Relevance of Social Networking for WWP 94 % of WWP Alumni identified that they would want to be part of an online community site to connect and communicate with fellow warriors, family and friends. Alumni identified , chats, blogging, photo sharing, job board, activity calendar and contact directory as the most valuable components to be included in the proposed site. 96% prefer to get information about WWP through online resources. 93% felt it would be valuable to network with other Alumni.

5 Relevance of Social Networking Overall The 2009 Nielsen Online report shows that social networks and blogs are now the 4 th most popular online activity, ahead of personal . Online membership communities are visited by 67% of the global online population, accounting for almost 10% of all internet time. Facebook has 150 million members across the nation with half using the site everyday; MySpace has 76 million users in the United States alone; and the growth rate for Twitter for this year was 752%.

6 WWP CONNECT

7 WWP RESTORE

8 WWP RESTORE

9 WWP on Facebook

10 WWP on Twitter

11 Red Flags on WWP CONNECT

12 Social Media Risks Harassment and Discrimination Confidentiality Intellectual Property Defamation

13 Social Media Risks Hiring Illegal Activity Inadvertent Endorsements Content Regulation Productivity

14 Virtues v. Risks Front End or Back End Image Program Information Fundraising Connection to Supporters

15 Virtues v. Risks All public access has to reflect on your organization favorably and accurately.

16 WWP v. WWI Name Protecting Your Brand in the Electronic World URL PAYPAL Result Perhaps the largest verdict of its kind.

17 Your Website/Network Hosting your own v. not! Postings Privacy Policy Keeping the hackers out.

18 Your Website/Network The Twitter Story Unique passwords Prohibit employees from storing the password in plain text in their personal accounts Limit number of login attempts Use an administrative login webpage restricted to authorized personnel Let passwords expire periodically

19 Your Website/Network The Twitter Story Limit administrative control Limit individual authorization to specific IP addresses

20 YOUTUBE Problem How to solve it. Your employees, supporters. Policy

21 Twitter Good Bad FTC Settlement Staff Policy

22 Facebook Inside and Outside Risk Policy

23 Speaker Clifford Perlman, Partner Perlman & Perlman, LLP Clifford Perlman is a partner at Perlman & Perlman, LLP, a law firm specializing in regulatory compliance and general legal counsel for the not-for-profit sector. An experienced litigator and appellate author, Mr. Perlman has been advising nonprofit organizations for nearly two decades. His clients include large public charities, private foundations, and Fortune 500 companies (with respect to their dealings with nonprofit organizations). He first joined the firm after a clerkship writing judicial opinions for the Appellate Division of the New York State Supreme Court.

24 Jurisdictional Questions Affecting Nonprofit Online Activities Does a state court have the power to adjudicate claims against an organization for its conduct on the internet? What is the extent of the statutory authority of state or federal regulatory agencies?

25 State Jurisdiction: Online Solicitation The organization must purposefully avail itself of the privilege of doing business in the state. State must have minimum contacts with organization. The cause of action/regulation must relate to defendant s activities within the state. The exercise of jurisdiction must be reasonable in light of the various interests at stake. Long-arm statutes determine whether the state has jurisdiction over internet conduct of out-of-state organizations.

26 The Charleston Principles Advisory principles adopted by NAAG/NASCO to clarify the applicability of state charitable solicitation regulations to internet fundraising

27 The Charleston Principles These apply to Entities domiciled within the state. Out-of-state entities whose non-internet activities would require registration in the state. Out-of-state entities that solicit through an interactive or non-interactive web site and specifically target persons physically located in the state or receive contributions from the state on a repeated and ongoing, or substantial basis through or in response to the web site solicitation.

28 Federal Tax Issues: Nonprofit Use of Internet To maintain its 501(c) (3) status, a nonprofit must meet an organizational test and an operational test. Organizational Test: Organizing documents must limit the purposes of the organization to one or more exempt purposes, and must not authorize the organization to engage more than insubstantially in any activities which are not in furtherance of their exempt purposes. Operational Test: Organization must be deemed to operate exclusively for its specified exempt purposes.

29 Federal Tax Issues: Nonprofit Use of Internet Danger of Substantial Internet Activities Nonprofits should ensure that internet revenuegenerating activities do not become substantial in relation to their activities taken as a whole unless those activities are primarily related to the nonprofit s exempt purposes.

30 Federal Tax Issues: UBIT Tax Liability: A nonprofit might be liable for tax on its unrelated business taxable income. Includes income from a trade or business, regularly carried on that is not substantially related to the organization s exempt purpose or function except to the extent that the organization benefits from the profits derived from the activity. Activities that could trigger UBIT Hyperlinks and Banner Exchanges Advertising v. Corporate Sponsorship Merchandising

31 Cause Related Marketing Regulation Definition: A commercial marketing partnership between a business and a nonprofit entity to market an image, product or service linked to a social cause or issue, for mutual benefit Many state regulations protect against potential consumer fraud or deception and to ensure that the funds raised are used for the charitable purposes as advertised.

32 Cause Related Marketing Regulation Can potentially subject the Cause Related Marketer to the laws of every state including registration requirements Advance registration for both the for-profit and the nonprofit is required in Maine, Massachusetts and Alabama. Hawaii requires the for-profit to file the contract.

33 Cause Related Marketing Regulation About 20 other states regulate campaigns in some manner. Registration typically includes filing a registration statement, paying a filing fee and posting a bond. States may also require: a written contract; a final accounting or closing statement; certain disclosures in any marketing campaign; and maintaining books and records related to the co-venturer for a specified number of years.

34 98-02 AICPA SOP Remember that Joint Cost Allocation reviews pertain to websites and internet solicitations State review of allocations BBB Wise Giving Alliance review of allocations

35 Speaker Contact Information Errol Copilevitz, Esq. Copilevitz & Canter, LLC Phone: Clifford Perlman, Partner Perlman & Perlman, LLP Phone: Maggie Haynes, Director of Combat Stress Program Wounded Warrior Project Phone: