§ 173-a. Contracts of professional fund raisers, fund raising counsel
and commercial co-venturers; closing statements; final accountings. 1.
No person shall act as a professional fund raiser, fund raising counsel
or commercial co-venturer before he has a written contract with the
charitable organization or other person benefitting from his services. A
professional fund raiser or fund raising counsel shall within ten days
after its execution by the parties thereto file with the attorney
general a copy of each contract entered into between such professional
fund raiser or fund raising counsel and a charitable organization
required to be registered pursuant to this article, certified under
penalties for perjury by said professional fund raiser or fund raising
counsel to be a true and correct copy of such contract. When the
services to be performed under such contracts include the oral
solicitation of funds from the public, such oral presentations shall be
deemed to be part of the contract and shall be reduced to a writing
which in the case of a professional fund raiser shall be filed with the
attorney general by the registrant at the time such contracts are filed.
If there is any change in the presentation filed with the attorney
general, the registrant shall notify the attorney general in writing
within five days of such change. No services shall be performed under
such a contract until the professional fund-raiser shall have received
an acknowledgement from the attorney general of the receipt of a copy of
such contract or such contract shall have been on file with the attorney
general for at least fifteen days, whichever is shorter. Provided,
however, that no services shall be performed pursuant to such contract
if, within fifteen days of filing, the attorney general has notified the
professional fund raiser or fund raising counsel and the charitable
organization of any deficiencies in the contract and/or the registration
and filing under this article. True and correct copies of such contracts
shall be kept on file in the offices of the charitable organization and
the professional fund raiser, fund raising counsel or commercial
co-venturer during the term thereof and until the expiration of a period
of three years subsequent to the date the solicitation of contributions
provided for therein actually terminates. Within ninety days after the
termination of any such contract, the professional fund raiser shall
file with the attorney general a closing statement, signed under
penalties for perjury by all parties to the contract on forms prescribed
by the attorney general. Such statement shall disclose gross revenue,
all expenditures incurred in the performance of the contract, and all
funds paid to the professional fund raiser and charitable organization.
In the event that a contract term is longer than a one year period, the
professional fund raiser shall file an interim statement, at least
annually. No person shall act as a sub-contractor on behalf of another
professional fund raiser prior to obtaining a written contract with such
professional fund raiser and written consent from the charity on whose
behalf fundraising activities are to be conducted pursuant to such
contract, and such written consent shall have been attached to such
contract and filed with the attorney general pursuant to subdivision one
of this section. Willful violation of this section shall be a
misdemeanor.

2. Every contract between a professional fund raiser and a charitable
organization shall contain or shall be deemed to contain a provision
that within five days of receipt by the professional fund raiser or any
other person the gross revenue received from any solicitation shall be
deposited in a bank account under the exclusive control of the charity.

3. Within ninety days after the termination of a sales promotion
advertised to benefit a charitable organization, a commercial
co-venturer shall provide such organization with an accounting stating
the number of items sold, the dollar amount of each sale and the amount
paid or to be paid to the charitable organization. In the event that any
such sales promotion is longer than a one year period, the commercial
co-venturer shall provide the charitable organization with an interim
report, at least annually.

4. A charitable organization which enters into a contract with a
commercial co-venturer shall file with the attorney general on the date
that the next financial report is due to be filed the following
information on forms prescribed by the attorney general and signed under
penalties for perjury by an officer: (a) a list of the names and
addresses of all commercial co-venturers authorized by the charitable
organization to use its name during the year covered by that financial
report and, if known, during the year following the year covered by the
financial report, (b) a statement of the financial terms and any
conditions of each co-venture contract, and (c) a statement whether each
commercial co-venturer has provided the charitable organization with an
accounting as prescribed by subdivision three of this section.