Police and firefighter groups that solicit in Michigan are required to register with the Attorney General. Most police and firefighter groups are not charities.
The Public Safety Solicitation Act, MCL 14.301 et seq., regulates the many police and fire organizations that solicit from the public. Most of these organizations are not charitable organizations and thus are not subject to the Solicitations Act, discussed above. Section 2(d) of the Public Safety Solicitation Act defines a public safety organization. Section 3 specifies the registration requirement, which must occur before any solicitations.
To register, the organization must complete the CTS - 12 Public Safety Organization Registration Form (PDF) and submit it to the Charitable Trust Section.
The Public Safety Solicitation Act also mandates the registration and bonding of all professional fundraisers soliciting for public safety organizations. Registration of fundraisers is also required before soliciting.
To register, the fundraiser must properly complete and submit a CTS - 13 Public Safety Professional Fundraiser Registration Form (PDF).
For the first year of solicitations in Michigan the fundraiser must obtain a $25,000 bond which must be submitted on the CTS - 14 Uniform Public Safety Professional Fundraiser Surety Bond Form (Initial) (PDF) form, along with a power of attorney form signed by the surety.
After the first year of registration, the amount of the bond will be determined by contributions collected by the fundraiser the previous year as defined in section 4(8) of the Public Safety Solicitation Act.
