National Association of State Charity Officials

National Association of State Charity Officials
Name	National Association of State Charity Officials
Abbreviation	NASCO
Formation	1979
Type	Nonprofit association
Headquarters	Washington, D.C.
Region served	United States
Membership	State regulatory officials

National Association of State Charity Officials is a U.S.-based professional association of state and territorial regulators responsible for oversight of charitable organizations. The association serves as a forum for coordination among attorneys general, secretaries of state, prosecutors, regulators and legislative staff from across the fifty states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and other territories. NASCO provides education, policy analysis, enforcement strategies and multistate collaboration on philanthropic oversight, consumer protection, tax-exempt law and nonprofit governance.

History

NASCO was formed in 1979 amid growing national attention to nonprofit fraud and fundraising controversies involving organizations such as Junior Achievement, United Way, American Cancer Society, United Way of America, American Red Cross and Salvation Army. Early cooperative enforcement drew on precedents set by multistate actions like the Antitrust Division investigations and the coordinated settlements seen in cases involving Toys "R" Us, Enron-era charitable donor concerns and consumer protection work by Federal Trade Commission. Over ensuing decades NASCO interacted with federal entities including Internal Revenue Service, United States Department of Justice, Congressional Research Service, and congressional committees such as the United States Senate Committee on Finance and the United States House Committee on Ways and Means on issues overlapping with tax-exempt regulation, civil enforcement and criminal referral. Landmark nonprofit oversight episodes like the scrutiny following Hurricane Katrina, fundraising scandals involving prominent figures such as Bernie Madoff and regulatory reforms inspired by the Sarbanes–Oxley Act influenced NASCO’s agenda, while alliances developed with organizations like the National Association of Attorneys General, Council on Foundations, Independent Sector, Charity Navigator and GuideStar (now Candid).

Organization and Membership

NASCO’s membership includes officials from offices of attorneys general such as those of New York, California, Texas, Florida, Illinois and Pennsylvania, secretaries of state from jurisdictions like Delaware, Nevada, Ohio, and territorial representatives from Puerto Rico and the United States Virgin Islands. The governance structure mirrors models used by associations like the American Bar Association and the National Governors Association, with an executive committee, standing committees, task forces and regional representatives. NASCO collaborates with state regulatory partners including the Attorney General of Massachusetts, the Secretary of State of New York, the Ohio Attorney General, and municipal prosecutors such as those in Los Angeles and Chicago. Institutional partners and observers have included the Internal Revenue Service Tax-Exempt and Government Entities Division, the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Pew Charitable Trusts, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, and academic law centers such as Harvard Law School, Yale Law School, Columbia Law School and Georgetown University Law Center.

Mission and Activities

NASCO’s mission emphasizes enforcement, education and facilitation of interstate cooperation among entities like state charity regulators, attorneys general, secretaries of state and auditors. Activities echo practices from organizations such as National Association of State Auditors, Comptrollers and Treasurers and National Association of Attorneys General and include compiling model forms inspired by the Uniform Law Commission and sharing investigative techniques used in cases similar to those handled by the New York Attorney General’s Office or the California Department of Justice. NASCO issues guidance to state officials on matters that intersect with tax policy overseen by the Internal Revenue Service, litigation themes appearing before the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit and regulatory developments discussed in forums like the Federal Register. The association supports joint enforcement operations analogous to multistate actions coordinated by the National Association of Attorneys General and participates in stakeholder dialogues with philanthropic intermediaries such as United Philanthropy Forum, Independent Sector and National Council of Nonprofits.

Policy and Advocacy

NASCO develops policy recommendations on charitable solicitation statutes, registration exemptions, and financial reporting standards, often interfacing with federal legislation considered by bodies like the United States Congress, including the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary and the United States House Committee on Oversight and Reform. NASCO’s advocacy work has addressed state-level statutes similar to frameworks by the Uniform Law Commission and has weighed in on IRS rulemaking emanating from the Internal Revenue Service. It engages with think tanks and policy organizations including Bipartisan Policy Center, Brookings Institution, American Enterprise Institute and Urban Institute on issues such as donor advised funds, fiscal transparency, charitable asset protection and fiduciary duties highlighted in cases before state supreme courts such as the New York Court of Appeals and the California Supreme Court.

Conferences and Training

NASCO convenes annual conferences, regional workshops and enforcement training modeled on programs by National Association of Attorneys General and legal education offered by institutions like the American Bar Association Division for Continuing Legal Education. Conferences attract staff from state offices, federal agencies including the Internal Revenue Service, representatives from philanthropy like Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, auditors from firms such as Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers and academics from University of Pennsylvania Law School, University of Michigan Law School and Stanford Law School. Sessions cover investigative techniques, forensic accounting paralleling training at the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network, case law updates from circuits like the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, and compliance workshops reflecting standards used by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations.

Notable Initiatives and Reports

NASCO has produced model guidelines and reports on charitable solicitation, donor advised funds, and disaster-related fundraising that have influenced state statutes and enforcement priorities; these efforts parallel studies from Pew Charitable Trusts and reports issued by Government Accountability Office. Notable multistate investigations coordinated through NASCO-style collaboration targeted deceptive fundraising practices resembling actions brought against organizations such as Cancer Fund of America and operators linked to high-profile charitable fraud prosecutions in federal courtrooms including those of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York and the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. NASCO’s publications have informed reforms in states like Florida, Ohio, Texas and California and have been cited in regulatory comments submitted to agencies such as the Internal Revenue Service and the Federal Trade Commission.

Category:Nonprofit organizations based in Washington, D.C. Category:Organizations established in 1979 Category:Charity regulation in the United States