04/18/2018

Ohio Charity Statistics

An update from the office of Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine

By the end of 2017, tens of thousands of active charitable organizations had filed with the Ohio Attorney General’s Charitable Law Section. The section also issued bingo licenses, handled professional solicitor registrations and provided trainings. One of the most visible activities of the Ohio Attorney General’s Charitable Law Section centers on assisting charities with their duties to register and complete annual filings in the online charitable registration system.

At the close of 2017, there were 47,076 active charitable organizations in the system, a record high number of organizations. Registration and filing information is available to the public at the “Research Charities” page of the attorney general’s website, which donors may use when deciding whether to contribute to a specific charity.

The Attorney General’s Charitable Law Section also provides oversight of professional solicitors paid to raise funds for charitable organizations. Solicitors that operate in Ohio must be registered annually, and they must provide notice of every Ohio fundraising campaign and its results. In 2017, the section handled the registration of 114 professional solicitors who conducted 1,145 campaigns. Information on solicitor campaigns can be found on the attorney general’s website.
 
Last year, the Attorney General’s Charitable Law Section issued 3,244 bingo licenses to 1,664 charitable organizations. Additionally, the section issued licenses to 17 bingo manufacturers and 36 bingo distributors. For more information on licensed organizations, visit the “Bingo Licensing Information” page of the Attorney General’s website.
 
Providing resources to leaders of charitable organizations also continued to be a priority, and staff provided training to 5,347 people about board governance best practices, bingo recordkeeping, wise giving, and related topics. If you are interested in hosting a training and are willing to invite other local charitable leaders to attend, please call 614-466-3181 or send an email to the attorney general. Additional resources and publications for nonprofits also can be found on the Attorney General’s website.