Charities Registered With the Attorney General's Office May Now File Financial Reports Electronically
A.G. Schneiderman: E-Filing Reduces Burdens On Charities And Promotes Real-Time Transparency For The Public
NEW YORK ‑ Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman announced today that charities registered with the Attorney General's Charities Bureau may now file their annual financial reports electronically allowing for quicker dissemination of key information to the public. Charities that are active in New York are required by law to register and file annual reports with the bureau, including New York Form CHAR500 and the IRS Form 990. Until now, those organizations had to submit paper filings in New York even though they could file electronically with the IRS. With today's announcement, organizations can complete and file both state and federal forms at the same time by using Form990.org, a service provided by the Urban Institute's National Center for Charitable Statistics.
"E-Filing marks another step towards reducing burdens on charities and promoting transparency,"Attorney General Schneiderman said. "Now the public and funders will have immediate access to information about charities they seek to support and reporting procedures for charities are simplified."
With E-Filing, Attorney General Schneiderman has implemented a recommendation made by his Leadership Committee for Nonprofit Revitalization, made up of nonprofit leaders from across the state. The Committee's Report, issued earlier this year, made a series of recommendations to lessen burdens on nonprofits and improve governance and transparency, including allowing nonprofits to file electronically with the Charities Bureau.
"We applaud the Charities Bureau's adoption of electronic filing," said Michael Clark, president of the Nonprofit Coordinating Committee of New York and a member of the Leadership Committee. "Our members' annual reporting will now be simpler because they can submit both New York's form CHAR500 and IRS Form 990 with a click of a mouse."
Charities should go to http://www.charitiesnys.com to begin filing electronically or to get information on filing requirements and detailed instructions.