When Benjamin Franklin addressed fire risks in Philadelphia in 1736, he popularized an older maxim: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” That preventive mindset captures Florida’s new charitable-solicitation rules for screening foreign-linked contributions.
- New Florida law SB 700 demands charities vet foreign-linked contributions, effective July 1, 2025, to avoid gifts from "foreign countries of concern" like China, Russia and Iran.
- Organizations soliciting Floridians must file a foreign-donor attestation and consider joining the new Honest Services Registry, aiding transparency and compliance.
- FDACS enforces these rules with potential penalties including solicitation bans. Avoid risks by revising policies, training staff and implementing 25% ownership checks ASAP.
- Proactive measures like early board approvals of charitable guidelines can safeguard solicitation rights and prevent reputational damage.
Beginning July 1, 2025, every charity, foundation, social-welfare organization, professional fundraiser and commercial co-venturer that asks Floridians for contributions must vet funding sources for any link to defined “foreign countries of concern.”
Florida’s Senate Bill 700, codified at Fla. Stat. §§ 496.401–.431, overlays a foreign-influence screen on the state’s longstanding solicitation regime and inaugurates a publicly searchable “Honest Services Registry.”
Who Is Covered?
The law’s scope is unusually broad. It reaches public charities, private foundations and organizations described in section 501(c)(4), as well as non-exempt entities that fundraise for philanthropic purposes. It expressly encompasses professional fundraisers, fundraising consultants and commercial co-venturers engaged in cause-marketing.
Foreign charities and multinational companies are covered when they solicit Florida residents directly or have funds solicited on their behalf. Existing exemptions under Chapter 496 remain available, but they are not automatic.
Each exempt entity must affirmatively claim its status by filing the appropriate form with the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS).
The Core Prohibition
Covered persons may not solicit or accept “contributions, funding, support or services” from a “foreign source of concern.” There is no de minimis threshold and the prohibition applies equally to direct gifts and to indirect support routed through intermediaries.
The seven countries of concern are China, Russia, Iran, North Korea, Cuba, the Venezuelan regime of Nicolás Maduro and Syria. A “foreign source of concern” includes the governments and officials of those countries, political parties and party members, entities organized under or principally doing business in those countries (including subsidiaries, agents and affiliates) and individuals domiciled there who are not U.S. citizens or lawful permanent residents.
It also includes any person or entity “controlled” by such sources. Control may be direct or indirect and is presumed where a person or entity holds at least 25% of the voting interests or is entitled to at least 25% of the profits. This presumption necessitates a look-through analysis of ownership and influence, making donor-advised fund sponsors, corporate social-responsibility programs and other intermediaries part of the diligence perimeter.
Attestation and the Honest Services Registry
SB 700 introduces two notable filings. First, each registrant must include with its FDACS charitable-solicitation registration a sworn foreign-donor attestation, signed by an authorized officer, committing not to solicit or accept contributions from a foreign source of concern; false attestations carry civil or criminal exposure.
Second, FDACS will create, publish and maintain on its website the Honest Services Registry. Listing is voluntary but requires a separate, board-authorized statement affirming that the organization neither solicits nor accepts foreign-linked support and is not influenced by a foreign source of concern in its messaging or programming.
FDACS is tasked with adopting rules to govern enrollment, renewal and removal.
Enforcement and Safe Harbor
FDACS enforces the contribution ban and the related registration framework. The Department may investigate suspected violations, review records and take administrative action and may refer matters involving state or local election-related activity to the Florida Elections Commission. Remedies include cease-and-desist orders, civil penalties and suspension or revocation of solicitation rights; knowing or willful violations may be prosecuted criminally.
A narrow safe harbor exists for a first, inadvertent violation. Within 30 days after discovery, the organization must provide FDACS with the donor’s false certification disclaiming prohibited ties, refund the contribution in full and submit a corrective plan to prevent recurrence. The safe harbor is single-use and unavailable for willful conduct.
Florida’s framework signals a broader state effort to curb foreign influence in civil society and may become a model elsewhere. Organizations soliciting Florida donors should act now: schedule board approval of revised gift-acceptance, refund and conflict-of-interest policies; add donor-certification language to all forms and DAF/grant agreements; implement screening and 25% look-through procedures; train development staff; amend fundraiser and platform agreements; and document a 30-day refund/FDACS notice protocol. File the new FDACS attestation and evaluate the Honest Services Registry.
With these steps, compliance is achievable; delay risks suspension of solicitation authority, reputational harm and penalties.
Contributors
Jones Foster attorney Alexander M. Parthemer, LL.M. in Taxation, focuses his practice primarily on trusts, estates and advanced tax planning, with additional emphasis on corporate and business succession matters. He represents business owners, family offices and fiduciaries in estate planning and administration as well as corporate transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, buy-sell planning, tax-free reorganizations, conversions, dissolutions and entity structuring.
Jones Foster attorney Richard C. Vaughan, LL.M., concentrates his practice in estate planning, trust and estate administration, business planning, and transactional corporate law. He is experienced in developing comprehensive estate plans for individuals and families, structuring and maintaining tax-exempt organizations and charitable gift planning and assisting private foundations and public charities with navigating compliance and oversight issues.
William G. “Bill” Smith, LL.M., is a Jones Foster shareholder who concentrates his practice in the areas of estate planning, estate and trust administration, taxation and transactional corporate law. He provides counsel to businesses, private foundations and charities in matters that include business succession planning, transfers of business interests, LLC and S corporation creation, governance documents, mergers and Treasury Regulation compliance.
