Charitable giving: online fundraising.

Assembly Member Irwin's charitable giving legislation modernizes California's oversight of online fundraising platforms by authorizing the use of application programming interfaces (APIs) to verify organizations' eligibility to receive donations. The measure amends the Supervision of Trustees and Fundraisers for Charitable Purposes Act, which requires charitable fundraising platforms to register with the Attorney General's Registry of Charities and Fundraisers before enabling donations.

Under current law, platforms may only enable solicitations for organizations in good standing, relying on electronic lists from regulatory agencies to make this determination. The bill expands this verification system by allowing platforms to use APIs that provide real-time access to the Attorney General's Registry of Charitable Trusts database. The Attorney General must establish specifications for these APIs through regulations.

The legislation maintains existing requirements for platforms to register annually, file detailed reports on donation activities, and provide clear disclosures about fees and fund distribution timelines. Platforms must continue obtaining written consent from charitable organizations before using their names in solicitations, with certain exceptions when only basic organizational information is referenced. The measure preserves protections around the handling of donation funds, requiring they be held in separate accounts and promptly distributed to recipient organizations.