Solicitation by Law Enforcement Affiliated Organizations

NYC Admin. Code tit. 14, ch. 2

in effect

NYC Admin. Code § 14-201 Regulation of solicitation by law enforcement affiliated organizations.

§ 14-201 Regulation of solicitation by law enforcement affiliated organizations. As used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the following meanings: 1. "Law enforcement affiliated organization." a. Any organization, association, or conference of present or former members of the force, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, detectives, investigators, constables or similar law enforcement officers or peace officers or police officers as defined in subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, or any auxiliary or affiliate of such an organization, association, or conference composed of one or more such organizations. b. Any organization, association or conference established for the benefit of, benevolence towards or support of present or former members of the force, sheriffs, deputy sheriffs, detectives, investigators, constables or similar law enforcement officers or peace officers or police officers as defined in subdivisions thirty-three and thirty-four of section 1.20 of the criminal procedure law, or the families of such law enforcement personnel. 2. "Professional fund raiser." Any person who for compensation or other consideration plans, conducts, manages, or carries on any drive or campaign in the city for the purpose of soliciting funds or contributions for or on behalf of any law enforcement affiliated organization, or who engages in the business of, or holds himself or herself out to persons in the city as independently engaged in the business of soliciting contributions for such purposes. 3. "Professional solicitor." Any person who is employed or retained for compensation by a professional fund raiser to solicit funds or contributions on behalf of any law enforcement affiliated organization from persons in the city.

NYC Admin. Code § 14-202 Registration of law enforcement affiliated organizations.

§ 14-202 Registration of law enforcement affiliated organizations. No law enforcement affiliated organization shall solicit funds or contributions from the public, or have funds or contributions solicited on its behalf, unless it has filed a registration statement with the commissioner or the commissioner's designee in accordance with the provisions of this section. Each registration statement shall be refiled and updated every twelve (12) months so long as the law enforcement affiliated organization is engaged in solicitation activities in the city. Such statements shall be made available to the public in a manner determined by the commissioner or the commissioner's designee and shall contain the following information: 1. The name of the organization and the purpose for which it was organized; 2. The principal address of the organization; 3. A statement indicating whether the organization intends to use professional fund raisers to solicit funds or contributions from the public; 4. The general purpose or purposes for which the contributions solicited shall be used; 5. The names and business addresses of the person or persons in direct charge of conducting the solicitation; 6. The names and business addresses of all professional fund raisers who will be connected with the solicitation; 7. A statement to the effect that the fact of registration will not be used or represented in any way as an endorsement by the city or by the department of the solicitation conducted thereunder; 8. Documents verifying the information provided under provisions one through six above, including all contracts and subsequent amendments thereto between a law enforcement affiliated organization and any professional fund raiser with whom it does business; 9. Once each year on the fifteenth day of February, a report shall be filed with the commissioner stating the amount of funds or contributions collected in the preceding calendar year, the amount expended and the specific recipients and purposes for which said amount was expended, the administrative expenses incurred in said period including a statement of the fees or other charges by any professional fund raisers and the amount paid to same. 10. A statement to the effect that the organization acknowledges that the information contained in the registration statement shall be made available to the public in a manner determined by the commissioner or the commissioner's designee.

NYC Admin. Code § 14-203 Representation.

§ 14-203 Representation. During the course of each and every solicitation for funds or contributions on behalf of a law enforcement affiliated organization and on an acknowledgement which shall be mailed to the person and/or persons who agree to contribute pursuant to the solicitation, the fund raiser, solicitor or any other person acting on behalf of the law enforcement affiliated organization shall make the following representations. 1. The name and address of the organization represented; 2. A description of the programs in which the organization is actually engaged and for which the funds or contributions will be used; 3. A statement of the percentage of the funds collected during the preceding year which were actually used for the programs in which the organization was then engaged, and that the remaining funds were used for fund raising activities.

NYC Admin. Code § 14-204 Prohibited acts.

§ 14-204 Prohibited acts. It shall be unlawful to solicit funds or contributions on behalf of a law enforcement affiliated organization: 1. By using a name, symbol or statement so closely related to that used by another law enforcement affiliated organization or governmental agency that the use thereof would tend to confuse or mislead the public, including the use of statement or materials that would indicate that such funds or contributions were being raised for the department or the patrolman's benevolent association of the city of New York, unless such agency or association shall have given its written permission for the raising of such funds for it, and the use of its name in connection with the solicitation of funds; 2. By means of a false pretense, representation or promise which includes representing: (i) that the professional fund raisers or solicitors are members of the police force or employees of any law enforcement agency; (ii) that funds collected will be used to aid surviving spouses, domestic partners or children of members of the police force slain in the line of duty or that the funds collected will be used for any other charitable program unless the organization is actually engaged in such a program; (iii) that contributors will receive special benefits from members of the police force; (iv) that contributions are tax exempt as a charitable contribution or as a business expense unless they so qualify under the applicable provisions of the internal revenue codes; (v) by any manner, means, practice or device that misleads the person solicited as to the use of the funds or the nature of the organization. Editor's note: For related unconsolidated provisions, see Appendix A at L.L. 1998/027.

NYC Admin. Code § 14-205 Criminal and civil penalties.

§ 14-205 Criminal and civil penalties. a. Any person who violates or assists in the violation of any of the provisions of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than one thousand nor more than ten thousand dollars or up to one year imprisonment, or both. Each such violation shall be a separate and distinct offense. b. Such person shall also be subject to a civil penalty of not less than one thousand nor more than ten thousand dollars for each violation. Each such violation shall be a separate and distinct offense.

NYC Admin. Code § 14-206 Enforcement actions or proceedings.

§ 14-206 Enforcement actions or proceedings. The civil penalties prescribed by this chapter shall be recovered by an action or proceeding in any court of competent jurisdiction. All such actions or proceedings shall be brought in the name of the city by the corporation counsel. In addition, the corporation counsel may institute any other action or proceeding in any court of competent jurisdiction that may be appropriate or necessary for the enforcement of the provisions of this chapter, including actions to secure permanent injunctions enjoining any acts or practices which constitute a violation of any provision of this chapter, mandating compliance with the provisions of this chapter or for such other relief as may be appropriate. In any such action or proceeding the city may apply to any court of competent jurisdiction, or to a judge or justice thereof, for a temporary restraining order or preliminary injunction enjoining and restraining all persons from violating any provision of this chapter, mandating compliance with the provisions of this chapter, or for such other relief as may be appropriate, until the hearing and determination of such action or proceeding and the entry of final judgment or order therein. The court, or judge or justice thereof, to whom such application is made, is hereby authorized forthwith to make any or all of the orders above specified, as may be required in such application, with or without notice, and to make such other or further orders or directions as may be necessary to render the same effectual. No undertaking shall be required as a condition to the granting or issuing of such order, or by reason thereof.

NYC Admin. Code § 14-207 Scope of remedies.

§ 14-207 Scope of remedies. The remedies and penalties provided for herein shall be in addition to any other remedies and penalties provided under other provisions of law.

NYC Admin. Code § 14-208 Construction.

§ 14-208 Construction. The provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to apply to any law enforcement affiliated organizations when solicitation of contributions is confined to their membership. In addition, the provisions of this chapter shall not be construed to apply to any person or law enforcement affiliated organization which solicits contributions for the relief of any individual, specified by name at the time of solicitation, if all of the contributions collected, without any deductions whatsoever, are turned over to the named beneficiary.

Source: City of New York, Charter, Administrative Code and Rules (American Legal Publishing XML export, codelibrary.amlegal.com)URL: https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/newyorkcity/latest/NYCadmin/0-0-0-236843Fetched: 10/24/2026