Menu

Close

The Importance of Incorporating Compliance into Your Nonprofit’s Advocacy Toolbox

Blog

Sarah Eftymiou

Topics

Evaluating Advocacy

As a nonprofit, you are an essential player in driving advocacy and social change. You lead initiatives that make a difference in your community and influence important public policies. However, achieving these important missions requires navigating what can sometimes be a tricky landscape of compliance, both at the state and federal levels.

Sticking to compliance rules helps avoid penalties and keeps your organization’s corporate and tax-exempt status intact. This means nonprofits can continue their vital work without unnecessary interruptions. Therefore, it’s important for organizations to not only be aware of your reporting requirements to the IRS, but to also ensure that you are in legal compliance with state rules that may govern your activities.

Recent Catch-Up Opportunity for California Nonprofits

For charities incorporated in or operating in California, there are four primary agencies that require organizations to file regular reports: the IRS, the CA Franchise Tax Board (FTB), the CA Secretary of State (SOS), and the CA Department of Justice’s Registry of Charities and Fundraisers (DOJ). Falling out of compliance with one or more of these agencies can result in taking valuable time and resources away from programs to catch up or, worse, could even place your organization’s tax-exemption or corporate status at risk.

The California DOJ has stepped in with good news! Some organizations that had been labeled as “Delinquent” by the state Registry of Charities and Fundraisers for failing to submit annual reports will now have an easier, but time-limited, opportunity to update their filings and get back into “Current” status.

Organizations may determine whether they are eligible by referring to the recent notice they received from the DOJ’s office or by checking their status on the Registry of Charities and Fundraisers. If their status is listed as “Current – Reporting Incomplete”, this means that filings are likely overdue, and they will need to take specific steps to get back to “Current” status. Note that there is a quick deadline: organizations must resolve these issues by January 15, 2026, to avoid reverting to “Delinquent” status. The California DOJ’s short video, How Eligible Registrants Can Cure Delinquencies, walks organizations through the process step by step.

Getting Ready for 2026

Whether January 1 marks the start of your fiscal year or not, the new year is a good time to assess potential compliance gaps for your organization. Like California, nonprofit organizations operating in other states will likely have ongoing reporting obligations to their state agencies, in addition to the IRS. Therefore, regardless of where you are operating, it’s essential to know which state agencies oversee your activities and when and what you may need to report to them. Prioritizing compliance will help your organization mitigate risks, build trust with local communities (and funders), and be a more effective advocate.

Bolder Advocacy Has Resources to Help!