Secretary Williams releases report on charitable organizations

DENVER, Feb. 1, 2018 -- Colorado Secretary of State Wayne Williams' annual charitable solicitations report shows that nearly 7,000 state-based charities raised $4.7 billion.

The report summarizes information reported by charitable organizations, paid solicitors and professional fundraising consultants registered to solicit contributions in Colorado.

Williams said that charitable organizations provide a wide array of services to Coloradans, and they are a key sector of the economy.

“They educate, minister to the needs of the poor and homeless, care for the sick, work to prevent cruelty to children and animals, and race to the aid of people affected by tragedies and natural disasters," he said. "They rely on the generosity of individual donors to fund their missions, and those donors in turn depend on the information filed by charities with my office to inform their giving decisions. I hope by publicizing the existence of this data, we can increase the confidence of Coloradans in public charities, which studies show leads to increased levels of charitable giving.”

The report shows that the 6,948 state-based charities raised $4.7 billion in 2016. It also shows that when all charitable solicitations are taken into account, the number of charities increased to 11,113 and the contributions reached $93 billion.

The Colorado Charitable Solicitations Act requires charities and paid solicitors that ask for contributions in Colorado to file registration documents with the Secretary of State, and for the office to compile and publish an annual report. The registry and annual report help potential donors decide which charitable organizations are worthy of their support and help charitable organizations make informed decisions when contracting with paid solicitors.

The annual charitable solicitation reports are available on the Secretary of State's website. The entire registry of charities and fundraiser filings is available on the Secretary of State’s website through a searchable database at www.checkthecharity.com.