Welcome to your daily briefing on nonprofit developments in Maryland. Today we're covering 5 key stories including updates on maryland nonprofit headlines, background & context. Let's dive in.
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Governor Wes Moore announced over $19 million in funding for the second year of the ENOUGH Initiative, which supports Maryland communities.
Maryland nonprofit professionals should track ENOUGH Initiative funding streams for potential partnership, grant, or program implementation opportunities in their service areas.
The State of Maryland has established an official website for charitable organizations through the Secretary of State's office.
MD nonprofit professionals can access state-specific regulatory guidance and compliance resources directly from the official charity division.
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Donor-restricted gifts must be tracked separately and used only for the restricted purpose; using them for general operations — even with intent to "pay back" later — is a fiduciary breach and an audit finding. The most-common fact pattern: cash-flow shortage in operations, restricted-grant balance available, transfer "borrowed" with no formal repayment plan.
State attorneys general have authority over restricted-gift compliance and have pursued individual board members and executives. Auditors are required to disclose restricted-fund violations in the management letter.
The streamlined Form 1023-EZ is available only to organizations meeting specific limits on projected revenue, assets, and activity types. Filing 1023-EZ when ineligible produces a determination that is technically valid but vulnerable to retroactive revocation if discovered. The full 1023 is harder to file but harder to challenge.
Loss of exemption is retroactive to the original determination, exposing the organization to back-tax liability. The eligibility checklist is the only protection.
Most states require charities soliciting donations from their residents to register before solicitation, regardless of where the charity is based. "Solicitation" includes web fundraising pages accessible to residents, not just direct mail. Compliance gaps surface during state attorney-general inquiries or unrelated litigation discovery.
Penalties range from civil fines to suspension of solicitation rights in the state. Larger consequences include negative coverage in donor research databases that fund foundation grants.
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