Page 123 - Washington Nonprofit Handbook 2018 Edition

A public charity is not required to disclose Schedule B to Form 990, which is
the portion of the Form 990 that identifies the names and addresses of
contributors to the organization. In addition, the organization may redact certain
information from the Form 990 if the public availability of the information would
adversely affect the organization (for example, information that relates to an
organization’s trade secret, patent, process or style of work). Similar rules apply to
private foundations, except that the list of contributors is subject to disclosure.

If the request for a copy of the Form 990 is made in person, the organization
must provide a copy on the day the request is made. In unusual circumstances
where this would be unreasonably burdensome, the organization may provide the
copy on the next business day. The organization must provide a copy in response
to a written request within 30 days.

b. Fees

An organization may charge a reasonable fee for providing copies (currently
$0.20 per page) plus postage costs. An organization may collect payment in before
providing the requested copies.

c. Exceptions

A 501(c)(3) organization can avoid the requirement to provide copies by
making the necessary documents widely available, which includes posting them on
the organization’s website, or by having the documents posted on another
organization’s website as part of a database of similar materials. A limited
exception to the disclosure rules also applies to organizations that have been

subject to a harassment campaign where a waiver of the rules would be in the
public interest.

d. Penalties for Failure to Disclose

A penalty of $5,000 applies for any failure to provide copies of the required
Form 990 returns or the Form 1023 exemption application.

CHAPTER 36. Documentation of Contributions

For additional information regarding substantiation and disclosure
requirements, see Chapter 48 and IRS Publication 1771, Charitable Contributions, at
http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p1771.pdf, and for issues to consider when
fundraising, see Chapters 45-50.

WASHINGTON NONPROFIT HANDBOOK -112- 2018