Certificate of Registration and Certificate of Good Standing
Most organizations that participate in the Colorado Gives 365 program are required to have both a valid Certificate of Registration and a Certificate of Good Standing.
An exception to this is that if your organization is classified as a church, then it is just required to have a valid Certificate of Good Standing.
Please review the information below for details about these two distinct documents and filings.
Certificate of Registration
The Certificate of Registration is issued by the Charities and Fundraisers Division of the Colorado Secretary of State’s office. It enables your organization to legally fundraise in Colorado. Below are links to the Colorado Secretary of State’s website related to the registration:
- Search for an existing charity registration record: https://www.sos.state.co.us/ccsa/pages/search/basic.xhtml
- How to file a new charity registration: https://www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/charities/instructions/charity/registration.html
- How to reinstate an expired charity registration: https://www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/charities/instructions/charity/reinstatement2.html
- How to renew/update an existing charity registration: https://www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/charities/instructions/charity/renew.html
- How to request an extension on your charity registration: https://www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/charities/instructions/charity/extensions.html
If your organization is classified as a church, which we define as having a foundation code of 10 on its IRS Business Master File record, then it is not required to have a Certificate of Registration but it is still required to have a valid Certificate of Good Standing. You can learn how to validate your foundation code here. All other organizations are required to have a valid Certificate of Registration in order to participate in Colorado Gives 365.
Certificate of Good Standing
The Certificate of Good Standing is issued by the Business Division of the Colorado Secretary of State’s office. Organizations (including nonprofit organizations) operating in Colorado are required to have a record on file with the Business Division of the Colorado Secretary of State, and the Certificate of Good Standing is the document issued related to that filing. Below are links to the Colorado Secretary of State’s website related to the business filing:
- Search for an existing business filing record: https://www.sos.state.co.us/biz/BusinessEntityCriteriaExt.do
- How to submit a new business filing (you would need to select the information on the page you are directed to related to the type of organization your nonprofit is structured as): https://www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/business/forms_main.html
- How to reinstate an expired business filing: https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/business/FAQs/reinstatement.html
- How to cure noncompliant business filing: https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/business/FAQs/status.html
- How to cure delinquent business filing: https://www.sos.state.co.us/pubs/business/FAQs/delinquency.html
- How file trade names with Colorado Secretary of State: https://www.coloradosos.gov/pubs/business/forms_main.html#TNReg
All organizations are required to have a valid Certificate of Good Standing in order to participate in Colorado Gives 365.