This top ten will help you have an error free application!

1. Washington Secretary of State Charitable Solicitations Attachment

Number 1 is our number one error and since it is most likely the one you are going to read, it earned its spot!

Double-check you have the correct Washington Secretary of State attachment letter and that the date in the body of the letter is AFTER April 21, 2016. It can be confusing because the Washington Secretary of State is responsible for several registrations if you are based here in Washington State.

• If you are a Washington-based nonprofit it is NOT your charitable trust or corporations registration.
• A PDF of the website is NOT acceptable.  Sorry 😦 but they put a big disclaimer on the site that we can’t use it for legal verification reasons.

Here is a correct example for 2016:

2. Watch the Webinar/ Attend a Nonprofit Application Workshop

We have ventured into webinars! We promise we try not to make it boring. First-time applicants may find it especially helpful, as we not only cover the application but what to expect in the coming year and why workplace giving in the first place.

3. Prepare and save attachments ahead of time.

• Save any attachments ahead of time in a folder on your computer.
• New Independent Applicants: Three Attachments – WA Secretary of State, IRS Tax determination letter, and King County W-9
• Returning: WA Secretary of State

4. Write down your log-in and password

Since this is our first year using this system – almost everyone will be a new user.  SOO – write down the email address and password associated with the application.

5. Read each question carefully

Not every eligible answer is “Yes” read each question carefully.

6. Check out our implementation guide.

This document is great and answers most frequently asked questions about our eligibility requirements.

7. Tell us how you feel.

Please take the survey at the end! It is only with your feedback we can improve.  Seriously.  We highly value continuous improvement, for example, it is from nonprofit feedback we have our new save and return form system this year.

8. Get it in early!

I know, I know, easy for me to say. This way if there are errors I can help you through them.  But if nothing else, get it in on time.

9a. Proofread

• Everything.  More specifically each page before you click to the next.
• Especially Section 2: Organization and marketing information – it goes straight into our database that will be used to publish marketing and publicity materials for you.

9b. Look at last year’s marketing information

If you are a returning organization you can see your published information from last year here.

10. Choose the correct application

First, thank you for bucking the trends and reading all the way to number 10! Last but not least, choose the correct application. There are three to choose from: Independent Nonprofit Organizations, Federations, and Governmental Units.

Here is a nifty decision tree to help you out:

Go to our Application Page now.