§ 173-a. Contracts of professional fund raisers, fund raising counsel and commercial co-venturers; closing statements; final accountings. 1. No person shall act as a professional fund raiser, fund raising counsel or commercial co-venturer before he has a written contract with the charitable organization or other person benefitting from his services. A professional fund raiser or fund raising counsel shall within ten days after its execution by the parties thereto file with the attorney general a copy of each contract entered into between such professional fund raiser or fund raising counsel and a charitable organization required to be registered pursuant to this article, certified under penalties for perjury by said professional fund raiser or fund raising counsel to be a true and correct copy of such contract. When the services to be performed under such contracts include the oral solicitation of funds from the public, such oral presentations shall be deemed to be part of the contract and shall be reduced to a writing which in the case of a professional fund raiser shall be filed with the attorney general by the registrant at the time such contracts are filed. If there is any change in the presentation filed with the attorney general, the registrant shall notify the attorney general in writing within five days of such change. No services shall be performed under such a contract until the professional fund-raiser shall have received an acknowledgement from the attorney general of the receipt of a copy of such contract or such contract shall have been on file with the attorney general for at least fifteen days, whichever is shorter. Provided, however, that no services shall be performed pursuant to such contract if, within fifteen days of filing, the attorney general has notified the professional fund raiser or fund raising counsel and the charitable organization of any deficiencies in the contract and/or the registration and filing under this article. True and correct copies of such contracts shall be kept on file in the offices of the charitable organization and the professional fund raiser, fund raising counsel or commercial co-venturer during the term thereof and until the expiration of a period of three years subsequent to the date the solicitation of contributions provided for therein actually terminates. Within ninety days after the termination of any such contract, the professional fund raiser shall file with the attorney general a closing statement, signed under penalties for perjury by all parties to the contract on forms prescribed by the attorney general. Such statement shall disclose gross revenue, all expenditures incurred in the performance of the contract, and all funds paid to the professional fund raiser and charitable organization. In the event that a contract term is longer than a one year period, the professional fund raiser shall file an interim statement, at least annually. No person shall act as a sub-contractor on behalf of another professional fund raiser prior to obtaining a written contract with such professional fund raiser and written consent from the charity on whose behalf fundraising activities are to be conducted pursuant to such contract, and such written consent shall have been attached to such contract and filed with the attorney general pursuant to subdivision one of this section. Willful violation of this section shall be a misdemeanor.

2. Every contract between a professional fund raiser and a charitable organization shall contain or shall be deemed to contain a provision that within five days of receipt by the professional fund raiser or any other person the gross revenue received from any solicitation shall be deposited in a bank account under the exclusive control of the charity.

3. Within ninety days after the termination of a sales promotion advertised to benefit a charitable organization, a commercial co-venturer shall provide such organization with an accounting stating the number of items sold, the dollar amount of each sale and the amount paid or to be paid to the charitable organization. In the event that any such sales promotion is longer than a one year period, the commercial co-venturer shall provide the charitable organization with an interim report, at least annually.

4. A charitable organization which enters into a contract with a commercial co-venturer shall file with the attorney general on the date that the next financial report is due to be filed the following information on forms prescribed by the attorney general and signed under penalties for perjury by an officer: (a) a list of the names and addresses of all commercial co-venturers authorized by the charitable organization to use its name during the year covered by that financial report and, if known, during the year following the year covered by the financial report, (b) a statement of the financial terms and any conditions of each co-venture contract, and (c) a statement whether each commercial co-venturer has provided the charitable organization with an accounting as prescribed by subdivision three of this section.