The information provided below is based on a list published in Giving USA Update, Issue 1, 1994, a publication of the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel, Inc. (25 West 43rd Street, New York, NY 10036; phone 212-354-5799).
If an organization is a charitable organization or nonprofit, it should be registered with the State Registry of Charitable Trusts and a copy of the organization's IRS Form 990 should be on file. The IRS Form 990 contains information about the amount of money the organization gives away each year. If the amount of money they take in from application fees exceeds the amount of money they give away in scholarships, students aren't being well-served by the organization.
AK AL AR AZ CA CO CT DC DE FL GA HI IA ID IL IN
KS KY LA MA MD ME MI MN MO MS MT NC ND NE NH NJ
NM NV NY OH OK OR PA PR RI SC SD TN TX UT VT VA
WA WV WI WY
Alabama
Office of the Attorney General
Consumer Protection Division
11 South Union Street
Montgomery, AL 36130
205-242-7334
Alaska
Call the Better Business Bureau.
Arizona
Office of the Secretary of State
1700 West Washington, 7th Floor
Phoenix, AZ 85007-2808
602-542-4286
Arkansas
Office of the Attorney General
Consumer Protection Division
200 Tower Bldg.
323 Center Street
Little Rock, AR 72201
501-682-2007
California
Registry of Charitable Trusts
P.O. Box 903447
Sacramento, CA 94203-4470
916-445-2021
916-444-3651 (fax)
Colorado
Office of the Secretary of State
1560 Broadway, 2nd Floor
Denver, CO 80202
303-894-2200
Connecticut
Office of the Attorney General
Public Charities Unit
55 Elm Street
Hartford, CT 06106
203-566-5836
Delaware
Attorney General
Civil Division
The Wilmington Tower
Wilmington, DE 19899
302-577-2500
District of Columbia
Dept. of Consumer & Regulatory Affairs
614 H Street, NW
Washington, DC 20001
202-727-7086
Florida
Department of Agriculture
Division of Consumer Services
Mayo Building, Rm. 208A
Tallahassee, FL 32399-0800
904-488-2221
Georgia
Georgia Secretary of State
Business Services and Regulation
2 Martin Luther King Drive
Suite 802-West Tower
Atlanta, GA 30334
404-656-4910
Hawaii
Dept. of Commerce & Consumer Affairs
P.O. Box 40
Honolulu, HI 96810
808-586-2727
Idaho
Office of the Attorney General
Business Regulation Division
Statehouse, Room 210
Boise, ID 83720
208-334-2400
Illinois
Office of the Attorney General
Charitable Trust Division
100 West Randolph, 12th Floor
Chicago, IL 60601-3175
312-814-2595
Indiana
Office of the Attorney General
Consumer Protection Division
219 State House
Indianapolis, IN 46204-2794
317-232-6331
Iowa
Office of the Attorney General
Consumer Protection Division
1300 East Walnut
Hoover State Office Bldg.
Des Moines, IA 50319
515-281-5926
Kansas
Office of the Secretary of State
Corporate Division
Capitol Bldg., 2nd Floor
Topeka, KS 66612
913-296 2236
Kentucky
Attorney General
Division of Consumer Protection
209 St. Clair Street
Frankfort, KY 40601-1875
502-564-8300
Louisiana
Office of the Attorney General
Consumer Protection Division
P.O. Box 94005
Baton Rouge, LA 70804
504-342-9638
Maine
Dept. of Professional & Financial Regulation
Station #35
Augusta, ME 04333
207-582-8723
Maryland
Office of the Secretary of State
State House
Annapolis, MD 21401
301-974-5534
Massachusetts
Office of the Attorney General
Division of Public Charities
One Ashburton Place
Boston, MA 02108
617-727-2200
Michigan
Office of the Attorney General
Charitable Trust Section
P.O. Box 30214
Lansing, MI 48909
517-373-1152
Minnesota
Office of the Attorney General
Charities Division
NCL Tower, #1200
445 Minnesota Street
St. Paul, MN 55101-2131
612-296-6172
Mississippi
Office of the Secretary of State
P.O. Box 136
Jackson, MS 39205-0136
601-359-6357
Missouri
Office of the Attorney General
P.O. Box 899
Jefferson City, MO 65102
314-751-4471
Montana
Office of the Secretary of State
Room 225
Capitol Station
Helena, MT 59620
406-444-3665
Nebraska
Office of the Secretary of State
2300 State Capitol
Lincoln, NE 68509
402-471-2554
Nevada
Office of the Secretary of State
Capitol Complex
Carson City, NV 89710
702-687-5203
New Hampshire
Office of the Attorney General
Charitable Trust Division
State House Annex
25 Capitol Street
Concord, NH 03301
603-271-3591
New Jersey
Charities Registration Section
124 Halsey St., 7th Floor
(P.O. Box 45021)
Newark, NJ 07102 (07101)
201-504-6259
New Mexico
Office of the Attorney General
Charitable Organization Registry
P.O. Drawer 1508
Santa Fe, NM 87504-1508
505-827-6000
New York
Office of Charities Registration
Dept. of State
162 Washington Ave.
Albany, NY 12231
518-474-3820
212-416-8430/8431
North Carolina
Solicitation Licensing Branch
701 Balbour Drive
Raleigh, NC 27603
919-733-4510
North Dakota
Office of the Secretary of State
State Capitol Bldg.
Bismarck, ND 58505
701-224-2905
Ohio
Office of the Attorney General
Charitable Foundation Section
101 E. Town St., 4th Floor
Columbus, OH 43266-0900
614-466-3180
Oklahoma
Income Tax Division
Oklahoma Tax Commission
P.O. Box 53248
Oklahoma City, OK 73152-3248
405-521-4298
Oregon
Office of the Attorney General
Administrator of Charitable Trusts
1515 S.W. 5th Avenue, Suite 410
Portland, OR 97201
503-229-5548
Pennsylvania
Dept. of State
Bureau of Charitable Organizations
Room 308
North Office Bldg.
Harrisburg, PA 17120
717-783-1720
Puerto Rico
Dept. of Business Regulations
Charitable Organization Section
233 Richmond St., Suite 232
Providence, RI 02903-4232
401-277-3048
Rhode Island
Office of the Secretary of State
Director of Public Charities
P.O. Box 11350
Columbia, SC 29211
803-734-2168
South Carolina
Office of the Attorney General
State Capitol
500 East Capitol
Pierre, SD 57501-5070
605-773-4400
South Dakota
Office of the Attorney General
State Capitol
500 East Capitol
Pierre, SD 57501-5070
605-773-4400
Tennessee
Office of the Secretary of State
James K. Polk Bldg., Suite 500
Nashville, TN 37243-0308
615-741-2555
Texas
Office of the Attorney General
Charitable Trust Section
P.O. Box 12548
Austin, TX 78711
512-463-2018
Utah
Dept. of Commerce
Division of Consumer Protection
P.O. Box 45802
Salt Lake City, UT 84145-0802
801-530-6601
Vermont
Office of the Attorney General
Pavilion Office Building
Montpelier, VT 05602
802-828-3171
Virginia
Division of Consumer Affairs
P.O. Box 1163
Richmond, VA 23209
804-786-1343
Washington
Office of the Secretary of State
Charities Division
505 E. Union, 2nd Floor
Olympia, WA 98504-0234
206-753-7118
West Virginia
Office of the Secretary of State
Building 1
1900 Kanawha Blvd. E.
Charleston, WV 25305-0770
304-558-6000
Wisconsin
Dept. of Regulation & Licensing
P.O. Box 8935
Madison, WI 53708
608-266-0829
Wyoming
Office of the Secretary of State
Capitol Bldg.
200 W. 24th
Cheyenne, WY 82002
307-777-7378
