As it had proposed last January, the FTC will establish a national do-not-call list registry whereby consumers will be able to opt-out for free using a toll-free number or the Web of outbound telemarketing calls from for-profit companies. The FTC believes at least 60 million consumers will sign up with the registry once it is established. The new rules will not be enforced for several months until federal funds are appropriated. Under the rules, telemarketers must pay fees to receive the FTC’s do-not call list. They then have to scrub their own lists against the FTC’s list quarterly. In addition, the FTC will continue to require companies to maintain and honor their own in-house DNC lists. Calls made in violation of the new rules could cause companies to pay fines as high as $11,000 per violation.
The final rule will be published in the Federal Register, with an effective date of 60 days following the publication. However the effective dates for different portions of the rule vary—enforcement of the rule will not take place until Congressional funds are received, estimated to be within four months. The DNC registry is still months away.
For charities, the final rules contain a disclosure mandate that charities and/or their for-profit solicitors disclose truthfully, promptly and in a clear and conspicuous manner 1) The identity of the organization on whose behalf the solicitation is made
2) That the purpose of the call is to solicit a charitable contribution.
Additionally, for-profit solicitors of nonprofits will need to keep a company-specific “do-not-call” list and cease calling potential donors if requested by the called party. If they do not, they will be subjected to a fine of $11,000 per call
 
For more information, visit the FTC and DMA Nonprofit Federation Web sites.