The Charitable Organizations Division of the Secretary of State's Office administers and reviews all the MCC applications. All applications must meet the requirements of the Executive Order to be approved for participation in the MCC.

In order to be eligible for designation as a "participating agency" in the 2006 campaign, a charitable organization must have:

1. Certified full compliance with federal, state, and local laws.
2. Been operating under valid Articles of Incorporation (or other organizing instruments), and By-laws (or other governing instruments).
3. Had a current, valid 501 c(3) designation from Internal Revenue Service, and be eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions under section 170 of the IRS code.
4. Submitted a copy of IRS Form 990 for the most recently completed fiscal year; or if not required to file an IRS Form 990, a financial report form COF-85, provided by the Secretary of State, and signed and certified by its Chief Executive Officer.
5. Stated and certified the percentage of total revenue from the preceding fiscal year that was spent on management and fundraising activities.
6. Submitted a statement demonstrating that its expenses for these purposes were reasonable under all the circumstances in its case, if the percentage of revenue spent by a charitable organization on management and fundraising under item 5 exceeded 25%.
7. Submitted a copy of the current operating budget signed and certified by the Chief Executive Officer.
8. Demonstrated that it has provided significant services to Maryland residents or those in need of such services in other countries for two years prior to January 1, 2006.
9. Provided evidence of financial support from Maryland residents within the past five years if the organization is providing services in other countries.
10. Certified that all funds from the campaign will be used solely for the provision of services to residents of Maryland, or people in other countries, including reasonable administrative costs of those programs.
11. Had a majority of its governing body serve without compensation.
12. Provided its annual financial report to the public upon request.
13. Submitted an application and proper attachments to the Secretary of State's Office by January 25, 2006.

MCC applications were mailed to charitable organizations in November, 2005. The deadline to submit applications for the 2006 MCC was January 25, 2006. Failure to comply with the filing deadline results in denial to participate in the MCC. The deadline to participate in the 2007 campaign is January 26, 2007.

Charitable Organizations that submitted an incomplete application were sent an initial denial letter and given ten days from the date of the letter to submit the required materials. Failure to do so will have resulted in a final denial from participation in the Campaign.

Applicants approved for participation received a letter certifying their eligibility. The Kick-offs for 2006 will be held on September 19th and 26th; please see the "Events" link in the left margin for more information. The Payroll Department begins deducting funds pledged to the 2006 MCC from your first paycheck in January, 2007. Checks from the 2006 campaign will be sent to the participating charities during the second, third and fourth quarters of 2007.