Out of 51 U.S. jurisdictions, Georgia ranks #6 overall for its friendliness towards faith-based nonprofit organizations. Georgia has several laws that facilitate the contributions of faith-based nonprofits, including strong protections for directors to rely on guidance from religious figures and a RFRA. Additionally, Georgia has no nondiscrimination laws related to public accommodations or employment. Georgia, however, has some policies that are burdensome to faith-based nonprofits operating in the state, such as a broad Blaine Amendment, very limited exemptions to state sales taxes on religious organizations’ sales and purchases.
The Georgia Constitution follows in lockstep with the federal constitution’s protections, meeting but not exceeding the required minimum protections of the First Amendment (as currently interpreted by the US Supreme Court).
Georgia has enacted a RFRA that protects the religious free exercise of all individuals and entities by requiring government burdens on religious exercise to satisfy strict scrutiny. Since the RFRA is a statute rather than a state constitutional provision, Georgia does not receive the highest score for this factor.
The Georgia Constitution contains a Blaine Amendment that broadly restricts faith-based organizations’ freedom to participate in public benefit programs on the same terms as similarly situated secular institutions. Current U.S. Supreme Court precedent has rendered this language ineffective in many cases, but it could become effective in the future if Court precedent changes.
Georgia nonprofit corporation law includes a provision that defers to ecclesiastical law or religious doctrine in the event that the religious law or doctrine conflicts with the nonprofit corporation law to the extent required by the Constitution of the United States or the Georgia constitution.
Georgia law includes a 30-day prior notice requirement to the Attorney General for amendments to the articles of incorporation when changing the corporation’s name, and notice at or before voluntary dissolution. Georgia law also requires publication of all major corporate actions in a newspaper of general circulation in the area where the official organ of the organization is located.
Georgia law permits a director to rely on guidance from religious figures within his or her faith tradition in the fulfillment of the director’s fiduciary duties, provided the directors reasonably believe the religious figures to be reliable.
As a condition of maintaining authorization to fundraise in the state, Georgia generally requires the submission of reviewed or audited financials for organizations that have received or collected more than $500,000.
Georgia imposes property tax and provides only fragmented property tax exemptions, upon application, that apply only to a narrow category of religious or charitable property uses. Note that Georgia law exempts “institutions of purely public charity” but that the definition of the term is vague and it is unclear whether this applies broadly to religious organizations.
