If collecting donations online has been a problem for your nonprofit group,the AOL Foundation and GuideStar are coming to the rescue.

Helping.org, the AOL Foundation's nonprofit Web initiative, is teaming with GuideStar to offer easy and free online donation services. The offer is open to all 501(c)(3) nonprofits that are registered in GuideStar's databases.

Donations are forwarded to each nonprofit, less the standard two- to three-percent processing fee taken out by credit card companies. The AOL Foundation is donating all other costs associated with running the site.

However, 39 of the 50 states require nonprofits to register as solicitors to legally collect donations online. Also, if your nonprofit is located in more than one state, you may need to register it more than once. Helping.org and the AOL Foundation have stated it is up to each nonprofit to register with the states, so groups should consult with a legal advisor before accepting any donation online.

To find out more about the legal requirements of online fundraising, review "Some Legal Implications of Soliciting Online Using -- Third-Party Hosting Agents" and the "Unified Registration Statement Kit".