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Charity Fraud

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What could be worse than a hurricane or house fire? Charity fraud. Every day thousands of charitable organziations across the world struggle with their own demons to keep donations in the right hands and keep needy people using them for the right things.

There are many kinds of charity fraud. An organization could use the money donated to them for uses other than what the money is intended. A donation recipient could also use the money for something other than what they say they need it for, as we unfortuantely saw a lot of during the last national disaster - Hurricane Katrina.

Take a look at what you can do to stop charity fraud, and make sure your much needed financial and in-kind donations go to the people who truly need and deserve them.

Contents at a Glance

Protect Yourself from Charity Fraud
News on Hurricane Katrina Charity Fraud
News on September 11th Charity Fraud
Protect your Charity from Problems
Books for Charities and Non-Profit Organ...
Reader Feedback

Protect Yourself from Charity Fraud

Make sure your donations are going to the right places.

FTC - Charity Fraud: Learn what to look for when donating to a charity or hiring someone to do professional fundraising.
United States Postal Service: The USPS cares who is soliciting you via mail.
Operation Phoney Philanthropy: This education campaign was developed to help people make good decisions about donating.
CharityFraud.org: Learn about all sorts of charity fraud and the latest scams artists are pulling.
BBB Charity Review: The Better Business Bureau now takes complaints for non-profits.
BBB Wise Giving Guide: Request your free copy of the Wise Giving Guide brochure.

News on Hurricane Katrina Charity Fraud

CNN Report on Hurricane Aid: It is discovered that thousands of FEMA funds were spent on non-essentials, even porn.
Hurricane Katrina Scams: Nearly 60% of donation websites estimated to be scams.
USDOJ: Hurricane Katrina Fraud Task Force: The US Department of Justice fraud detection committee.
Charity Scams Cash in on Donations: PBS interviews victims, charities, and government agents on the widespread post-disaster fraud.
Don't be Scammed by Hurricane Katrina Fraudsters: Protect yourself from people claiming to be part of the relief efforts.

News on September 11th Charity Fraud

Special Report on Fraud Schemes: Special report from the US Department of Justice on people claiming to represent the Red Cross.
FTC Warns about Charity Fraud: FTC balances encouragement to give with detection of fraudulent charities and scam artists.
The Effects of September 11th on Google: The leading search engine found itself crawling with scam artists.

Protect your Charity from Problems

When you work for a charity it is often hard to keep a good public image, especially when your national organization is getting beat up. (I myself went through this as the Executive Director of a county-wide United Way organization post-September 11th.) Here are some tips from philantrophy websites about protecting your donations and your image.

Fighting Charity Fraud: Information for charity employees on keeping your funds secure.
Charity fraud can be a disaster: Learn how other organizations have survived internal fraud.

Books for Charities and Non-Profit Organizations

Protect yourself and your donors from fraud.

Reader Feedback

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CCGAL Oct 25, 2008 @ 9:06 am | delete

This is an important issue and you've done an excellent job of pulling together information for raising awareness in this area.