Charity fraud, a type of fraud that occurs when charitable organizations that solicit funds from the public for philanthropic goals, such as seeking cures for diseases or helping orphans, solicit donations in a deceptive manner or use the monies that they collect for purposes not intended by the donors. Charities are subject to the kinds of fraud that can also plague business organizations, such as embezzlement and misappropriation of funds by executives.

Establishing and prosecuting charity fraud is not necessarily straightforward. Many scholars agree that money solicited by persons or groups that are not legitimate charitable organizations constitutes charity fraud, but the question of fraud is complicated when considering charities that use a high percentage of donations for administrative costs or additional fund-raising rather than for the charitable cause. These kinds of issues, as well as the very large number of charitable organizations worldwide, make charity fraud difficult to monitor and eradicate.

Charity fraud is perceived as a particularly abhorrent kind of deceptive business practice because it abuses the trust of altruistic persons who offer donations with the expectation that they are assisting those in need. Charity fraud can result in a lasting backlash because those responsible have manipulated the emotions and generosity of donors in order to elicit a donation, leading to anger and disillusionment if it is revealed that the charity and philanthropic promises were invalid. Disillusionment and suspicion caused by fraudulent charitable solicitation or misappropriation of funds has the additional effect of tainting the fund-raising appeals of legitimate charities, which suffer by association with those who defraud donors.

How is charity fraud carried out?

Charities may be guilty of fraud when they mislead donors about the percentage of contributions that is applied to various business expenses, thereby vastly overstating the amount of the contribution that will go to the charitable cause. All charities have some administrative costs, but some charities have exorbitant overhead costs that result in almost none of the donation actually going to the charitable cause.

Charitable organizations may also act in a fraudulent way by misrepresenting themselves or associating themselves in a deliberately vague way with known famous charities or with governmental associations for the purpose of obtaining donations.

Legitimate and well-meaning charities that do not engage in the practices described above do not necessarily escape charges of fraud, because they may suffer from mismanagement of funds by charity executives.

Charities that are constantly seeking new fund-raising opportunities may themselves fall victim to fraudsters. Many charities depend for fund-raising on third-party fund-raisers, usually for-profit businesses, which opens the door to additional possibilities for fraud. Charities may be victimized by fund-raisers that refuse to deliver the donations raised or that only pass on a much lower percentage of collected funds than originally promised.

Fighting Charity fraud

The most onerous difficulty in eradicating charity fraud is that a charitable donation is often an impulsive decision, based on information about the charity offered solely at the time of solicitation by the person making the request. In addition, the methods of solicitation used by fraudulent charitable organizations, such as direct mail and telephone soliciting, are also methods used by legitimate charities. For a person deciding on the spot whether or not to make a donation, it can be daunting to try to determine if the charity is legitimate, if it is well governed, and if an acceptable percentage of the money it collects is funneled to the charitable cause.

Charities may help avoid charity fraud by educating potential donors about services provided and percentage of collected funds used for charitable purposes; donors may then make an informed choice about the organizations they wish to support. The Internet has helped in educating donors about legitimate and criminal charitable organizations, because charities and charity oversight organizations are better able to reach concerned donors and disseminate information on a scale far beyond what was possible in the past.

Charities often attempt to distinguish themselves from illicit organizations by including information in their solicitations about their activities and overhead costs, understanding that trust is a crucial issue when it comes to charitable fund-raising. It is important also that this information about charities is readily available, because donors are often not knowledgeable, savvy, or willing enough to do the research needed to seek out this kind of information.

Charity monitoring organizations play an important role in eradicating fraud and providing information to donors about charities. There are a number of oversight organizations that attempt to educate and protect the public from charity fraud. The American Institute for Philanthropy, for example, publishes ratings for charities on its Web site, ranging from an A for excellent to a grade of F for poor.

Another such oversight organization is the Better Business Bureau Wise Giving Alliance (BBB WGA). Formed by the 2001 merger of the National Charities Information Bureau and the Philanthropy Advisory Service of the Council of Better Business Bureaus, it has established guidelines for charitable organizations. The BBB WGA Standards for Charitable Solicitations require that solicitations be accurate and truthful and not misleading, that they offer a clear description of the programs that will be funded by the donation, and that it should be at all times clear during the solicitation what the organization is, what the relationship between the solicitor and the organization is, and how the funds donated will be used.

These guidelines also indicate that fund-raising should not be done with excessive pressure and that charities should have an active and independent governing body that includes at least three persons who meet at least three times annually. The BBB WGA conducts investigations of charities and publishes research reports on its Web site; a very large number of charities are covered, and donors may conduct a search to determine the credibility and statistics associated with a particular charity.

Most of the time these organizations are in a bind because all charities depend on the sympathy and impulsive generosity of donors. In order to eradicate fraud, charities must insist that the donation be not impulsive but rather well-researched. In general, oversight organizations recommend that prior to giving, donors should request a copy of an annual report or a financial statement; write checks only to the charity, never to an individual; and never give cash, because it does not leave a paperwork trail. Typically, at least 65 percent of contributions are funneled to the charitable cause, rather than for overhead costs, such as salaries for charity employees, mailings, and start-up expenses.

Charitable organizations play a crucial role in the social structure of a society. Despite all measures of prevention, fraud will likely continue to be perpetrated by illegitimate or ill-meaning charitable organizations. Victims of charity fraud will continue to be generous with their donations, because they are attracted by an appeal that plays on their emotions and generosity at a time when they are perhaps otherwise distracted and unable to do the research required to determine if a given charity is worthy.