{"id":29437,"date":"2024-08-08T00:00:58","date_gmt":"2024-08-08T07:00:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pro-migration.local\/?p=29437"},"modified":"2025-06-10T11:36:40","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T18:36:40","slug":"nonprofit-fraud-prevention","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/gofundme.to\/__proxy\/pro.gofundme.com\/c\/blog\/nonprofit-fraud-prevention\/","title":{"rendered":"9 Nonprofit Fraud Prevention Tips to Protect Your Organization and Donors"},"content":{"rendered":"

This blog was written in collaboration with Alex Wardle<\/a>, Risk Manager at GoFundMe.<\/em><\/p>\n

The average data breach <\/span>costs $4.45 million<\/span><\/a>, including lost business, detection and containment efforts, and responses. For <\/span>nonprofit organizations<\/span>, a data breach can damage their reputation, reduce donor trust, or expose vulnerable beneficiaries\u2019 personal information. In an ever-changing <\/span>fundraising<\/span> landscape, having an internal <\/span>fraud prevention<\/span> strategy is paramount to future success.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

First, your <\/span>nonprofit donor <\/span>management software<\/span><\/a> needs to be secure. Investing in a platform like Classy proactively and automatically addresses multiple fraud concerns through baked-in prevention tools that keep your data safe. With this in place, you can take additional measures with your team to <\/span>prevent fraud<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Below, we highlight nine essential <\/span>internal controls<\/span>, practical <\/span>fraud prevention<\/span> tips, and strategic measures you can take to set up a robust <\/span>fraud prevention<\/span> strategy.<\/span><\/p>\n

Create a culture around <\/span>nonprofit fraud prevention<\/span><\/h2>\n

To <\/span>prevent fraud<\/span>, your staff, <\/span>board members<\/span>, and other stakeholders must be committed to the cause. These steps will weave <\/span>fraud prevention<\/span> into your organizational culture.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Educate staff<\/span><\/h3>\n

The <\/span>most common<\/span><\/a> initial <\/span>fraud scheme<\/span> involves stolen or compromised credentials. This often occurs through phishing, where bad actors pretend to be an organization or a different person to gain personal information, such as usernames, passwords, or financial information. To prevent this, train <\/span>staff members<\/span> and volunteers regularly to recognize and report potential <\/span>fraudulent activity<\/span> and phishing <\/span>scams<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

Include examples of what phishing behavior can look like, such as:<\/span><\/p>\n