In the United States a charitable foundation is an organization which has formalized the process of relieving poverty, advancing education, supporting disaster relief, and/or assisting with community projects. Charities are non-profit organizations which can take the form of either a non-operating private foundation (trusts) or operating foundation (public charities). When many of us hear of a tragic event that hits close to home, we give our support with an open heart in order to help others in need. Unfortunately, with this act of kindness we could be creating an environment that is highly vulnerable for fraud perpetrators and fake charity scams.
Charity fraud is the intentional act of deception committed by an individual or group of individuals who ask for contributions in the name of a worthy cause. Perpetrators of charity fraud will take advantage of a tragic event to appeal to the compassion and empathy of donors. They make material misrepresentations about their charity in order to gain the donor’s confidence and trust, and then use high pressure methods to convince them to donate.
Fraud in charitable organizations occurs when legitimate organizations or the individuals working for the organization misuse donations, or when illegitimate organizations or individuals collect donations on behalf of a sham organization. Perpetrators of charity fraud prey on the generosity of their donors through a variety of means. Some individuals may try to get the attention of a passerby on the street requesting cash for the hungry or disabled while others may use telemarketing scams in which the perpetrator tries to convince the potential donor of their legitimacy and the immediacy of financial need for a worthy cause. Yet, the most u...
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Fraud is one of Canada's most severe acts of financial criminality as the economic impact of this crime could potentially handicap an entire society. According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre Annual Statistic Report (CAFC), a report established to monitor fraud with the aid of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), and Competition Bureau of Canada, it reported an annual loss of 74 million dollars affecting over 14,472 victims (Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, 2014). Given this alarming statistic, it is worrisome that we as a society still ignore or turn a blind eye towards those who commit fraud as seen in the low conviction (Canada Revenue Agency, 2014), and focus our efforts on petty thefts as seen with the high rate of convictions
Many people have begun to question how they use the money they raise. About 81% of their funds are put towards their programs and services, while more reputable charities are usually
According to Peter Singer, we as a society must adopt a more radical approach with regards to donating to charity and rejecting the common sense view. In the essay Famine, Affluence, and Morality, Singer argues that we have a strong moral obligation to give to charity, and to give more than we normally do. Critics against Singer have argued that being charitable is dependent on multiple factors and adopting a more revisionary approach to charity is more difficult than Singer suggests; we are not morally obliged to donate to charity to that extent.
Retrieved April 4, 2014, from http://eds.b.ebscohost.com.proxy-library.ashford.edu/eds/pdfviewer/pdfviewer? sid=3117d496-29ac-4318-82c9-1dfeeac7cc64%40sessionmgr113&vid=12&hid=109 Hundley, K. (2013, June 13). Above the law: America's worst charities. CNN. Retrieved April 5, 2014, from http://www.cnn.com/2013/06/13/us/worst-charities/ Independent Auditors Report. (2012).
Most people feel that they should help the needy in some way or another. The problem is how to help them. This problem generally arises when there is a person sitting on the side of the road in battered clothes with a cardboard sign asking for some form of help, almost always in the form of money. Yet something makes the giver uneasy. What will they do with this money? Do they need this money? Will it really help them? The truth of the matter is, it won't. However, there are things that can be done to help the needy. Giving money to a reliable foundation will help the helpless, something that transferring money from a pocket to a man's tin can will never do.
Warrick, Joby, and Tik Root. "Islamic charity officials gave millions to al-Qaeda, U.S. says." Washington Post. The Washington Post, 22 Dec. 2013. Web. 10 June 2014. .
When you first get on a site like GoFundMe all these heartwarming stories pop up. They are called campaigns. When someone creates a GoFundMe and give their story and pictures they have created a campaign. The most current one, a fund set up by the company seeking donations for those in Brussel’s right now. Brussel’s airport and metro station were attacked today and at least 30 killed with hundreds injured. GoFundMe created a campaign to start raising money until an actual charity is created for the victims of this horrific incidence. In this instance, they are donating all the money, not taking out their usual 8%. Most of the ones on display of the main page are tragic stories seeking peace, you don’t see many “bad” campaigns. That’s the issue with these crowdfunding sites, people use it for bad.
In America, simply having a job is not enough. Nowadays, jobs are hard to find and most only offer part-time employment. It is near impossible to afford the cost of living while earning entry-level wages. The job market has become hostile, and it has gotten to the point that one must have formal training or a marketable education in order to obtain a stable position that offers decent wages. With this realization, many people have decided to go to college. Those that are in the market for a college education face many choices. The most common: community colleges, which do not make a profit, and technical schools or online schools, which are in the business to make a profit. These schools are called for-profit schools. Many people do not realize how important it is to shop around when debating which school to attend. Nowadays, one must get an education about their education. For profit colleges, such as Everest College, gain their profits by using high pressure sales tactics, manipulation, and fraud, and offer no benefits for college students.
Hanson, J. R. (n.d.). Fraud or confusion? RDH Magazine, 19(4). Retrieved 3 15, 2014, from http://www.rdhmag.com/articles/print/volume-19/issue-4/feature/fraud-or-confusion.html
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The charitable wing of the Humana organization was founded to “support charitable organizations and institutions that promote education, health and human services, community development and the arts.” While the group believes that these endeavors are indeed noble, Humana can not make up for a poor ethical foundation by throwing money at the problem.
Another way of committing fraud is the sending of fake emails through Craigslist to make the victim think that he/she is getting a great deal. This type of fraud has to do with shipping. Criminals send fake emails out from a company such as PayPal, saying that the money is being held until the victim replies to the email with a tracking number. When the v...
The Charity Organization Society was based in the scientific movement of organizations. Workers believed that charity work needed more definition and organization and that charity should be focused more on individual need rather than as a whole population. Focusing on individual need was intended to improve relief operations while making resources more efficient. They also intended to eliminate public outdoor relief. With the promotion of more organization and efficiency the new Charity Organization Societies were born. Trattner states that these new requirements for organization and efficiency spread so “rapidly that within 6 years 25 cities had such organizations and by the turn of the century there were some 138 of them in existence” (Trattner, 1999).
Philanthropy, or the act of private and voluntary giving, has been a familiar term since it first entered the English language in the seventeenth century. Translated from the Latin term “philanthropia” or “love of mankind,” philanthropy permeates many social spheres and serves several social purposes including charity, humanitarianism, religious morality and even manipulation for social control.
... of false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or promises, transmits or causes to be transmitted by means of wire, radio, or television communication in interstate or foreign commerce, any writings, signs, signals, pictures, or sounds for the purpose of executing such scheme or artifice, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both. If the violation occurs in relation to, or involving any benefit authorized, transported, transmitted, transferred, disbursed, or paid in connection with, a presidentially declared major disaster or emergency (as those terms are defined in section 102 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5122)), or affects a financial institution, such person shall be fined not more than $1,000,000 or imprisoned not more than 30 years, or both.")” (SHouse Law Group, 2013)