This year’s Charity Fraud Awareness Week will bring together the charities sector and the agencies that regulate them from all over the globe in a collaborative social media campaign to raise awareness of issues surrounding charity fraud and to promote their common goal of fraud prevention.
As are most sectors of our society, charities are susceptible to fraud. Working together, we can strengthen the organizations on which we all depend. At no time has this effort been more important than now as we all face the challenges and hardship brought on by COVID-19.
Charity Fraud Awareness week is coordinated by an advisory panel and is led by a coalition of over 40 charities, regulators, law enforcers, representative and umbrella bodies, and other not-for-profit stakeholders whose goal is to raise awareness and share good practice in tackling fraud and cybercrime.
Charity Fraud Awareness Week encourages the participation of all organizations, regardless of their size, to discuss fraud in the sector and to share with each other best practices to address and prevent it.
The week’s activities are designed to involve trustees, directors, board members, staff and volunteers of charities, groups that assist or represent the sector; attorneys, accountants and others who advise the sector; and state and federal agencies that regulate the sector. The wide-range of recommended activities allow participants to choose those that address their interests and fit their schedules.
This year's campaign has three core messages:
- Be fraud aware
- Take time to check
- Keep your charity safe
Becoming involved in Charity Fraud Awareness Week is easy. The
Advisory Panel’s Supporter Packet will give you an overview, and the website will give you information to:
- Download the campaign materials from our supporter asset bundle
- Take part in the social media campaign using #CharityFraudOut
- Use the free tutorials, on-demand webinars, videos, case studies and help sheets, available on the online charity fraud awareness hub
- Organise some activities for your staff and volunteers, members and beneficiaries, donors and supporters, customers and clients.
Every day, we read and hear about fraud – no one and no sector is immune. Fraud and cybercrime are on the rise. That is why it is so important for charities of all shapes, sizes and types, their representatives and government regulators to protect their income and assets that have been donated to support the individuals and communities they serve.
Organizations and individuals are urged to access Charity Fraud Awareness Week’s website to take advantage of its resources and identify ways in which they may participate in and contribute to the week’s activities.
For more information, contact:
Caitlin Calder of the Connecticut Attorney General’s Office (
Caitlin.Calder@ct.gov)
Karin Kunstler Goldman of the NY Attorney General’s Office (
karin.kunstlergoldman@ag.ny.gov)