Charities today use a wide variety of tools to solicit donations – from car washes and direct mail to crowdfunding and social media. Advances in technology have allowed charities to quickly reach a larger audience than was ever previously possible, but these advances have also made the landscape more challenging to navigate. For donors, it may be difficult to tell whether a particular fundraising campaign is legitimate, as both a volunteer and a fraudster can create a fundraising page and start soliciting on behalf of charity within minutes. For charities, new fundraising platforms may be accessed across state lines, or even globally, which may subject the charities to many different fundraising laws.
To help charities and fundraising platforms understand their rights and obligations in this rapidly changing environment, and to help donors make wise giving decisions, the Nebraska Attorney General’s Office offers the tips below. These tips should help you to recognize the warning signs when a fraudster, instead of a legitimate charity, is behind a fundraising campaign.
