And they are nervously looking at the potential for problems in the growing area of online fund raising. With homicide, you have a body, a victim. It is very difficult to piece it all together. Outside of anecdotal evidence, it is hard to tell whether charity fraud is increasing, because there is no central clearinghouse for monitoring cases or keeping statistics on abuses. But given the dramatic growth in the nonprofit sector, most of the regulators interviewed said they are stretched for staff to investigate complaints about charities, let alone initiate their own investigations.
Most nonprofits do a great job.
But like any industry, there are a few that give them a bad name. One of the most difficult things about prosecuting charity fraud cases is finding witnesses and the suspects, Steckler said. Nothing is more important to charities than the public's trust, said Sara Melendez, president and CEO of Independent Sector, a Washington-based coalition of 740 nonprofit groups, foundations and corporate giving programs. Disclosure and transparency are essential to maintaining that public trust. One of the hottest issues confronting regulators is charitable solicitation via the Internet.