Inside the hidden world of thefts, scams and phantom purchases at the nation’s nonprofits

An investigation by the Washington Post looking for nonprofits where money had gone missing started from the simplest possible place: The reporters looked for those organizations which had checked the box on their 990 form confirming that the organization had a “significant diversion of funds.” (“Significant diversion” is defined as anything more than $250,000 or five percent of the organization’s gross receipts or net assets.) This question was quietly added in 2008. The question was phased in and reportedly was only asked of larger public charities, although not consistently. Private foundations and smaller nonprofits did not get the question, although it is unclear why.

Crafty non profit executives can drain money into their personal accounts using a variety of methods. Auditing is rare, and the general sense of entitlement evidently covers most sins. - MM

Read a report here, http://nonprofitquarterly.org/policysocial-context/23144-washington-post-investigates-significant-diversions-of-nonprofit-funds-as-reported-to-irs.html and then go to the source here... http://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/inside-the-hidden-world-of-thefts-scams-and-phantom-purchases-at-the-nations-nonprofits/2013/10/26/825a82ca-0c26-11e3-9941-6711ed662e71_story.html