April 18, 2018
There’s a new scam in town, and ministries and other organizations collecting donations are the primary target. If your ministry collects tithes or donations, you could be targeted by scammers practicing donation overpayment fraud.
Here’s an example: Let’s say a donation comes in to your ministry for $5,000. The phony donor contacts your organization and says it was a mistake, “I only meant to give $50. Please reimburse me the difference.” The fake donor will ask you to cut a check or to do the reimbursement electronically, supplying a different credit card number than the one that was used to make the original donation. The scammer may ask to pick up the check in person, give you a temporary address for mailing, or ask you to wire the money directly into a fake bank account. It isn’t until later that your organization is hit with a loss because of insufficient funds for the initial donation.
The best way to prevent falling victim to this type of scam is to have policies in place regarding payment and donation reimbursements. Check with your ministry’s online payment service provider and bank for their recommendations. They can advise you on a safe waiting period for making a reimbursement and how to protect against phony donors. If you suspect a phony donor, a quick phone call to your bank or payment service can help you verify.
Be sure to report any attempts your ministry encounters to the FBI Internet Crimes Complaint Center at https://www.ic3.gov/default.aspx.
There are a lot of hats worn in any growing ministry – and we want to serve every one of them.
With the holiday season right around the corner, it’s wise for ministries to evaluate their fire safety plan. Whether your ministry is hosting a holiday party, prepping treats for charity, or running a community kitchen, make sure you’re well-prepared with these tips.
The holidays present unique opportunities and challenges for churches that aren’t typical during other times of the year. A lot of the ministries that I work with are seeing steady increases in attendance and are praying for a significant jump in Christmas service participation this year.
In this article, Brad Brown from Plan A Wealth Management gives a wonderful insight into why ministries might consider choosing a 403(B)(9) retirement plan.
As school is back in session, it’s important to make sure your school is equipped with the correct safety procedures. Thinking about your school’s physical security as a series of layers can help you find gaps in your plan. Transportation and volunteers are just two important aspects of your school safety plan to think about.
If there is one thing I have learned over the last decade while working private security and as a sworn peace officer, the more critical the incident, the more likely change will come out of it. Much like a pendulum, an incident occurs, and everyone cries for change.
Updating the lighting in your worship center with LED can offer significant energy savings while improving overall lighting performance.
We are so excited to welcome the newest member of the American Church Group of Colorado team, Lyndsie Glowinski.
Churches are increasingly becoming targets for cyber criminals. The most common attack is by sending “phishing” emails where the perpetrator poses as someone familiar to the ministry staff (like a senior pastor, deacon, elder, or someone trustworthy) and requests some sort of response.
Anyone who turns on the news, flips through a magazine, or browses the web can see that American society and culture are experiencing rapid transitions. Some ministries have valid concerns that issues surrounding societal shifts may expose them to negative publicity, governmental scrutiny, or litigation.
The questions become: when and how can ministries operate within their deeply held religious beliefs when they may conflict with others’ rights?