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Ethics and Security We suspected something was wrong. Thousands of dollar bills—cash paid for entry and parking—were seen changing hands. It’s easy for workers handling small bills to pocket a few, and it happens all the time at events where workers, such as parking attendants, are hired locally to provide services. But even pocketing thousands of dollars in cash couldn’t explain the poor performance of the event. Tens of thousands of dollars were raised through the sale of exhibit booth space. There were raffles. Virtually the entire workforce, including parking and gate attendants, was volunteer labor. Why then, did the paid executive director of the organization report so little net income each year from the nonprofit sports show that was the organization’s primary annual fundraiser? There were rumors the executive director was burying cash in “coffee cans” in the woods behind his house, but nothing was proven. Instances of organizers siphoning cash off event income are rare, but there are the stories. After a contentious political and legal battle, executive control of the organization changed hands. The following year’s sports show fundraiser—nearly identical to those held earlier—yielded net revenue of almost $100,000, an astonishing increase over previous years. Nothing was proven by the huge upswing in revenue, but an unspoken point about suspected fraud by the old administration was made by the new one. 22 eThiCs and seCUriTy 237 thief to succeed. there are also ways to put would-be thieves on notice that security measures are in place and working. the best form of protection is to implement policies and procedures that deter would-be thieves from attempting thievery. perhaps the best form of protection is to demand that event workers use common sense when handling cash. tell workers to take the same or greater care to ensure against theft as they would with their personal money and valuables. they need to lock doors, not leave cash unattended and in sight, and not carry large amounts of money. Besides cash, auction merchandise is valuable and may be sought by thieves. again, event workers need to be told to use common sense. Keep all merchandise in locked areas or maintain a security presence when merchandise is in open rooms. sidebar 22.1 lists ways to reduce the risk of theft. accounting systems and procedures need to be designed, tested until workable, put in place, and used to reduce the risk of theft. this includes hiring or selection of workers at an event. particular caution needs to be exercised if organizers do not know the workers handling money or workers are inexperienced . sometimes volunteers are solicited from schools or through community-wide notices. Many organizations hire salespeople for a set fee or pay them a percentage of sales. event planners often hire local people who may have no experience and may be friends or acquaintances of organization members or of the event planners themselves. Without strict controls and training of sellers or cashiers, it is very easy for money handlers to either steal or ineptly handle money, in either case adversely affecting event revenue. Where raffle ticket sellers or cashiers are hired from companies specializing in such services, bonding, company reputation, and other forms of assurance greatly reduce risk of theft or incompetency. donors at auctions and fundraising events notice the care with which their money is handled, especially where cash is used. if they suspect cash is being handled carelessly, they may not say anything, but it can greatly affect their willingness to spend money on games and buy various tickets. event organizers must be alert to the consequences of the appearance of careless handling of money to avert yes, There May be crooks among us. as pure and wholesome as most charitable fundraising events are, interest by people with criminal intent must be assumed lurking wherever large amounts of money change hands or valuable merchandise is placed on open display. the advertising that often precedes a major fundraising banquet almost assures there will be advance notice to any criminals looking for a job. the loose security at most charity fundraisers make events an easy mark for the well-informed petty thief. Large amounts of cash in small denominations changing hands, and an almost complete lack of immediate accounting for cash collections, also make fundraisers attractive and vulnerable to thieves, including ones the host organization may inadvertently hire or take on as volunteers. areas of particular vulnerability include any point where...

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