US Supreme Court to define fraud in charity fundraising
Howard Lake | 8 November 2002 | News
The Supreme Court in the USA is expected to issue a clarification of the definition of fraud in charitable fundraising by professional fundraising companies.
The lack of clarity has hindered attempts by US states to prosecute certain fraudulent fundraising companies and those that appear to retain a very high percentage of funds raised on behalf of charities. Until now these companies have successfully argued that charitable solicitation constitutes free speech and so is protected by the First Amendment.
Eighteen states have backed the Illinois attorney general’s office in its appeal to the Supreme Court saying that such problems are widespread.
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Read “Court to Clarify Definition of Fraud in Charitable Fund-Raising” by Linda Greenhouse at the New York Times.
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.