Article
The power of fraud awareness training and whistleblower policies for your not-for-profit organization
July 17, 2025 · Authored by Mumta Taneja
Recent headlines have highlighted the significant impact fraud has on employees, donors and the public, serving as a reminder that no organization is immune to fraudulent activity. This underscores the importance for not-for-profit board members and management to understand their shared responsibilities and implement strong governance and fraud risk management strategies.
Among the many essential components of an anti-fraud program, this article focuses on two key strategies for prevention and detection: fraud awareness training and whistleblower policies.
Conducting regular fraud awareness training
Proactively educating the board, management, staff and volunteers about fraud risks and prevention strategies is crucial. This education should include training on ethical behavior, internal controls and how to report suspicious activities.
Fraud awareness training is essential to building a consistent understanding of fraud risks across all levels of an organization, including board members and executives. However, a single training session is not enough. To be effective, organizations should implement a comprehensive training program that includes regular ongoing sessions.
These sessions should reinforce key concepts, highlighting common red flags and outline steps to take when fraud is suspected. They should also emphasize the importance of reporting suspicious activities, including the organization's reporting mechanisms (refer to whistleblower policy leader practices below).
Each training should be tailored to the organization's specific risks and the broader not-for-profit industry. Content should build on previous sessions to keep material relevant and should evolve over time to address emerging fraud schemes.
Furthermore, training can help employees identify fraud sooner, which will help mitigate any damage caused by fraud. As stated in the ACFE Occupational Fraud 2024: A Report to the Nations, not-for-profits that provided fraud awareness
