In the last few years, I’ve encountered a surprising number of cases of embezzlement–the internal theft of assets–at many of the non-profit organizations where I’ve worked or been on the board. The experience not only undermines the trust among colleagues and friends, but also threatens the survival of the organization, many of whom are often skirting the edge of bankruptcy and now have a smaller bank account and a diminished reputation. Given how frequently I’ve encountered it, I did a quick search about embezzlement at museums and historic sites in the last five years and discovered nearly a dozen heart-wrenching stories:
- ANA Money Museum ($500,000 in rare coins stolen by the collections manager)
- Bellevue Arts Museum ($300,000 stolen by the chief financial officer)
- Bordentown Historical Society ($80,000 stolen by the treasurer)
- Fruitlands Museum ($1 million stolen by chief operating officer)
- Guggenheim Museum Bilbao ($775,000 stolen by the financial officer)
- Independence Seaport Museum ($1 million stolen by the president)
- Mark Twain House ($1 million stolen by controller)
- National Archives and Records Administration ($30,000+ in historic objects stolen by a department head)
- Olympic Museum ($1.8 million stolen by museum store manager)
- Salisbury Historical Society ($4,800 stolen by the treasurer)
- Tucson Museum of Art ($1 million stolen by the bookkeeper)
There are probably many more, but I suspect they’ve kept their stories secret out of embarrassment (but search for “embezzlement” at the Chronicle of Philanthropy to see how widespread it is in the non-profit world). Despite this small sample, there seem to be some common patterns:
- It often involves a senior staff member, frequently the Continue reading
