$31,000 raised through unapproved fundraisers for Chesterfield Schools may have been kept by staff: audit
VENN
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) -- Through hosting unapproved fundraisers, staff with Chesterfield County Public Schools may have raised and then kept more than $31,000 for personal use, according to a new audit report.
Chesterfield County officials recently released an audit report detailing several issues with how the school division oversees and conducts fundraisers.
The Chesterfield County School Board has detailed policies on fundraisers, including that the respective school's principal must approve them. They must also be conducted through permitted means, with specific requirements in place for what websites can and cannot be used when fundraising online.
In May, auditors asked all principals in the school division to submit their up-to-date fundraiser listings -- which they are required to keep -- for review.
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The auditors then conducted an independent search online for fundraisers that advertised themselves as associated with a Chesterfield school and were organized by a verified school staff member. A total of 41 fundraisers were found. Nearly all of them were not included on the lists principals provided and did not have principal approval.
While 26 of them were on authorized websites, 15 of them were being hosted on GoFundMe, a prohibited site. These fundraisers were for a total of $36,954.
Cash receipts could not be found at the school for any of the fundraisers on GoFundMe. None of them had associated forms filed or approved. Without such approval, auditors said staff "could be fundraising for inappropriate causes."
Further, auditors could not confirm whether a total of $31,809 from unauthorized fundraisers that did not reach their funding goals had been returned to the donors, as required under school board policy.
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"Prohibited sites, like GoFundMe, allow the fundraiser [organizer] to withdraw funds at any time," auditors said.
This led auditors to determine that the staff responsible for these unauthorized fundraisers on prohibited sites could be "withdrawing collected funds for personal use."
A survey of more than 40 schools within the district found that only 14% had staff who were appropriately trained on fundraising as required under school board policy. Staff who are unaware of policy are more likely to "expose [the school division] to potential legal or financial risks," auditors said.
Auditors made several recommendations to school leaders, including that a division-wide training program should be implemented and that student families should be made aware of fundraising policies, particularly when it comes to online fundraisers.
"Awareness communication should advise families to avoid contributing to non-approved platforms and a method to report any prohibited fundraisers or solicitations for money," auditors said.
School leaders agreed with both the auditors' findings and all associated recommendations. Changes are set to be implemented between the end of this year and Aug. 31, 2026.
You can read the full 15-page audit report here.
