The Christian County Sheriff’s Office is warning you about solicitations by organizations purporting to be seeking donations for law enforcement agencies. These groups may claim to be an actual charitable organization themselves or advise that they are collecting “on behalf of” a legitimate organization.

Sheriff Bruce Kettelkamp advises that these organizations seek to appeal to the generosity of individuals, especially during the holiday season. They will often claim that they are seeking donations for the families of fallen officers or to purchase bullet resistant vests.

These groups either make a very small financial donation to these causes or, more often than not, simply offset the contributions they receive with exaggerated operating costs and payroll.  Either way, the money you donated in good faith is often never used for the causes you donated to. Frequently these solicitors will change their name to stay ahead of any scrutiny. These name changes may be substantial or simply involve substituting one word such as “Fund” for “League.”

There are many reputable law enforcement agencies that do engage in charitable fundraising such as the Fraternal Order of Police, Illinois Sheriffs’ Association and the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial.

If you are contacted by anyone claiming to represent a law enforcement charity and you are unsure about their legitimacy please contact the Christian County Sheriff’s Office, your local law enforcement agency or the Better Business Bureau. The link to check a charity or business in Illinois is: http://www.bbb.org/us/charity/