What can I do if I am investigating a nonprofit?
A lot starts to be different because nonprofits are who they are. Notably, they tend to be very frugal organizations. So perhaps reduce your billable hour to recognize a good cause. But also recognize that frugality is probably a theme that runs through and through with their organization.
Other things that come up are how obligations run to stakeholders, volunteers, and beneficiaries. The obligations that the organization owes to those groups are often self-imposed but others are imposed in law. Keep in mind that a charitable beneficiary can participate in your investigation, but they might not want to. And that can be complicated because your engagement with them might become redacted or tweaked, or they may not have any meeting with you at all. And that can make an investigation hard.
Another issue is that not-for-profit investigations can get super tricky because the people you’re going to be engaging with are also going to be pretty passionate about a thing. They’re usually pretty passionate about the organization, as well as the mission of the organization. And that passion can lead to some long interview times and other investigative drama.
