Reports of trusted employees or volunteers stealing from nonprofit organizations are disturbingly common. Every few months, it seems, there’s a story of a nonprofit that’s been the victim of embezzlement.

The latest report was on the front page of Friday’s Butler Eagle detailing allegations that a Winfield Township woman has stolen $10,000 from an elementary school Parent Teacher Organization.

Any organization, whether a business or a nonprofit, can be a victim of internal theft, but small nonprofits can least afford the financial damage.

In this case, involving the South Butler Primary School PTO, it’s likely that the $10,000 alleged to have been stolen by Paula M. Duke was raised in small amounts through bake sales, hoagie sales and special donations.

Similar cases of nonprofits being hit by internal theft have occurred at volunteer fire departments, Boy Scout troops and youth sports booster groups.

In almost every case, the organization makes a public statement — after the theft is discovered and is being prosecuted — that it will review its financial controls. That’s good, but financial controls should be reviewed before a theft is attempted and funds are lost.

Every organization should develop a system of checks and balances to make embezzlement less likely. Those controls could include requiring two signatures for checks, having bank statements sent to someone on the board or someone other than the bookkeeper. It might also involve the regular review by the board or a finance committee of invoices, purchases and all checks written on the organization’s bank account.

Small nonprofits, where these crimes are most common, often cannot afford a sophisticated financial control system. But there are some basic safeguards that can be established. If the group can’t afford to hire someone to help, it’s possible that someone in the organization knows an accountant or a financial professional who could offer some ideas at no charge.

Embezzlement is always disturbing because of the betrayal of trust. But it’s especially troubling when it happens to a nonprofit because it also harms the group’s ability to continue to do its good work.

CheerWith declining student enrollment leading to the decision to close the Bruin Elementary School, it is encouraging to learn that attention is already being focused on repurposing the building so that it can continue to remain a community asset.Eric Ritzert, Karns City superintendent, said the building is structurally sound. Parts of the building were constructed in 1960 and older parts of the building, built in 1936, were renovated when the 1960 work was done. Ritzert suggested that the building could be converted to apartments, a hospital outpatient location or a senior care facility.The Bruin Volunteer Fire Department is stepping forward to coordinate a “keep the building alive” effort. Other ideas for the building being circulated include a branch location for a Head Start program run by the Butler County Children’s Center, a library, a senior center or a regional food cupboard.Keeping the focus on finding ways to reuse the building is appropriate, and the enthusiasm and cooperative spirit in the Bruin community offers hope that the former school building will remain a focal point of the community with creative thinking and marketing.School buildings, when occupied by students, have a feeling of life and energy. A school building is sometimes seen as a sort of informal community center because of all the activities happening there. When the students are moved to other school building by the district to better manage costs, the building deserves to have a second life and to remain a vital part of the community. It’s heartening to hear just that kind of thinking from many people in the Karns City School District and the Bruin community.

Cheer Pennsylvania motorists who routinely observe speed limits and otherwise are committed to safe-driving practices might not have paid much attention to a milestone achieved by the state police last month.But the achievement is worthy of notice because of what it has meant — and what it will mean — to troopers’ presence on the state’s roads.New technology is making it possible for troopers to issue tickets more quickly, enabling them to get back on the road in less time to resume their duties. Equally important, it will help to ensure trooper safety.The achievement announced by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court and state police on March 14 was the one millionth “electronic” citation issued by the state police since issuing of such citations began in 2010.Said state police Commissioner Frank Noonan:“When driver’s license and registration information is entered into a trooper’s mobile data terminal, state and national databases are automatically checked to determine whether outstanding warrants exist for the driver or whether the vehicle has been reported stolen.“The driver’s license and registration data is then auto-populated into the traffic citation form, which cuts the time in half for the trooper issuing a citation.”Pennsylvania Chief Justice Ronald D. Castille also praised the quicker access to outstanding warrants that the system provides and the way it improves court efficiency, saying it will save court staff 77,000 hours annually.Even a driver who has never gotten a traffic ticket can appreciate the efficiencies that the new technology makes possible.