07 Dec BE AWARE: SCAM EMAILS SURROUNDING CHARITABLE DONATIONS
SCAM EMAILS SURROUNDING CHARITABLE DONATIONS
protect yourselves from scams by double-checking suspicious requests
Augusta, Ga – The Greater Augusta Arts Council and its supporters have recently been victim of a series of malicious email campaigns. If you receive an email from any member of the Arts Council staff, board or volunteer force asking for donations of gift cards it is a fraudulent request and should be ignored or reported to your email provider.
Since discovering this series of emails the Arts Council board and staff have worked diligently with Constant Contact, the email provider, and the website development team to tighten all security measures throughout the website and all software used by the Arts Council staff and board.
The Arts Council thanks all the patrons of the arts in our community for supporting our many arts nonprofit organizations in this season of giving. Please continue your generosity and care for the groups who share our hearts and souls through their work.
Be aware, at the same time, that while your goodness and giving is sustaining our art community, people with ill-intent are also busy. If you receive an email or a phone call or a text that seems suspicious, don’t respond to it. Contact the arts organization that it claims to come from, via an email or phone number that you TRUST and know to be from that organization.
The Arts Council is currently hosting #ArtCityAUG, its 2020 end-of-year fundraising campaign. The Augusta community and the River Region are a booming arts destination and can be a more visible beacon of arts patronage with beautiful murals like the recently completed “Spirit of Funk.” This mural has been widely embraced and the Arts Council has used the imagery from this piece to serve as a reminder of the amazing public art that’s locked inside members of our community and ready to come out in full force! For patrons who would like to donate to the #ArtCityAUG to make more public art a reality, we encourage you to visit the campaign landing page, found here https://www.gagives.org/story/Supportarts. This landing page is a secure and safe way to donate to the Arts Council during this year’s giving season.
On behalf of all those who work to translate our hearts into music, words, dance, visual art, film, theatre, and extraordinary cuisine, we thank you for your giving spirit, and urge you to double check the source of requests, and continue to support the arts.