A webpage that permitted state employees to make charity donations was shut down after it was revealed that the network was not secure. The issue was discovered by California government officials who specialize in technology and immediately shut down the site that was live for a brief stint last month. As the charities that are slated to receive this money are likely to be affected, a Nonprofit Insurance Program should be implemented to protect against this potential peril.

The partnership, named Our Promise, is a partnership between the state, United Way and thousands of charitable organizations which each fall allows state employees to pledge contributions to hundreds of charities via payroll donation, according to The Sacramento Bee. These donations are paramount to these organizations as last year’s pledges exceeded $6 million.

Historically, the endowment form was available online that required contributors to download a form, print it, and send it in. However, last year an online version was piloted instead. However, upon closer inspection it was discovered that the webpage violated security regulations as it disclosed the Social Security numbers of pledgers.

Teala Schaff, spokeswoman for the Department of Technology, stated “Further, although Our Promise has a privacy policy, they do not warranty against privacy breaches, also a violation of state security policy.”

Although the testing of the new webpage passed security guidelines with the state last year, the program has been ceased as of now. In conjunction with United Way and the Department of Technology, Schaff declared “The Department of Technology participated in testing the 2014 tool with Our Promise but provided no state approval for its use. As technology is ever changing, the 2015 campaign tool changed and, upon review, did not meet the state’s security standards. The Department and Our Promise continue to work in collaboration to develop an online tool that meets the state’s security standards and enables state employees to donate in this evolving, paper-less world.”

At Charity First, we specialize in protecting nonprofit organizations. Our underwriting expertise, innovation, and responsive staff are dedicated to providing comprehensive coverage for your organization. To learn more about our operations, contact us today at (800) 352-2761.