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North Haven board weighs online donations and payment tools; staff to research auditor's concerns
Summary
The board discussed balancing easy online donation tools (Venmo/PayPal) for community fundraising against auditing, donor attribution and account-structure concerns. Staff and the auditor will research secure options and return recommendations before any implementation.
The Select Board discussed a request from the recreation council to accept online donations using services such as Venmo or PayPal. Board members and staff outlined benefits — easier on-the-spot fundraising at events — and risks: auditability, donor designation errors, account linking and transaction fees.
Town staff said a separate town-managed fundraising account is feasible and recommended that donations be funneled into one municipal account and later distributed to specific programs rather than creating many separate bank accounts. The town auditor and staff raised concerns about donations routed to personal accounts and stressed that any town approach must preserve audit trails and clear donor designation.
The board asked staff to research specific processing options, security and insurance implications and to return to the board with a proposal before community events; no final policy or vote was taken.
