Charity Fraud: Money for the Children’s Hospital Burn Unit Taken

by Gary Snyder


She used the nonprofit, Fired Up For Kids,  to solicit donations through the sale of calendars to raise money for the Children’s Hospital Burn Unit. Shortly after the nonprofit was formed Kristin Hamling, president and sole board member, began using its accounts and assets for personal uses, including gym memberships, airline tickets, and at nail and hair salons, according to the attorney general's complaint. Hamling resigned from the organization but refused to turn over to a successor organization the intellectual and physical property of the organization, including its bank accounts and inventory. The Denver (CO) District Attorney’s office won’t say how much money was allegedly stolen. A former volunteer with the group estimates the theft in excess of $50,000.












Nonprofit Imperative gathers its information principally from public documents...some of which are directly quoted. Virtually all cited are in some phase of criminal proceedings; some have not been charged, however. Cites in various media: Featured in print, broadcast, and online media outlets, including: Vermont Public Radio, Miami Herald, National Public Radio, Huffington Post, The Sun News, Atlanta Journal Constitution, Wall Street Journal (Profile, News and Photos), FOX2, ABC Spotlight on the News, WWJ Radio, Ethics World, Aspen Philanthropy Newsletter, Harvard Business Review, Current Affairs, The Chronicle of Philanthropy, St. Petersburg Times, B, USA Today Topics, , Newsweek.com, Responsive Philanthropy Magazine, New York Times...and many more • Nonprofits: On the Brink (iUniverse, 2006)