GREENSBORO, N.C. (WGHP) — A local nonprofit was hit with a damaging scam.

According to a media release, Alternative Resources of the Triad, the group that puts on Greensboro’s annual Pride festival, fell victim to a PayPal fraud scheme, which resulted in the theft of around $40,000.

They have reported this theft to the authorities and PayPal and are awaiting guidance.

Sarah Lanse, who represents Alternative Resources of the Triad, says that they discovered the theft right before the holidays. She says that their treasurer discovered it and they believe it’s connected to a money request sent to their PayPal. They called a number associated with the request to report it as fraudulent, and that number turned out to be fraudulent, giving the scammers access to their account.

“We have always been good stewards of our money,” says Treasurer Liz Grimes. “This time, we got outsmarted by schemers who are preying off our small nonprofit.”

ART was named Nonprofit of the Year by the Guilford Nonprofit Consortium after the record attendance of their 2022 festival, hosting between 35,000 and 40,000 people during the September festivities.

While they await solutions from their bank and law enforcement, the group is reaching out to the community for help. They want to be able to start planning their 2023 Greensboro Pride Festival and the other events they host for the community.

“The majority of the money we raise each year goes into the Pride Festival. We are an all-volunteer organization so, we don’t have any paid staff and very minimal overhead and so the money goes right back to the community and it’s mostly for the Greensboro Pride Festival, but we do have some other events that we’re working on for 2023 and hoping to make it a big year,” Lanse told FOX8.

They are an all-volunteer organization and have no paid staff, all of its money is dedicated to its programming.

You can donate to their GoFundMe. Anyone interested in volunteer opportunities can visit their website.