Donation Platform Set Up Fundraising Pages for 1.4 Million Charities Without Consent

View Letter

TRENTON – Today, Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, along with 21 attorneys general and charitable regulators, sent a letter demanding immediate action from GoFundMe after public reports that the fundraising platform plagiarized donation web pages for over 1.4 million charities nationwide and collected significant fees from donors by prompting them to pay an additional 16.5% fee directly to GoFundMe in the form of a default “tip.”

In the letter, Attorney General Davenport and the coalition of regulators explain that GoFundMe’s practices may have deceived and confused donors and violated state consumer protection and charitable solicitation laws.

“Nonprofits and charities work hard to earn credibility with donors and the public. That credibility is needlessly undermined when a donation platform engages in misconduct and deceives the public,” said Attorney General Davenport. “A trusted platform that claims to support donors should be transparent and up front about its product. Using default settings that push donors to pay hefty fees in the form of 'tips' undermines the spirit of giving that GoFundMe claims to support.”

GoFundMe’s unauthorized donation pages also contained inaccurate information about charities and where the donations were being paid. In addition, GoFundMe also may have used search engine optimization that caused its donation pages to appear above official fundraising campaigns maintained by the charities themselves, potentially diverting prospective donors, or worse, the public in need of charitable services.

As the letter explains, public reporting also indicates that GoFundMe’s donation pages may have applied a default “tip” of approximately 16.5%—but this “tip” went directly to GoFundMe rather than to the charity. Requiring donors to opt out of a preselected “tip” rather than allowing them to opt in to a transparently disclosed fee can result in significant hidden or disguised fee payments.

The letter calls for GoFundMe to take remedial measures within 14 days, including to:

·    Provide proof that GoFundMe has removed all unauthorized donation web pages;

·    Disclose all information that affects a person’s decision to donate, such as who donations were made to in lieu of the charities GoFundMe plagiarized;

·    Explain how GoFundMe ensured its donation web pages did not display in internet search results above a charity’s official web sites or fundraising campaigns; and

·    Review whether “tips” or analogous charges collected by GoFundMe should be redirected to the charities.

Joining Attorney General Davenport in sending the letter are the attorneys general and charitable regulators of California, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin.