GoFundMe Created 1.4 Million Donation Pages for Nonprofits Without Their Consent (abc7news.com)
- Reference: 0179941338
- News link: https://slashdot.org/story/25/11/02/1728231/gofundme-created-14-million-donation-pages-for-nonprofits-without-their-consent
- Source link: https://abc7news.com/post/gofundme-created-14-million-donation-pages-nonprofits-bay-area-organizations-had-no-clue/18013410/
> GoFundMe has taken upon itself to [1]create "nonprofit pages" for 1.4 million 501C-3 organizations using public IRS data along with information from trusted partners like the PayPal Giving Fund. "The fact that they would just on their own build pages for nonprofits that they've never spoken to is a problem," [Dornlas] said. "I'm a believer in opt-in, not opt-out...." Dornlas says he struggled to find anyone to contact from GoFundMe about this... Dave's other frustration is tied to the company's optional tipping feature on the platform. "GoFundMe also solicits a tip of 14.5%. In other words, 'We're doing this and we're great people. Give us 14.5% to do this' — which doesn't have to happen," Dornlas said. "That's what bothers me." When 7 On Your Side checked, the optional tip was actually set for 16.5%. The consumer is required to move the bar to adjust accordingly... The tip would be in addition to the 2.2% transaction fee GoFundMe charges nonprofits, plus $0.30 per donation. That fee goes up to 2.9% for individual fundraisers.
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> Now both GoFundMe pages of Dornlas's nonprofits have been removed from the site. Any organization can do so, by clicking "unpublish" on the platform.
But GoFundMe's move [2]drew strong criticism from the Center for Nonprofit Excellence (a Kentucky-based membership organization with over 500 members). GoFundMe's move, they say, creates "confusion for donors and supporters who are unsure of the legitimacy of the fundraising pages. In some cases, GoFundMe included incorrect information, outdated logos, and other inaccuracies that compromise and misrepresent nonprofits' brand, mission, strategy, and message."
And GoFundMe's processing fees and tips "ultimately result in fewer resources for nonprofits than if donors contributed directly through the organization." But there's more...
> GoFundMe has initiated SEO optimization as the default for the donation pages to improve their visibility when individuals search forinformation about nonprofits online. This could result in GoFundMe'spages ranking higher than the nonprofit's own website, pulling away potential donors and supporters...
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> Without adequate safeguards in place, nonprofits report serious issues, ranging from unauthorized individuals claiming donations and the inability to remove pages without first agreeing to GoFundMe's terms and conditions or sharing sensitive banking information.
The Center for Nonprofit Excellence has now joined with the National Council of Nonprofits — America's largest network of nonprofits, with [3]over 25,000 members — to officially urge GoFundMe to immediately rectify the situation.
Thanks to long-time Slashdot reader [4]Arrogant-Bastard for sharing the article.
[1] https://abc7news.com/post/gofundme-created-14-million-donation-pages-nonprofits-bay-area-organizations-had-no-clue/18013410/
[2] https://thecne.org/2025/10/23/gofundme-creates-donation-pages-without-nonprofit-organizations-consent/
[3] https://www.nonprofitimpactmatters.org/about/national-council-of-nonprofits/
[4] https://www.slashdot.org/~Arrogant-Bastard
GrubHub (Score:5, Informative)
Reminds me of [1]Grubhub settles with the FTC over adding restaurants without their consent [engadget.com].
[1] https://www.engadget.com/big-tech/grubhub-settles-with-the-ftc-over-adding-restaurants-without-their-consent-221006330.html
We did that 18 years ago and it flopped... (Score:3)
We built a philanthrapic startup and did exactly that, we had every 503C on record in a database and built pages for all of them to take donations on their behalf, let it sit in our bank for a bit and then send it their way. Then the 2008 collapse happened and well we our little startup fell apart...
That sounds illegal (Score:3)
After all GoFundMe is, at least indirectly, claim they asked GoFundMe to do this for them. At the very least this is an intentional misrepresentation of their business actions. And GoFundMe makes profits of this, so it may well be fraud.
Re:That sounds illegal (Score:4, Insightful)
I've always felt that GoFundMe is a bit sleazy. Their practices may not be outright fraud, but they're certainly on the borderline. Asking for a "tip" when someone makes a donation is just plain dirty. When I give (and do as often and as much as I can afford), I give directly. As in mail them a check.
Fraud (Score:4, Insightful)
Go Fund Me is simply getting people organizations and their donors and skimming the contributions for corporate profit. They get away with it because they are a business corporation. If this was some guy in his basement he would be in jail for fraud.
Re:Fraud (Score:4, Insightful)
Go Fund Me is simply getting between organizations and their donors and skimming the contributions for corporate profit. They get away with it because they are a business corporation. If this was some guy in his basement he would be in jail for fraud.
Re: (Score:2)
this is neither democracy (gofundme doesn't ask) nor capitalism (gofundme doesn't pay). this is straight up fraud. gofundme is using the name and goodwill of the nonprofit without permission and license.
the supermarket doesn't go to the farm and help itself to the farm's product without receiving permission from the farm and then negotiating a fee for that product.
Re: (Score:1)
Indeed . The level of insolence (and fraud) by GOFUNDME is breathtaking. Somebody needs a broken neekap.
Re: (Score:1)
blaming the victim?
What the...how the... (Score:2)
Doesn't seem like there's a lot of wiggle room in this for justification to hide in... This sucks. I'd say the company should be put out of business, were it not for all those Americans trying to avoid medical bankruptcy.
* (So sorry... couldn't help myself... it was too easy and I feel ashamed. I aspire to better... I really do.)
Feel free (Score:2)
Feel free to create 1.4M donation pages for me. And go ahead and take 50% of anything people donate too. I don't mind at all.
If this isn't fraud! (Score:2)
The fine print turned out by the lawyers is getting pretty hard to read!
Hey, ChatGPT... (Score:2)
Create pages for all these non-profits.
Absolutely 100% how it happened.
It's a rather old model, just tweaked a bit (Score:3)
Back in the 1970s and 1980s, a number of "non-profit fundraising support" businesses sprang up. They would hire lots of people and task them with cold calling individuals, asking for donations to the library / fire brigade / food bank... whomever had partnered with those fundraising businesses.
Well, it turned out their business model was to keep the vast majority of the donated money. Anywhere from 80% to 98% of an individual donation would NOT go to the non-profit, it was kept by the fund-raiser. This eventually became widely known as newspapers and TV news reports looked into it, and the businesses largely went away (although I'm sure a few still linger).
GoFundMe doesn't seem quite as egregious about it, but they've always seemed a bit slimy to me.
Fraud, pure and simple. (Score:2)
Impersonating charities and profiting from the misrepresentation. Clear cut fraud./p.
wow, those fees are pretty large (Score:1)
a fee of 2.2% plus $0.30 per donation plus a 14.5% or 16.5% tip? that's pretty steep. I think putting the donation on a bank for 30 days and keeping the interest, before moving the donation to the individual or to the organization it was donated to should be enough. those fees are outrageous. and it's not like it's difficult to donate directly to a non-profit so gofundme is offering a difficult service. greedy bastards...
we already have visa/mastercard charging a 2% (I don't remember the exact number) fee.
typical of internet nonsense techbro companies (Score:1)
1. business idea no one cares about or needs
2. build any
3. it work for a while cause shiny and new
4. it falls of the face of the earth cause 900 other techbros made copies
5. oh craft now what sign ever one up for business idea no one cares about or needs
Re: (Score:1)
RTFA. His company was in NYC.
Re: (Score:2)
There is, if it wasn't clear that the pages were *not* sponsored or authorized by the organizations they purported to represent. You don't get to create unauthorized web pages on behalf of other organizations or companies, that mislead people into believing that the page represents that organization or company.
Re: (Score:2)
it should be illegal when you start charging for it. gofundme is using the name of and goodwill of the non-profit to solicit funds and then keep an arbitrary portion of those funds for itself.
the non-profit should charge a fee to gofundme for using their name and goodwill and profiting from them without a license.
GoFraudMe (Score:1)
It is at best sleazy and at worst financial fraud.
Re: (Score:2)
It's illegal in the UK, it's fraud by false representation. They are making a false representation that these organisations are using their platform for fundraising with hope to gain financially from it.