GoFundMe, which already reversed some of its plans with its Nonprofit Pages after an outpouring of protests from the charitable community, is walking back more elements of the product. The Nonprofit Pages will be opt-in only, unclaimed pages will be de-indexed but GoFundMe’s nonprofit directory will continue.
GoFundMe CEO Tim Cadogan apologized for the confusion in a letter to the charitable community. “We are very sorry for this and take responsibility for missing the mark. Trust is foundational to our work with nonprofits, and we are fully committed to rebuilding it through better communication, collaboration, and partnership,” he wrote.
The changes do not discuss one of the largest issues of branding. The full letter is available on LinkedIn.
The three key elements of the letter include:
* Nonprofit Pages are now opt-in only. “Moving forward, only nonprofits that opt-in to their Nonprofit Page and complete the verification process will have a public Nonprofit Page that is searchable on GoFundMe — making these Nonprofit Pages a completely opt-in experience.” Nonprofit Pages for organizations that have not been claimed and verified will be removed. SEO will also be turned off by default. Nonprofits that opt-in to their Nonprofit Pages will gain enhanced visibility, control, and access to certain supporter data for fundraising and compliance purposes, according to Cadogan via the letter.
* Unclaimed Nonprofit Pages will be de-indexed.
GoFundMe will remove and de-index the Nonprofit Pages that are not claimed so they no longer appear in search engine results. Once a nonprofit opts in, they can choose to index their Nonprofit Page, turn SEO on, and edit their Nonprofit Page.
* Nonprofit directory listings will continue.
GoFundMe will continue to maintain basic nonprofit directory listings so nonprofits are can be found by the public and organizers can create fundraisers to support nonprofits.
“We are committed to creating stronger feedback loops with nonprofit representatives to ensure future product releases are shaped in deeper partnership with nonprofits. Our goal remains to support the nonprofit sector – making giving easy for donors, empowering nonprofits with tools to thrive, and doing so in a way that reflects our shared values of trust and transparency,” Cadogan wrote.
The outcry started recently when nonprofit leaders found the pages included their organizations, including logos without approval of the organizations. GoFundMe used publicly available information, including IRS data, to building the more than one million pages. The information in some cases was incorrect.
For example, leaders at the small nonprofit Acquaint in Bellevue, Washington saw some comments on LinkedIn about GoFundMe launching an initiative that included hosting on its platform’s donation pages. They immediately went searching the platform.
“The logo GoFundMe used says “HomeAgain VR,” which was the name of our organization before we changed it officially to Acquaint with the IRS in 2021,” said Alex Szebenyi, co-founder and chief technology officer at Acquaint. The page also linked to the wrong social accounts, he said. For example, GoFundMe listed an incorrect LinkedIn and Instagram accounts along with a suspended X account.
An organization had to claim the page to remove it from GoFundMe and the rules include prohibiting use of the GoFundMe trademarks in any way, even though the platform used a nonprofit’s logo without permission, said Szebenyi.
In a statement earlier this week reversing the use of logos without permission, GoFundMe officials said: “We have heard from nonprofits over the last few days about our Nonprofit Pages, and wanted to take a moment to address some of their concerns, and share a few updates we’re making to improve the experience for nonprofits and their supporters.”
The changes at that time included:
- Removing optional tips from Nonprofits Pages for direct donations until consent has been given by the organization through the claim process.
- Improved brand control for nonprofits by removing logos from unclaimed pages. Nonprofits will have the ability to manage their own branding and assets after completing the claim process.
- Improving transparency and communication, including more communication around search for visibility in search. Organizations have the ability to toggle off SEO after claiming their page.
“While we have shared updates on Nonprofit Pages across webinars, articles, emails, and conferences throughout this year, we know we can do a better job explaining the “why” and “how” behind it, and we’re committed to that ongoing work,” according to a statement from GoFundMe.
Previous to the announcement, Margaret L. Richardson, chief marketing and corporate affairs officer at GoFundMe, said the information on the pages was taken from publicly available data with the intent of allowing nonprofits to use the site for fundraising. “Every month, more than 100 million people visit GoFundMe, and many of them are searching for nonprofits to support by donating, fundraising, or both. Our goal with nonprofit pages is to give GoFundMe’s vast global community an easy way to discover and donate to nonprofit organizations,” according to Richardson. More than 70,000 nonprofits had donations via GoFundMe during 2024, she said.
The money raised from both direct donations to Nonprofit Pages and those who fundraise on a nonprofit’s behalf go directly to the organization through Paypal Giving Fund or other payments processors. Other payment processors used by the platform are Stripe and Adyen.
GoFundMe receives a transaction fee of 2.2% plus 30 cents per donation to a nonprofit fundraiser, which helps us pay our payment processors and safely deliver funds. GoFundMe’s pricing model gives our donors the choice to leave an optional tip, which helps power the platform.
“These completely voluntary contributions make it possible for us to provide trusted fundraising tools, customer support, and a dedicated global Trust & Safety team that protects our community. The majority of donors adjust our tipping slider, and in many cases, do move it to zero,” explained Richardson.
Many of the comments on variously online platforms expressed surprise regarding the pages and of not having been informed. Richardson said the firm has had nonprofit pages for years and that the updated platforms as of January should not have caught people off guard. The topic has been discussed “for many months, with organizations and at conferences,” said Richardson.
Organizations can also request that their nonprofit page be taken down via our Help Center (support.gofundme.com), said Richardson. “Our team promptly removes nonprofit pages upon request.”
Szebenyi said he asked the page be taken down. “Instead of claiming the page, we reached out to their legal team to request removal on the basis of unauthorized use of intellectual property and misrepresentation. The response from their Trust & Safety team essentially repeated the same suggestion: claim the page, agree to the Terms, and consider the ‘benefits’ of using GoFundMe.
