Attorney General Jennifer Davenport, along with 21 other attorneys general and charitable regulators, has sent a letter to GoFundMe demanding proof that the company has removed unauthorized charity donation web pages and changed its fee practices. The letter follows reports that GoFundMe created donation pages for more than 1.4 million charities without permission and prompted donors to pay an additional 16.5% fee as a default “tip” directly to the platform.
The coalition stated in the letter that these actions may have misled donors and violated consumer protection and charitable solicitation laws at the state level.
“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.”
The group also raised concerns about inaccurate information on these unauthorized pages regarding which charities would receive donations, as well as possible use of search engine optimization by GoFundMe, which may have caused its own fundraising pages to appear above official campaigns managed by legitimate charities.
According to their findings, GoFundMe’s default “tip” went directly to the company rather than benefiting the charity itself. Donors were required to opt out of this preselected tip instead of opting in after clear disclosure, which could result in hidden or disguised charges.
The letter asks GoFundMe for several actions within two weeks: evidence that all unauthorized donation web pages have been taken down; full disclosure about where donations went if not received by intended charities; an explanation of how GoFundMe ensured its pages did not rank higher than official charity sites in search results; and a review on whether tips collected should be redirected toward the charities.
Those joining Davenport include officials from 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.
The New Jersey Attorney General’s office is responsible for protecting residents’ lives and property across all counties in New Jersey through legal enforcement and oversight (official website). The office also handles statewide legal representation for state agencies and offers services such as law enforcement oversight and consumer protection initiatives (official website). It functions as a central agency focused on justice and public safety throughout New Jersey (official website).
