Statement from National Council of Nonprofits
Update: October 23, 2025
“The National Council of Nonprofits was deeply concerned by GoFundMe’s creation of fundraising pages for more than a million nonprofits without their knowledge or consent. Nonprofits depend on transparency, trust, and the ability to control their own fundraising. GoFundMe’s actions were a breach of that trust.
On behalf of our network of nonprofits across the country, NCN raised these concerns directly with GoFundMe and were pleased with GoFundMe’s openness and self-reflection. As we and others urged, the company has issued an apology to nonprofits and outlined the specific actions they will take to remove the unauthorized nonprofit pages, prevent further harm, and rebuild trust with nonprofits. We welcome this step by GoFundMe and the speed with which they took corrective action.
This incident is a reminder that nonprofits must always retain the power to decide for themselves how and when to engage with other partners, and that the expertise of nonprofits should be sought and valued in advance of any effort related to their work. We will continue working to ensure that nonprofits’ voices are respected, their brands are protected, and public trust in the sector remains strong.”
Why It Matters and What to Do
As many of you have seen, GoFundMe recently launched a “Nonprofit Pages” feature, creating donation pages for 1.4 million nonprofits without their approval using data from Candid and PayPal.
These pages can appear official, but they weren’t authorized by the organizations themselves.
Why it matters:
- Donor Confusion: The new pages may mislead donors, make organizations look less credible, and prevent nonprofits from obtaining full donor info for proper stewardship.
- Branding Risks: Pages may conflict with nonprofits’ current campaigns, messaging, and fundraising strategy.
- Fees and Delays: Default tips were set at 16.5%, with funds accessible via PayPal Giving Fund. Nonprofits may have to wait 15–45 days to receive donations, and only if the nonprofit already has a PayPal relationship.
- SEO and Fraud Concerns: There is a risk that these GoFundMe pages will appear before the nonprofits’ own websites, when individuals search online for the organization. Additionally, anyone can claim an organization’s page without verification.
- Time and Headaches: The new nonprofit pages are creating chaos at a time when nonprofits are already stretched thin. Organizations with limited resources are now tasked with navigating GoFundMe to claim pages or delete them.
What you can do:
- Identify if you have been affected by claiming your page.
- Toggle off SEO on GoFundMe. See instructions for how to walk through the process here.
- Message GoFundMe’s AI-Powered Helperbot and request that they remove your organization’s profile.
Actions being taken nationally:
- GoFundMe announced that they have made some adjustments over the last few days, but these changes don’t fully address the concerns. For now, they are removing:
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- Optional tips from Nonprofits Pages for direct donations until consent has been given by the nonprofit through the claim process.
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- Logos from unclaimed pages, allowing nonprofits to manage their own branding and assets after completing the claim process.
- UNA, alongside the National Council of Nonprofits, is actively responding and advocating for stronger action.
- We will provide additional resources as we learn more.