As Common Good Vermont shared earlier this week, GoFundMe created fundraising pages for over a million nonprofits without their knowledge or consent. The National Council of Nonprofits, and Vermont’s Consumer Assistance Program, raised concerns with the company. In response, GoFundMe has issued an apology and outlined specific steps to remove the unauthorized pages, implement safeguards to prevent future harm, and rebuild trust with the nonprofit community.
The National Council of Nonprofits issued the following statement:
“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.”