Attorney General James Demands Transparency from GoFundMe on Unauthorized Fundraising Campaigns

March 3, 2026

NEW YORK - New York Attorney General Letitia James today joined a bipartisan coalition of 19 other attorneys general and charitable regulators in sending a letter to GoFundMe raising grave concerns about the company's creation of more than 1.4 million donation web pages for charities without their prior knowledge or consent. Attorney General James and the coalition warn that these actions may have violated state charitable solicitation and consumer protection laws, and the coalition has secured a guarantee from GoFundMe that the company will remove all pages created without authorization. The coalition is now demanding immediate confirmation and proof that GoFundMe has removed the unauthorized pages, changed its practices, and taken meaningful steps to protect charities and donors.

"When Americans open their wallets to support a charity, they deserve to know exactly where their money is going," said Attorney General James. "By creating fundraising pages in charities' names without their knowledge or consent, GoFundMe misled donors and put public trust in charitable giving at risk. We are demanding clear answers and meaningful reforms to ensure charities control their own fundraising and donors are fully informed."

In October 2025, GoFundMe reportedly created donation web pages for approximately 1.4 million charities across the United States without first seeking their permission. Many charities were unaware that the pages existed until after they were published and subsequently raised concerns about misuse of their names and logos, inaccurate descriptions of their work, and confusion among donors. Some organizations reported that they were unable to control how their identities and missions were presented, creating a risk of misrepresentation and donor confusion.

In their letter, Attorney General James and the coalition note that some pages promoted incorrect charity information and failed to clearly disclose when donations were routed through a donor-advised fund rather than sent directly to the featured charity. In certain cases, the overall presentation of the pages may have given donors the impression that the fundraising campaigns were operated by or directly affiliated with the named charities when they were not. GoFundMe also reportedly applied a default "tip" of approximately 16.5 percent to contributions, with that money going directly to the company rather than the charity. In addition, the company used search engine optimization (SEO) practices that may have caused its pages to appear above official charity websites, potentially diverting donors away from legitimate fundraising efforts.

Attorney General James and the coalition warn that these practices may violate state laws that require written consent before a third party may solicit funds in a charity's name, as well as laws that prohibit deceptive or misleading conduct in charitable fundraising.

GoFundMe has acknowledged that creating fundraising webpages for charities without consent was wrong and committed to taking corrective actions, including the removal of all plagiarized pages. With this letter, the coalition is following up on GoFundMe's promises to demand that the company provide proof that all unauthorized donation pages have been removed and confirm that prior written consent is now required before any charity donation page is created. They are also seeking a detailed explanation of the company's takedown procedures and clarification of how it has modified its SEO practices to ensure charities are not disadvantaged. The states have requested a formal response within 14 days, with additional investigative steps to follow if necessary.

Joining Attorney General James in this letter are the attorneys general of California, Delaware, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin and the charitable regulatory agencies of South Carolina and Tennessee.