New Jersey joins 21-state coalition accusing platform of misleading donors and exploiting charitable trust
TRENTON, NJ – New Jersey Attorney General Jennifer Davenport has joined a coalition of 21 attorneys general and charitable regulators demanding that fundraising platform GoFundMe remove unauthorized charity pages and end the use of deceptive fee practices that may have misled donors nationwide.
The coalition’s March 3 letter follows reports that GoFundMe created fundraising pages for more than 1.4 million charities without their consent and used search optimization to drive donors to those pages—sometimes ahead of the charities’ own official fundraising websites.
Key Points
- 22 states demand GoFundMe remove over 1.4 million unauthorized charity pages
- Attorneys general allege the platform misled donors and concealed 16.5% “tips”
- GoFundMe given 14 days to prove compliance and disclose all affected transactions
Regulators cite deceptive practices
According to the letter, GoFundMe’s platform allegedly used a default 16.5% “tip” that donors had to opt out of, with the funds going directly to GoFundMe rather than to the charities featured on the pages. The attorneys general say this setup misled donors into believing their entire contributions supported charitable causes.
“Nonprofits and charities work hard to earn credibility with donors and the public,” Attorney General Davenport said. “That credibility is needlessly undermined when a donation platform engages in misconduct and deceives the public.”
The coalition also accused the company of using copied and inaccurate information about charities, creating the false impression that those organizations had endorsed or partnered with GoFundMe.
States demand transparency and correction
The letter orders GoFundMe to take corrective actions within 14 days, including proof that all plagiarized pages have been removed, full disclosure of where donations were sent, and evidence that its donation pages no longer appear ahead of legitimate charity websites in search results.
Officials also urged the company to review whether any collected “tips” or similar charges should be redirected to the affected charities.
Joining New Jersey in the action are attorneys general and regulators 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.
Tags: GoFundMe, Jennifer Davenport, New Jersey