GoFundMe Issues Apology and Takes Corrective Action on Unauthorized Fundraising Pages

Update 10/28/2025 – Next Steps:

GoFundMe has agreed to remove and de-index all unauthorized donation pages so that they no longer appear on its website or in online searches, and it changed the default so that authorized pages do not automatically have SEO optimization. Going forward, GoFundMe will provide nonprofits with the choice about whether to participate and greater control over their messaging.

If a nonprofit wishes to create a Nonprofit Page on GoFundMe, you can read their easy-to-use guide, which includes an FAQ.

If a nonprofit wishes to remove their existing Nonprofit Page from GoFundMe, you can disable the “published on GoFundMe” option under the display settings on the Nonprofit Page settings. Similarly, a nonprofit can enable or disable SEO in their display settings, which will give them control over where their Nonprofit Page shows up in search engines.

You can contact GoFundMe’s support team at support.gofundme.com.

If you have any continue issues,  please contact KNN.

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Kentucky Nonprofit Network stood with our partners at the National Council of Nonprofits, state associations across the nation, and fundraising and nonprofit professionals to express our concerns surrounding GoFundMe’s creation of donation pages for 1.4 million charitable nonprofits, including nonprofits in Kentucky, without their knowledge or consent. We also elevated KNN’s concerns with the Office of Consumer Protection at Kentucky’s Office of the Attorney General.

We are grateful to our National Council of Nonprofits partners for communicating directly and effectively with GoFundMe about their breach of trust on behalf of nonprofits in Kentucky and beyond. We are pleased to share that the company has issued an apology to the nonprofit community, as well as outlined the actions they will take to remove the unauthorized pages, prevent further harm, and rebuild trust.

It’s our understanding that GoFundMe has agreed to:

• Remove all unclaimed Nonprofit Pages.
• Change the default so that Nonprofit Pages do not automatically have SEO optimization.
• Remove and deindex the Nonprofit Pages so they no longer appear in online searches.
• Give nonprofits the choice to opt-in to creating a Nonprofit Page.

GoFundMe has committed to release easy-to-use information soon providing guidance to nonprofits who want to remove a Nonprofit Page that was previously claimed, set up a Nonprofit Page, or make changes.

Nonprofits across Kentucky and across our nation face significant challenges – among them, challenges related to funding. This incident was a frustrating distraction from vital work. If your nonprofit has ongoing issues with this issue, please contact KNN.

A strong, unified nonprofit voice resulted in corrective action taken by GoFundMe. Advocacy works.