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Client Alert: Déjà vu: Not Learning From GoFundMe, Crypto Donation Website Donate.gg Creates Nearly 10,000 Unauthorized Nonprofit Shadow Donation Pages

Serious overreach by online crypto fundraising platform should trigger action by nonprofits

• Understand the issues created by the latest shadow donation page platform.
• Determine whether they are listed without authorization on Donate.gg.
• Obtain any funds raised and determine whether removal is desired.

Nonprofits were alarmed to discover that GoFundMe, an online for-profit fundraising platform, had created donation pages for approximately 1.4 million nonprofit organizations without their knowledge or consent in late 2025. Taking a page out of GoFundMe’s playbook, crypto fundraising platform Donate.gg quietly created nearly 10,000 nonprofit donation pages without authorization, but abruptly removed more than 7,600 pages this week, according to NonProfit News Feed. Despite this removal, more than $2 million has yet to be distributed to the intended nonprofits. Nonprofits may feel they are now playing a game of whack-a-mole with regard to maintaining control over their fundraising messaging, preventing conflicting messaging and siphoning of donations from official marketing campaigns and avoiding unstable fundraising platforms.
 

Donate.gg’s Crypto Fundraising Platform

Like GoFundMe, Donate.gg created thousands of fundraising pages without nonprofits’ consent. Donate.gg states on its website that it uses Candid (formerly GuideStar) to source and verify top-rated nonprofits across the United States, giving donors access to “donate to the vast majority of public charities”  while handling “the crypto-to-USD conversion and seamlessly off-ramp[ing] funds directly to the nonprofits bank, account via ACH.” Donate.gg claims that since launching in mid-2025, it has processed over $2.8M in donations.

Donate.gg openly acknowledges that its “platform is permissionless, meaning anyone can request a non-profit to be added.” Donate.gg also states that it uses Candid to power its “non-profit search, source organization details, and verify that every listing is a real, registered non-profit.” If a nonprofit finds a donation page, and if donations have been made through Donate.gg, Donate.gg represents that the nonprofit’s funds are held securely in Fireblocks, an institutional-grade digital asset custody platform and “[n]othing is lost and no action is required on your part to keep them safe.”

So What Or What Now?

Online fundraising platforms like Donate.gg are required to register and file reports in some states, which gives donors useful information before donating through a third-party fundraising platform. California requires platforms to publicly disclose fundraising activities, including a listing of charities, the total number of donors and amount of donations, amount of fees deducted from donations and the total amount sent to the charity. It is not clear whether Donate.gg is registered with California, as no registrations can be found in California’s search registry under the name Donate.gg or Donation Labs, the entity listed in Donate.gg’s Terms.

As with the GoFundMe unauthorized campaign, Donate.gg’s unauthorized fundraising pages raise a laundry list of concerns. First, many of the donation pages include trademarked logos and other information about the nonprofit’s mission, some of which may be inaccurate. The donation pages do not state whether or not the nonprofit has authorized the fundraising.

Second, donors giving through Donate.gg may pay higher fees than if they had donated directly to the nonprofit. Donate.gg charges “a 3% fee on donations made to nonprofits and campaigns on Donate.gg,” which “covers all costs associated with processing crypto, including swapping to stablecoins, converting to USD, and delivering funds directly to the nonprofit via ACH.” However, donations made through third-party apps and platforms built on the Donate.gg API carry a much higher 10% fee which is not disclosed on the fundraising page.

Third, even if a nonprofit claims its Donate.gg page, it might not receive donations. In the Terms, Donate.gg states that the website and services are offered by Donation Labs Inc., a Delaware public benefit corporation that is not a charitable organization. Donation Labs expressly represents that it makes no representations or guarantees as to any tax deduction. While Donation Labs is not a charitable organization, Donate.gg represents in its FAQs that if a donor enters their information and a valid email address at checkout, they will automatically be emailed a tax receipt and such donation will be tax-deductible if the charity is recognized as a charity. It is not clear how Donate.gg is legally able to provide a tax-deductible receipt.

Further, the Terms state that if the nonprofit does not accept the donation, refuses to provide information necessary to receive a donation, or does not accept a donation within a reasonable period of time (not defined), Donation Labs is authorized to direct the donation to another charitable organization with a similar charitable purpose, “to such other charitable organization as Donation Labs may select in its reasonable discretion.” Donations are not refundable to the donor because a charity is unable or unwilling to accept a donation or because Donation Labs directs a donation to an alternate charity.

Fourth, as a result of the unauthorized fundraising pages, nonprofits may lose control of their donor relationships and miss out on receiving information directly from donors. Building a relationship with a donor when a fundraising platform stands in the middle, controlling the flow of information is difficult, not to mention the impact that unauthorized pages may have on donors’ trust in the nonprofit. It is not clear whether nonprofits receive information regarding donors, which is critical for developing and cultivating relationships, but may be legally required for those organizations that are not permitted to accept donations from foreign nationals.

Fifth, search engines are returning results to Donate.gg, with Donate.gg often appearing higher than the nonprofit, which usually results in more traffic, or diverted traffic, to the Donate.gg site.

Sixth, Donate.gg’s collaboration with Pump.fun and charity coins creates the opportunity for harmful, misleading, and unauthorized campaigns purportedly on behalf of the nonprofit. Again, control has been removed from the nonprofit and any third party can create a coin or campaign that is associated with the nonprofit on the Donate.gg site, all without the nonprofit’s consent.
 

Next Steps

Not learning from the GoFundMe fallout, which saw GoFundMe agreeing to make its fundraising pages opt-in only and turning off the default SEO, Donate.gg has created an opt-out system. Donate.gg advises that if a nonprofit “would prefer not to be listed, requesting removal is simple.” An authorized representative must email Donate.gg at support@donate.gg and once they have verified the request, Donate.gg states that they will remove the listing and will “take the appropriate technical steps to have it deindexed.”

Nonprofits can see if they have an unauthorized Donate.gg webpage here. If there is a page and the nonprofit wants to claim it, nonprofits need to email Donate.gg at support@donate.gg and provide their organization’s name and tax ID, a contact name and title and a preferred email for follow-up. Donate.gg claims it will verify the organization and “walk you through the rest.” What is unclear is whether additional identifying and sensitive information will be required.

The Associations, Nonprofits and Political Organizations practice group at Whiteford, Taylor & Preston has extensive experience and expertise in advising clients on all aspects of fundraising. Please contact Heidi Abegg or another member of the practice group if you have any questions or concerns regarding your fundraising compliance obligations.

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