Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, together with 21 other attorneys general and charitable regulators, has sent a letter to GoFundMe following reports that the fundraising platform created unauthorized donation pages for charities without their consent. The coalition expressed serious concerns about these actions and requested that GoFundMe provide evidence within 14 days showing all unauthorized web pages have been removed.
“GoFundMe’s misleading attempt to capitalize on the good work of more than a million charities is deeply troubling,” said Attorney General Nessel. “Charities serve their communities and should not be used as vehicles for financial gain. GoFundMe must prove that it has fully rectified these issues and clearly explain what it’s changing to make sure this doesn’t happen again.”
GoFundMe, a for-profit company based in California and registered as a charitable fundraising platform in Delaware, reportedly created donation pages for over 1.4 million charities without informing them beforehand. These pages included incorrect information about the charities, leading to deceptive solicitations.
The letter from the attorneys general raises possible violations of state charitable solicitation and consumer protection laws by GoFundMe. The group called on GoFundMe to take immediate steps: provide proof of removal of all unauthorized donation web pages; disclose all relevant information to potential donors—including whether donations will actually reach the named charity; and clarify what measures have been taken to prevent GoFundMe’s own web pages from overshadowing official charity sites in search results.
Attorney General Nessel joins counterparts from states including California, Delaware, Illinois, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Vermont, Washington, and Wisconsin in this effort.
GoFundMe has stated through media outlets that all unauthorized fundraising pages have now been removed. While Michigan’s Department of Attorney General does not currently require complaints from organizations affected by deleted GoFundMe campaigns using their name or identity without permission are encouraged to file a complaint with the Consumer Protection Team.
Dana Nessel serves as Michigan’s 54th attorney general according to the official website. The Michigan Department of Attorney General works across the state to protect residents through public service initiatives and policy efforts such as drafting expungement laws like Clean Slate in 2019 (source). The department also advances social efforts supporting vulnerable populations statewide (source).
