This story has been updated with additional information.
California Attorney Rob Bonta has co-signed a letter to GoFundMe regarding the online fundraising platform’s alleged misconduct against charities.
Bonta, along with 21 attorney generals and charitable regulators from across the country, sent a letter to GoFundMe on March 3.
The letter was sent following reports that the GoFundMe platform allegedly “plagiarized donation web pages for charities nationwide without their prior knowledge or consent.”
The letter includes Bonta and the coalition sharing “grave concerns” about GoFundMe’s alleged misconduct, and calls for “immediate remedial measures,” including providing proof that the company has removed all unauthorized donation web pages within two weeks.
“It is deeply concerning that GoFundMe plagiarized donation web pages, without knowledge or authorization of the charities involved,” Bonta stated in an online press release. “This conduct harms charities, erodes public trust, and sets a dangerous precedent that ultimately harms the people and causes that charities support. Today, we demand accountability for GoFundMe’s wrongdoing. GoFundMe must fix the damage it has caused and prove it has removed all of its plagiarized web pages.”
What is GoFundMe?
For years, the California-headquartered GoFundMe has provided people with a way to raise funds and solicit donations, including for charities.
GoFundMe is a Delaware corporation; however, the company is registered with California’s Registry of Charities and Fundraisers as a charitable fundraising platform.
How many charities were allegedly plagiarized by GoFundMe?
The letter states that without the prior consent or knowledge of charities, GoFundMe allegedly plagiarized donation web pages for over 1.4 million charities.
“The donation pages contained inaccurate information about charities, and GoFundMe’s solicitations contained deceptive and misleading acts,” the letter claims.
The letter added that the coalition suspects potential violations by GoFundMe under numerous state charitable solicitation and consumer protection laws and demands that GoFundMe take the following actions immediately:
How has GoFundMe reacted to previous allegations of fraud?
On March 4, GoFundMe reached out to this reporter to say that it is committed to helping nonprofits reach new donors by making it easier for the millions of people on our platform to discover and support the causes they care about.
They added that GoFundMe nonprofit pages were created using publicly available information to help people support nonprofit organizations, with donations going to the intended nonprofit.
“After hearing feedback from nonprofit leaders in October, we acted quickly to make Nonprofit Pages fully opt-in, removed and de-indexed unclaimed pages, and turned off search engine optimization by default,” GoFundMe stated. “The immediate changes we made in October directly addressed the concerns outlined in the letter received today from the state Attorneys General, and reflect our continued commitment to transparency, accountability, and partnership with the nonprofit sector. We welcome the opportunity to share with the Attorneys General the concrete steps we have already implemented in response to the issues raised.
In October 2025, GoFundMe officials announced changes to address concerns that caused “confusion, concern, and distraction” from nonprofits they support. Some of those actions include:
Only nonprofits that opt in to its nonprofit page and complete the verification process will have a public nonprofit page that is searchable on GoFundMe.
GoFundMe removed and de-indexed the nonprofit pages that are not claimed, so they no longer appear in search engine results.
GoFundMe will continue to maintain basic nonprofit directory listings to ensure nonprofits are discoverable and that organizers can create fundraisers to support them.
How California oversees charities
In California, the attorney general has the primary responsibility for supervising charities, professional fundraisers, and charitable fundraising platforms that solicit on their behalf.
Under the Government Code, the attorney general may investigate and bring legal actions against charities, fundraisers, and platforms that are suspected of misusing charitable assets or engaging in fraudulent or misleading fundraising practices.
Daily Press reporter Rene Ray De La Cruz may be reached at RDeLaCruz@VVDailyPress.com. Follow him on X @DP_ReneDeLaCruz
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Why is a California official demanding accountability from GoFundMe?
Reporting by Rene Ray De La Cruz, USA TODAY NETWORK / Palm Springs Desert Sun
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
