Watts Law Firm, working with Lusby Law Firm, has filed a class action lawsuit against GoFundMe on behalf of nonprofits that allege their names, logos, and identities were used on fundraising pages without their knowledge or consent. The lawsuit alleges those pages misled donors, diverted charitable giving, and allowed GoFundMe to profit from fees and tips while harming nonprofits’ fundraising efforts and public trust.
Without consent or prior notice, GoFundMe established fundraising pages for 1.4 million nonprofit organizations across the United States and attempted to monetize non-profit organizations around the country for its own financial profits. GoFundMe was trying to capitalize on the good names and trust that these nonprofits have worked so hard to build in their communities.
Instead of directing all donated funds to the intended nonprofit organizations, the GoFundMe established fundraising pages were set up to charge a 2.2 percent transaction fee and an additional 30-cent per-donation charge that went to GoFundMe. Further, GoFundMe also included a 14% to 16.5% “tip” that would be paid by the donors, but that amount would go to GoFundMe and not the nonprofit organizations.
Who Are We After?
The goal is to hold GoFundMe accountable for a deliberate strategy that exploited nonprofit organizations and their good names for profit. This case is about protecting the integrity of charitable giving and stopping a for-profit platform from unilaterally misusing the identities of nonprofit organizations for its own gain.
Why Do We Fight?
Working together with Lusby Law Firm PC, Watts Law Firm is fighting to protect the integrity of charitable giving and to defend the autonomy of nonprofit organizations. When a for-profit company hijacks donation streams, rewrites nonprofit organizational narratives, and redirects public support without consent, it undermines the very purpose of philanthropy. This is about holding GoFundMe accountable for exploiting trust and misusing its platform to prioritize its own revenue at the expense of mission-driven work by nonprofit organizations.
If GoFundMe set up an unauthorized fundraising page for your nonprofit organization, you may have a claim. Watts Law Firm and Lusby Law Firm will be pursuing legal action on behalf of nonprofit organizations whose names, reputations, and donor relationships were used without consent. This is about protecting the nonprofit sector from corporate overreach and recovering financial damages tied to GoFundMe’s attempt to monetize charitable giving.
Nonprofit organizations should preserve any and all documentation that reflects the unauthorized creation or harmful impact of a GoFundMe fundraising page.
While you do not need to gather everything before reaching out to us, the following materials can strengthen your claim:
Screenshots or links to the unauthorized GoFundMe donation page
Evidence that the GoFundMe created donation page included inaccurate or misleading information
Records showing a drop in donations, donor confusion, or redirecting of usual donor traffic
Internal communications or records of time and resources spent addressing the GoFundMe created donor pages.
Any correspondence with GoFundMe regarding the page or its removal
If you are unsure whether your documentation qualifies, we can review what you have and help evaluate your potential claim.
We are reviewing potential claims for nonprofit organizations that were affected by GoFundMe’s creation of unauthorized fundraising pages. If your organization meets one or more of the following criteria, you may be eligible to participate in the anticipated litigation:
Your nonprofit organization did not authorize GoFundMe to create a donation page but one was created anyway
Your nonprofit organization lost donations due to GoFundMe’s redirection of traffic from your official site
The GoFundMe created donation page for your nonprofit organization included incorrect or misleading information
Your nonprofit organization incurred reputational harm, donor confusion, or administrative costs trying to correct the issue
Your nonprofit organization received less than the full amount of donations because of GoFundMe’s fees or “tip” structure
If your non-profit organization fits one or more of these criteria, we can review your circumstances and determine whether you may qualify to participate in the anticipated future legal action.
Watts Law Firm LLP and Arnold Gallagher PC are representing nonprofit organizations together under a contingency-fee arrangement. You pay nothing upfront, and you owe nothing unless there is a successful recovery.
Even with two firms working together, the cost to you is the same as if only one firm were involved. All litigation expenses, including expert witnesses, discovery, and trial preparation, are advanced on your behalf and shared among all participating nonprofit organizations.
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