GoFundMe
Reviews and Complaints

In mid-2023, my son used GoFundMe to support his Boy Scout Eagle Project fundraising. He initiated his campaign on the platform in mid-June. By early October, nearly $14,000 had been pledged to his project. In early October, he was instructed to link a bank account to the campaign and provide additional information. He completed these tasks and submitted the required information. The platform indicated everything was set, but days later, he found that his actions had not been saved, and he had to repeat the process. This issue occurred repeatedly over several weeks. Frustrated with the faulty process, he reached out to GoFundMe for assistance. Despite multiple requests for a phone call through their website and chat, GoFundMe claimed to have called, but no calls were received. On November 17, during another chat with a representative, he was told he had until January 5, 2023. Despite this, GoFundMe unexpectedly refunded all donations on the afternoon of November 17, undoing months of fundraising. Further attempts to discuss the matter over the phone were dismissed by GoFundMe. The abrupt cancellation of the fundraising campaign by GoFundMe was devastating. This complaint seeks help and aims to alert consumers to GoFundMe's unreliable methods.

Someone other than a legal family member to our family posted a GoFundMe fundraiser to raise monies for my brother's final expenses and I donated thinking that she was going to give the donations to *** Family Cremation to pat for my brother's cremation. As it turned out, this person not only DID NOT use donations towards my brother's cremation, she also stole my brother's wallet minutes after he died in the hospital and used his credit union card to drain all money he had. Moreover, I found out the hard way that this individual told *** Family Cremation that she wanted to list my brother as indigent and send his ashes to the local sheriff's office for disposal. I found out via email from the cremation company and the *** about this at the last minute and mom and I cried about what this individual did to my brother's remains. My mom had a minor seizure and we couldn't drive home as planned after my brother's funeral north of where we live.I immediately reached out to the credit union about my brother's account because this individual lied to me about my brother taking out a loan, which he did not. The credit union told me to file a localpolice report and give her the incident number which I did. Those monies have since been returned. I then reached out to Gofundme fraud unit and told them what this person had done to my brother and my family. They did temporarily refund my donation, but have refused to take down the Gofundme page fraudulently grabbing money on my brother's and our family's behalf. We need this page taken down IMMEDIATELY! I filed a fraud complaint regarding this Gofundme page yesterday (August 11) FTC Report Number ***. Gofundme claims fraud on their website is very rare. However, after my experience with Gofundme, I see that perhaps fraud is a larger problem than they claim due to the way in which they handle fraud claims. In the very least the Gofundme page in question should have been suspended

We are a nonprofit who used Charity GoFundMe for our annual flagship fundraiser. The history of all of our attendee data and ALL donor data lives within these campaigns. In the middle of these campaigns they switched to a new far more complicated report center that made it extremely difficult to pull the normal data reports we had been used to. It now required assistance from their support team. It took a while to get a system going but their support team tried there best to help. They even had trouble pulling the reports we needed.We finally took a leap & signed up for a donor management system called Bloomerang to help w/ our growth. It's very expensive & takes quite a bit of time to get set up. They required us to download all the *** data in csv files with specific column headers to build our consituent data base.We had been in this process w/ the help of Charity GFM working w/ Bloomerang to obtain this data from the reports center. They were sometimes helpful & sometimes not responsive or delivered inaccurate results.When we got word that they were dissolving Charity GFM we were promised that we would not loose any of our data when it became just GFM. That was NOT TRUE.We were in our final stretch of obtaining our last report of the most crucial donor data from 3/25 - 8/1 and our login link stopped working. We reported this to the agent who was helping us, ***, and he said he cannot give us the reports directly & that we would have to login & pull the report that he personally made for us ourselves due to policy. He then gave us a backend link to get access but that didn't work either. I let him know that there was no way to access the account and he never replied. I have since emailed back SEVEN (7) times to the NPOSupport ticket we had been sommunicating with and got 0 responses. We have submitted THREE (3) request via GFM asking for help with this & got 0 replies. WE JUST WANT THEM TO REPLY & OUR DATA BACK!

I started a gofundme for my son after he was in a bad car accident almost lost him but cameout with a broken back and just had a baby not even a month old. He and his girlfriend need help so the gofundme was launched. I set up my son as a beneficiary but he couldn't do the transfer due to the bank he has gofundme would not accept his bank so I submitted a request to make me back as the beneficiary I have sent numerous request and only response I'm sorry for your frustration and they are working on it system issues...now my son and newborn is facing evection on the apartment they live in this is not their money it was donated by family and friends they already took their percentage. This is so heart breaking as I was trying to do the right thing for my child and grandson we already have went through h*** and this is unacceptable for gofundme to keep money that isn't theirs no phone number and now I feel like they are ignoring my request though there help center . I just need it transfer and I will close out the account and NEVER USE OR DONATE TO GOFUNDME AGAIN PLEASE HELP .. last email I received from them:Hi all, Im so sorry for how drawn-out and frustrating this experience has been for you so far, but I can assure you that I will do everything I can to get this taken care of as seamlessly as I can for you. We currently offer full customer support via email and live chat, but I will do everything possible to assist you as quickly and clearly here as if we were working over the phone. I am sorry to inform you that a known issue in our system prevents the change of beneficiary process to move forward. Our team is aware of this issue and is actively working to resolve it. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused. I kindly ask for your patience while our engineers work on a solution. I will set a reminder to check back to keep you posted with any updates on your account. Regards,*** That was on Monday 18 2022 of July still no response

On 13 October , we started a fundraiser ( https://gofund.me/c41fc093 ) to buy a car *** one of the leaders of our society who is under constant and persistent attacks from thugs and hooligans in ***. 2 of his cars were vandalized. As a community we decided to get together and help him purchase a car.40 days into the fund with more than *** social media engagements raising in excess of $110 000 of the targeted $120 000, GoFundMe advised us that they are to deny us access to the funds citing breach of their terms of service and federal regulations. They never bothered to communicate the specific terms and regulations that we violated. This only came after we had initiated the withdrawal process having had numerous engagements with GoFundMe furnishing them with all the documentation they needed and at no point did they indicate any red flags.We provided all the information that they required and at no point was it mentioned that we were potentially in breach of their terms of service as well as any federal rules. It is my understanding from experience that had we been in potential breach of any terms of service or regulations they would have suspended the fundraiser while reviewing it. Instead they opted to wait 40 days later when social media engagement is beyond *** and for us to reach the target to deny us access to the funds or divert the funds to other causes. Similar fundraisers from *** were run on the GoFundMe platform and funds were disbursed to their causes. On multiple occasions we communicated with GoFundMe,not once did they tell of anything wrong . It is quite shocking that Go Fund Me has decided 40 days later to deny us access to the funds. This behavior by Go Fund Me is tantamount to emotional abuse. Go Fund me made us believe we would be getting the donations after the goal was reached. Surprisingly, they have indicated that they will not give us the money, but the fund is still up and running

I setup an account for my niece to raise money for her because her mother and my sister passed away while simultaneously her husband was in the hospital having major brain surgery. $*** was raised and my niece wanted the funds. When my niece couldnt reach me for a few weeks she contacted GoFundMe and they told her I was committing fraud and that I had already withdrawn the money and if she wants the $*** she has to file a police report against me. What they didnt tell her is that the funds are automatically sent via ach payments and that I did nothing to initiate the withdrawal like they made it seem to be. They even added that the money was removed before my sisters celebration of life. 1st, huge breach in their own privacy policy and confidentiality policy. She shouldnt have been told anything other than they will investigate her report. My niece couldnt reach me at this time because I was using a borrowed phone from a friend at work which I sent her a message saying if you need to contact me use this number. A few days later I got my old phone and when she filed police report she gave them the temp phone and the detective only called that number which my friend from work heard and spread the news that I was wanted for fraud and now I no longer get any work. I paid the *** plus added 530 of my own to make it *** and then found out she files police report. This is just the beginning of stunts they pulled and to do anything about it you have to use arbitration as per their terms. So I go through the learning process and file a case and get this, even though they demand arbitration, they can choose to not pay the fees and guess what happens? Your case get closed due to non payment and they dont have to deal with it with no repercussions. This is where Im at now and get no response to any emails. Avoid these crooks at all costs. total shenanigans. Lying, misleading, violating privacy, avoiding contact. Not a great business practice unless youre the mafia

I started a gofundme for an orphanage, Charity of Joy (***). Every time I start a fundraiser, Gofundme finds a way to sabotage it. This time, they are threatening to send the funds back, if I don't set up the withdrawal in time, but the problem Is, every time I try to, they refuse my password. At the sign in, it will only show the space for the username and forgot password. No sign in option. No circling to suggest that Anything is happening or about to happen. When I click on forgot password, because that is the only option, it will sometimes move to Request Password. But then, when you click on request password reset, it does absolutely nothing, again. They sent one little password reset to my email, when I know I had the same situation several times and so I clicked on reset several times, because that was the only option given, but yet only one email from them to reset my password. That one pr email came on 01/11 and there is nothing in my junk folder from Gofundme either. And when I clicked the button in the email it says "403 Forbidden" So all this time the orphans need the money, but they won't let them have it. There is also another gofundme fundraiser in my name, that because I am having so much trouble getting into this one, I can't get into that one. I wanted to delete that one and just keep this one, but it would not allow it. So I started it in another email address. They won't let me get into the other gofundme to see what needs to be rectified or what. It's all a game! I have even gotten through a couple of times and been able to go as far as to even connect an account for withdrawal, but they find a way to say they're having trouble connecting my account, and ask me to try again later. I am getting Tired of their Crap! The so-called "contact help" button is also Useless! I have tried that as well and they'll sometimes send a no reply email or something Stupid like that. It might not be so bad, if they had the decency to have a phone #.

On August 21st of 2022, I created a GoFundMe fundraiser for the adult children to raise money for their travel, food, and housing expenses. This page has raised $1850.00 from 37 supporters. Following GoFundMe protocols, I set up Bank Transfers, choosing to send funds to another person. I entered the beneficiary's legal name and email, keeping in touch throughout the process and taking screenshots for transparency. After confirming the information, GoFundMe indicated an invite was sent to the beneficiary. I received emails confirming the invitation was accepted. However, GoFundMe did not allow the beneficiary to enter her bank details. Despite several attempts to contact GoFundMe and filling out a form to transfer the account to the beneficiary, Savanah, the issue remains unresolved. She has been in contact with a GoFundMe representative, but the account has not been transferred, and she cannot access the funds.

My name is ***. My daughter *** was tragically killed on January 2 *** by her ex-boyfriend. She was 35 years old.Go to link:https://fb.watch/akRvfCGYMy/ Who is responsiblefor stealing my daughters funeral money without my knowledge. Iasked my friend, Sweety Nagar, to start a GoFundme campaign on behalf of our family. On January7, *** our campaign was suspendedbecause there was another campaign for the same cause that already exists. Therefore,. .She was only able to raise $1,080.89.I contactedGoFundMe via email and told them to shutdown the other campaign as there shouldonly be one campaign for my daughter, ***.To date, GoFundMe never responded to my messages and/or my repeated emails.Meanwhile, I emailed GoFundme a second time and attacheda copy of my *** Driver's License and a copy of my daughter's birth certificate. I then requested to be the beneficiary of the other campaign for my daughter, ***.At last,..I finally received an email from GoFundme ticket # ***.I would like GoFundme to explain their ID verification process from start to finish including fraud prevention procedures. Gofundme shut down my daughter's fundraiser while another campaign for the same cause stole my daughters money of over$10,000. GoFundMe suspended our account therefore we couldn't raise funds to put a headstone on my daughters grave. I also filed a GoFundMe Guarantee claim and my claim was ignored. The GoFundMe Guarantee states that If funds aren't delivered to the right person, GoFundMe will donate the missing amount. I am writing this letter today to ask GoFundme for the funds raised for my daughters funeral from another campaign that is theft by deception with a fraudulent GoFundMe account. I also filed complaints with the *** Consumer Protection Unit .and Charity *** site and the Attorney General.

A fundraiser was initiated for a car accident involving my daughter Aikyea, who tragically passed away. The individual who set up the GoFundMe is refusing to allocate the funds as intended. I am Aikyea's mother and the executor of her estate. My family and I are distressed as I seek guardianship over my granddaughter, which has led to discontent among relatives. This is a form of retaliation concerning my granddaughter's welfare. The father is currently facing legal charges, prompting me to consult probate attorneys. Attempts to discuss the matter with the GoFundMe organizer have been met with rudeness and a lack of cooperation. Despite providing all necessary documentation, the issue remains unresolved. The lack of empathy and assistance from your staff during my time of mourning is deeply troubling. I have legal representation ready to communicate on behalf of my daughter's estate. Please contact me promptly. A direct contact number for your team would expedite matters. I am requesting the release of all funds under my name and urge you to rectify this situation for the sake of my family. A police report has been filed against the organizer. I appreciate your attention to this matter. Please follow the link below for more information: https://www.gofundme.com/f/love-prayers-for-kia?utm_campaign=p_cp+share-sheet&utm_medium=copy_link_all&utm_source=customer

I am homeless and living in my car, so I setup a GoFundme crowdfunding campaign so I could receive donations from friends and family through Facebook. It was working great for awhile, but then suddenly out of nowhere, Gofundme closed my account without explanation. When I ask for an explanation, they ignore me. I contacted them through chat twice and they CLOSED the chat. There is no other contact information for GoFundMe except for a few email addresses, which they completely IGNORE me. This is absurdity. I hold them responsible for such *** customer service, and more accurately negative business practices, childish and immature. I never seen a business do this. I am upset. Since they are completely ignoring me and voiding all my attempts to communicate with them, I have resulted to filing a complaint with the Complaintsboard.com, as well as Consumer Affairs, ripoff sites, reputation sites, crowdfunding forums and anywhere or anyone else I can find. They have my personal information, including my driver's license, passport, and banking information, and it is completely abusrd for them to treat me this way. I am having a lot of issue and problems because of this. They even canceled 2 donations I was suppose to receive worth $150. I am sitting here in my integrity and honesty, I will stand within this power and confront this corporate GoFundMe discrimination. I promised them what I would do, yet they could care less. Now since they are ignoring me - I will let many other people know how they discriminate WITHOUT explanation of any kind whatsoever and how they close chats and ignore emails. Maybe they are racist because I am Hispanic, I really don't know, but I can't pay for my gas money or food money without help. I am forced to Boondock at free camping sites in the *** and ***. I have been in a crises, and GoFundMe is suppose to help people like me, there is even homeless testimonies on their site, but for some UNKNOWN reason they discriminate against my case! I will scream so loud until their corporate officers hear me and reply! Understand this.

Hello, my husband and I started a Gofundme to save our family business, ***, which has been closed since March 13 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. As there is zero income coming in, we asked our friends, family and customers to help us and they pitched in over $21,000 to cover rent and other fixed expenses while we are under mandatory closure. Many Canadian small businesses are facing permanent closure, including ours, as commercial rent was due 19 days ago and landlords have the right to start eviction proceedings 16 days after non-payment. We have been chasing Gofundme the entire time for non-payment of the funds and friends and family donated. They have no phone service so you are required to sent a generic email through their site and you get a "Happiness Agent" whom have lied to us THREE TIMES NOW promising our funds have been sent. We wait until the promised date, the funds do not arrive and we are forced to start over again with the same horrible system. Each time we have been told various lies and asked to send our banking information, which we have done, four times now. The lies have ranged from "Your banking information is incorrect" to "your business name could be incorrect", "your bank refused the payment" (which is a lie, the bank says they have no record of any attempts), "the previous customer service agent wasn't authorized to clear your payment" and most recently, "all first withdrawals automatically fail" and "WePay confirmed that it might still be pending on their end due to a technical issue". What "technical issue"? As you can see, they are clearly giving us the run around. Unfortunately after reading other Complaintsboard.com complaints about GoFundMe, this appears to be business as usual for them. Their facebook and twitter are full of compaints from people they are attempting to defraud of their fundraising money. I can't think of a more despicable thing to do to people during the global pandemic. Our friends and family came together to save our family business and GoFundMe of all things may be its undoing. This money is not theirs to keep, obviously. Collection and payment of funds is obviously the primary function of GoFundMe and they are lying and keeping people's money. Please help us get the 21K our friends and family donated to our small business before we lose everything. Thank you Complaintsboard.com.

I made a donation for $200 on April 29 to the Wixom's via GoFundMe. GoFundMe extracted $225 from my account. I have been trying to get a refund since May 5th. They told me it would take 24 to 48 hours for them to consider my complaint. I have been emailing them and they have not gotten back to me. This is their first reply.
"Thank you for notifying us about this unauthorized activity on your card. Go Fund Me takes unauthorized transactions very seriously, and we will investigate as quickly as possible. Our Payment Review Team will follow up with you directly within 24-48 hours. thank you, The GoFundMe Team."
On May 9th, I replied that I was still waiting for my $25 refund. And then again on Monday, May 10, I stated that this has been going on since April 29 and that I want my refund of $25 and that it may not mean much to them, but it did to me. I authorized $200, and they took out $225.