Alaska Nonprofit Fundraising Lawsuit

By Amanda L. Cole

Alaska has filed six lawsuits against major nonprofit online fundraising platforms, alleging the companies created donation pages for nonprofits without permission and solicited donations in their names.

The Alaska Department of Law filed the lawsuits on March 10 against Charity Navigator, GoFundMe, JG US (dba Just Giving and owned by Blackbaud), Network for Good (dba For Good), PayPal Charitable Giving Fund (dba PayPal Giving Fund), and Pledgeling Technologies (dba Pledge). PayPal Giving Fund is also the official donor-advised fund behind GoFundMe’s nonprofit pages.

State officials argue the companies violated Alaska’s charitable solicitation and consumer protection laws. The legal action marks one of the first state enforcement efforts to directly challenge the growing practice among digital giving platforms of creating third-party fundraising pages for nonprofits.

“GoFundMe and similar platforms used nonprofits’ good names to solicit donations without coordinating with the organizations actually doing the charitable work,” Alaska Attorney General Stephen J. Cox said in a statement. “That means some Alaskans may have donated thinking they were supporting a specific charity, when the charity never authorized the page and may never have received the donation — or may have received less than donors intended because of fees.

“Alaska law is clear: If you’re going to raise money in a charity’s name, you must first get the charity’s consent,” he continued. “These lawsuits are about protecting donors, protecting nonprofits, and preserving the public trust that makes charitable giving possible.”

Alaska Investigation Targets Online Fundraising Practices

According to the complaints, the platforms created donation pages using publicly available nonprofit data — often drawn from IRS filings — and then solicited donations through those pages without coordinating with the organizations involved.

In many cases, the pages appeared to donors as legitimate fundraising campaigns for the nonprofit even though the organizations had not authorized the activity, according to the lawsuits. Oftentimes, organizations had no relationship with the platforms and were unaware the pages existed.

Authorities estimate the number of affected Alaskan nonprofits on each platform could be up to 5,763 on Charity Navigator, up to 7,225 on For Good, more than 5,000 on GoFundMe, up to 1,000 on Just Giving, up to 4,610 on PayPal Charitable Giving Fund, and up to 4,961 on Pledge.

The lawsuits arrive amid increasing scrutiny of third-party nonprofit fundraising models. Shortly after GoFundMe’s removal of unauthorized donation pages, the Tennessee Nonprofit Network worked with Charity Navigator to remove unauthorized fundraising pages tied to organizations in the state. Then earlier this month, a coalition of 22 state charity regulators questioned GoFundMe about its creation of approximately 1.4 million donation pages for nonprofits without their involvement.

Alaska was not part of that multistate inquiry, instead pursuing its own investigation and litigation against multiple platforms.

The Consumer Protection Unit within the Alaska Attorney General’s Office opened an investigation on Jan. 22, limiting the scope to platforms with a searchable nonprofit database that hosted and accepted donations on behalf of The Foraker Group, a statewide nonprofit association. Investigators used the nonprofit as a test case after Laurie Wolf, its president and CEO, told investigators the organization had not authorized any online fundraising platforms to solicit on its behalf. According to the complaints, a state investigator then made small donations under an alias through several of the platforms to observe how funds were processed and distributed.

“GoFundMe's unauthorized donation page and those like it on other platforms negatively impact the nonprofit sector,” Wolf said in a statement. “Philanthropy relies on the ability to honor donor intent and donor trust. This all requires nonprofit consent, transparency, and accountability, none of which is offered in these transactions.”

Charity Navigator told NonProfit PRO that the company has not yet received the lawsuit as of March 17.

“Charity Navigator’s mission since its founding 25 years ago as a charity ratings evaluator has been to make impactful giving easier for all, empowering everyday donors to support the sector with confidence,” Michael Thatcher, president and CEO of Charity Navigator, told NonProfit PRO. “We have not officially received a legal complaint, but if and when that occurs, our priority will be to respond with respect for the regulatory process, upholding our deep-rooted commitment to compliance, trust, and transparency.”

A GoFundMe spokesperson provided a statement in response to the Alaska lawsuit that largely mirrors the company’s previous statement about its nonprofit pages program during the inquiry from more than 20 state attorneys general. The company has also separately published a response to that multistate inquiry.

For Good, Just Giving, PayPal, and Pledgeling Technologies did not respond to requests for comment by press time.

Alaska Nonprofit Fundraising Lawsuits Test Platform Consent Rules

The state claims the nonprofit tech platforms could face thousands of violations of the Alaska Charitable Solicitations Act, a law enacted in 1993 that regulates how third parties raise funds for charitable purposes, according to the lawsuit.

Additionally, the lawsuit alleges GoFundMe and Just Giving, as paid solicitors, must have written contracts and file financial reports with the state in order to solicit on behalf of charitable organizations.

The state is also pursuing claims under the Alaska Unfair Trade Practices and Consumer Protection Act, arguing the donation pages could mislead donors into believing the nonprofits had authorized the fundraising activity.

The state seeks civil penalties ranging from $1,000 to $25,000 per violation, as well as court orders requiring the companies to stop creating unauthorized fundraising pages and ensure donations reach the nonprofits involved.

For GoFundMe and Just Giving, the state wants to determine if any tips collected through the platforms should be distributed to the nonprofits or returned to donors if they caused confusion.

What the Lawsuits Could Mean for Nonprofit Fundraising

Although the lawsuits were filed in Alaska, the legal questions they raise could have broader implications for nonprofit fundraising platforms across the United States. Similar to AB 488, which set regulatory expectations for online charitable fundraising in California, platforms often adopt the most stringent state requirements across their systems to maintain compliance at scale.

If the state succeeds, the cases could establish clearer expectations for how platforms obtain nonprofit consent before creating donation pages or fundraising campaigns. They may also influence how companies disclose fees and structure online giving tools.

For nonprofits, the outcome could determine how much control organizations maintain over fundraising conducted in their names.