Online Giving Platforms: How Donors Really See Your Nonprofit

By Amanda L. Cole

The debate over nonprofit consent, donor confusion, and other issues revolving around the creation of unauthorized nonprofit donation pages has been loud over the past year, following GoFundMe’s controversial nonprofit pages launch that ultimately became opt-in following very loud criticisms from across the sector.

Earlier this year, a bipartisan coalition of 22 state attorneys general sent a letter to GoFundMe raising concerns about its efforts, which GoFundMe has since responded to. Shortly after, Alaska's attorney general filed a lawsuit against GoFundMe, as well as PayPal Giving Fund, Charity Navigator, and several other platforms over similar efforts.

But the issue was not new. PayPal Giving Fund settled a 2017 lawsuit in 2020 that forced it to eliminate donor confusion by detailing that donations are made to PayPal Giving Fund, the timeframe in which the charity may receive funds and the implication of being an enrolled charity on the platform.

Though authorities and the sector cite donor confusion across these instances, it has been speculative. Now, a new report, “Donor Trust Special Report: Online Giving Platforms and Donor Expectations,” provides that donor perspective. Based on a May 2026 survey of more than 1,500 U.S. adults, the report supports what regulators and critics have argued — donors don't know online giving platforms can list charities without permission, and they're making real trust decisions based on that false assumption.

Note: The survey defines giving platform users as donors who gave through social media, online giving platforms, crowdfunding sites, or donor-advised funds. Vendor-managed donation pages that donors perceive as a nonprofit's own site likely fall outside that definition.

For nonprofits, the implications go beyond legal exposure. This is a reputation problem.

“Online giving platforms are increasingly shaping how people, and especially younger generations, discover and support charities,” Bennett Weiner, president and CEO of Better Business Bureau’s Give.org, said in a statement. “Our findings suggest that many interpret a charity’s presence on a well-known platform as a signal of trust, charity consent, and platform oversight. Donors value convenience and discovery, but they also expect transparency, secure handling of donations, accurate information, and meaningful charity involvement in how organizations are represented online.”

Donors Assume Your Nonprofit Consented to External Donation Pages

More than half of those surveyed believe that giving platforms should obtain consent before creating a nonprofit profile, but the report also revealed how accurate donor confusion claims are. Only 41% of respondents were aware that platforms can create pages without a charity's permission, and a similar share assume the charity itself creates and manages its own donation page. Only one in five respondents assumes the platform creates and manages charity pages.

That misreading carries real weight. Nearly half of all respondents and 62% of active giving platform users — defined in the survey as donors who gave through social media, online giving platforms, crowdfunding sites, or donor-advised funds — say a charity's presence on a well-known donation platform increases their trust in that organization. After all, that platform may have more brand awareness than your organization. However, that number drops to less than a third among boomers and matures.

That means donation pages you’re not monitoring could be shaping your donors view of your organization, so it’s vital to continuously audit your presence. Many of the platforms being investigated have removed the criticized pages completely while others have opted to have nonprofits opt in before posting them, but new platforms could pop up in the future, so know which pages exist, what information they share and how any donation functionality works. For those opt-in platform donation pages, do your research before deciding to do so. If you find an unauthorized page, contact your state’s attorney general office for next steps.

There’s an Expectation Gap Surrounding Fees and Disbursement

The consent problem is compounded by what donors expect to happen once they give. On fees, donor tolerance is low, with 46% of platform users saying total fees of 5% or less are acceptable. Only 13% would tolerate fees above 15%. In practice, all-in costs — platform, payment processing, and “tip” fees — can push past that threshold. Even if you can’t change it, it’s important to know what donors actually see in total fees when giving through each platform in your name.

On fund delivery, 62% of platform users expect donations to reach the charity within three days of giving, with another 25% accepting up to one week. Platform disbursement timelines, particularly for smaller organizations without direct platform relationships, frequently don't meet that expectation. For example, PayPal Giving Fund, which distributes funds for many of these platforms, currently distributes donations within 15 to 45 days.

About half of respondents say uncertainty about how much of their donation will reach the charity (50%) and whether a donation page is authorized by the charity (46%) would reduce their willingness to give through it.

Younger Donors Favor the Platforms at the Center of the Debate

The governance concerns around giving platforms are real — but so is the reach those platforms provide, particularly for the donor segments nonprofits most need to cultivate.

Generation Z and millennials discover charities through social media at rates of at or nearly 60%, compared to 18% of baby boomers. They use online giving platforms and websites to find new organizations at nearly double the rate of baby boomers. And while 63% of baby boomers prefer platforms that only list charities that have explicitly agreed to be included, only 46% of Gen Z share that preference — younger donors are more comfortable with discovery-first models where charities appear broadly and claim their presence later. In fact, more than a third of millennials and Gen Z prefer platforms including as many nonprofits as possible to make finding charities easier.

The relationship expectation doesn't stop at the donation, either. Among Gen Z and millennials, 43% to 46% prefer receiving updates and communications from charities after giving through a platform — they want a relationship, not just a transaction. That expectation is difficult to meet if the nonprofit never received the donor's contact information in the first place. For many platform-mediated gifts, they don't due to data privacy provisions. If you're counting on platform-mediated gifts to build relationships with younger donors who want ongoing connection, understand what contact and giving data you'll actually receive before assuming that pipeline exists.

The new data doesn't resolve the platform debate, but it clarifies what's actually at stake for nonprofits. The legal fight centers on consent and donor confusion — and this survey makes clear that confusion is real, widespread, and consequential. Donors are extending trust to your name on pages you may not control, with fee and disbursement expectations you may not be able to meet — and they're drawing conclusions about your organization in the process. That's not a legal problem. It's a reputation issue that doesn't wait for a court ruling.