Each year, millions of Americans donate to and volunteer with the charitable nonprofits making a difference in their communities. Many turn to online fundraising platforms to give—but too often, these platforms operate in unethical and unlawful ways.
In the U.S., hundreds of online fundraising platforms collect donations for nonprofits without their knowledge or consent, generating millions in fees and tips in the process. Some use incorrect or outdated information that misrepresents a nonprofit’s brand and mission. Others charge hidden fees or set excessive platform “tips” as the default. Too often, these platforms insert themselves between charities and their donors—making it harder to build the long-term relationships upon which nonprofits depend.
Principles for Ethical Online Fundraising Platforms
To help protect charitable nonprofits and the generous donors who support them, the National Council of Nonprofits and its network of state and regional associations of nonprofits (which includes TNN) have published four principles for ethical online fundraising platforms:
- Nonprofit Consent: Nonprofits must have the power and agency to decide for themselves how and when to engage with online fundraising platforms before they solicit or collect donations.
- Transparency: Donors must have the power and information they need to decide whether to make a donation through an online fundraising platform.
- Partnership: Online fundraising platforms must recognize nonprofits as valued, equal partners.
- Accountability: Online fundraising platforms must be accountable to nonprofits, donors, the public, and the appropriate regulators.
For more information, read the full set of principles here.
These principles have been endorsed by 52 state or regional associations of nonprofits from across the nation, with a combined membership of nearly 40,000 nonprofit organizations.
The principles have also been endorsed by Every.org – an online fundraising platform that is a leader in their industry, proving that helping nonprofits raise donations does not have to come at the expense of nonprofits or donors.
Take Action! Endorse Today!
We urge nonprofits to tell online fundraising platforms to operate with nonprofit consent, transparency, partnership and accountability! Make your voices heard!
You can take action today by:
- Endorsing the principles for ethical online fundraising platforms.
- Sharing the principles with other nonprofits in your community and on social media.
- Demanding that online fundraising platforms operate ethically and lawfully.
Consent is Essential
Consent is at the core of NCN’s principles for ethical online fundraising platforms. Nonprofits cannot advance their missions without public trust – trust built day-by-day through community presence and accountability. Unethical platforms risk compromising these vital relationships when they use inaccurate information or give donors a bad experience.
Nonprofits are not alone in demanding the right to consent:
- Restaurants: The National Restaurant Association reached an agreement with meal delivery platforms requiring consent before listing. Several states have enacted legislation protecting restaurants.
- Hotels: Hotels settled with Expedia in 2021 to ensure only consenting properties are listed; major booking platforms now require explicit agreements with hotels before listing them.
Nonprofits deserve the same protections.
Key Issues
Too often, online fundraising platforms operate in unethical and unlawful ways, raising significant concerns for nonprofits, including:
- Lack of Knowledge and Consent – Nonprofits often are unaware that fundraising platforms are soliciting on their behalf, risking brand damage, donor confusion, and loss of public trust.
- Confusion for Donors – Platforms may display incorrect information, outdated logos, and other inaccuracies–and often fail to share donor data with the nonprofits they claim to serve.
- Lack of Transparent and Reasonable Fees – Processing fees and platform “tips” reduce what actually reaches nonprofits, and donors frequently don’t know how much of their gift arrives at the intended organization.
- Late or Withheld Funds – Donations can take weeks or months to reach nonprofits, or never arrive. In November 2025, a class action was filed against Flipcause, and California’s Attorney General issued a cease-and-desist after the company allegedly withheld over $1 million in donated funds.
- Search Engine Optimization – Some platforms use search engine optimization (SEO) to improve visibility when individuals search for information about nonprofits online. This could result in donation pages from online fundraising platforms ranking higher than the nonprofit’s own website, pulling away potential donors and supporters.
- Implementation Challenges – Without adequate safeguards in place, nonprofits report serious issues with some online fundraising platforms, ranging from unauthorized individuals claiming donations and the inability to remove pages without first agreeing to the platform’s terms and conditions or sharing sensitive banking information.
- Erosion of Trust and Spread of Misinformation – Combined with ongoing scrutiny and attacks on 501(c)(3) organizations, unethical platform practices compound existing credibility challenges. When digital platforms solicit donations or display information without a nonprofit’s knowledge or consent, they allow misinformation to spread further, deepening skepticism and undermining public confidence in the sector as a whole.