A McHenry woman has filed a lawsuit against the popular online fundraising site GoFundMe, claiming that the checkout system automatically adds tips without donors’ consent that go straight to the multimillion-dollar company.
The complaint, filed earlier this month in federal court, asserts that the California-based company is “furtively charging excessive and undisclosed fees on charitable donations” through a default tip function that prompts donors to pay an additional fee that goes directly to GoFundMe.
A plaintiff from McHenry and another from Georgia brought the lawsuit, which they are requesting to be a class action. The lawsuit claims GoFundMe violated Illinois’ Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act and Georgia’s Fair Business Practices Act.
Attorney Amanda Rosenberg, who represents the plaintiffs, says in the complaint that a “tip” section that comes up during the donation checkout process is “deceptive” and does not obtain donors’ explicit approval. Before customers finalize their purchase, a “tip” is automatically added without clear instructions on how to remove it or exactly where those tip dollars go.
“In other words, having automatically opted consumers into the supposedly optional tip, GoFundMe proceeds to obscure the fact that the tip is optional – nowhere providing on the checkout screen a disclosure that the tip is optional or an indication that it can be removed,” Rosenberg said in the complaint.
Plaintiff Sandra Donovan from McHenry donated $50 through the fundraising platform and an $8.25 “tip” was “automatically and surreptitiously added to her cart without her affirmative consent,” according to the suit.
The other plaintiff, Ebony Baker from Snellville, Georgia, had a similar experience when a $1 tip was automatically added to a $10 donation.
“Donors act quickly, often emotionally, and with the reasonable expectation that their money will go where they intend – toward helping others, not toward undisclosed or preselected middleman fees like the ‘tips’ charged by GoFundMe,” according to the lawsuit.
Near where the tip field appears, a description says GoFundMe “relies primarily” on tips to operate its service. But the company also charges charitable organizations and those seeking donations with transaction fees on each donation. According to the complaint, GoFundMe generated $55 million in revenue in 2024 – a 90% increase compared to the previous year.
Neither Donovan nor the attorney who filed the suit could be reached for comment.
According to the GoFundMe terms of service stated online, anyone using its platform agrees to use arbitration rather than go to court over any disagreements or legal issues with the company. Agreeing to the terms, updated on June 23, also waives users’ right to be a part of a class-action lawsuit or to have a jury trial.
GoFundMe representatives did not respond to requests for comment.
GoFundMe also found itself in legal hot water earlier this year. In March, Illinois Attorney General Kwame Raoul, along with 21 attorneys general and charitable regulators, sent a letter to GoFundMe after reports claimed that the company plagiarized donation web pages for charities nationwide without those charities’ prior knowledge or consent.
According to an Illinois Attorney General news release, GoFundMe plagiarized donation web pages for more than 1.4 million charities without their consent or knowledge. The donation pages contained inaccurate information about charities, and GoFundMe’s solicitations “contained deceptive and misleading information,” according to the release.
The attorneys general demanded that GoFundMe remove all unauthorized pages and disclose where donors’ money went.
The site has been particularly popular, both locally and nationally, for those needing to raise money for medical or funeral expenses.