The Anatomy of an Apology: GoFundMe

Last week, GoFundMe made headlines when news broke that it had been automatically creating donation pages for nonprofit organizations without their knowledge or consent.

From Bloomerang:

These “auto-generated” pages were designed to help donors discover and give to nonprofits through the GoFundMe platform. However, many organizations were unaware these pages existed, had not authorized them, and did not have clear information about how funds would be processed or disbursed.

In addition to automatically creating these pages, GoFundMe added an optional “tip” to each donation form, suggesting that donors contribute an additional 14–16.5% to support the platform. This tip is in addition to a 2.2% transaction fee plus $0.30 per donation for nonprofits using GoFundMe Pro. For individual fundraisers, that processing fee increases to 2.9% plus $0.30 per donation.

You can imagine the loss of trust the move created…and, frankly, the headache the move created for many nonprofit organizations who have carefully developed strategies, timelines, and communications plans for fundraising. Maybe the move was well-intended, but it also came off as a cash grab for GoFundMe in the name of philanthropy (especially the “tip” component). Yikes.

Eventually, the organization realized an apology was necessary and rolled one out.

Let’s break it down, shall we?

“At GoFundMe, our mission has always been to help people help each other. This mission extends to every nonprofit: we strive to connect nonprofits with new donors, empower supporters to give and fundraise, and enable communities to rally behind the causes they care about.”

They open by re-centering their mission and providing context for why they did what they did. It’s an attempt to remind stakeholders of their values before addressing the mistake.

“However, we understand clearly that our recent efforts with Nonprofit Pages have caused confusion, concern, and distraction from the vital missions of the very nonprofits we aim to support. We are very sorry for this and take responsibility for missing the mark. Trust is foundational to our work with nonprofits, and we are fully committed to rebuilding it through better communication, collaboration, and partnership. “

Here's the heart of the apology…and where a lot of organizations fumble. GoFundMe takes clear responsibility for the move and directly apologizes. They acknowledge the impact of the move: a loss of trust.

Many organizations use this paragraph as a place to blame or dodge accountability. Some get almost there but then forget to actually apologize.

Good on GoFundMe. Let’s keep going.

“Rebuilding trust starts with action. After speaking with many nonprofit leaders and advocates, and listening carefully to members of our community, we are taking swift action:”

They’ve already acknowledged the breach of trust and need to rebuild it. Now they’re telling us how they’ll do it.

“Nonprofit Pages are now opt-in only: Moving forward, only nonprofits that opt-in to their Nonprofit Page and complete the verification process will have a public Nonprofit Page that is searchable on GoFundMe - making these Nonprofit Pages a completely opt-in experience. Nonprofit Pages for organizations that have not been claimed and verified will be removed. SEO will also be turned off by default. Nonprofits that opt-in to their Nonprofit Pages will gain enhanced visibility, control, and access to certain supporter data for fundraising and compliance purposes. Nonprofits can verify their pages and learn more here: https://gfme.co/47o885i

Unclaimed Nonprofit Pages will be de-indexed: We will remove and de-index the Nonprofit Pages that are not claimed so they no longer appear in search engine results. Once a nonprofit opts in, they can choose to index their Nonprofit Page, turn SEO on, and edit their Nonprofit Page.

Nonprofit directory listings will continue: As we have done for many years, we will maintain basic nonprofit directory listings so nonprofits are discoverable and organizers can create fundraisers to support nonprofits.”

This paves a clear path forward. While some of the language is technical, it’s written for the nonprofit professionals managing these accounts, and it demonstrates a structured response.

“We are committed to creating stronger feedback loops with nonprofit representatives to ensure future product releases are shaped in deeper partnership with nonprofits. Our goal remains to support the nonprofit sector - making giving easy for donors, empowering nonprofits with tools to thrive, and doing so in a way that reflects our shared values of trust and transparency. Thank you for your feedback and ongoing commitment to making the world a better place.”

The closing restates GoFundMe’s mission and values, acknowledges stakeholder feedback, and emphasizes long-term change. It doesn’t ask for forgiveness; it assumes continued partnership, which projects quiet confidence.

Overall, it’s a solid corporate statement. Molly McPherson, a content creator who shares PR insights, has a simplified crisis statement model that we’ll draw on to share why this statement works. Her model is to:

• Own it.

• Explain it.

• Share how you’ll do better.

Ultimately, stakeholders don’t expect perfection. They expect accountability, transparency, and a plan forward. GoFundMe’s response doesn’t erase the misstep, but it sets the foundation for rebuilding trust, and that’s the most important step after any organizational mistake. Will GoFundMe recover trust or make more troubling decisions? Nonprofits and The EO Report are watching.

H/T to PI Jasmine Jones for the story find.