Shadow Donation

Published by Whole Whale

Donation pages made in your name, without asking.

A Shadow Donation Page is a third-party, off-domain giving page1 that was auto-generated2 without the nonprofit’s consent3, that accepts gifts on the org’s behalf4 while routing payouts through an intermediary5. Such pages can outrank or confuse results of the official donate page in search6.

Each numbered phrase is one check. The register shows which ones the evidence establishes for each platform. What a Shadow Donation Page is, in full.

The register

15 platforms · updated from the event log
Platforms and the six checks. Each cell shows whether evidence shows the platform does this, does not, is unresolved, or has not been examined yet.
Platform 1Off-domain 2Auto-generated 3No consent 4Takes gifts 5Intermediary 6Search-indexed Evidence
Listed Platforms whose pages meet the definition. Each check says whether it rests on a dated evidence bundle or on our published research.
RoundUp.org Off-domain: Present Auto-generated: Present No consent: Present Takes gifts: Present Intermediary: Present Search-indexed: Present Bundle
22 Sep 2026
Donate.gg Off-domain: Present Auto-generated: Present No consent: Present Takes gifts: Present Intermediary: Present Search-indexed: Present Bundle
10 Jul 2026
GiveFreely Off-domain: Present, research only Auto-generated: Present, research only No consent: Present, research only Takes gifts: Unresolved Intermediary: Unresolved Search-indexed: Present, research only No bundle
yet
Network for Good Off-domain: Unresolved Auto-generated: Unresolved No consent: Unresolved Takes gifts: Unresolved Intermediary: Present, research only Search-indexed: Unresolved No bundle
yet
Pledge Off-domain: Present, research only Auto-generated: Present, research only No consent: Present, research only Takes gifts: Unresolved Intermediary: Present, research only Search-indexed: Unresolved No bundle
yet
GoFundMe Off-domain: Present Auto-generated: Present, research only No consent: Unresolved Takes gifts: Present Intermediary: Present Search-indexed: Present Bundle
18 Sep 2026
GreatNonprofits Off-domain: Present, research only Auto-generated: Present, research only No consent: Present, research only Takes gifts: Present, research only Intermediary: Present, research only Search-indexed: Present, research only No bundle
yet
PayPal Giving Fund Off-domain: Present, research only Auto-generated: Unresolved No consent: Unresolved Takes gifts: Present Intermediary: Present Search-indexed: Present, research only Bundle
18 Sep 2026
JustGiving Off-domain: Present, research only Auto-generated: Unresolved No consent: Unresolved Takes gifts: Present, research only Intermediary: Present, research only Search-indexed: Present, research only No bundle
yet
Every.org Off-domain: Present, research only Auto-generated: Present, research only No consent: Present, research only Takes gifts: Present, research only Intermediary: Present, research only Search-indexed: Unresolved No bundle
yet
Offline Platforms that have taken their pages down. They stay on the register with their record.
Giving Fountain Off-domain: Present Auto-generated: Present No consent: Present Takes gifts: Present Intermediary: Present Search-indexed: Present Bundle
17 Sep 2026
Reformed Platforms that changed how they work so their pages no longer meet the definition. The change is logged with its date.
Charity Navigator Reformed Off-domain: Present, research only Auto-generated: Present, research only No consent: Absent Takes gifts: Absent Intermediary: Present, research only Search-indexed: Present, research only No bundle
yet
Compared, not listed Platforms that list nonprofits but take gifts only with the nonprofit’s consent. They show the model works without shadow pages.
Meta / Facebook Off-domain: Present, research only Auto-generated: Absent No consent: Not yet examined Takes gifts: Present, research only Intermediary: Present, research only Search-indexed: Absent No bundle
yet
Tiltify Off-domain: Not yet examined Auto-generated: Absent No consent: Absent Takes gifts: Present, research only Intermediary: Absent Search-indexed: Not yet examined No bundle
yet
America’s Charities Off-domain: Present, research only Auto-generated: Absent No consent: Absent Takes gifts: Absent Intermediary: Present, research only Search-indexed: Present, research only No bundle
yet
  • Present Present, dated evidence
  • Present, research only Present, research only
  • Absent Absent
  • Unresolved Unresolved
  • Not yet examined Not yet examined
  • Reformed

Search the platform for your name, then claim it or have it removed.

Most of these platforms built a page for every organization in the IRS exempt-organization file, so a registered nonprofit is likely to have one on each platform marked present for check 2.

  • Search each platform for your legal name and EIN. Open a platform in the register to see what we found and where its pages live.
  • Decide whether to claim or remove. Claiming usually gets you payouts and donor data; removal takes your name off the platform. Each platform page carries the removal route where we have verified it.
  • Check where the money went. Where check 5 is present, gifts made in your name sit with an intermediary fund until claimed, and the fund may regrant them elsewhere.

Latest in the log

Every capture, finding, regulatory action and platform change, dated and sourced.

Full event log
  1. Correction Meta / Facebook

    Moved to Compared, not listed

    Meta’s fundraisers are started by users, not generated by Meta for every nonprofit, so check 2 is absent. The register now shows Meta as a comparison rather than a listed platform.

    Source: Shadow Donation Directory, nonprofitnewsfeed.com (page 4950)
  2. Capture Giving Fountain

    Takedown captured

    Whole Whale captured the offline homepage; the directory, listing pages and facets API returned 410 Gone.

    Source: Takedown captures
  3. Finding Giving Fountain

    Registry recheck with dashed FEIN

    The California registry search was re-run with the dashed FEIN 41-3218258 and both name spellings; it still returned no record.

    Source: Registry recheck captures
  4. Published Giving Fountain

    Page 4950 marks it offline

    The NNF directory entry was marked offline since 2026-09-21 and its CA FEIN citation was corrected to the dashed form.

    Source: NNF Shadow Donation Directory
  5. Capture RoundUp.org

    Evidence bundle captured

    Whole Whale captured listings, Terms, the for-nonprofits page, 78 sitemaps and screenshots by anonymous public GET, plus a separate SEO and geo-directory bundle.

    Source: RoundUp evidence bundles

The six checks

A platform is listed when the evidence shows its pages meet the definition. Telling donors that the nonprofit has not claimed the page is a mitigation, not an exemption.

Method and evidence standard
  1. 1

    Is the page hosted by someone other than the nonprofit?

    The page lives on the platform’s domain, not the nonprofit’s.

  2. 2

    Did the platform create the page itself?

    The platform built the page, typically from the IRS exempt-organization file, before anyone at the nonprofit touched it.

  3. 3

    Did the nonprofit never opt in?

    The page went live without the nonprofit authorizing it. A notice saying the nonprofit has not claimed the page does not change this: disclosure is a mitigation, not an exemption.

  4. 4

    Does the page take donations in the nonprofit’s name?

    A visitor can complete a donation on the page, addressed to the nonprofit.

  5. 5

    Does the money pass through a fund the nonprofit does not control?

    Gifts are received by an intermediary fund, sponsor, or donor-advised fund that can hold the money, and reassign it if the nonprofit never claims it.

  6. 6

    Are the pages exposed to search engines?

    The platform publishes its nonprofit pages to search engines, through a public sitemap and no noindex, so a donor searching for the nonprofit can land on the platform instead of the nonprofit’s own donate page.