How charity campaigns work
GoFundMe has partnered with PayPal Giving Fund to deliver donations for charity campaigns. This campaign type enables individuals to raise funds to benefit a qualifying US or UK charity of their choice. Donations are processed via PayPal and GoFundMe then sent to PayPal Giving Fund, a non-profit organization which collects the donations and distributes them to the designated charity.
When donors make a payment to a charity campaign, they'll automatically receive a donation tax receipt by email from PayPal Giving Fund.
Learn more about certified charity campaign fees here.
Note: If you are raising money for a charity and wish them to use it for a specific purpose or event, we recommend that you get in touch with the charity before raising funds on GoFundMe to ask if they are able to use the funds for that purpose.
How to withdraw from a charity campaign
US
If you clicked “Charity or non-profit” on the first campaign creation page and filled out the organization’s name and EIN, then you've set yourself up with a charity campaign.
In order for the charity to receive these funds via PayPal, a financial administrator belonging to the charity should enroll with PayPal Giving Fund using these steps:
- Log in to the organization's PayPal Business account. If the organization doesn’t already have a business account established, they can set that up here.
- Visit this link and follow the prompts to confirm the charity status. After submission, PayPal will review the documents and reply by email within three business days.
- Once the charity status is confirmed, finish the enrollment process by following the instructions in this short form.
Once this process is complete, PayPal Giving Fund will process the charity's enrollment within 24 hours.
UK
If you clicked “Charity or non-profit” on the first campaign creation page and filled out the organization’ name and EIN, then you've set yourself up with a charity campaign.
In order for the charity to receive these funds via PayPal, a financial administrator belonging to the charity should enroll with PayPal Giving Fund using these steps:
- Create a PayPal account or make sure that your existing PayPal account is upgraded to a business account here.
- Confirm your charity's status. After you submit, PayPal will review your documents and reply by email within three business days. You can move to step 3 after you receive PayPal's confirmation email.
- Enroll in PayPal Giving Fund using the link in your confirmation email.
Withdrawal Timelines
After the deduction of applicable GoFundMe platform and payment processing fees, PayPal Giving Fund grants the funds to the charity's PayPal account on a monthly basis. Payouts are sent around the 25th of each month for all the donations that were made to the campaign before the 16th of that month.
After the funds are in the charity's PayPal account, the charity can withdraw the money from PayPal, which typically takes 2-5 business days.
If the charity has not yet enrolled, PayPal Giving Fund will make reasonable attempts to contact them and invite them to enroll. If a charity does not enroll with PayPal Giving Fund, PayPal Giving Fund will attempt to deliver the grant funds by other appropriate means, including via check.
PayPal Contact Information
US
You can contact PayPal Giving Fund directly here. Please be sure to note the email address that's connected to your PayPal account, if you have one set up already.
UK
You can find lots of information on PayPal Giving Fund here, including the steps above, an FAQ section, and a helpful video.
If you have difficulty with anything, or simply wish to speak to someone at PayPal Giving Fund about the process, you can contact them here or at this number, Monday to Friday 9 AM - 5:30 PM: 800-587-0461.