Nationwide Investigation on PayPal Charitable Giving Ends

Nebraska Attorney General Doug Peterson, together with 23 state law enforcement partners, reached an agreement with PayPal Charitable Giving Fund, Inc. (PPGF) making it so donors receive information and disclosures when making charitable payments through the company’s online fundraising system.

“I appreciate PayPal taking corrective action to better explain how donations are treated on its platform. However, if consumers want to make sure that their donations are received by a specific charity, I encourage consumers to send those contributions directly to the charity,” Attorney General Peterson said.

Charities regulators nationwide joined the effort to investigate PPGF’s fundraising activities, including its disclosures, vetting practices, and treatment of charitable contributions. To address the states’ concerns, PPGF agreed to adopt reforms to its disclosures to ensure that donors know:

that they are contributing to PPGF
the timeframe in which a selected charity may receive funds from PPGF
the implication of being an enrolled rather than an unenrolled charity on the PPGF platform.

PPGF also agreed to notify donors when it redirects a donor’s charitable contribution to an organization other than the one selected by the donor.