A first of its kind consent requirement for online fundraising platforms is now live. As of July 1, 2026, Hawaii's Act 205 requires charitable fundraising platforms to get written permission from a nonprofit before enabling donations to that organization, a change that GoFundMe warned could affect roughly 8,500 Hawaii based nonprofits on its platform alone. Hawaii nonprofits that did not submit a signed consent form by the deadline have been deactivated on GoFundMe, meaning supporters can no longer find them, start fundraisers for them, or donate to them there until the paperwork is filed. And while the law only covers Hawaii, it is the clearest signal yet of where online fundraising rules are heading nationwide, which makes it worth understanding no matter where your school, club, team, or charity operates.
What the law actually requires
Act 205 was covered by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser in mid June as it moved toward its July 1 effective date. Under the law, platforms must obtain written consent signed by an authorized representative of a nonprofit, such as an officer, director, or trustee, before enabling donations to that organization. Platforms also have to verify that a nonprofit is in good standing under Hawaii law before allowing fundraising on its behalf. The charitable law firm Perlman and Perlman has a detailed breakdown of the amended platform law for readers who want the legal fine print.
GoFundMe published its own guide to Act 205 explaining that Hawaii nonprofits needed to complete and sign a consent form before July 1 to remain active. Organizations that missed the deadline are deactivated, though the company says the change is reversible: submit the form and the organization comes back. In a help center article, GoFundMe walks nonprofits through the single step process. According to Aloha State Daily's reporting, nearly half of the affected Hawaii nonprofits had submitted consent before the deadline, and GoFundMe vice president Amanda Brown Lierman said the company's goal was "uninterrupted fundraising across the board."
Why this is happening now
The consent push traces directly back to one of the biggest platform controversies in recent memory. In October 2025, GoFundMe created donation pages for roughly 1.4 million charities without their permission, and the company later apologized and promised changes after nonprofits complained about misused names, inaccurate descriptions, and default tip settings. The fallout kept growing. In March 2026, New York Attorney General Letitia James and a coalition of 20 states demanded proof that all 1.4 million unauthorized pages were removed and that prior written consent is now required for new pages. As Attorney General James put it, "When Americans open their wallets to support a charity, they deserve to know exactly where their money is going."
The sector responded with its own standards. On June 24, 2026, the National Council of Nonprofits released national principles for ethical online fundraising platforms, endorsed by 52 state and regional nonprofit associations. The principles center on four ideas: consent, transparency, partnership, and accountability. As The NonProfit Times reported, the recommendations include written consent before soliciting funds or using a nonprofit's branding, prominent fee disclosure at the point of donation, donation transfers within 30 days, and notice to nonprofits within 7 days when new campaigns launch in their name.
Donors want the same things. A May 2026 survey of more than 1,500 U.S. adults by BBB's Give.org, covered by The NonProfit Times, found that 60 percent of platform users want platforms to obtain a charity's permission before creating a profile, and 55 percent prefer platforms that list only charities that explicitly agreed to participate.
Hawaii is not acting alone, either. California already regulates charitable fundraising platforms under its own registration and consent framework, and The NonProfit Times reports that more states are eyeing similar regulation. The direction of travel is clear: platforms will increasingly need a nonprofit's explicit yes before raising money in its name.
What this means for your fundraiser
If you run a Hawaii nonprofit, this is urgent. Check today whether your organization is still active on the platforms you use. If you have been deactivated on GoFundMe, have an officer, director, or trustee complete the consent form through GoFundMe's Act 205 process and confirm your organization is in good standing with the state. If supporters have live fundraisers running for you, do not wait: every day deactivated is a day donors cannot give.
If you are anywhere else, treat this as a preview. Audit where your organization appears online. Search the major giving platforms for your school, PTA, booster club, team, or charity and see what pages exist, whether you created them or not. Claim or remove pages you did not authorize, confirm bank details and descriptions on the ones you did, and keep a simple record of which platforms you have formally consented to. If your state adopts a Hawaii style law, that record becomes your fast path to staying live.
There is also a bigger lesson for volunteer led groups: the fewer intermediaries between your supporters and your group, the fewer things can break. This is one reason direct, group linked fundraising models are getting attention. Donacelet, for example, ties each fundraiser to a specific group so the money goes to that group, with no upfront costs, a 5 minute setup, and a wristband, keychain, or virtual support code where 65 to 75 percent of the margin on referred sales goes directly to the fundraiser. Whatever tools you use, the principle from Act 205 applies everywhere: your group, not a platform, should control when and how money is raised in your name.
Finally, communicate with your donors. The Give.org data shows donors care about consent and fee transparency. Telling supporters plainly which channels are official builds trust and protects them from giving through pages you never approved.
FAQ
What is Hawaii Act 205?
It is a Hawaii law, effective July 1, 2026, that requires charitable fundraising platforms to obtain written consent from an authorized representative of a nonprofit before enabling donations to that organization, and to verify the nonprofit is in good standing under Hawaii law.
Does Act 205 apply to nonprofits outside Hawaii?
No. It covers fundraising for Hawaii based organizations. But California already has its own platform rules, other states are considering similar laws, and national principles endorsed by 52 nonprofit associations push the same consent standard, so groups everywhere should expect this model to spread.
My Hawaii nonprofit was deactivated on GoFundMe. Is that permanent?
No. GoFundMe says deactivation is reversible. An authorized representative such as an officer, director, or trustee completes and signs the consent form, and the organization is restored on the platform.
Why did platforms start requiring consent forms at all?
The immediate driver is Hawaii's law, but the broader push follows GoFundMe's creation of about 1.4 million nonprofit donation pages without permission in October 2025, which drew an apology from the company, demands from a 20 state coalition of attorneys general, and new sector wide ethics principles.
Do school groups, PTAs, and booster clubs need to worry about this?
Yes, in the sense that any group raising money online should know which pages exist in its name and which platforms it has authorized. Smaller volunteer run groups are the least likely to notice an unauthorized page, which makes a periodic search of major platforms a smart habit.
Where can I learn more about running a compliant, low overhead fundraiser?
Start with your state's charitable solicitation rules, review the National Council of Nonprofits principles linked above, and see the Donacelet FAQ for how a direct, group linked product fundraiser works in practice.
