Acceptable Use Policy

OpenFundraise supports lawful fundraising by legitimate nonprofit, charitable, religious, educational, and community organizations.

You must be authorized to represent your organization and provide accurate information about its identity, registration, beneficiaries, and fundraising activities. You are responsible for maintaining any registrations or permissions required to solicit donations.

Activities processed through Stripe must comply with Stripe's current Prohibited and Restricted Businesses list, including applicable country and product restrictions. Activities processed through other providers must comply with those providers' rules.

You may not use OpenFundraise to evade payment provider restrictions, conceal a beneficiary, misrepresent your activities, or process transactions for an undisclosed organization.

An activity being lawful does not mean that OpenFundraise or a payment provider supports it.

You may not use OpenFundraise for the activities listed below. These examples are not exhaustive. Prohibited activities cannot be permitted through an exception under this policy.

• Operate fraudulent campaigns, impersonate an organization, fabricate beneficiaries, or misrepresent how donations will be used.
• Fund or facilitate illegal activities, money laundering, terrorist financing, or sanctions evasion.
• Promote unlawful violence, exploitation, threats, or targeted harassment.
• Fund or facilitate prohibited goods or services, including illegal drugs, illegal weapons, sexual services, or infringing goods.
• Conduct card testing, use stolen payment credentials, submit unauthorized charges, or disguise payments as donations.
• Facilitate personal money transfers, investment schemes, or financial services outside an expressly approved platform use.
• Conduct any activity prohibited by the payment provider handling the transaction.

Activities classified as restricted by a payment provider require any necessary provider approval before transactions begin. OpenFundraise may also require additional documentation or written authorization.

Examples may include charity raffles or sweepstakes, reward-based fundraising, political fundraising, or activities involving regulated goods or services.

Approval applies only to the reviewed activity, account, payment method, and jurisdiction. You must disclose material changes and obtain renewed approval where required.

Campaigns must clearly identify the receiving organization and explain the intended use of donations. Claims about impact, matching gifts, fees, and tax deductibility must be accurate and supported.

You must obtain authorization for every charge. Recurring donations must clearly disclose the amount, frequency, and cancellation process. Optional tips or additional contributions must be clearly identified and authorized by the donor.

You must not send unlawful or deceptive communications, misuse donor information, or ignore required consent and opt-out requests. See our Anti-Spam Policy and Privacy Policy for related requirements.

OpenFundraise may request supporting documents and review accounts, campaigns, content, and available transaction information for compliance.

If we identify a suspected violation, we may remove content, pause fundraising, disable payment functionality, or suspend or terminate access. We may cooperate with payment providers and competent authorities as permitted or required by law.

Payment providers control their own transaction reviews, refunds, reserves, and payout restrictions. OpenFundraise cannot override their decisions.

Report suspected violations through OpenFundraise support, including the campaign URL and relevant details.

We may update this policy as laws, provider requirements, or platform practices change. Updates will be published here with a revised effective date.