GoFundMe Has Paused Donations To The Freedom Convoy & Put The Fundraiser Under Review

Donations to the Freedom Convoy 2022's GoFundMe page have been put on pause and the fundraiser is now under review by the crowdfunding platform.

On February 2, GoFundMe put out a statement about the fundraiser for the convoy that has raised just over $10 million so far as what's happened in Ottawa has led to "widespread discussion" about the group's fundraising page.

The crowdfunding platform explained the process around decisions that its teams have made for fundraising pages in general and for the page of the Freedom Convoy.

"Fundraisers must be transparent about the flow of funds and have a plan for how the funds will be spent," GoFundMe said. "Prior to withdrawal of funds, we conduct a thorough review of information provided by the organizer."

In the case of the Freedom Convoy, the organizer met the requirements and so the fundraiser didn't violate any terms of service when it was created.

"As the activity surrounding the protest evolves, we have been monitoring the fundraiser to ensure the funds are going to the intended recipients and that the fundraiser remains within our Terms of Service," the crowdfunding platform said.

That monitoring includes maintaining close communication with the organizer and collaborating with local law enforcement which could take time and slow down the withdrawal process.

GoFundMe had requested more information from the organizer of the Freedom Convoy fundraiser about "the use of funds" in order to figure out if it was still compliant.

Since the platform didn't get that information, a pause on donations was put in place.

On the Freedom Convoy's GoFundMe page, there is a notice that the fundraiser has been paused and put under review to make sure that it complies with the terms of service as well as laws and regulations.

Back on January 25, more than $4 million had been raised and then the total reached over $6 million a few days later before rising to more than $10 million after that.