OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) — Nonprofits across the country are complaining about a company based out of Oakland that helps them collect donations. The nonprofits tell the I-Team they are having a hard time getting their money.
Talking to all these nonprofits, so much good work is being done across the country in so many fields—the homeless, the arts, social issues. But that good work is being hampered by a company called Flipcause that has not lived up to its promises.
Youth In Arts has served Marin County for 55 years with its arts lab and gallery, teen acapella group, and arts programming for schools that otherwise would not offer it.
With seven staff members, the nonprofit has to make the most of every dollar they receive. They counted on a service called “Flipcause” to collect and process donations. The company’s promotional video said, “Flipcause, the all-in-one fundraising and community engagement platform built specifically for small nonprofits.”
MORGAN SCHAUFFLER, YOUTH IN ARTS: “And then in March, when we asked for the moneys that were due, we received some amount of that and not the whole. And we’ve been asking ever since to essentially, no response.”
DAN NOYES: “When was the last time you actually got money from them?”
MORGAN SCHAUFFLER: “In March.”
DAN NOYES: “In March.”
The Flipcause promotional video paints a rosy picture for nonprofits: “Your funds are immediately available.”
Their website backs that up, writing, “Your funds are available to you immediately. Unlike many others, we don’t make you wait for a payout.” Records reviewed by the I-Team show that Flipcause has owed Youth Arts more than $18,000 for almost five months.
“$18,000 is a big amount for us,” Morgan Schauffler told the I-Team. “We put the money right back into paying our teaching artists to providing high quality art supplies. These are necessary funds for us to create the programming.”
In the days following the interview, Morgan Schauffler says the amount that Flipcause owes the nonprofit climbed to $22,329.78.
Trying to get answers from Flipcause has been a challenge.
The I-Team’s Dan Noyes called and emailed all the contacts from their website, stopped by what is listed as their corporate headquarters in Oakland, but it’s just a shared workspace.
We messaged their executives through LinkedIn asking for interviews, including Flipcause CEO Sean Wheeler, who lives in Honolulu.
We finally received an unsigned email from the Flipcause communications team, saying in part, “A backlog of transfer requests has created delays for some of our clients over the past several months … We are actively working with our financial partners on a permanent resolution … We expect significant progress in the coming weeks and remain committed to ensuring that all pending transfers are completed.”
But nonprofits tell the I-Team they have been hearing the same thing for more than a year from Flipcause.
Bunny Blessings takes therapy rabbits to senior citizen homes, hospice locations, and schools in the Charlotte, North Carolina area.
Brittany Bryan of Bunny Blessings said, “And they would typically say there was a problem with their- the bank that they were using, and it was going to get better. They expected it to be better in a month or two.”
The delays in receiving donations hurt nonprofits across the country, including the Shakespeare Youth Festival in Los Angeles.
Julia Wyson who runs the group said, “When I have to tell my staff, I’m sorry, guys, you’re gonna have to wait for your paycheck, because we’re waiting for Flipcause to pay us our money.”
Kerry Klein from New Day Advocacy Center, a domestic violence center in Ashland, Wisconsin, told the I-Team, “That’s money that we can’t forward on to our clients, or that’s money that we can’t use to purchase gas cards. That’s money that we can’t use to purchase food; that’s money that we can’t use to purchase supplies, and it hurts.”
The Montana Renewable Energy Association tells the I-Team that Flipcause has waited up to 70 days to forward their donations.
“We don’t have a lot of staff,” said McKenna Sellars. “And so, trying to dedicate a person to go and manage what’s going on with Flipcause on a daily basis is just taking away from the mission.”
Same story for a nonprofit resource out of Boston for the parents of gay sons.
Stan Kimer of Gay Sons and Mothers said, “Over the past, say, I’d say 18 months, it’s been, like, slower and harder to get our money.”
Tammy Clark of Honeless Hands of Zanesville, Ohio, has been feeling the strain of Flipcause delays.
TAMMY CLARK: “I mean, we had sat and discussed, like, closing the doors. We didn’t think we were going to get- we didn’t even think we were gonna get the money.”
DAN NOYES: “You’re telling me that the delays at Flipcause made you actually consider closing your nonprofit?”
TAMMY CLARK: “Yep.”
After months of phone calls and email, Clark finally got the money due, but her nonprofit lost dozens of regular donors and she closed her Flipcause account.
“I went ahead and canceled, because I was trying to get away from them,” Clark said. “I was not going to keep doing this, like, mentally. It’s just annoying. It’s exhausting.”
Our next stop – we asked Alma Galvan of the Better Business Bureau about Flipcause. “Based on the public information that we have on file for them, it looks like they, unfortunately, as of now, currently have an F rating, which is the worst rating that a business can receive.”
Galvan explains that Flipcause has received 57 complaints from nonprofits this year.
“It looks like the company has not responded to any of the complaints. So, all the complaints that you see right now on BBB.org, the business has not responded back to.”
In their statement to the I-Team, Flipcause insists, “This has been a challenging period for our nonprofit partners and our team alike, and we are working diligently to finalize a resolution.”
We reached a salesperson for Flipcause who tells us, “I am going to quit over this issue. The way it is being handled is horrendous. Not even we as employees are getting any real answers or timelines on what the (expletive) is going on. … I genuinely believe they mean no harm, but I can no longer sell this product in good faith.”
So, where does this go from here?
Several of the nonprofits tell me they have filed complaints with the attorney general in their states or the California AG. I checked with Rob Bonta’s office, and they won’t confirm or deny an ongoing investigation.
Take a look at more stories by the ABC7 News I-Team.
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