Nonprofits in Limbo as Flipcause Bankruptcy Unfolds

Thousands of small nonprofits were left reeling after Flipcause, once a trusted fundraising platform, withheld more than $29 million in donations. As the company slid into financial collapse, executives transferred millions to themselves while withholding money from cash-strapped nonprofits that scrambled to keep programs running.

Now, bankruptcy proceedings are underway, a single underwhelming offer to buy Flipcause’s assets is on the table, and lawsuits are looming. Nonprofits face the grim prospect of recovering little, if any, of the money they raised on the platform—leaving the communities they serve to pay the price.

Big Promises for Small Nonprofits

Flipcause, a for-profit tech company based in Oakland, CA, marketed itself as “the best fundraising platform for small nonprofits,” promising clients that “your money and your data always belong to you.” Since launching in 2012, it has attracted thousands of nonprofits that use it to collect donations, manage donor data, organize volunteers, host websites, and sell event registrations, sponsorships, and merchandise.

Like other companies in the donation processing space, Flipcause acted as a financial intermediary between donors and nonprofits, taking a cut of each transaction. Nonprofits could pay Flipcause a 1.5 percent processing fee or offer supporters the option of covering the cost.

For many nonprofits, foundations, and community groups—especially those without dedicated tech staff or large budgets—an all-in-one low-cost platform was a powerful draw.

Community-Based Reporting Uncovers a Crisis

Warning signs about Flipcause surfaced in 2024 and intensified through 2025, as complaints about slower, smaller disbursements poured into the Better Business Bureau, Reddit, Google reviews, and other sites. Some said payouts had dried up entirely, leaving nonprofits cut off from their own donations.

Cofounder and executive chairman Emerson Ravyn and his business entities pocketed the bulk of it: $3,285,069.

Oakland Voices, a journalism training program of the nonprofit Maynard Institute for Journalism Education, was the first to expose the crisis in detail. On September 11, 2025, Rasheed Shabazz—director of Oakland Voices’ Community Journalism Program—broke the Flipcause story after learning that local nonprofits were struggling to access their donations being held by a company headquartered in their own city. His reporting revealed serious problems with Flipcause’s management and the real-world consequences for nonprofits: staff laid off, programs canceled, and vital community services stalled as organizations engaged in “a constant fight” to get the funds they were owed.

Since that initial article, Oakland Voices has continued to pursue every twist in the Flipcause saga, tracking complaints, lawsuits, and bankruptcy developments as they unfold. Beyond reporting, the outlet has provided valuable resources for nonprofits, other journalists, and communities, including a searchable database drawn from Flipcause’s bankruptcy filings that lists organizations, their locations, and amounts owed.

Through community-centered service journalism, Oakland Voices brought the broader impact of Flipcause’s collapse into sharp focus.

Nonprofits Cut Off While Executives Cash Out

Flipcause’s payout problems finally came to a head in late 2025, revealing a company in full collapse.

In October, the Better Business Bureau issued a warning to nonprofits about the complaints against Flipcause. The nonprofit Latino Medical Student Association-Northeast filed a class action lawsuit alleging a “scheme” to “defraud and systematically deprive” nonprofits of the funds they had raised.

In November, California Attorney General Rob Bonta issued a cease and desist order to Flipcause to stop collecting donations and turn over details about the funds it had not disbursed.

In December, Flipcause’s payment processor Stripe blocked the company from collecting further payments and froze a $1.45 million reserve account. Dozens more nonprofits joined the initial class action lawsuit and other lawsuits followed, including from attorneys general in other states.

Then, on December 19, Flipcause filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, stating in filings that it owes more than $29 million to over 3,200 organizations, mostly nonprofits. These are listed as “unsecured creditors” to be paid only after secured creditors, which are owed $1.225 million. The company reported having just $70,000 cash in its sole business checking account and assets it claimed are worth $20.2 million, including $15 million for its web platform and other intangibles.

Bankruptcy proceedings also revealed that in the months before filing for bankruptcy—and while it was withholding donations from nonprofits—executives funneled over $3.8 million to themselves, family members, other insiders, and businesses they controlled.

Cofounder and executive chairman Emerson Ravyn and his business entities pocketed the bulk of it: $3,285,069. His brother and fellow cofounder Rolando Valiao and his associated business took $270,125, while current CEO Sean Wheeler and his wife Jessica Wheeler (who is also a Flipcause employee) together received $275,781.

According to Flipcause’s legal theory in the case, the missing donations were never the nonprofits’ money to begin with. As reported by Oakland Voices, Ravyn testified on December 22 at a bankruptcy hearing that donations belonged to Flipcause, not nonprofits.

US Bankruptcy Judge Thomas Horan pressed the point, asking Ravyn, “So if someone makes a donation to a charity through a website where Flipcause is providing services, is it your position that the person is not actually making a donation to the charity, but they’re making a payment to Flipcause?”

“Yes, that’s correct,” Ravyn responded.

The Flipcause Fallout

The collapse of Flipcause has left thousands of small nonprofits across the country grappling with financial losses while the communities they serve bear the burden.

The affected nonprofits span the breadth of civil society, including food pantries, arts programs, mutual aid projects, faith communities, animal rescues, and youth groups.

The collapse of Flipcause has left thousands of small nonprofits across the country grappling with financial losses while the communities they serve bear the burden.

R.A.C.E. Matters SLO—a San Luis Obispo, CA, nonprofit that amplifies Black voices through arts, culture, education, and social experiences—was forced to close Texture, the community hub and salon at the center of the organization’s work. The board of directors cited the “unexpected loss” of $27,000 in donations withheld by Flipcause that “significantly impacted [their] ability to meet operating costs.” The organization is restructuring so it can continue its mission without a physical space.

In the small mountain town of Leadville, CO, St. George Episcopal Mission said it lost nearly $28,000 in the Flipcause collapse, money donors gave to support a food pantry and community meals. Speaking to CBS Colorado, Pastor Melissa Earley said, “They stole from us….They stole from people who are hungry. They stole from people who are unhoused, they stole from immigrants, they stole from kids’ sports teams, they stole from all sorts of organizations all over the place—not just us.”

A Sale That Won’t Be Enough

While 30 creditors have unpaid balances in the six figures, an analysis of the Oakland Voices database shows most nonprofits are owed smaller amounts. For small organizations that operate with little to no reserves, even a few hundred or thousand dollars can cover months of rent, payroll, or essential program supplies.

In an effort to maximize possible returns for creditors, a court-appointed bankruptcy trustee is trying to sell Flipcause’s assets through a process expected to wrap up by the end of March 2026. The trustee also committed to a “full investigation” into the transfers Flipcause executives made to themselves, pledging that “all efforts will be made to recover funds.”

On March 2, the trustee reported the sale process yielded just one offer of $400,000 from S4NP Corporation, which operates Software4Nonprofits, serving over 8,500 churches and nonprofits. Software4Nonprofits was founded in 1999 by software developer Dan Cooperstock, who sold it in 2022 to, in his words, “experienced tech entrepreneurs” Scott Rassat and Danny Vivier, cofounders of Evermore, a holding company that acquires software businesses with the stated intention to “grow them forever.”

Evermore’s LinkedIn page describes it as “industry and geographically agnostic,” with no stated commitment to the nonprofit sector. Its website bears out that agnosticism with testimonials from founders of a library software company, a commercial sales platform, and an ERP system for bakeries, alongside Software4Nonprofits.

It’s doubtful any of that $400,000 will reach the nonprofits that Flipcause left empty-handed. Bankruptcy expenses must be paid first, including a $200,000 fee to the bankruptcy investment banker, plus attorney fees and other administrative costs. If anything remains after that, the secured creditors are next in line. The nonprofits that trusted Flipcause with their donations are last.

The sale still requires court approval at a hearing on March 19, and nonprofits were able to file objections through March 10. After bankruptcy proceedings close, the lawsuits against Flipcause and its executives can move forward, but full repayment is a long shot, and the legal process could stretch for years—time that struggling small nonprofits cannot afford to wait.