Bright Funds
Bright Funds, a workplace-giving platform now owned by Submittable, serves a public page for each charity in its Candid-sourced database, with a Donate button that opens a guest card checkout. Every gift is a gift to Bright Funds Foundation, which may redirect it. Search exposure is low: there is no sitemap and few small-charity pages are in Google.
The checklist
What we have checked on Bright Funds, what we found, and what it rests on.
- 1. Off-domain Yes
Pages sit at www.brightfunds.org/organizations/<charity-name>, and copies appear on employer subdomains.
Basis: Dated evidence bundle - 2. Auto-generated Yes
19 of 40 random tiny 501(c)(3)s had a page with a matching EIN, most carrying only IRS data and boilerplate. The help center says the database is "pre-populated with confirmed 501(c)(3) public charities via GuideStar/Candid".
Basis: Dated evidence bundle - 3. No consent Yes
A charity must register for Bright Network to manage the page that already exists. The Donate button needs no action by the charity. No removal route is documented.
Basis: Dated evidence bundle - 4. Takes gifts Yes
The Donate button opens a guest checkout with card fields and no login, with $50 and a 5% fee cover preselected. 18 of 40 sampled tiny charities had it. We stopped before entering any details.
Basis: Dated evidence bundle - 5. Intermediary Yes
Checkout: "All donations made through the Bright Funds platform are made directly to Bright Funds Foundation". Its terms say the foundation has "exclusive legal control" and "may redirect or redesignate the funds to an eligible alternative charity."
Basis: Dated evidence bundle - 6. Search-indexed Unclear
Partly. Pages carry no noindex, but there is no sitemap and the platform's own search needs a login. Google estimates about 10,800 indexed organization URLs against roughly 12 million pages; 0 of 10 sampled tiny-charity pages were in Google, while a few big charities' pages rank for "<name> donate" searches.
Basis: Dated evidence bundle
Event log
Everything that has happened on the record, newest first.
No dated events recorded yet.
Request removal from Bright Funds
Search Bright Funds for your legal name and EIN first. If a page exists that you did not set up, send the request below. It takes about two minutes.
Where to send it
Email nonprofits@brightfunds.org
Bright Funds publishes no removal route. Its help center gives this address only to nonprofits that have closed, so it is not confirmed to handle removal.
Bright Funds documents no way to take a page down. The nearest route is for closed nonprofits, and it only adds a note to the page.
What Bright Funds asks for
- Your EIN
For closed nonprofits, Bright Funds says it will "update your record with a note to let future donors know that donations are no longer being accepted", not remove it.
Or claim it instead
To manage the page instead, Bright Funds asks the charity to register for Bright Network. Registration gives donor reports and direct deposit. It does not take the page down.
- Search for your organization by name or EIN on Bright Network.
- Upload your IRS determination letter and the first page of your Form 990.
Source: Bright Funds help center.
Checked 6 Oct 2026 against Bright Funds’s own page
“Our team will update your record with a note to let future donors know that donations are no longer being accepted.”
Reply and corrections
If something here is out of date, email report@shadowdonation.org with the page address.
Bright Funds can reply to anything on this page by writing to report@shadowdonation.org. We publish replies and log corrections with the date they were made.