Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the committee. It is our pleasure to join you all today to discuss important matters related to the “freedom convoy” fundraiser and social fundraising in Canada.
My name is Juan Benitez. I'm the president of GoFundMe. I am joined by Kim Wilford, GoFundMe's general counsel. On behalf of everyone at GoFundMe, we want to acknowledge the impact of the so-called freedom convoy on the citizens of Canada, in particular the residents of Ottawa and each of you.
GoFundMe is the world's most recognized and most trusted fundraising platform. Our mission is to help people help each other with a goal of being the most helpful place in the world. We are humbled that GoFundMe has become a noun, synonymous with receiving help and assisting communities. That impact is far-reaching, as we have delivered over $17 billion in assistance to communities in 19 countries since the company began over a decade ago.
In Canada we are now delivering well over $200 million in community assistance each year, including for such significant events as the Humboldt Broncos fundraiser in 2018 that raised over $15 million, as well as the hundreds of other campaigns that help friends and family members with their needs and dreams every day.
Before we provide a timeline of events for the "freedom convoy" fundraiser, I would like to thank Ottawa authorities, notably interim police chief Bell, Mayor Watson and their teams for their collaboration and transparency. I also want to say that all our decisions and policies are guided by our terms of service, which are posted publicly and outline what is permissible and what is prohibited on our platform. Fundraisers relating to misinformation, hate speech, violence and more are prohibited by our terms of service.
The "freedom convoy" fundraiser was created on January 14. We began actively monitoring it the next day, based on significant fundraiser activity. Our initial analysis concluded that the fundraiser was within our terms of service and could remain active. On January 27 we initiated distribution of $1 million through our payment processing partner. It was disbursed to the financial institution designated by the "freedom convoy" fundraiser organizer. It is our understanding that TD Bank has applied to an Ontario court to surrender the money that was in the organizer's account.
Following this disbursement, public statements from the fundraiser organizer began to shift in tone, and on February 2 we suspended the fundraiser. This effectively meant that all future donations and withdrawals were paused. From February 2 through February 4, we heard from local authorities that what had begun as a peaceful movement had shifted into something else. They shared reports of violence, harassment, misinformation and threatening behaviour by individuals associated with this movement.
During this time, we also commenced a review of where donations were coming from. Our records show that 88% of donated funds originated in Canada, and 86% of donors were from Canada.
On February 4, following concerning dialogue with the fundraiser organizer and her team, as well as continued updates from law enforcement and local authorities, it became clear that the fundraiser no longer complied with our terms of service. We removed the fundraiser from our platform, and on the following day initiated refunds to all donors via our payment processing partner, including all transaction processing fees, tips and the $1 million already paid out. When the Emergencies Act was invoked on February 14, we immediately pre-registered with FINTRAC, as was required at that time.
GoFundMe aspires to be the benchmark for responsible operations in the social fundraising industry. Over 80 of our 400 employees are dedicated to policy creation and enforcement, data privacy, information security, regulatory compliance and prevention of payment fraud, financial crimes and money laundering. We employ industry experts, and consider ourselves experts and innovators in these areas.
Beyond the investments we make at GoFundMe for trust, safety and compliance, there are multiple layers in the regulatory framework surrounding social fundraising. All donations are processed, held and paid out by our payment processing partners. This means that GoFundMe does not directly interact with or hold any funds collected from donors, and nor are we ever able to redirect those funds. While GoFundMe is not currently required to report to FINTRAC, it is our understanding that in Canada, the authorized payment method used for donating and the financial institution that receives the donated funds are both regulated by FINTRAC.
In summary, GoFundMe controls, payment processor controls and banking system controls are the three layers involved in social fundraising operations focused on ensuring regulatory compliance. We believe responsible action is core to social fundraising, and we run our business accordingly. We proactively invest in the relevant processes, teams and tools to be the industry leader in this area.
There will always be opportunities to learn and improve, and we hope the committee acknowledges the responsible actions we took in close consultation with local authorities. While this committee and the Canadian government make decisions about how to move forward, we are happy to contribute our expertise. We look forward to continuing our assistance to Canadian communities.
We look forward to the committee's questions.