GoFundMe stops certain donations to Afghanistan 'due to Taliban control'
Certain campaigns will be allowed to receive funds if they have already been vetted by GoFundMe
Not all GoFundMe campaigns working to help at-risk Afghan citizens flee Taliban violence will be able to release their funds to individuals in Afghanistan.
"Due to Taliban control, we can no longer transfer money directly to an individual in Afghanistan or release funds that will be transferred to an individual in the country," GoFundMe said in a statement to FOX Business, adding that this "is not a policy specific to GoFundMe – it is based on laws and regulations."
However, exceptions still apply as long as the campaign has been vetted.
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In the wake of the Taliban sweeping into Afghanistan’s capital, droves of campaigns with different missions have popped up on the platform, although they all have the same goal: to help at-risk Afghans as fighting intensifies.
The fundraisers range from trying to fund emergency flight rescues to providing food to "internally displaced families throughout Afghanistan."
One GoFundMe page, "FLYAWAY: EMERGENCY AFGHAN RESCUE MISSION" was created with a goal to raise $550,000 to "fuel 2 airplanes to fly into Kabul from a foreign country." The campaign has since gained over $7 million dollars.
Families evacuated from Kabul, Afghanistan, walk through the terminal before boarding a bus after they arrived at Washington Dulles International Airport, in Chantilly, Va., on Thursday, Aug. 26, 2021. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana / AP Newsroom)
Another crowdfunding page, "Emergency Aid: Help Afghan women and children," is seeking upwards of $100,000 to help "meet the most critical needs of the people who have been displaced, especially women and children."
In certain cases, campaigns have been approved to receive funds if they have been vetted by the company's Trust & Safety team, which is reviewing all Afghanistan-related fundraisers in order to ensure they are in compliance with laws and regulations.
One of the ones that have been vetted is "Emergency Aid: Help Afghan women and children," GoFundMe confirmed.
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The campaign is seeking $20,000 in order to provide food to the millions of Afghans "still at immediate risk of starvation."
"With your support, we fed 1,000 people with lunch and dinner meals consisting of rice, meat, vegetables, bread and apples," the page reads.
If a fundraiser was intended to send money to an individual in Afghanistan prior to Taliban control, the organizer will have to notify donors that the funds will be sent to a verified non-profit or they will be fully refunded.
GoFundMe is working with all the organizers who are impacted by this policy and is still working to provide aid to those in need.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.