Oakland-based donation platform Flipcause owes $29 million to nonprofits across the country, according to a bankruptcy petition that was filed Dec. 19.
The filing, which seeks restructuring and protection from creditors under Chapter 11, lists 3,276 “unsecured creditors” — mostly nonprofits — making it unlikely that they will receive all the money owed to them. The 20 largest unsecured claims owed to creditors range from $1.2 million to $118,494.
Flipcause, Inc. has $30 million liabilities and $20 million in assets, $15 million of that reflects the value it set on its website and platform, according to the filing.
Flipcause holds $70,000 in a Citibank account, according to the filing. Stripe, which processes payments made on the platform, froze $1.45 million in a reserve account, holding it until Feb. 28, 2026, the filing reported. Flipcause is seeking a court order to compel Stripe to release the frozen funds and process payments.
“Without Stripe fulfillment of its obligations under the Payment Processing Agreement, the Debtor is not able to continue to provide a payment processing infrastructure system for its non-profit clients, which is essential to the Debtor’s ability to continue operating its business and generating revenue,” Co-Founder and Executive Chairman Emerson Ravyn declared in the filing.
The company, which was founded in 2012, also owes $1.225 million to lenders and investors, and $11,000 in unpaid wages to employees and contractors.
Three years of failed attempts to sell Flipcause
The bankruptcy comes after three years of failed attempts to find a buyer for Flipcause. In the court declaration, Ravyn said the sale was not motivated by “financial distress,” but by maturation and growth.
The company grew to $10 million annually and achieved its “highest historical levels of revenue and profitability” in 2023 and 2024. Debts owed to early investors also constrained growth.
“That capital structure limited Flipcause’s ability to independently fund certain expansion initiatives or platform evolutions without introducing additional leverage or dilution,” Ravyn declared.
Flipcause hoped to complete a merger and acquisition by early 2024 to stabilize and grow. The company retained an investment banker in early 2023 to advise them on the sale. Flipcause received a “credible letter of intent,” and conducted an auction in July 2025, with no binding deals.
The company continued to pursue buyers through November.
“By late October 2025, it became clear that the anticipated transaction would not come to fruition,” Ravyn stated. Market conditions for software as a service and financial tech business had deteriorated, Ravyn said, which stretched the timelines for transactions and lowered company valuations.
According to the filing, “Flipcause has grown to become the backbone of online fundraising for thousands of nonprofits across all fifty states.”
Flipcause’s mounting challenges
However, this year more than 100 nonprofits have accused Flipcause of withholding donations.
The Better Business Bureau issued a warning to nonprofits about the pattern of complaints. A medical student association filed a federal lawsuit against Flipcause in October, which was later joined by 28 other plaintiffs from 18 states.
On Nov. 12, the California attorney general issued a cease and desist order demanding Flipcause stop doing business. Flipcause appealed the decision, arguing its business model doesn’t fall under the attorney general’s authority.
In its appeal of the attorney general’s order, the company said it does not solicit donations, hold charitable assets, or operate as a fundraising platform. Flipcause claimed in the bankruptcy filing it has a “Merchant-of-record” and an “Agent-of-Payee” structure.
Court documents show Flipcause retained Ronald S. Gellert of Gellert Seitz Busenkell & Brown, LLC to file the petition.
By the numbers:
- Flipcause in business since: 2012
- Assets $20M (including $15M platform value)
- Liabilities: $30M
- Cash on hand: $70K in Citbank account
- Frozen by Stripe: $1.145M
- Owed to creditors: $29M (donors + nonprofits & services)
- Owed to investors: $1.225M
- Owed to 11 employees: $11K
- Staff in 2020: 35
- Staff in 225: 6 full-time, 5 contractors
- Attorneys fees: $50K
Case: Flipcause Inc., 25-12246, in US Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
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