Set up domain masking and favicon

Domain masking (a custom domain) lets you replace pro.gofundme.com in your campaign URLs with a domain of your choice. Many choose to replace the GoFundMe Pro domain with their website’s name to create a consistent branded experience for supporters.

For example, a typical campaign URL may appear as:

https://giving.gofundme.com/campaign/123456/donate

While a domain-masked campaign can appear as:

https://give.helpinghands.org/campaign/123456/donate

Requirements to set up a custom domain:

• Organization administrator access in GoFundMe Pro
• A domain name from a domain provider that supports one of the following Certificate Authorities: Let’s Encrypt, Google Trust Services, or Amazon (AWS)
• (Optional) A favicon

To set up a custom domain, you’ll start in your domain provider’s DNS settings, create a CNAME record, point it towards vanity.classy.org, and then return to GoFundMe Pro to complete the setup.

Set up CNAME

When you create a CNAME record for domain masking, you choose the subdomain that will replace “www” in your campaign’s URL. The CNAME must be in all lowercase letters and cannot be "www."

We recommend using a simple term that makes sense for all campaigns, such as, “give” since this subdomain will be consistent across all your campaign’s pages.

Once you decide on a subdomain, go to your domain provider’s site to create the CNAME record.

1. Sign in to your domain provider’s site
2. Go to your domain’s DNS records
3. Create a CNAME record that points your domain to vanity.classy.org

Common fields you’ll encounter:

• Record type: Choose CNAME
• Name, Host, or Alias: Enter the subdomain you chose, such as give
• Value or Points to: Enter vanity.classy.org

CNAME record changes can take up to 48 hours to take effect.

How do I set up a CNAME with my domain provider?

The exact steps depend on your provider, so we recommend referring to their documentation. Here are guides for some common providers:

• GoDaddy
• Cloudflare
• Squarespace
• IONOS

Understand CAA records

In some cases, your domain may use CAA (Certificate Authority Authorization) records. These are special DNS settings that control which providers can issue security certificates (SSL certificates) for your domain.

When you set up domain masking, GoFundMe Pro needs to create a secure connection for your custom domain. If your CAA records are too restrictive, this step may fail.

What you need to know

• If your domain uses CAA records, they may limit which certificate providers are allowed
• You can set different CAA rules for different parts of your domain

For example:

• charity.org can allow one certificate provider
• give.charity.org (your masked domain) can allow a different provider

This means you don’t have to change your entire domain setup. You may only need to update the part used for your campaign.

When to involve your IT team

You may need help from your IT team only if both of these are true:

• Your organization has already set up CAA records
• Those records restrict certificate providers

If you’re not sure, check with your domain provider or IT team.

Complete setup in GoFundMe Pro

When you’ve confirmed the CNAME record is set up, you must complete domain masking in GoFundMe Pro.

To complete setup:

1. In GoFundMe Pro, go to Settings and Account
2. Find Domain Masking and select Edit
3. Enter your CNAME, CNAME redirect URL, a link to your Favicon, and Save

CNAME: Enter your full CNAME URL (for example, give.helpinghands.org).

CNAME redirect URL: We recommend using the URL for your website’s homepage (for example, https://www.helpinghands.org).

Favicon: Enter a URL to your favicon. Learn how to find your favicon’s URL.

Your campaign URLs now have a custom domain! Existing campaign pages will now redirect to your new domain.

Add a favicon

A favicon is a small icon that appears in browser tabs and search results.

By default, your campaign pages will use the GoFundMe Pro logo as the favicon, but you can use your own to create a branded experience for your supporters.

To add a favicon for your account:

1. In GoFundMe Pro, go to Settings and Account
2. Next to Domain Masking, select Edit
3. Enter a link to your Favicon and Save

Find your favicon’s URL

If you want to use the same favicon as your organization’s website, there’s a simple trick to finding it.

To find a website’s favicon URL:

1. Copy https://www.google.com/s2/favicons?domain_url=YOUR_WEBSITE_URL
2. Replace YOUR_WEBSITE_URL with your organization’s website URL. For example, www.gofundmepro.org
3. Enter the address into your browser’s address bar and press enter
4. Copy the new URL in the address bar. This method uses a Google site that stores images found across the web, including your organization’s favicon, to help pages load faster.

FAQs

Why can't I access my campaign?

This is usually fixed by allowing vanity.classy.org within your network settings or confirming you are not pointing to a specific IP address.

What are some other subdomain suggestions?

Popular choices include:

• Fundraise
• Support
• Impact

The subdomain you choose will apply to all your campaigns. We recommend choosing one that will make sense for any campaign year-round. Subdomains should make sense across all campaigns year-round since this will appear on all campaign page’s URLs.

Will I need to update the domain anywhere?

If you use Google Tag Manager, you will need to contact our Care team to update the GTM settings to reflect the new CNAME.

Can I remove domain masking?

Yes, to remove domain masking:

1. In GoFundMe Pro, Select Settings and Account
2. Scroll down to Domain Masking
3. Next to Remove domain mask, select Remove

When you remove domain masking, your campaign’s URL will revert to the original domain (for example, https://giving.gofundme.com/campaign/123456/donate).

Can I change the CNAME after I set up domain masking?

Yes, you will first need to remove domain masking in your account and then go through the process to set it up again.

Campaign URLs using the original CNAME will no longer work, and you won’t be able to re-use CNAMEs.

Can I point my website to a campaign or fundraising page?

Yes, you can redirect your supporters to a specific page by updating the CNAME redirect URL in your domain masking account settings.

Can I use a custom certificate for domain masking?

No, GoFundMe Pro doesn't support custom certificates. If this is a problem for your organization, please contact our Care team to discuss options.

Is there another way to find my favicon URL?

Yes, it involves viewing the page source for your organization’s website.

To find your favicon URL:

1. Go to your organization’s website
2. Right-click on an empty portion of the page
3. Select View Page Source
4. Press Control + F on Windows or Command + F on Mac and search for “favicon”
5. Select the favicon link
6. Copy the URL in the address bar

Can I set up my favicon without setting up domain masking?

No, you need to enter your CNAME URL and Redirect URL to add a Favicon.

Can I domain mask my Live event pages?

Not at this time. Domain masking only applies to GoFundMe Pro campaign pages, not Live Events.