In December, a little-known fundraising software platform, Flipcause, filed for bankruptcy, leaving over a thousand nonprofits without access to the cash they raised and desperately needed to fund their missions. One of those nonprofits — Flagstaff Youth Riders (FlyrsAZ), a group that works to “develop resilient, caring, and growth-oriented youth through mountain biking” in Flagstaff, Arizona — has more than $50,000 on the line.
“I got some concerns back when we ran our initial spring registration last year,” Quinn Travis, Executive Director of FlyrsAZ, told Singletracks. Fund transfers that were supposed to be completed within seven to 10 business days were taking more than 20 days. Though the funds were slow to arrive, FlyrsAZ was able to make additional withdrawals. They continued using the platform to collect registration fees for summer and fall 2025 programs. Then, in late July, Travis requested a $53,000 transfer to pay the nonprofit’s staff and coaches.
“August came around, September, October. And now I’m really concerned where I’m, like, trying to do this fundraiser. And, you know, we don’t have our $53,000,” he said. “And now it’s December. Christmas is coming around, and we still haven’t received our funds.”
On December 3, Travis received an email response from Flipcause. “Hello, Quinn, rest assured. I’m pushing to make sure the funds are released as quickly as possible,” it said. “We’ll let you know as soon as I have confirmation. I know how important these funds are for your organization, and I appreciate your patience while we get this resolved.”
That was the last correspondence FlyrsAZ received from Flipcause. On December 19, the company formally filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. As an unsecured creditor, FlyrsAZ would have to join more than a thousand other nonprofits, collectively owed more than $29 million.
Among the non-profits that held funds on the platform, nearly a dozen are bike-related. According to bankruptcy filings, bike charities are collectively owed $139,673.41. Pedal It Forward NWA LLC, located in Bentonville, claims $24,609.04 in missing funds; Kids on Bikes in Colorado Springs held $23,761.10 on the platform. Other youth-related cycling groups, including Castle Rock Youth Cycling Club and Trips for Kids Marin, are listed as unsecured Flipcause creditors. Mad River Riders Inc. is owed more than $11,000, and as of press time, an online donation form for the group, hosted by Flipcause, was still active.
The lost funds will impact FlyrsAZ ability to serve local families
Going into 2026, FlyrsAZ was on a roll. The group’s program registrations exceeded 1,000 for the first time in 2024, and in 2025, that number continued to climb to nearly 1,100. FlyrsAZ built a bike park at a local school four years ago, and the non-profit hosted eight camp weeks this past summer. Travis notes the organization has given over $45,000 to the community in the form of financial aid and scholarships.
This year marks the group’s tenth anniversary, which was meant to be a celebration. Now, FlyrsAZ is scrambling to make up for lost funding and to rebuild an online infrastructure that’s used by hundreds of local families to get information and register kids for programs.
“[Families] paid for their kid to get seven weeks of programming from certified coaches,” Travis said. “And the service was given, but Flyrs fronted that [cost.]” Now the non-profit will need to raise additional funds just to break even.
Non-profits will likely get pennies on the dollar, if anything
As unsecured creditors, non-profit Flipcause customers are likely to receive little if any of their funds through the bankruptcy proceedings. That’s because Flipcause claims that minimal assets remain.
In public filings, Flipcause lists just $1.2 million in cash and cash equivalent assets and only $36,000 in “office furniture, fixtures, and equipment; and collectibles.” Though the company claims its intellectual property — essentially their software platform, customer lists, and brand name — is worth $15 million, that value is dubious at best, and is tied up and therefore unlikely to benefit creditors. Even with the value of its intellectual property, Flipcause reports roughly $20 million in assets, far less than its debts, which exceed $30 million.
What happened to the funds raised by nonprofits via Flipcause? Bankruptcy filings provide some clues, though not a complete picture. Flipcause Executive Chairman Emerson Ravyn received
$455,400 for a “board-approved external investment initiative” while various employees collected hundreds of thousands of dollars in salary in the past 12 months. Another investment initiative totaling $2,763,200 is listed, but no additional details are provided. The value of that investment is officially recorded as “unknown.”
Flipcause is facing at least 27 legal actions, including from State Attorneys General in Ohio, North Dakota, North Carolina, Indiana, Arizona, Washington, and Iowa. California filed a cease-and-desist order against Flipcause in November of 2025 for withholding donations and failing to register as an online fundraising platform as required by state law.
The Flipcause website is still up and running, and it appears they are still soliciting customers.
A path forward
Once FlyrsAZ leaders realized Flipcause was no longer a viable platform, the group scrambled to set up a new website and switched to Sawyer, an online registration platform serving schools, summer camps, and other small businesses. For collecting online donations, FlyrsAZ and other affected non-profits, such as Kids on Bikes, have switched to Givebutter. Others have chosen to simply set up their own Stripe accounts.
FlyrsAZ just launched a fundraising campaign in conjunction with the organization’s 10-year anniversary. The goal is to raise $100,000 so the group can continue to serve kids and families in Flagstaff.
“We’ve been here for 10 years. And you know, we’re just trying to build that base so we can do 10 more years of programming,” Travis said.
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