If you see a charge from Change.org on your credit card or bank statement, there are several reasons this may have occurred. Change.org is a petition platform for social change.

Common reasons for Change.org charges

You may see a charge from Change.org if you:

● Activated a monthly membership to support the Change.org platform

● Promoted a petition to increase its visibility

Understanding the difference between promoting and membership

Promoting a petition means chipping in money to help make a petition more visible to a wider audience. When you promote a petition, this is a one-time contribution to boost visibility. Promoting does NOT automatically make you a monthly member.

Monthly membership is a recurring contribution that supports the Change.org platform itself. After you promote a petition, Change.org may offer the option to become a monthly member on the next screen. When you sign up for a monthly membership, you will receive an email saying so.

The key distinction: Promotion is a one-time action to boost visibility; membership is a recurring monthly contribution to support the platform.

What does PBC mean in my statement?

If your bank statement or PayPal receipt shows "Change.org, PBC" or "CHANGE.ORG *MEMBERSHIP C.ORG/BILL CA," the PBC stands for Public Benefit Corporation. Change.org is a nonprofit-owned public benefit corporation.

Charges may appear on your statement in these formats:

● Membership: CHANGE.ORG *MEMBERSHIP C.ORG/BILL CA

● Petition promotion: CHANGE.ORG *PETITION C.ORG/BILL CA

How unexpected memberships happen

Many users discover they have an active monthly membership after making a one-time contribution to promote a petition. When you contribute to promote a petition, Change.org may present an option to become a monthly member on the following screen. If you don't carefully review this screen, you may accidentally agree to recurring monthly charges without realizing it.

If you see recurring membership charges and don't recall signing up, check your email for "Change.org membership" confirmation messages. You can cancel your membership at any time to stop future charges from the link in the membership confirmation email.

Where do contributions go?

All contributions to Change.org memberships and petition promotions go to the Change.org platform itself, not to individual petition starters. Membership contributions help build and maintain the free Change.org platform and support a team of campaigners and communications staff who provide strategic advice to petition starters.

If you can't locate your membership or payment

If you see a charge on your statement but Change.org support cannot locate it under the email address you provided, you can help identify your payment by providing the following details:

● The last 4 digits of the card or PayPal account used for payment

● The date, amount of the charge, and the currency of the money

● The name on the card

● Any other email addresses you may have used to sign up, including your PayPal payer email if applicable

Contact Change.org support with these details and they can investigate further.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I stop Change.org from charging my card every month?

Cancel your monthly membership to stop recurring charges. Manage your contributions here or log in to your Change.org account and navigate to Settings > Manage Contributions. If you cannot locate your membership, contact support and they can cancel it for you.

Will I be charged again in the future?

If you cancel your Change.org membership, no future charges will occur. The cancellation is effective immediately.

Change.org membership program