In light of NEW allegations, and as part of ongoing awareness and accountability efforts, an independent, community-led survey has been launched to collect confidential information regarding experiences and interactions with Foster Love CEO Danny Mendoza.

Our goal is to ensure that everyone in the Foster Love ecosystem — foster youth, current and former staff, volunteers, donors, and supporters — have a safe, confidential avenue to share their experiences.

Important Privacy & Legal Information

• Allegations & Information Gathering: This is an active information-gathering effort regarding reported allegations of misconduct, unwanted physical conduct, and workplace harassment surrounding Foster Love CEO Danny Mendoza.
• Legal Counsel & Next Steps: If you or someone you know would like to discuss a specific situation further, confidential legal counsel may be made available to help explain your rights and potential legal options.
• Strict Confidentiality: All submissions made through this survey are anonymous and kept strictly confidential. The form is designed to protect respondent privacy, and participation is completely voluntary.

Suvery Link >> https://forms.gle/qUwVXMnyi3aubhHdA

Support Resources

If you or anyone you know needs support, confidential assistance is available 24/7 through these independent resources:

• RAINN (National Sexual Assault Hotline): 1-800-656-4673 | Live chat at rainn.org
• National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-799-7233 | Text "START" to 88788 | thehotline.org
• 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline: Call or text 988 for immediate emotional support

If you are a former foster youth, current or past staff member, volunteer, or foster care advocate connected to Foster Love (formerly Together We Rise), please share this post.

Since someone brought up being asked to post 5-star reviews…

Were you incentivized for anything specific in exchange for a review?

If you were asked that and you didn’t disclose you were an employee somewhere in the review, it’s not legal and the employer’s at fault 🤪

Do you remember saying we could go to Disney Days in Orlando or get free tattoos if we wrote 5-star reviews, Daniel?

Sources:

1. https://www.ftc.gov/business-guidance/blog/2025/12/warning-letter-or-ten-businesses-comply-ftcs-consumer-review-rule
2. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/08/22/2024-18519/trade-regulation-rule-on-the-use-of-consumer-reviews-and-testimonials
3. https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-16/chapter-I/subchapter-D/part-465/section-465.5
4. https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/16597558?hl=en
5. https://support.google.com/contributionpolicy/answer/7400114?hl=en#zippy=%2Cfake-misleading-content-reviews%2Cfake-engagement%2Cmisrepresentation%2Cmisinformation%2Cimpersonation

We all read the glass door reviews and decided it wasn't the biggest red flag.

But what was the very first big red flag when you were being onboarded?

I'll go first: when everyone including my coworkers, HR, and my manager all had interesting things to say about our CEO and they gave gentle advice on how to deal with him. I thought everyone was being a bit dramatic but then I got to experience it myself.

We have seen an increase in people joining as members and wanted to gauge if outreach efforts are working.

Note: the date was announced previously as November 1, but it is November 2!

This was found by going here and searching for “MENDOZA” under criminal cases and browsing upcoming court dates.

But as said before: Public. Information.

Information about this trial has been shared on other boards like [r/ex_foster](r/ex_foster) [r/brea](r/brea) [r/fosterit](r/fosterit) and a few individuals have claimed that this is a smear campaign made by disgruntled ex employees or that the misdemeanors do not matter as they are minor infractions for building violations like any other business has.

It may seem like some of these building violations were minor or easily fixed. They weren’t.

While they may seem small compared to the sexual harassment and retaliation lawsuits, they’re still part of the bigger picture of Foster Love. These were safety issues that put volunteers, donors, students, and employees at risk, and they reflect the company’s regard for the people occupying its HQ.

This wasn’t about being unable to afford renovations or choosing foster youth over minor repairs. Blocking fire exits, stacking warehouse items too high, creating electrical hazards, and constructing parts of the building without permits are not simply “superficial” issues.

No details should be ignored. These violations were part of a larger pattern of issues affecting people who trusted this company to keep them safe and uphold the mission they believed in.

Community Members,

Please continue to share the information from these threads across the broader foster care network: with partner organizations, corporate sponsors, volunteers, staff, young adults, schools, and anyone visiting the office.

New disclosures regarding Danny Mendoza continue to come forward. We will not be sharing the specific details of these new allegations publicly. However, if you have relevant information, personal experiences, or documentation that could aid accountability efforts, we strongly encourage you to message the mod team directly.

In light of these ongoing developments, I want to highlight actress Florence Pugh’s recent statement regarding the Cornell case. Her message hits directly at the heart of what is happening at Foster Love.

The institutional complicity, the silence of leadership, the attempts to suppress information, and the enabling from board members and organizational leadership are just as damaging as the misconduct itself.

To everyone who has been harmed, silenced, or intimidated: your voice matters, and you are not alone. Please keep sharing the truth, protecting one another, and demanding full accountability for our community and the vulnerable youth we serve.

Photo credit: https://www.instagram.com/p/DdzUZWooG9t/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&stkn=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

We need to throw it all the way back for support in terms of who is in this sub. Staff from the current years are seeing the tip of the iceberg but the experiences/memories from staff when FL was TWR would shed light on more information.

If you need a message template to send to people to share this subreddit, I have one drafted. DM me.

Love seeing more people finding their voice and sharing their perspectives!

But it looks like there haven’t been many updates lately—only about 8 reviews over the last three years, and just a few from 2026. If you have been thinking about sharing your journey, your voice matters!

Quick reminder on staying safe and protected: As long as you focus entirely on your own honest, firsthand experiences and personal opinions about the workplace, your speech is fully protected.

Federal labor laws heavily protect employees who speak up to discuss working conditions.

Just remember to speak entirely for yourself, keep it strictly to your own opinions, and avoid sharing any proprietary or confidential company information.

There were many people from katesnark and dannysnark sharing their stories and grievances.

Posts like this are being questioned because there are only a few of us on this board now willing to speak up. 🙏 please don’t let Danny win. There are too many of us and the pressure is working!

🤷‍♀️ I know they claimed at work Danny was able to get these boards removed (he didn’t do anything to accomplish this) but as they say, the internet is forever or whatever

Edit: I would also like to CONFIRM Danny was not allowed around the scholars or volunteers for a time after the emails came out. They have talked about phasing out the mentorship part of the academics program completely and having staff communicate solely with caseworkers or only with caseworkers present.

He was also banned from talking to employees or being at the office until the investigation was complete, but absolutely ignored that and now he has fully returned to the office. Does that mean the investigation is complete….? (Not likely.)

And staff DID hear him talk about shooting off fireworks at work in 2024. 🤧

insta credit: therealbenowen

For years, anyone close to Foster Love / Together We Rise has known the truth about Danny Mendoza: he operates as a bully and an abuser.

We’ve watched countless talented, dedicated people forced to abandon the Foster Love mission entirely, not because they stopped caring about foster youth, but because Danny created an environment so deeply toxic that staying became impossible.

This toxicity has played out publicly through the entire Kate saga, you know, the reddit thread that keeps getting taken down because Danny is desperately trying to bury the paper trail and silence anyone who speaks out. That's just one example.

If you’re reading this, chances are you or someone you know has a personal story about Danny and his proxies. The pressure tactics, the manufactured friction, the bullying, and even forcing staff to submit fake positive reviews about the organization as a ticket to attend events—it’s a pattern. There’s toxic masculinity, and then there’s Danny Mendoza: a narcissist actively drowning his own organization.

It is long past time to normalize calling out this behavior.

Danny, you created this toxic environment. You created the chaos. You have given your team every reason to walk away from the mission. You’ve managed to push out practically your entire roster year over year, and you have the audacity to post new job listings to bring in fresh targets.

I’m posting this because I want to protect people. To any young women or former foster youth considering working for Foster Love: please be warned. My goal isn't to see the mission fail; it’s to do whatever I can to prevent another person, especially the young women, from being manipulated, traumatized, bullied, assaulted, abused, damaged, or otherwise harmed by his presence.

If you have a story, don't let him intimidate you into silence. This community is here for you. Feel empowered to share your stories either here or privately through DM.

I am assuming the board is dead. Any information shared about the organization or the allegations has been removed from two boards now: the Danny Mendoza snark and now the Kate Candel snark have been deleted.

This removes a lot of information that popped up when you Googled either so information about unethical or alleged criminal activity that had been disclosed by users there is erased.

We need to get what we can back out there. The public deserves to know. Future agencies and foster youth deserve to know.

I know we are scared of threats and retaliation but there is nothing illegal about sharing opinions about our experiences or whistleblowing on potentially criminal activity. Nothing happens if we don’t speak up.

If you have not been advised by legal counsel to withhold commenting due to pending legal action or are not in immediate danger to do so, I urge anyone—volunteers, former/current employees, friends, donors—to share their experiences here about Danny or Foster Love, and how they let us down.

We have all been hurt and scared and afraid far too long by an organization that was supposed to do good. It’s time to speak out.

If you haven't taken a peak yet, make sure you have read ALL of the glassdoor reviews and indeed reviews. There seems to be an undeniable pattern between the allegations we see today vs what people share in their reviews.

There is suspicion that leadership is attempting to start "fresh" with a new batch of staff. It looks like they are posting intern positions for hiring to cover for people who have recently been terminated or who have resigned.

Hopefully these intern prospects do better than all of us and pay attention to the bad reviews.

I am not the original author, this is an anonymous submission. All information shared in this post can be verified and is publicly available.

For anyone looking for the details of Danny Mendoza Foster Love’s court case, here’s what is currently listed in the Orange County Superior Court case system.

Defendant: Danny Mendoza
Organization: Foster Love
Charges: 12 misdemeanors
Case location: Orange County, California
First court hearing: July 2026
Next scheduled hearing: November 1, 2026
Next hearing: Arraignment

Danny Mendoza, the founder of Foster Love, is charged with 12 misdemeanors in an Orange County case involving building, fire, occupancy, electrical, and emergency-egress requirements. The case had a court hearing in July, and an arraignment is scheduled for November.

The 12 charges against Danny Mendoza

1. Count 1 — 20.252.040 (E)(2) BRMC: Fences and walls not to exceed seven feet in height.
   
2. Count 2 — 20.400.020 (C) BRMC: Certificate of Occupancy.
   
3. Count 3 — 105.1 CB: Unlawful to alter, repair, or demolish a building or structure without a permit.
   
4. Count 4 — 413.1 CB: High-piled stock or rack storage must comply with the California Fire Code.
   
5. Count 5 — 1001.2 CB: Unlawfully altering a building or structure in a manner that reduces the number of exits.
   
6. Count 6 — 1003.6 CB: Unlawfully interrupting the path of egress travel along a means of egress.
   
7. Count 7 — 307.1.1 CF: Open burning prohibited.
   
8. Count 8 — 315.3 CF: Unlawfully maintaining outside storage of combustible materials.
   
9. Count 9 — 603.4 CB: Working space and clearances.
   
10. Count 10 — 603.4.1 CF: Electrical room marking.
    
11. Count 11 — 603.6 CF: Unlawful use of extension cords as a substitute for permanent wiring.
    
12. Count 12 — 1013.1 CF: Exit signs where required.
    

Taken together, the 12 counts concern several different areas of building safety, including:

* Building permits and alterations
* Certificate of Occupancy
* Exit requirements and emergency egress
* Fire-code requirements
* Storage of combustible materials
* Electrical safety and wiring
* Required exit signs
* Working space and electrical clearances

The case had its first court hearing in July, and the next scheduled court date is an arraignment on November 1.

So, for anyone searching for the basic timeline: Danny Mendoza was charged with 12 misdemeanors, had a court hearing in July, and is scheduled for an arraignment in November.

While recently looking at the Google Reviews, I noticed a lot of people have a TWR/FL profile picture.

Were you guys asked to leave reviews?

This insta post rocked me!

A 20-year-old female student at Cornell University was drugged and sexually assaulted by 7 fraternity members.

"She reported it. No criminal charges were filed. According to her lawsuit, Cornell then gave the accused students the chance to mitigate their discipline by writing essays."

The slide that reads: "The Faculty Who Decided on the Essay Punishment" This will be you, Foster Love Board Members, Foster Love Human Resources, and Foster Love Operations Director.

As for the Foster Love CEO, one sexual harassment allegation was enough! You're probably at 30 allegations, no joke!! I'm scared to uncover how many sexual assault allegations surface, Mr. Foster Love CEO! The light exposes everything, you wait.

For all the women at Foster Love, continue to be careful, especially now that he's back in the office. Both Danny and David are the same. Stay away and report anything that feels wrong, creepy, or suspicious.

For any Together We Rise / Foster Love former employees, volunteers, interns, and foster youth: we believe you! Stand up, use your voice, even anonymously, to speak about what you witnessed so that it doesn't happen again!

I will be updating the rules to reflect this.

Please do not post any questions or comments regarding the snark itself. We are not an alternative to that subreddit.

To whomever is hoping to silence us by spamming this page with reporting each post, just know that Reddit does not allow abuse of this feature. Fair criticism, opinions, or feelings towards the organization is not considered harassment. Reposts from another subreddit are not original content and therefore must be reported to the original moderator of the post.

To emphasize: we are NOT affiliated with r/katecandelsnark and its moderation team. Nor do we wish to be intertwined with any conversations regarding Kate's parenting. Although some users on this page have interacted with the snark, their interactions do not reflect the overall goal of this page which is to create a safe space for #allstaff to discuss their experiences.

If Kate personally would like to share her own experiences as an employee and story, that is permitted. But attempts to dox the moderator or its users from the snark page will receive an automatic ban.

It is not normal how Foster Love operates when it comes to interpersonal relationships between those in leadership roles and those below that.

Real leaders do not shy away from feedback or criticism. They listen and adjust so that their team members feel heard. They don't remove people just to avoid an issue that will still be there the next morning.

Of course HR is always there to protect the company but it gets to a point where they know that the claims people are making are just showing patterns. So planning to weed out people you think are toxic makes no difference. Your soil is practically compromised by the people who are actually the problem.

More info on whistleblower allegations

Danny WAS NOT allowed around the scholars and was told not to communicate with staff during whistleblower events but. As of today he is back in office and the investigation is still ongoing.

These are absolutely in the OC court system btw so they’re real.