As this week’s northern California fires threatened cannabis crops and destroyed homes, businesses, and structures, the California Growers Association tried to set up a support system for cannabis cultivators.

The association used crowdfunding to collect donations to help the farmers recover from their losses. The recent fires affected more than 300 operations; farmers have lost their harvests, or seen their crops tainted with toxic smoke and ash.

Hezekiah Allen, the association’s founder and executive director, set up a fundraising campaign six days ago on the crowdfunding site YouCaring.com, and by Monday, about 50 people had donated more than $10,000 to the “CalGrowers Wildfire Relief Fund.”

However, as the campaign was progressing, Allen started receiving messages from would-be donors stating their donations were canceled and their money was returned.

WePay, which processed payments for YouCaring.com, refused to pass along the donations because the campaign had “violated WePay’s terms of service,” and would not be allowed to proceed with their donations.

YouCaring spokesman Austin Kapur said his company “supports all forms of treatment and most fundraiser types,” but their payment providers, WePay and PayPal, do not allow fundraising projects related to cannabis, due to federal law restrictions.

Therefore, WePay can support payments for campaigns aiming to help the growers’ families, but the service is “unable to process payments connected to the production, sales or consumption of cannabis, even in situations where such payments would be permitted under state law.”

On Tuesday afternoon, Allen said he was still waiting to hear back from YouCaring and WePay, that did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The cannabis industry has long struggled with access to banking services, but Allen said he did not expect the same barriers in an effort to support families and growers hit by the fires.