Help With Utility Bills From the People Who Know You

A shut-off notice with a date on it, a past-due balance that got away from you, or a reconnection after a service was cut. Each one is a bill with a deadline, and you can ask the people in your contacts to help you meet it.

Start a private request

Free to create and free to send.

Raising money for a utility bill before the shut-off date

One month of short hours can be enough: the electric bill is the one that slips while everything else stays paid. Then the next statement arrives as a shut-off notice, with a date printed on it.

Start with the utility. Ask about a payment arrangement before the date on the notice. Calling is free, and whatever the utility says may lower the amount you end up asking for.

What remains after that call is your number. If you need help with your electric bill, or with the gas, water, internet or phone, build the request around it: the bill, the balance, the date on the notice, and the people who would not want your lights off.

What a utility request looks like here

Dana lost hours at work in April. She kept up with the rent, the car and the groceries, but the electric bill got away from her, and now the shut-off notice is dated the 22nd. It is August, and her two kids are home for the summer.

Her request went to her sister, two coworkers and the couple next door, for that one bill: the balance on the notice, before the 22nd, so the power stays on.

Internet and phone are bills with dates too

A phone line is how the work calls come in and how the school reaches you. An internet connection is where a child's homework lives, and sometimes the job too. When either one is about to be cut off, it is the same kind of ask: the provider's bill, the amount due and the date on it.

Private, from the start

A request goes to the people you choose, by text or email, and only people with the link can open it. Nobody scrolls past a list of who is behind on a bill.

What you keepThe entire amount of every contribution.
When it arrivesOnce your bank is connected, each contribution reaches it in 2-3 business days.
How you send itBy text or email, to the people you choose, with photos and a video if you want them to see the situation rather than just read about it. You decide who to send it to. It's never listed on A Better Gift, and it stays out of search results unless you choose to share it publicly.

How a private request for a utility bill works

The notice itselfAttach the utility bill or the disconnect notice. The provider, the account, the amount due and the shut-off date are already printed on it, so the people you ask see exactly what you see.
Why it fell behindSay what happened and what the money covers, in your own words, and add a video if saying it out loud is easier than writing it.
Guests on the other endThe people you send it to give by card as guests, without making an account, and each one gets a receipt by email.
The account it pays intoStripe confirms who you are before anything is paid out, and the money lands in your own account, so you pay the utility yourself. Once your bank is connected, each contribution reaches it in 2-3 business days, with no total to reach first, and help is still welcome after the goal is met.
After the power stays onRecord a video update when there is news. Everyone who contributed gets it in their inbox, and so do the people your request reached by email.
A goal with a bill behind itRequests start at $500: a past-due balance, or two bills that slipped in the same month, covered together by a few people who would rather you not go without.
Start a private request

Raising it for a neighbor or a parent

If it is your neighbor's bill, or your mother's, you can raise it for them. Add their name, and the people you ask will know whose lights they are keeping on. The payout goes to the person who creates it, so whoever pays the utility should be the one to set it up, or help them set up their own.

What it costs to ask for help with a utility bill

Nothing to create a request. Nothing to send it. And nothing comes out of what people give you: you receive the entire amount.

Questions about help with utility bills

Can I raise money to keep my power on?▼
Yes. Name the bill, the amount due and the shut-off date, attach the notice, and get it to the people who know you by text or email. Once your bank is connected, each contribution reaches it in 2-3 business days, so start well before the date on the notice.
What should I attach?▼
The utility bill or the disconnect notice. It shows the provider, the account, the amount due and the date, which is what the people you ask want to know. An internet or phone bill works the same way.
Can I raise it for a neighbor or a parent?▼
Yes. The request can carry their name, so everyone knows whose bill it is. The payout goes to whoever creates the request, so it should be the person who will actually pay the bill.
How does the money reach me?▼
Stripe confirms who you are, and then each contribution goes to your own account. Once your bank is connected, each one reaches it in 2-3 business days, and you pay the utility the way you always do.
Will people I don't send it to see it?▼
A Better Gift doesn't list it, and while it stays private it is kept out of search results. Only people with the link can open it. A link can be forwarded, so choose who receives it with care.
What does A Better Gift charge?▼
Creating a request is free, sending it is free, and you receive the entire amount of every contribution.
What if it doesn't reach the goal?▼
You keep everything contributed. Once your bank is connected, each contribution reaches it in 2-3 business days, whether the total is met or not.

Related resources

Help With Rent, Without the Public Page

When this month's rent comes up short and the landlord has named a date.

Can't Afford Daycare?

When care costs land before the paycheck that covers them.

How to Ask Family for Money

What to say to a parent, a sibling or a cousin when one bill has a date on it.

How to Ask a Friend for Money

Asking a friend for help without it hanging over the friendship.

What Is Private Fundraising?

A request that goes to the people you choose, and why that is the default here.

How A Better Gift Works

From the first line of your story to the contribution reaching your bank.

Start a request for your utility bill

Start a private request