Three simple steps to get real financial support from the people who care about you — privately, securely, and free for you.
Create Your RequestNo public campaigns. No charity appeals. Just a private link you share with the people you trust.
Sign up for free and describe what you need help with — rent, medical bills, car repairs, moving costs, or anything else. Add photos of bills or invoices to help supporters understand your situation. Set a goal amount or leave it open.
→Every request gets a unique link that only you control. Share it by text, email, or any messaging app with the friends and family you want to know. No public listing, and no search engine indexing unless you choose to share it publicly — only people with your link can see it.
→Supporters contribute directly through your link — no account required on their end. You receive 100% of every contribution. The contributor pays a 6.9% service fee at checkout, on top of their contribution. Connect a bank account or debit card, and funds are deposited to it 2-3 business days after each contribution.
A Better Gift is built around one principle: the money people give to you should go to you.
Your request is never listed publicly. It's never in any directory, and it stays out of Google search results unless you choose to share it publicly. You send it the way you'd send anything else — by text or email, to the people you choose — and you can add photos and a video so they see what you're dealing with instead of reading about it.
Link a US bank account or debit card for deposits (2-3 business days). You can change your payout method anytime in your account settings.
Upload photos of your bills, invoices, or situation directly to your request. Showing real proof of your need gives supporters confidence and increases contributions.
Every contribution appears in your dashboard the moment it's made. You always know exactly how much has been contributed and how close you are to your goal.
Your supporters just click your link, enter an amount, and pay. No signup, no app download, no friction. The easier it is for them, the more likely they are to help.
You can have up to 3 active requests at a time — useful if you have multiple ongoing needs. Each has its own unique link and tracks contributions separately.
You never pay a fee. You receive 100% of every contribution. The contributor pays a 6.9% service fee at checkout, on top of their contribution.
A few requirements to keep the platform secure and compliant.
You must be at least 18 years old to create an account and receive contributions. This is required by law and our payment processor.
A valid US bank account or eligible US debit card is required to receive contributions. This is how your funds are delivered securely via Stripe.
Yes. You pay nothing to create an account or a request. The 6.9% service fee is added on top of the contribution amount and paid by the contributor — so if someone contributes $100 to you, you receive $100.
No. Requests are never listed in any public directory, and unless you choose to share one publicly, they aren't indexed by search engines or discoverable by anyone who doesn't have your link. Private by default. Public only if you choose.
No. They click your link, choose an amount, and pay — that's it. No account, no app download, no extra steps. We made it as frictionless as possible to make it easy for people to help you.
Once your debit card or bank account is connected, funds arrive in approximately 2-3 business days either way. In the ordinary course we do not hold your funds; money moves as soon as a contribution is processed.
You can create a new request anytime. You can have up to 3 active requests at once, so you're never locked out because of one ongoing situation. Each request is independent with its own link and tracking.
Yes. All payments are processed by Stripe, which uses bank-level encryption. Your financial details are never stored on A Better Gift's servers — they go directly to Stripe's secure systems.
GoFundMe is a public crowdfunding platform built for viral reach — campaigns are searchable, indexed by Google, and discoverable by strangers. A Better Gift is a private request network built for the opposite: your request is never publicly listed, not indexed, and private by default, public only if you choose. GoFundMe deducts a 2.9% + $0.30 processing fee from each contribution to you. A Better Gift's 6.9% service fee is paid by the contributor at checkout, on top of their contribution — so you receive 100% of every contribution. GoFundMe is built for fundraising from strangers; A Better Gift is built for fundraising from the people who already care about you.
Contributors' card statements show "A Better Gift" as the merchant. This is standard for Stripe-processed payments. The specific request name or recipient name is not visible on the statement — only the platform name. If your contributors have concerns about privacy on their own end, they can let you know and we can offer guidance.
A Better Gift works for any personal financial need — here are the most common ones.
If you've been considering GoFundMe but want a private option, these pages explain how A Better Gift compares for specific situations.
Dig deeper into how private fundraising works and why it's different from public campaigns.
Create your free request in under 2 minutes.
Create Your Request100% free for requesters · Funds go directly to your bank · No public listing
