How Donations Work, and Where the Money Goes

Here's the whole path a gift takes, from tap to bank account:

• A supporter picks an amount and pays by debit or credit card (Apple Pay and Google Pay work where the device supports them). Stripe handles the card.
• The card fee and what the family will receive are shown before they confirm
• They can add an optional tip to Handful of Angels, or set it to zero
• They confirm. The gift is recorded on the campaign. Until the Survivor opens the campaign, supporters see how many people gave, not the amounts.
• Once the Survivor has opened the campaign, the money becomes available to the Beneficiary
• The Beneficiary withdraws it to their connected bank account

Most of this is automatic. The supporter's only choices are the amount, the tip, and whether to be anonymous. The Beneficiary's only choice is when to withdraw.

Two things look like fees, and they work very differently. Most platforms blur the difference. We try not to. We never take a percentage of a gift.

• Card processing fee: about 2.9% + 30 cents, charged by Stripe on every card payment. If the donor adds a tip, the tip covers this first. With no tip, it comes out of the gift. Either way, the number on the confirmation screen is exactly what reaches the campaign.
• Optional tip: a voluntary contribution to Handful of Angels itself. Always shown before confirmation, and donors can set it to zero with one tap. If a donor does add one, there's a small minimum so it at least covers the card fee. Whatever is left after that is how we keep the site free for families.

Every campaign names a Beneficiary: the real person who receives the money. Usually that's the Survivor, or whoever is handling their finances. The Beneficiary verifies their identity and connects a bank account through Stripe. The money never sits in the Angel's personal account, and the Angel can't withdraw it unless they're also the Beneficiary.

That verification is the one part of a campaign with real paperwork: bank details, an ID check, all handled by Stripe. A campaign can take gifts before it's done, but nothing can be withdrawn until it is. That protects everyone. Donors know the money is going to a real person, and Beneficiaries are protected from someone else claiming it.

Gifts don't show up in the Beneficiary's bank account the same day. Three things have to happen first. The Survivor has to have opened the campaign (until then, no money moves). The Beneficiary has to have finished verification with Stripe. And a campaign's first payout is held for 72 hours, so a payment has cleared and isn't being disputed.

After that, the Beneficiary can withdraw $10 or more whenever they like. A transfer takes one to three business days depending on the bank. From gift to bank account, figure about a week.

Donors can hide their name with one tap at checkout. The campaign shows "Anonymous" to everyone, including the Angel and the Beneficiary. They see that a gift arrived and the amount, not who sent it. We keep the donor's identity on file for fraud prevention and legal reasons only.

Anonymous gifts are welcome. Some people don't want their giving on display. Some are giving on behalf of someone else. Some just like privacy.

Three things can interrupt a gift. Here's how each is handled.

• Declined cards. The card was declined at checkout. Nothing is charged, and the donor can try again with another card.
• Refund requests. If a donor made a mistake (wrong amount, wrong campaign), they can contact support. Refunds are handled case by case through Stripe. If the Survivor opens the campaign and makes it quiet, every gift is refunded automatically after a 24-hour undo window.
• Disputes and chargebacks. If a cardholder disputes a charge with their bank, we handle it with Stripe. It's rare, but it happens.

Handful of Angels is not a charity. We're a company that builds the site, and a gift here is a personal gift from one person to another. That means gifts are generally not tax-deductible. If a deduction matters to you, talk to your tax advisor before you give.

For Beneficiaries: gifts to individuals are generally not taxable income under U.S. tax law, though it depends on your situation. For amounts large enough to possibly trigger reporting, talk to a tax professional. This isn't tax advice.