Contributions and Payments
Where Money Comes Into HelpOut
HelpOut is free. The only place money changes hands is a Gift It! event, where a group contributes toward a gift card for one person. There are no fees for organizers and no charge for any other event type.
For selling tickets, memberships, products, or running a fundraiser, use FutureFund — HelpOut isn’t built for that.
Contribution Limits
| Rule | Amount |
|---|---|
| Minimum contribution | $5.00 |
| Maximum contribution | $100.00 |
| Increments | $5.00 |
| Maximum collected per event | $250.00 |
Once an event reaches $250 it stops accepting contributions. If your group needs to collect more, run a second event.
Processing Fees
A credit card processing fee of 3% plus $0.35 is added on top of each contribution. The contributor pays it, so 100% of what they intended to give reaches the recipient.
| Contribution | Fee | Card is charged |
|---|---|---|
| $5.00 | $0.50 | $5.50 |
| $20.00 | $0.95 | $20.95 |
| $50.00 | $1.85 | $51.85 |
| $100.00 | $3.35 | $103.35 |
The contribution form shows the fee before anyone pays.
Making a Contribution
Contributors don’t need an account. They open your event link, enter an amount, their name and email, and pay by card. After paying they can leave a message for the recipient, which is shown alongside the gift.
A receipt is emailed as soon as the payment goes through.
When Collection Closes
Contributions stop at the event’s date and time. The following morning, HelpOut totals every paid contribution, orders a gift card for that amount, and emails the recipient a redemption code.
If less than $5.00 was collected, no gift card is ordered.
Tracking What Came In
Open the event and click Entries for the full list of contributions with names, amounts, and dates. Click Download for a spreadsheet with Name, Email, Amount, Message, and Response Date.
The running total also appears on the event page itself, where contributors can see it.
Payment Problems
A card was declined. Contributors can try again with a different card. Nothing is recorded until the payment succeeds.
Someone was charged but doesn’t see their contribution. Their receipt email is the record. Send it to support@futurefund.com and we’ll sort it out.
Someone started a contribution and never finished. Unfinished payments are cleaned up automatically after 48 hours. No card is charged.
A contribution needs to be refunded. Contributions are non-refundable. If there was a genuine error — a wrong amount, a duplicate charge — email support@futurefund.com.
Redeeming the Gift
Once the gift card is issued, the recipient chooses which retailer they want it from. See Redeeming a Gift.
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