Chip in · member-funded groups
Switch it on. Your group pays for itself.
Chip in lets your members pay toward your group's Gaggle Mail subscription, from $5, with no login. Every dollar pays your bill automatically, and a free group upgrades itself once members have covered it.
Free for up to 200 members • No credit card required
- No login for members
- No card from you
- 0% taken by us
Let members chip in
Members can pay toward this group's subscription
$252 of $300 covered
84%$48 more and the group upgrades to annual Standard.
23 neighbors have chipped in
Maria G. chipped in $20
Just now · Elm Street Neighbors is 84% of the way to a year
Chip in at a glance
- Who can chip in
- Anyone with your group's Chip in link: members, former members, family and friends. No account or password.
- How much
- Any amount from $5 to $1,000, one-off, monthly or yearly. The buttons suggest $5, $20 or $50, or $5, $10 or $20 a month.
- Where it goes
- Your group's balance, used only to pay your group's Gaggle Mail invoices. Never paid out.
- What it costs
- Nothing. Included on every plan, and Gaggle Mail takes 0%: 100% reaches your balance.
- Free groups
- Upgrade to Standard by themselves once members cover the goal, a month or a year. No card on file.
- Your effort
- One switch. Optionally, an Ask members email when you choose.
How it works
Three steps, and only the first one is yours
Switch on Chip in
One switch in your group's Chip in tab. We work out what your plan costs, a month or a year, and show it as the target: $300 covers a year of Standard for 300 members. Nothing else to set up.
Members chip in
A short line appears in your group's emails until your group is funded. Members tap it, pick an amount and pay by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. No login, under a minute.
Help keep this group running: chip in towards its Gaggle Mail subscription.
Your bill pays itself
When an invoice is due, we pay it from the balance first. On the free plan, as soon as your goal is covered we upgrade your group and pay the first invoice from the balance. You get an email either way.
Fire and forget
You don't have to watch it. We'll tell you.
Most group organizers end up quietly paying for everyone, or chasing people for $5 at the end of a meeting. Chip in takes that job away. Turn it on once and get back to running your group.
- No chasing. The footer line asks for you, and disappears once your group is funded.
- No cash, no spreadsheets. Every contribution is recorded, and the member gets a receipt.
- No reimbursing yourself. The money pays the bill directly. It never passes through you.
- One button if you want a push. One friendly email to every member, from you, when you choose.
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When funded
Elm Street Neighbors is covered for a year
Members have chipped in $300, which covers a year.
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Free groups
Elm Street Neighbors is now on annual Standard, paid for by its members
The first invoice, $300, was paid in full from the balance. No card is needed.
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Each renewal
The renewal for Elm Street Neighbors was paid by its members
$300 of the invoice was paid from the Chip in balance. Nothing more is due.
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Only if short
The renewal for Elm Street Neighbors on 3 March 2027 isn't covered yet
30 days ahead (7 for a monthly plan), with an Ask members button.
Elm Street Neighbors
300 members
Chip in
Help keep Elm Street Neighbors running
Elm Street Neighbors costs $300 a year on Gaggle Mail. Members are chipping in to cover it.
$252 of $300 covered
84% covered · 23 people
5 more members giving $5 a month would cover it.
Your contribution
Chip in anonymously
Chip in $20
100% goes towards this group's Gaggle Mail subscription. Gaggle Mail takes no cut. Refundable within 30 days if it hasn't been applied to the subscription yet. Not tax-deductible.
For your members
One tap from an email they already read
Members reach Chip in from a link in your group's emails, so there's nothing to sign up for: no account, no password, no app. They see what the group costs, how close you are, and who else has helped.
- Card, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Link, through Stripe.
- Shown as “Maria G.”, or tick Anonymous.
- Changed their mind? The refund link in their thank-you email works for 30 days, if the money hasn't been used.
- Monthly and yearly contributors manage or cancel from their thank-you email.
Full transparency
Everyone can see where the money goes
Asking people for money only works if they trust it. Chip in shows its working, to members and to you.
Progress everyone can see
Anyone with the link sees what the group costs, how much is covered and a progress bar, so nobody gives blind.
Every dollar accounted for
You see every contribution, who gave it and whether it has paid an invoice yet. Download it as a CSV for your treasurer.
Off any time, nothing lost
Switch it off and the footer line and asks stop. Money already given stays in the balance and pays your next bill.
Built for every kind of group
If your group has members, it can fund itself
Standard costs about $1 per member per year. In practice, one member in ten chipping in $10 covers it.
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Neighborhoods & HOAs
300 households. 30 neighbors chip in $10, and the list runs for a year.
Group email for HOAs -
Clubs & societies
Running, garden, book and camera clubs, without adding the list to everyone's dues.
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Churches & faith groups
Prayer chains and parish lists, paid for by the people who rely on them.
Group email for churches -
Alumni & class lists
Keep the class of '82 talking without one classmate footing the bill.
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Volunteer groups
Food banks, clean-ups and rotas, where every dollar of budget is spoken for.
Group email for nonprofits -
Hobby & amateur radio
Long-running lists that outgrew the free plan years ago.
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Parent groups & PTAs
Class and team lists that start again every year.
Group email for schools and parent groups -
Associations & networks
Informal professional networks with no treasurer and no budget line.
Group email for associations
Compared
The easiest way to share the cost of a group
| Gaggle Mail Chip in | Groups.io sponsorship | Passing the hat | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Members need an account | No: anyone with the link | Yes, signed in | No |
| Admin needs a card to upgrade | No: upgrades from the balance | Yes, card on file | Yes, yours |
| Free group upgrades by itself | Yes, once members cover a month or a year | No | No |
| Refunds | Self-service, 30 days, if unused | Nonrefundable | Awkward |
| Fee taken | 0% | 0% | — |
| Progress members can see | Yes, with contributors | Reserve shown to owners | A spreadsheet, maybe |
| Who does the asking | A footer line, plus an ask email when you choose | The owner | You, every year |
Groups.io details from its help centre, checked October 2026. Moving from Groups.io? See Gaggle Mail as a Groups.io alternative.
- of every contribution reaches your group's balance
- 100%
- paid out, ever. It only pays your Gaggle Mail bill
- $0
- for a contributor to refund themselves, if the money hasn't been used
- 30 days
- handles every payment. We never see card numbers
- Stripe
Chip in questions, answered
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No. Members chip in from a link in your group's emails, or one you share, and anyone with the link can use it. There's no account, password or app. They pay by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or Link.
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Nothing. It's included on every plan, including the free plan, and Gaggle Mail takes no cut: 100% of each contribution goes into your group's balance.
Turn it on. Get back to running your group.
Free to start, free to use, and off whenever you like.
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