Where the Money Goes
The Model
This isn't a business. It's a fan project that happens to move real money to real causes. Here's exactly how it works:
When you donate, $0.99 covers our operating costs — API calls, hosting, the infrastructure that keeps this running. Stripe takes their processing fee (~$0.30 + 2.9%). Everything else is earmarked for charity. The charity portion is held in a separate Stripe balance and disbursed monthly to whichever cause wins the community vote. Every cent tracked. Every disbursement public.
On a $5.00 donation, the math looks like this:
$5 Donation
| Your donation | $5.00 |
| Stripe processing | -$0.45 |
| Operating costs | -$0.99 |
| To charity | $3.56 |
$20 Donation
| Your donation | $20.00 |
| Stripe processing | -$0.88 |
| Operating costs | -$0.99 |
| To charity | $18.13 |
How We Choose the Charity
The community decides. Every month, anyone can vote on which cause receives the charity portion of all donations. You don't need to donate to vote — every Armcherry gets a say.
We've chosen four charities that reflect the themes Dax and the show return to again and again: addiction, mental health, identity, and kindness. Eventually the show's team should also have input on which charities are offered as the project grows.
The Charities
Shatterproof
Addiction recovery and prevention. Close to Dax's story — he's been open about his 16+ years of sobriety, and addiction weaves through nearly every expert conversation. Shatterproof works to reverse the addiction crisis through advocacy, science, and community.
NAMI
The National Alliance on Mental Illness. The show has hosted psychiatrists, psychologists, and researchers who study the mechanisms of mental health. NAMI provides advocacy, education, support, and public awareness so that all individuals affected by mental illness can build better lives.
The Trevor Project
Crisis intervention and suicide prevention for LGBTQ+ young people. The show's conversations about identity, belonging, and the courage to be yourself directly align with Trevor's mission.
Born This Way Foundation
Youth mental health and building a kinder, braver world. Founded by Lady Gaga and her mom, the foundation supports young people's mental health and works to create more compassionate communities.
How We Prove It
Every donation is tracked in Stripe. The charity portion is held separately and disbursed monthly to the winning charity via direct transfer. We will publish receipts — total collected, total disbursed, which charity received what, and when.
This is a fan project. We have no reason to be anything but transparent. If the show's team ever gets involved, they'll have full visibility into the numbers. If volume grows, we'll upgrade to Stripe Connect so the charity portion never touches our account at all.
What's Next
Future sponsors won't buy ads. They'll buy charity association — "Made possible by [Sponsor], $X this month goes to [Charity]." The user experience stays free. The money keeps moving to causes that matter.