Paid Content. - Gift Economy Model
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Ben Clark
Our community operates on a gift economy model with:
$1 minimum contribution, Member chooses their monthly amount, Suggested tiers (e.g. $4, $11, $22, $44, $100)
Currently, the payment structure appears fixed. It would be incredibly valuable to support:
A “Choose Your Amount” field with minimum threshold, Optional suggested contribution buttons, Clear steward messaging explaining sliding scale philosophy
Many regenerative communities operate this way. Supporting sliding-scale recurring contributions would significantly expand Hylo’s usability for values-aligned groups.
Thomas Watson
Ben Clark we are unlikely to be able to implement a true 'sliding scale' model in the first release.
Our product suggestion is to create several 'offerings', that allow access to the group (or not, you don't have to restrict access at all), at different levels and let folks choose their level of contribution at those preset levels.
A small practical point; Stripe charges a minimum of 30c for each transaction; so allowing users to send a dollar each month is going to sent a disproportionate amount of money to stripe and thus, out of the community.
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Ben Clark
Thomas Watson Thanks for the response — that’s helpful context.
I feel called to share a bit of our perspective here, since Hylo is one of the few platforms (if not the only) genuinely aligned with the kinds of communities emerging in regenerative and commons-based spaces.
Many of these communities are intentionally moving toward a gift economy model rather than tiered access (what we’re hearing from others in this space). The intention isn’t to gate participation behind different contribution levels, but to make the space accessible to anyone while allowing people to contribute according to their means and the value they experience.
For us, the $1 minimum is primarily about inclusion and signaling values. It makes it clear the community isn’t trying to exclude people who don’t currently have financial capacity.
In practice, most people don’t choose $1. The majority start between about $4 and $50/month, and we’re already seeing members increase their contribution over time once they’re part of the community and experience the value.
So while Stripe’s minimum fee technically takes a larger percentage from $1 payments, the overall effect tends to balance out — and the openness of the model actually encourages broader participation and long-term stewardship.
From a product perspective, I suspect this pattern will become increasingly common as more regenerative and commons-oriented communities look for platforms that match their values.
If Hylo eventually supports something like a choose-your-amount field with suggested contribution buttons and a minimum threshold, it would unlock a really powerful use case for values-aligned communities.
Appreciate all the work you’re doing here. Excited to see how the payment features evolve.
Thomas Watson
While of course being able to have a true sliding scale would be awesome, the current setup here allows groups to pick as many offerings as they like. So you can still do a gift economy style setup, with three/five/ten different prices for the same access (including free access)
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Ben Clark
Thomas Watson Okay cool thanks for the clarity!