The Changemaker's Guide to Rayz
Everything you need to succeed on Rayz: how it works, what to film, how support grows, and how you get paid. One reference, always here. Bookmark it.
How Rayz works
Your public profile, and the loop that turns presence into support.
Read → 02Building your profile
Cover images, your intro video, descriptions, team, and locations.
Read → 03Captured Lives
The format and its rules: the cap, the rhythm, the 90 seconds.
Read → 04What to film
The key section: what supporters actually want to see.
Read → 05Supporter tiers
Supporter and Super Supporter: setting amounts that keep it accessible.
Read → 06Your account
How Rayz is structured: personal and organisation profiles.
Read → 07Inviting your team
Account → Manage Team: how to add people, and what they can do.
Read → 08Getting paid
The 7th of the month, Wise, and what your statement will say.
Read → 09Gift Aid
UK registered charities: the HMRC schedule, and what's yours to do.
Read → 10The principles
Seven lines to keep close.
Read → 11Common questions
Quick answers, and a direct line to Dylan.
Read →How Rayz works
Rayz is your one public profile for your impact. It's the place you send everyone. Your feed, your newsletter, and your fundraising page in one, and above all a relationship tool: deepen the supporters you have, get discovered by new ones.
Your profile
| Tab | What lives there |
|---|---|
| Updates | Your Captured Lives: the video story of the work. |
| About | The evergreen bit: impact stats, you, your team, your locations. |
Visitors see your About tab and 3 featured Captured Lives. The rest is for supporters. That's the tease that converts.
The loop
- 1
Create your public profile
One link for your story, stats, and fundraising.
- 2
Seed it with your warm supporters
Bring in the people who already believe in you: your community, network, and existing donors.
- 3
Upload Captured Lives from the field
Around three a week. Your support is now being built in public.
- 4
Together, that's public proof
Real supporters + visible impact + a built-out profile. Anyone landing on your page sees a backed, active mission.
- 5
New donors arrive
That proof stimulates new supporters. They take a 21-day Get to Know, or back you monthly straight away. Either way they join your proof, and the loop spins again.
Your Captured Lives are the story. Monthly Impact Reels collect them; impact stats back them up. Your only job: show up on camera, three times a week.
One profile. One link. Share it.
Everything you do on Rayz lives behind a single public-facing profile, and its link is the answer to every "how can I support you?" you'll ever get. Put it in your WhatsApp groups, your email signature, your socials, your flyers. Say it out loud at events. Most supporters arrive through a share, so share it relentlessly: it's the front door to everything.
Building your profile
Your profile has eight parts. Fill them in from top to bottom and you're done. One rule carries through all of them: dignity, not pity. Show the work and the people at their best.
- 1
Cover images
Show the work happening and the community around it: real faces, energy, everyday life. Keep it positive. No disaster imagery, no sad scenes.
- 2
Short description
One sentence, always visible at the top of your profile. Describe your work the way you would to your neighbour.
- 3
Intro video
Introduce yourself: name, role, where you are, and why this work is yours. Then one problem, one answer, one person's story, and a welcome. No script needed.
- 4
Long description
Lives in your About tab. Four short moves: where it started, what it does now, where it's going, and one or two things that will never change.
- 5
Impact stats
Reported by you, reviewed by Rayz. A few honest, current numbers beat a wall of estimates.
- 6
Team
Completely controlled by you, and separate from who has account access. You choose each person's name, role, description, and photo. Show the real people behind the work.
- 7
Impact locations
Only the places where you deliver consistently right now. Not everywhere you've ever worked.
- 8
FAQs
Answer the questions you always get asked: what monthly support funds, how you choose participants, how people can help beyond money. Short and honest.
That's the whole job. An afternoon of care, and every visitor after benefits. Your Updates tab fills itself: that's your Captured Lives.
Captured Lives
A Captured Live is the heart of Rayz: a short, unedited video update, filmed on your phone as your day happens and shared straight to your profile. No editing, no polish, no performance. It shows supporters the work as it really is, while it is really happening. These are the moments that become your story, your monthly Impact Reels, and the reason people stay. The rules of the format:
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| The cap | One Captured Live per 24 hours. A hard limit, by design. Supporters are never overwhelmed with updates. |
| The rhythm | Separately: aim for around 3 a week. That's the pace that builds the story. |
| How long | Up to 90 seconds: one video, or up to 10 clips sharing the time. |
| How | Film through the day, pick clips from your camera roll (last 24 hours). |
| One video | For telling a story, talking to camera, interviewing someone. |
| Multiple clips | For busy days. A little from several scenes, like stories. |
| Who can film | Any team member. Multiple perspectives are good. |
| Finish | Title + description (90 characters each), thumbnail, publish. |
What to film
This is the part that matters most, and the part that changes how you think about content. Captured Lives are not a content burden. There's no algorithm to feed and nothing to compete with. The whole point of Rayz is that you don't have to play that game.
- Only the highlight reel
- Polished, produced content
- Competing for attention with algorithmic feeds
- A tax on your time
- Your real organisation doing real work
- The day-to-day, the inside scoop
- Getting to know the people, on the team and on the ground
- Proof that money supports real people
Do record the big moments. A launch, a milestone, a breakthrough: absolutely film them, they matter. But record the small moments too. Supporters want to see inside your organisation: who you are, how a normal day looks, and that their money lands with real people. Big moments show what you achieve. Small moments show who you are. People stay for both. Point the phone at what's already happening:
Travelling to the work. The neighbourhood, the communities.
Setting up before a session. The quiet before or after.
Eating with the team or community after a long day.
A funding meeting, a planning call, a hard decision.
Something physical. A letter, a drawing, a photo. Tell its story.
Hand the camera to a community member. Raw, introduced by you.
What's on your mind about the work right now.
Something that isn't working. Naming it builds more trust than hiding it.
One line to keep: dignity, not pity. Show context, agency, and growth, never emotional pressure.
Setting supporter tiers
You choose what monthly support costs. There are two tiers, and both are kept deliberately affordable during the beta: being part of your community shouldn't have a high barrier to entry.
| Tier | Detail |
|---|---|
| Supporter | Your base monthly amount: the lowest value you want support to come in at. Most changemakers set around £7, and it can go up to £15/month. |
| Super Supporter | For people who want to give more, with a cap of £30/month during the beta. |
| Custom amounts | Amounts above these limits are coming after the beta. For now, the caps keep things simple and accessible. |
When picking your base amount, think about what your community can genuinely afford. Many people at £7 builds more proof, and more loyalty, than a few people at £15.
Your account
Rayz has two layers: people and organisations. Every single person on Rayz is individually verified, and organisations are built from verified people. Here is exactly how it fits together.
Setting up: person first, then organisation
- 1
Create your personal Rayz profile
Everyone starts here, including you. Every team member is personally verified on their own profile before they can create an organisation or be added to any team. This is how supporters can trust every face they see on Rayz.
- 2
Get personally verified
Verification happens on your personal profile, before anything else. Your personal profile is also where you can discover other projects and support them. As an organisation lead you probably won't use it much for that; its real job is making sure everyone behind an organisation is a verified, real person.
- 3
Set up your organisation profile
Once your personal profile is complete, you are asked to set up the organisation: the public page with your mission, locations, Captured Lives, supporters, and payouts.
- 4
Switch between the two
By default you land in your personal profile. The organisation switch card sits at the bottom of it. Tap it to switch into the organisation account, where the real work happens.
Two profiles, two jobs
| Profile | What it's for |
|---|---|
| Personal | You, verified. Discover and support other projects. Where you land when you open Rayz, with the organisation switch card at the bottom. |
| Organisation | The public face of the work: your page, Captured Lives, supporters, Trust Score, and payouts. Switch into it to post and manage. |
Where everything else lives
Profile Your public link
Your public front door. Keep the mission statement sharp and pick featured Captured Lives that show the work at its most real.
Trust Score Account → Trust Score
Verification in one place: Baseline → Strong → Excellent. Shown on your profile; it does the reassuring so your updates don't have to.
Supporters Supporters tab
Who's behind you, who's in their Get to Know window, growth, and expected income this month.
Home Overview
Raised this month, supporter count, days since your last update, next payout.
Inviting your team
Rayz is better with more faces. The strongest profiles are rarely one person: more perspectives on the feed, more voices replying to supporters, and updates that keep flowing when you're busy. Inviting people is quick, and deliberately low-risk.
How to invite someone
- 1
Go to Account, then Manage Team
In your organisation account, open the Account tab and choose Manage Team from the menu items.
- 2
Send the email invite
Enter their email address and send. They receive an invite email from you; it all starts here.
- 3
They create their personal Rayz profile
From the invite email they sign up, create their own profile, and get personally verified, same as you did.
- 4
They switch in
The organisation card appears in their personal Rayz profile, and they can switch into the organisation exactly like you do.
Getting paid
Support becomes a real payment to your organisation's bank account, on a simple monthly cycle. The rules:
| Rule | Detail |
|---|---|
| When | Once a month, on the 7th. No early payouts, for anyone. |
| Minimum | Your balance must be over £3. If it's under, it simply rolls over to next month. Nothing is lost. |
| How it arrives | We send it with Wise, straight to your organisation's bank account. |
| How long | Usually 1 to 4 working days after the 7th. |
| On your statement | The payment appears as "Accelerating Community Empowerment". |
| Records | Full history, references, and downloadable receipts live in Account → Payouts. Issues: hello@rayz.space. |
| Gift Aid | UK registered charities only: Rayz gives you an HMRC-ready schedule of eligible donations. Full details in the Gift Aid section. |
Gift Aid
If your organisation is a charity registered in the UK and recognised by HMRC, Gift Aid lets you claim an extra 25p from HMRC for every £1 given by an eligible UK taxpayer. Rayz makes the paperwork easy; the claim itself stays yours. If you're not a UK registered charity, this section doesn't apply to you.
What Rayz gives you
In your Payouts area you'll find Total Eligible Gift Aid: pick a from and to date, and download an HMRC Schedule, a ready-formatted spreadsheet of the eligible donations in that period, built for HMRC's claim process. There's also a How to Claim guide right there in the app.
How claiming works
- 1
Confirm you're eligible
You must be a charity registered in the UK and recognised by HMRC for Gift Aid. If that's not you, stop here.
- 2
Download your HMRC Schedule
In the app: choose your date range under Total Eligible Gift Aid and download the schedule.
- 3
Check every line
You are responsible for confirming each donation qualifies: a UK taxpayer, a valid Gift Aid declaration, and nothing given in return. Remove anything you can't stand behind.
- 4
Submit to HMRC
File your claim through HMRC's Charities Online service, using the schedule.
- 5
Keep your records
Hold on to declarations and schedules; HMRC can ask to see them years later.
The principles
- Presence, not performance. Real beats polished, every time.
- Build in public. Supporters are proof; proof brings supporters.
- Consistency means returning. Missing a day is fine.
- Context counts as impact. Help people feel the work.
- Dignity, not pity. Agency and growth, never pressure.
- Relationships, not metrics. Respond, listen, acknowledge.
- Your Captured Lives are the story. Everything else is built from them.
Common questions
How often should I post?
One Captured Live every 24 hours max; three a week is the rhythm. A pace you can sustain beats a streak you can't.
What if I miss a day, or a week?
Fine. Post again. Supporters connect to the return, not the streak.
Do videos need to be polished?
No. Unedited and natural is the point. If it feels real to you, it will feel real to others.
Nothing "important" happened today. What do I film?
Context: the journey, the prep, a meal, a worry. The What to film section has eight ready-made ideas.
Who can post?
Any team member. And you can hand the camera to a community member, introduced by you.
How do supporters go monthly?
After a 21-day Get to Know window with full access to your updates, they simply choose. Nothing renews automatically.
When do I get paid?
Once a month, on the 7th, as long as your balance is over £3 (under that, it rolls over to next month). It arrives via Wise, usually within 1 to 4 working days, and shows on your statement as "Accelerating Community Empowerment". History and receipts live in Account → Payouts. Issues: hello@rayz.space.
Who are the supporters on Rayz?
Money is never neutral. Who it comes from, and why they're giving, matters as much as how much. Rayz welcomes supporters who give because they believe in the people doing the work: people who value grassroots leadership, attach no conditions that compromise your independence, and respect the communities behind every profile.
Rayz does not knowingly accept support from arms or weapons manufacturers, extractive industries with a record of environmental or community harm, tobacco or gambling companies, anyone with a documented history of exploitation, discrimination, or human rights abuses, or anyone seeking undue influence, access, or control over a leader or their community.
Every donor goes through a KYC (Know Your Customer) background check before they can donate; at this early stage, that check is done manually by the Rayz team. If a check raises a flag, it goes to a formal human review before any donation is approved. No automated system waves it through. Honestly: this can't guarantee catching everything, since ownership structures and reputations can be hidden or change. What is promised: every donor is checked, and flagged cases are reviewed by a real person. If a donor or a piece of funding ever doesn't sit right with you, tell us: hello@rayz.space.
How much does being a supporter cost?
You set it. The Supporter tier is your base monthly amount, usually around £7 and up to £15/month. Super Supporters can give up to £30/month during the beta. Custom amounts above these limits arrive after the beta.
Can I claim Gift Aid on donations?
Only if you're a charity registered in the UK and recognised by HMRC. Rayz gives you an HMRC-ready schedule of eligible donations in your Payouts area, but Rayz does not calculate, claim, or pay Gift Aid: checking what qualifies and submitting to HMRC is yours to do. See the Gift Aid section for the steps.
What's my Trust Score?
Your verification: identity and safeguarding, progressing Baseline → Strong → Excellent through the Rayz Development Programme. Verified by the Rayz Foundation, shown on your profile.
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