The operating system for mutual aid societies

When a member's family reports a death, the village validates it, pays within days, and the society funds a dignified funeral as a public service, never a private payout. Every step is on the record: the need declaration, the provider payments, the accounting.

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Our story

In western Kenya, every village elder kept a ‘book of tears’ (eshitabu shiamasika)—a ledger of contributions collected at each funeral, which it was taboo to miss. That practice continues today. CivicPool rebuilds it: a tamper-evident record of your village's mutual support, ensuring your family never becomes a public charge.

How a funeral is funded

  1. Reported and validated by two people. A member reports a death and uploads evidence; the family's sponsor and a society officer each confirm it before anything moves.
  2. The village pays. Every member of the village, up to 500 people, pays the set amount, for example $20, by the first Friday.
  3. Providers are paid first. The funeral home and other providers are paid directly, ahead of any other disbursement.
  4. The fiduciary accounts within sixty days. The burial fiduciary signs an undertaking and files a full accounting of every dollar within sixty days.

A public service, on the record

A funeral that the society funds is a burial that does not become a public charge or, in the case of the State of Delaware, does not have to be ordered under its indigent burial statute. CivicPool records the need declaration, the provider-first payments and the expense accounting that make this public purpose visible in the society's annual Public Benefit Report.

Built for diaspora societies

Members in the United States, relatives at home. Villages of up to 500, member numbers issued once and never reused, family members placed in different villages, sponsors and stewards who know the members.

Built with The $50 Club of Delaware Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity of Kenyan Americans.

Money never leaves the society

Payments move from each member's U.S. account to the society's own U.S. bank account through Stripe, with CivicPool acting only as the community's agent. CivicPool never holds funds and is not a money transmitter.

Security and records

One-time codes and passkeys, encrypted personal data, tenant isolation, two-person approval for every disbursement, tamper-evident audit logs, seven-year retention, backups with point-in-time recovery.

Fees

Members pay exactly the society's contribution amount. The platform's share of each contribution, 1% for operations and 2.5% for the service, waived for a founding society's first six months, is taken at payment. Operating expenses are passed through at cost and net to zero every month. Optional add-ons such as society branding are billed monthly.

Frequently asked questions

Is CivicPool a bank or an insurer?

No. Contributions are member-to-member gifts collected by the society, as the community's agent; no benefit amount is promised.

Where does the money sit?

In the society's own U.S. bank account, settled by Stripe.

Can relatives outside the United States be covered?

Yes, as covered relatives. Every payee must be a U.S. person with a U.S. account.

What does a member need to join?

An invite code, a phone number or e-mail, and the details of covered relatives.

What does the society's officer see?

A validation queue, calls, disbursements, statements and settings, in the same app.