Questions and answers
General
What is Aixeta?
Aixeta (a-SHEH-ta, which means 'faucet' in Catalan) is a continuous crowdfunding platform which connects creators with their audience. Although we also have tools for one-off crowdfunding (at Aixeta it is possible to carry out campaigns for specific objectives), our soul is continuous crowdfunding. The creators open a page in Aixeta to share the things that they create—stories, poems, songs, scripts, comic strips, drawings, columns, and more—and makes them available to the followers that have subscribed to their page. The subscriptions are very accessible—as low as one or two euros a month—but in their entirety from the whole set of subscribers can serve as a stable economic cushion that allows a creator to concentrate their energy on their artistic work—in the broadest sense of the word artistic—and thus increase it, to benefit themselves, their subscribers and society as a whole. In addition to donations, subscribers also can contribute comments, questions, and suggestions.
How does Aixeta work?
A creative person or group opens a page on Aixeta. They upload a photograph and a description of their work. They define three or four levels of subscriptions and specify a donation amount corresponding to each level. They periodically upload contents and specify the subscriber levels that will have access to them. They share information through social media. People who are interested in the creator and want to support their art can subscribe to their page by donating a small amount of money each month. The subscription gives them access to the contents of each corresponding level of subscription. At Aixeta it is also possible to create specific campaigns to make specific objectives possible (a book, an album, a video, a short film, a game, a study, a documentary...). The creator, thanks to the stable financing offered by all of their followers, can focus on creating things.
How does Aixeta finance itself?
Aixeta is a cultural non-profit association, and its objective is to be fully financially self-managed. With this premise, the platform retains a percentage of the money collected by each creator: 5% in the case of monthly and annual subscriptions, and only 2.5% in the case of one-off campaigns. This money is used to maintain the platform, host the website on a server, cover the costs of all digital providers, and pay the jobs of all the people who work there. The rest (excluding bank fees and taxes) is directed, again, towards the creators. This means that the association's profits are used to promote the cultural and communicative proposals that we host, finance research, promote projects and grant scholarships. Aixeta is a community project that returns the profits to the community itself.
Aixeta, as such, needs resources to be able to continue developing its activity of supporting creation. For this reason, to ensure that it is a self-sustaining platform, we encourage you to become a patron of this platform, choosing one of the subscription levels on our own page. If you prefer, you can also make a donation to the Aixeta to the following account number:
Aixeta, as such, needs resources to be able to continue developing its activity of supporting creation. For this reason, to ensure that it is a self-sustaining platform, we encourage you to become a patron of this platform, choosing one of the subscription levels on our own page. If you prefer, you can also make a donation to the Aixeta to the following account number:
- ES66 3025 0002 4414 3342 4698
- (Cooperative of credit of the Caixa d'Enginyers)
Why does Aixeta exist?
For several reasons. First, because it's too hard to earn a living as an artist on this planet and in particular in this country. And secondly, there are many people who want to follow and support our favorite artists so that they can continue creating—we need their art to live. Before, in order to live as an artist, it was necessary to earn the favor of some intermediary gatekeeper—a publishing house, a recording label, a movie studio—but today, with Aixeta, you just need the support of your community. None of us has enough money on our own to support an artist, but if we collaborate together we do have the capacity to do so. And by supporting artists we make it possible for there to be more art, and that makes us stronger as a society.
Who is behind Aixeta?
L'Aixeta is a non-profit cultural association. The legal name is Associació l'Aixeta de promoció cultural. Our NIF is G67322925. Our headquarters are in La Ràpita (Montsià region, in Terres de l'Ebre). Registration number in the Register of Entities of the Generalitat de Catalunya: 64934.
From the spring of 2023, Aixeta will be managed by the singer-songwriter Cesk Freixas (Sant Pere de Riudebitlles, 1984), who will assume the presidency of the association, as well as the full management of the platform, facing and formalizing nor a new stage. Due to his facet as an activist, militant of struggles in favor of all sovereignties and the defense of the common good, and his professional career linked to creation, he is an expert connoisseur of the mechanisms, strategies and dynamics of micro patronage and crowdfunding, and is also passionate about new technologies, free software and digital tools.
The founder of Aixeta is Liz Castro (San Leandro, California, 1965), who launched it in 2019. As an author of computer books, she has explained to people how to use technological tools. As an activist, he has seen how Catalan society came together to take very big actions.
Is Aixeta the same as Verkami or Kickstarter?
The answer is: no. Aixeta is a continuous crowdfunding platform and, as such, there is no deadline, because we ensure that what is funded is the creator's entire work, not a specific project. There is also no specific economic objective: the creator can have many or few subscribers, depending on their work and the campaign they are running. And the relationship with their patrons and subscribers is regular, constant and long-term: the creator will produce works, and the patron will continue to enjoy them, while helping to finance them, receiving regular rewards and offering comments and suggestions.
It is true that Verkami, Goteo and Kickstarter are crowdfunding platforms, but the difference is that they are specific and timely crowdfunding platforms, for projects that last a defined number of days, with a specific objective. In these spaces, there is a time limit to achieve the economic objective pursued and, once the crowdfunding campaign has ended, the relationship between the creator and the patrons ends. Although at Aixeta we have classic crowdfunding tools (such as one-off campaigns), our soul is continuous crowdfunding.
In short, specific crowdfunding platforms (such as Verkami, Goteo and Kickstarter) are complementary to continuous crowdfunding platforms, such as Aixeta. A creator can use Aixeta to have a long and stable relationship with a group of subscribers and, on an occasional basis, carry out a specific campaign for projects that need extraordinary funding.
It is true that Verkami, Goteo and Kickstarter are crowdfunding platforms, but the difference is that they are specific and timely crowdfunding platforms, for projects that last a defined number of days, with a specific objective. In these spaces, there is a time limit to achieve the economic objective pursued and, once the crowdfunding campaign has ended, the relationship between the creator and the patrons ends. Although at Aixeta we have classic crowdfunding tools (such as one-off campaigns), our soul is continuous crowdfunding.
In short, specific crowdfunding platforms (such as Verkami, Goteo and Kickstarter) are complementary to continuous crowdfunding platforms, such as Aixeta. A creator can use Aixeta to have a long and stable relationship with a group of subscribers and, on an occasional basis, carry out a specific campaign for projects that need extraordinary funding.
Is Aixeta a platform made with free and open source software?
Yes, it is. Aixeta works only with free software libraries and its code is accessible by the community as a whole. Although it was not the main goal at its birth, turning Aixeta into a platform of continuous micro-patronage of reference in the field of the compartment of knowledge, and of non-proprietary digital tools, has become one of our flags. Throughout 2026, the entire Aixeta code will be made public, since right now, for security and data protection reasons, we have two repositories that are not. In this way, we will make it possible for free access to our infrastructure to facilitate the detection of errors, their resolution, and the continuous improvement of the platform. Among all and for all.
Where does Aixeta work?
Aixeta lives on the Internet. It was born and has started working in the Catalan Countries. We believe that there are many creative people in this country who are not creating culture because they have neither the time nor the resources. Aixeta will allow them to do it, and that they don't have to travel to big cities to do it. The website is currently available in three languages: Catalan, Spanish and English. We plan to increase the range of languages and add new countries and states in the coming months, so that speakers of many languages and people from many different places can make themselves and feel welcome on this platform. However, creator content can be in any language...or none at all!
Creators
How do I create my page?
First of all, you need to create your Aixeta user. To do so, you must go to this link and fill in all the fields that we ask of you. Once you have provided all the data (name, surname, email address and password), and you have accepted the requirements (privacy policy and terms of use), you can click the "Next" button and start thinking and building your page as a creator in Aixeta. Throughout the process, you will find an icon in the shape of a rounded question mark that will help you locate and orient yourself in the various spaces, and also in your administration panel. If you have doubts and questions, send us an email at [email protected] and the Aixeta team will help and advise you. Welcome, welcome to Aixeta!
I created my page. Where is it?
Your page won't be public until you activate it, by clicking the Activate your page button on the Configure your page page (which you get to by choosing Settings in the menu). Once it's activated, it will be listed on the Explore page and will come up in search results. If you need to hide your page a while, without losing the publications you've posted, you can always deactivate it.
Is Aixeta only for people? And for groups?
Pages can be created both at an individual level, that is, for people, and at a collective level, that is, for entities, associations, cooperatives, companies, etc. So, Aixeta is suitable for both individuals and groups.
After you have created a user, when you enter the platform you will see that on the top right there is a button that says "Create a page". If you click on it, you can choose the name you want it to have and the subdomain (person.aixeta.cat or entity.aixeta.cat, for example). Once done, you will have it ready to start editing and you can fill it with all the information you want. Once you have the page created, in the "Legal Information" section (here), you can specify who is behind the page. Within this section there is a space where you put "Type", and you can choose between "Individual" and "Company/Entity". If you are a person, choose the first one. If you are a group, select this last option. The legal data we collect to be able to formalize payments will be filled in by you in relation to this.
After you have created a user, when you enter the platform you will see that on the top right there is a button that says "Create a page". If you click on it, you can choose the name you want it to have and the subdomain (person.aixeta.cat or entity.aixeta.cat, for example). Once done, you will have it ready to start editing and you can fill it with all the information you want. Once you have the page created, in the "Legal Information" section (here), you can specify who is behind the page. Within this section there is a space where you put "Type", and you can choose between "Individual" and "Company/Entity". If you are a person, choose the first one. If you are a group, select this last option. The legal data we collect to be able to formalize payments will be filled in by you in relation to this.
What does it cost me to be a creator at Aixeta?
It costs you nothing. You don't have to pay any amount to have a creator page on Aixeta. As we explain in the next question-and-answer, our platform works with a system of commissions (5% for subscriptions, and 2.5% for one-time campaigns), which we apply automatically, and without you having to make any move, to all the payments you receive once you have your active page.
How do payments work on Aixeta?
- As a creator, you must keep in mind that all contributions include VAT. Furthermore, they are subject to a commission from our payment gateway (Stripe), and from Aixeta, which is detailed below. For this reason we recommend that, in the case of the subscription levels, the minimum amount remains €2, so it is fully stocked.
- When a patron subscribes to the new page, or makes a specific contribution, the amount is immediately charged through the new credit card. At this moment, two commissions are left (the one from Stripe and the one from l'Aixeta), and the remaining amount is kept to a particular subcommittee that gives you to Stripe. At the end of the month, we collect all the money that has been accumulated throughout the month and make a detailed written statement (the liquidation), issue an invoice in relation to the commissions, and actually make a bank transfer to the customer. Stripe charges an additional payment fee.
- In the case of subscriptions, Aixeta charges a 5% commission on all charges. In the case of contributions to one-off campaigns, l'Aixeta charges a commission of only 2.5%.
- In all cases, Stripe takes a commission when charging each patron. There are two possible ways. In each case, there is a fixed part, and a part that is a percentage of the total amount of the contribution:
- If the patronage is equal to or less than €5, Stripe commissions 5% + €0.05
- If the patronage is greater than €5, Stripe commissions 1.4% + €0.25 (or 2.9% + €0.25 if the card belongs to a current account outside of Spain)
- The difference in commissions has been negotiated from Aixeta directly with Stripe to reduce to the maximum the amount that you as a creator have to pay to the collection gateway, with a fixed amount very reduced for small subscriptions, and a percentage very low per to larger subscriptions.
- Automatically, on the 1st of each month all active subscriptions are charged. Contributions from specific and one-off campaigns are collected at the time of completion.
- On the 10th of each month, if you have accumulated at least €25, Aixeta donates the transfer fee to your bank account. This settlement includes all income at the end of the month. That is to say, the new subscriptions and the punctual contributions since the last settlement, plus all the renewals that were made on the previous day. The transfer may take a few days to be effective and arrive at your bank account. Normally it takes place between the 12th and the 14th of each month.
- Stripe subtracts €2.10 + 0.25% from the total amount transferred, with a bank transfer fee.
- Stripe subtracts €2.10 + 0.25% from the total amount transferred, with a bank transfer fee.
- Aixeta sends you an invoice for the current period for both Aixeta and Stripe commissions, which apply 21% VAT. You can also consult and download the rest from the Invoices page.
- You can generate a list of amounts collected from patrons for invoices or calculate the VAT settlement on the Charge page (you access it by choosing Income item in the menu that is displayed on the rounded icon, and then click on Charges, in the list below).
- The Next payout page provides all our patrons from the last payout to give you an idea of what the amount of the actual payout will be. Starting every first day of the month, the renewals of existing patrons are added.
- You can consult and download payouts and invoices in the corresponding sections of the Income section.
What are one-off campaigns and how do they work?
One-off campaigns allow you to receive financial support from followers and patrons for a specific project. It is a tool that comes from classic crowdfunding, and that Aixeta has recently implemented, so that creators can receive funding to make extraordinary projects a reality, beyond their usual activity. Contributions received in one-off campaigns are collected only once, and can help make a specific goal possible (a book, an album, a video, a short film, a game, a study, a documentary, etc.). Unlike one-off crowdfunding platforms, in Aixeta there is no time limit when it comes to achieving the economic horizon that is pursued. It is the creator who decides the goal, the start date, and also the end date.
For one-off campaigns, Aixeta charges a commission of only 2.5% for each contribution. Stripe (the payment processor) also keeps a commission when collecting each contribution. There are two possible formulas, with a fixed part and a part that is a percentage of the total amount of the contribution:
For one-off campaigns, Aixeta charges a commission of only 2.5% for each contribution. Stripe (the payment processor) also keeps a commission when collecting each contribution. There are two possible formulas, with a fixed part and a part that is a percentage of the total amount of the contribution:
- If the contribution is equal to or less than €5, Stripe charges a 5% + €0.05 commission
- If the contribution is greater than €5, Stripe charges a 1.4% + €0.25 commission (or 2.9% + €0.25 if the card belongs to a current account outside Spain)
Want to know more? We'll tell you more on the Creator Resources page! Let's go!
Do I have to declare the money I receive from Aixeta on my income tax?
There are several questions that, from a tax and social security contribution point of view, arise when receiving financial amounts through micro-patronage. In the tax field, the general rule would be that donations and contributions received in this context are not subject to VAT. This means that the amounts received thanks to patrons as donations will not generate a VAT debt that must be paid to the Tax Agency. Note, however, that this rule may change if you are actually providing a good or service in exchange for the donation. If the donation is linked to a specific consideration (such as a product, service or benefit), it could be subject to VAT. If the donation has no counterpart, that is, there is no physical or concrete reward in return, and is understood as a generic support, it is subject only to Gift Tax.
For more information, you can consult the Treasury and taxation section, included in the Material for creators section.
L'Aixeta can guide you on tax obligations, but we always recommend going to an agency, where they will advise you with all the knowledge of the case in relation to this issue.
For more information, you can consult the Treasury and taxation section, included in the Material for creators section.
L'Aixeta can guide you on tax obligations, but we always recommend going to an agency, where they will advise you with all the knowledge of the case in relation to this issue.
How can I resolve non-payments by patrons?
We recommend that you consult the page How to manage non-payment by patrons? published in the Material for Creators section.
Is Aixeta limited to artistic works?
No. They can also be political projects, volunteering ideas, or tangible things like artesanal cheese or historical visits. The only limit is your imagination!
In what format can I upload my content?
In Aixeta you can share text, images, polls, audios and videos. Regarding the formats of the content uploaded to Aixeta, the audio must be in MP3, the images in JPG, GIF or PNG, and the videos in any of the conventional formats (MPEG, AVI, MP4...).
Does the creator have to give up any rights in order to use Aixeta?
No way. The creator always holds the copyright on their work. They only have to give permission to Aixeta to publish it and to subscribers to enjoy it.
Can I have a page on Aixeta if I am retired or if I am a minor?
Remember that Aixeta is neither a tax agency nor a law firm, and we always recommend consulting tax matters with an expert.
- Minors can have an Aixeta page as long as their guardian or legal representative validates it. In this case, Aixeta will provide a consent document to certify this validation.
- For adults and retirees, the income you receive through Aixeta is considered income from your economic activity. If your annual income does not exceed the minimum wage for that year (in 2025, it was €16,576.00 in 14 payments), you can have an Aixeta page without jeopardizing your pension.
How can I get the verification badge?
Aixeta awards the badge and the verification mark to those creators that we consider to be popular or relevant within our platform. In general, the criteria for obtaining a badge or verification mark on Aixeta are:
- Have more than 50 active patrons (on Aixeta)
- Have more than 100 followers (on Aixeta)
- Having a page with activity
The verification process is carried out carefully and rigorously by the Board of Directors of Aixeta. We review the applications objectively and try to provide a response quickly, within a maximum of 7 days. A badge or a verification mark does not imply that our platform gives more support or more importance to the pages that have them. This is a mechanism that is currently in the testing phase. You can request the badge or verification mark In the form you will find in the Creator Material section.
Patrons
How do I register and create my user?
If you want to be a patron and subscribe to one of Aixeta pages, you must create a user. And it's very simple! You must access the registration screen and fill in all the fields that are requested: first name, last name, email and password. You must accept our privacy policy, as well as our terms of use. When you click the "Register" button, you will receive an email in your inbox welcoming you as a new user, and subsequently, voluntarily, if you wish, you will be able to verify your email address through from the attached link. Welcome, welcome to Aixeta!
How can I recover or change my password?
If you don't remember your password to access Aixeta, or simply, for security reasons, you want to change it, don't worry. It's very simple. You just have to access this link. Our system will ask you for your email address. You will automatically receive a link in your inbox to recover and reset your password. If you need to contact us, do not hesitate to send us an email at [email protected].
How do I enter my payment method?
You can enter the payment method in the Payment method section of your menu as a user. At the moment, only credit or debit cards can be entered. You must provide your card number, its expiry date and the three control numbers. Once you have entered these data, you can click on the "Save" button. At this point, the Aixeta system will automatically contact your bank, in order to ask for an authorization and, in this way, to be able to enable the payment method. You will have to do this authentication through the mobile application enabled by your bank, or from the personal space that the financial institution reserves for you as a customer on its website. You will see that our system makes a request to your bank with an economic amount of €0.00. This is normal, don't worry: it's just the mechanism we use to link your credit or debit card to our payment gateway. When you have completed this authorization, your card will appear as a new payment method. Whenever you want, you can delete, replace and update it.
From Aixeta we recommend that you always do this process from a computer. On mobile devices there are problems of overlapping information caused by browser tabs, authentication and authorization requirements of financial institutions, validations that must be done with mobile applications of banks and cash registers, and the information that must be sent back to our platform. By doing it from a computer, all these problems of overlapping information disappear.
From Aixeta we recommend that you always do this process from a computer. On mobile devices there are problems of overlapping information caused by browser tabs, authentication and authorization requirements of financial institutions, validations that must be done with mobile applications of banks and cash registers, and the information that must be sent back to our platform. By doing it from a computer, all these problems of overlapping information disappear.
How do I follow a creator project and their Aixeta page?
Apart from giving financial support to a creative, cultural, communicative, informative project... you can make a simpler and more symbolic gesture, which is to follow it. To do this, you just need to click on the heart that you will find in the lower left part of the header of a creator's page. How will you know that you have done it right? Because the heart will be painted red. Once you have clicked on it, all the publications of those creators that you have started following will appear on the home page. If, for some reason, you want to stop following a project, it is as simple as returning to the creator's page in question and, in the header, clicking on the heart again. How will you know that you have stopped following them? Because the heart will lose its red color and return to its original white. You can see all the pages that you follow in the Following section of your user menu.
Do I subscribe to Aixeta or to a particular creator?
In general, you subscribe to a specific creator (or more than one!). Go to their page and subscribe at the desired level in order to make a microdonation to their work.
You can also subscribe directly to Aixeta itself to help us fund this community platform. We need your support too!
You can also subscribe directly to Aixeta itself to help us fund this community platform. We need your support too!
How much does it cost to be a patron on Aixeta?
It's up to you. Each creator defines their own subscription levels, which you can find on the Subscription levels panel on each creator's page. There are subscription levels as low as one euro, and there are others that are much higher. You can subscribe to as many creators as you like—or just to one.
When will I be charged for a subscription?
The subscription is charged at the time of registration. And, subsequently, every first day of the month from that day until you unsubscribe.
What happens if my payment has failed?
We recommend that you consult our Help Guide for resolving failed payments on our 'Creator's material' section.
What if I change my mind?
You can change the subscription level at any time. You can decide to make a larger donation this month and then go back to an earlier amount for next month. Or you can decide to support different creators. As a patron, you decide who you help and to what degree. When you subscribe to a new level, the old one is cancelled automatically. If you want to cancel a subscription, you can go to the menu (clicking the round icon) and choose Contributions, and then choose the creator whose subscription you want to cancel and click "Cancel subscription". You won't be charged again.
How can I cancel or cancel a subscription?
If you want to cancel a subscription, you can do it from your menu (which is displayed when you click on the round icon) and choose the Contributions section. There you will see all the creators to whom you are giving your financial support. Select the subscription you want to cancel and click the Unsubscribe button. From that moment on, you will no longer be charged for the subscription.
Are contributions tax deductible?
Unfortunately, no. Expenses incurred in the context of crowdfunding, according to state legislation, are not considered donations, as they are formally interpreted as ordinary purchases. Consequently, they cannot be deducted in the annual income tax return.
Can I make a bank transfer?
If for some reason, either because you don't have a debit or credit card, or because you don't feel safe using digital payment tools, Aixeta puts at your disposal all the facilities so you can collaborate and support to those projects you want. For this reason, we enable a bank transfer service. You just have to send us an email to [email protected] indicating:
- First and last name
- Identity document
- Creator you want to support
- Financial amount you want to contribute monthly
We will manage your information with security and privacy and, once we have your approval, we will make a monthly direct debit, which Aixeta will send to the creator you tell us.