Who Are You?

We're the Bakers. We're a family of four (plus a handful of pets) that are increasingly at risk in the U.S. Our family consists of myself, Riven (shown as Jessica on the GoFundMe information as that is still my legal name); my partner, Devon; my 12-year-old son, Scott; and my 11-year-old daughter, Willow.

What're You Raising Funds For? / How Are You At Risk?

We're trying to flee the U.S., which is growing increasingly intolerant to anything outside of the 'traditional' white, straight, Christian family unit, especially in the rural area we live in known as 'the Bible Belt' (a deeply religious section of the U.S.). I’m trans, in a queer marriage with my husband. My son is autistic with high support needs. And my daughter is, well… a girl. I don’t think I have to point out why being a girl in the U.S. is becoming more and more dangerous, either. Or just being a kid attending public school.

Where Are You Going?

We intend to move to the Netherlands. We’ve been discussing and researching it for over a year, to the point my daughter even has a 320+-day streak on Duolingo for learning Dutch. Lol (Yes, we’re using other methods to study Dutch, too! Including the free course offered by the University of Groningen. We intend to fully integrate and become Dutch citizens once we hit the 5-year mark and can apply for citizenship.)

Do You Have Any Backup Plans?

We have a couple loose backup plans, but we're set on the Netherlands and its DAFT visa program, if I can qualify for it in time for our move (see below). The two backup plans we've most considered are Spain and Portugal. We also have a backup plan in case we can't get visas for some reason, where we'll at least still move from Missouri to a much safer state for LGBTQIA+ and disabled folks, as well as women and non-religious/Pagan folks, such as Maine, Oregon, Washington, or Colorado.

What's Your Timeline?

Our timeline is pretty loose for the time being, as money is the main concern. If my goals with my business go to plan, I'll be making enough to replace my husband's income by the end of this year, 2026. It takes 3-6 months to secure a Dutch DAFT visa, so our rough timeline is one year from now, though we'll happily move before then if things go faster than we intended.

Why Aren't You Just Doing It Yourselves? Why a GoFundMe Campaign?

We are barely surviving paycheck to paycheck right now. My husband works himself to the bone at a factory despite his own health issues that he's been unable to take the time off to address. We don't have the ability to save anything on top of all our bills, and we HAVE paired down as much as we can. With the economy getting even worse, sometimes we can't even afford groceries right now. I want to get us out as soon as possible, as it's getting harder and harder as time with this U.S. admin goes on. So, this GoFundMe is here to help us get to that point as fast as possible.

Well, Then, How Will You Support Yourselves Once You Get There?

I'm trying to build my business back up after a prolonged hiatus (from September 2025 until around March 2026) due to physical and mental health problems that, thankfully, I've finally been able to begin addressing. Prior to that time off, though, I made around $25-35k per year (varied by year) doing nothing but commissions and adoptables sales and, really, not treating my business like much of a business. I burnt myself out big time, took time off, and re-evaluated things to set out a proper plan to treat my business like a business.

I have just opened an online shop with my own designs on t-shirts, hoodies, etc. and I'm diversifying my passive income through means such as affiliate marketing and videos on YouTube, Facebook, and TikTok. In addition to those, I have a Patreon page and I livestream on Twitch and TikTok. I've only just returned to my business after said hiatus, but I'm trying and I'm confident I can at least get back to where I was by the end of the year. Every dime I make not going towards bills will be going towards our move, even without this GoFundMe.

Have You Thought Everything Through?

Yes! We've had this goal for a year, and we've gone over everything from visa requirements and vaccinations to average total move-in costs for an apartment of the size we'd need to the required vet exams and hold times for our pets. We've even looked into the possibility of having a professional pet moving service, if we can meet our goal, as it's surprisingly not much more than doing it yourself and they're obviously more familiar with the process.

What About the DAFT Visa Requirements?

Thankfully, it's a pretty easy requirement! The only minimums are fairly easy to meet, and these minimums will be met with my income from my business exclusively (they are NOT factored into the GoFundMe! the GoFundMe is purely for moving + settling in expenses). The minimums are... Making €1,734.57 per month with my business and having €4,500 set aside in a savings bank account that cannot be touched. Based on my income before my hiatus, I can easily hit that amount. The issue is the actual moving!

But How Are You Going to Afford Living Once You Get There?

We've looked into this and we'd actually be paying LESS living in the Netherlands than living in the U.S.! Our rent would be about the same as our mortgage payment here, but the cost of groceries is significantly less, we wouldn't have a car payment (though we would have to pay if we used the trains, bus, etc. instead of biking) or car insurance, etc. Plus, the DAFT visa that sponsors my family's stay allows my husband to get a job in the Netherlands, too. So it wouldn't be solely my business income that we'd be relying on.

Do You Have a Price Breakdown for the GoFundMe Amount?

Also yes! There are various little incidentals that we're also accounting for by setting our goal a bit over budget, like GoFundMe's platform fees. All numbers have been rounded up to the nearest hundred for the sake of simplicity.

Visas - ~$3,000 for all four of us

Plane Tickets - ~$2,600 for all four (varies slightly by the day and time of year and, idk, the aligning of the stars and planets? who knows why airplanes price these things in such a volatile way)

Luggage Fees - ~$1,200 for all four, at most (we're going to pair down as much as possible)

Apartment (3+ months upfront, + fees) - ~$7,000

Additional: $5,000 overage as a cushion to account for setting up utilities, getting groceries, buying mattresses/beds (cheap ones online, most likely), etc.

***IMPORTANT NOTE***

The DAFT hold amount (the amount that I’ll have to have consistently in my business’ savings account) will be garnered EXCLUSIVELY from my store and social media presence (e.g., TikTok creator fund), NOT this GoFundMe, to ensure full adherence to regulations, so it is not being factored into the GoFundMe amount.

To bring our pets…

Total vetting, including USDA health certificates and ensuring all microchips are up to date - $2,500 (required for either option below)

Pet import service - $3,000 total for all pets, if we choose to use a professional service, which we would prefer to do to reduce the likelihood of issues with our furbabies

OR

Cargo service holds - $2,400, if we choose to do it ourselves

Total: $24,300

Estimated GoFundMe platform fees: $700 - This estimate may vary, as GoFundMe charges a fee per donation rather than a fee of the total funded amount, so it varies by the size of each donation and how many donations we get. (E.g., if one person randomly donated $25k, the fee would be a lot lower than if 1,000 people donated $25.)

Total including GFM Fees, rounded up: $25,000

Is There Any Other Way I Can Help if I Can't Donate?

Yes! You can check out my content and help grow my monetization by actively watching it! You can do this on my Facebook page, my TikTok account, my Twitch, etc. And my YouTube is well on its way to monetization by ads, as well! Those options are all 100% free, all you have to do is watch my content. You can also utilize my affiliate links for things you might already be interested in buying, like Clip Studio Paint (the drawing app I use) or XPPen (the big drawing tablet I use), or even things like Walmart online purchases and Skullcandy headphones! On TikTok, if you’re already thinking about buying something and buy it from a TikTok Shop link on my video, that’s also helping me! E.g., going through my “chronic pain setup” playlist, which is a playlist full of videos linking the products I use that can be purchased on TikTok shop. <3

You can find all my socials, my podcast, my online store, my affiliate links list, etc. all at this link right here !

Thank you all so, SO much, even if you aren't able to donate! Shares and support, in general, are so very appreciated!

xoxo,

The Bakers