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Changes to Terms of Use
We may revise and update these Terms of Use from time to time in our sole discretion. All changes are effective immediately when we post them, and apply to all access to and use of the Website thereafter. However, any changes to the dispute resolution provisions set forth in Governing Law and Jurisdiction will not apply to any disputes for which the parties have actual notice on or prior to the date the change is posted on the Website.
Your continued use of the Website following the posting of revised Terms of Use means that you accept and agree to the changes. You are expected to check this page each time you access this Website so you are aware of any changes, as they are binding on
you.
Accessing the Website and Account Security
We reserve the right to withdraw or amend this Website, and any service or material we provide on the Website, in our sole discretion without notice. We will not be liable if for any reason all or any part of the Website is unavailable at any time or for any
period. From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of the Website, or the entire Website, to users, including registered users.
You are responsible for:
Registering an Account
You must be 18 years old or over to create an account on the Website. Users between the ages of 13 and 17 can use the services with the consent and supervision of a parent or legal guardian who is at least 18 years old, provided such parent or legal guardian agrees to be bound by our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy, and agrees to be responsible for such use of our site and services.
Although browsing our website is an option without registering for an account, you will need to register an account with a username, password, and email address to be associated with an account/to validate an account, to access some of our site functions. You are at all times responsible for your account and all of the activity on it. You also are responsible for keeping your password confidential. If you discover that your account has been used by someone without your permission, you should immediately report it to team@spreadkarma.org
The Website is a crowdfunding platform designed for individuals and entities (such individuals and entities, “Campaign Owners”) to launch, manage and fundraise for their own campaigns (each, a “Campaign”), and/or to make monetary contributions to the campaigns of others (such individuals and entities, “Backers”). When a Campaign Owner creates their campaign on the Website, they’re inviting others to make a contract with them. Anyone who backs a campaign on our Website accepts the Campaign Owner’s
contract. The Website is not a part of that contract between Campaign Owners and Backers.
We make no representation about the safety, legality, quality, or morality of any campaign or reward, or contribution or the truth or accuracy of any user content posted on the site. We also expressly do not represent that Campaign Owners will deliver any rewards promised; deliver any rewards timely; or that financial backings of any campaigns will be used by the Campaign Owner as represented by them during a campaign. We are only the platform for Campaign Owners to present their fundraising campaign(s). Backers back campaigns at their own risk.
Creating a Crowdfunding Campaign on the Website
Campaigns may be submitted for approval to the Website by any person 18 years or older with a verified/registered account on the site. Denials of approval of a campaign, if any, will be based on non-discriminatory factors, and we reserve the right to communicate or not communicate those non-discriminatory factors to Campaign Owners whose Campaigns are denied.
Notwithstanding the foregoing, we created the Website as a crowdfunding venue to address a market and social impact need to enhance community and support of underserved populations, and expect each Campaign to be in accord with that purpose.
A Campaign will not begin until the Campaign Owner has, among other things,established a profile, set a fundraising goal, identified a particular institution to which the donations will be disbursed, obtained our approval to launch, and provided additional
information as we may require. We may require additional information during the course of a Campaign, at its completion, or thereafter, and the Campaign Owner is required to comply with any such requests.
When a Backer selects to donate to a Campaign, they are making a financial commitment to donate the amount they designate at a time in the future when the Campaign is completed, as controlled by the Campaign Owner. Once a Backer has committed to a
donation, the commitment cannot be withdrawn unless the campaign is canceled. We reserve the right to exclude any Backer from use of the Website, in our sole discretion, and we may reverse any donation at any time. If we reverse a donation without cause, we will refund that amount to the Backer. A Campaign Owner may declare a Campaign completed at any time through the functionality of the Website, even if the Campaign goal has not been reached. Once a pledge is made, the charge to the Backer is non-refundable via the Website, however, the Campaign Owner reserves the right to refund the money directly back to the backer, through a different payment mechanism that does not reside on the Website. We will charge our fees before releasing the funds into the Campaign Owner’s account for any successfully completed pledge. We may use a third-party payment processor (the “Payment Processor”) to bill and remit payments and to draw amounts from accounts as indicated. The processing of payments will be subject to the terms, conditions and privacy policies of the Payment Processor in addition to these Terms of Use. We are not
responsible for error by the Payment Processor. You agree to pay us, through the Payment Processor, all Donations that you make at the time the Donation payment is triggered, and you authorize us, through the Payment Processor, to charge your chosen payment provider or account (your “Payment Method”). You agree to make payment using that selected Payment Method. We reserve the right to correct any errors or mistakes that it makes even if it has already requested or received payment. If you are a Campaign Owner, you agree, accept, and acknowledge that some financial pledges from Backers can’t be collected and may reduce the amount of funding you get.
For example – when a Backer’s credit card expires before funding ends, and they don’t provide updated information – we can’t guarantee that the amount of funding you receive will be exactly equal to the full amount pledged minus fees. If you are a Backer, you represent and warrant that any donation you make is legal in your jurisdiction, and that your designated payment method will be able to charge or disburse your designated donation at the time that a Campaign is declared completed.
Campaigns on the Website may not be created for illegal activities, to cause harm to people or property, or to scam others. It is the sole responsibility and exclusive liability of the campaign owner to comply with all applicable laws and regulations in connection with their Campaigns, and not to make any false or misleading statements in connection with their Campaign.
The following are not permitted to be offered, sold or exchanged in Campaigns or elsewhere on our Website:
The Website is not a venue for disrespect, trolling, profanity, meanness, harassment, spam, abuse, or hatred
Backing a Campaign
Backers are solely and exclusively responsible for asking questions and investigating Campaign Owners and campaigns to the extent they feel is necessary before financially backing a campaign. Any donation is made 100% voluntarily and at the sole discretion of the Backer. The Company does not guarantee that Campaign Owners will use any funds received from Backers as they may have promised in their campaign. We also do not endorse, guarantee, make representations, or provide warranties for or about the quality, safety, morality, or legality of any Campaign, Campaign Owner, or campaign perk on the site.
Disputes between Backers and Campaign Owners
The Company is under no obligation to become involved in disputes between Campaign Owners and Backers. The Website is merely a platform for Campaign Owners. Backers voluntarily decide at their own risk to accept the fundraising terms and conditions of any Campaign Owner on our site as a contract that we are not a party to. We are not liable for any loss to a Backer or Campaign Owner, and we are not responsible for monitoring any Campaign
Intellectual Property Rights
The Website and its entire contents, features and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video and audio, and the design, selection and arrangement thereof), are owned by the Company, its licensors or other providers of such material and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws. We grant each user a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use our Website and services subject to each user’s eligibility and continued compliance with our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
These Terms of Use permit you to use the Website for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store or transmit any of the material on our Website, except as follows:
You must not:
You must not access or use for any commercial purposes any part of the Website or any services or materials available through the Website.
If you print, copy, modify, download or otherwise use or provide any other person with access to any part of the Website in breach of the Terms of Use, your right to use the Website will cease immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies
of the materials you have made. No right, title or interest in or to the Website or any content on the Website is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by the Company. Any use of the Website not expressly permitted by these Terms of Use is a breach of these Terms of Use and may violate copyright, trademark and other laws.
Prohibited Uses
You may use the Website only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these
Terms of Use.
You agree not to use the Website:
Additionally, you agree not to:
User Contributions
The Website may contain message boards, chat rooms, personal web pages or profiles, forums, bulletin boards, and other interactive features (collectively, “Interactive Services”) that allow users to post, submit, publish, display or transmit to other users or other persons (hereinafter, “post”) content or materials (collectively, “User Contributions”) on or through the Website. All User Contributions must comply with these Terms of Use, including the terms of the Privacy Policy and any additional documents or terms incorporated into these Terms of Use by reference. Any User Contribution you post to the site will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. By providing any User Contribution on the Website, you grant us and our licensees, successors and assigns the right to use, reproduce, modify, perform, display, distribute and otherwise disclose to third parties any such material for any purpose.
You represent and warrant that:
You understand and acknowledge that you are responsible for any User Contributions you submit or contribute, and you, not the Company, have full responsibility for such content, including its legality, reliability, accuracy and appropriateness. We are not responsible, or liable to any third party, for the content or accuracy of any User Contributions posted by you or any other user of the Website.
Monitoring and Enforcement; Termination
We have the right to:
Without limiting the foregoing, we have the right to fully cooperate with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity or other information of anyone posting any materials on or through the Website. YOU WAIVE AND HOLD HARMLESS THE COMPANY AND ITS AFFILIATES FROM ANY CLAIMS RESULTING FROM ANY ACTION TAKEN BYANY OF THE FOREGOING PARTIES DURING OR AS A RESULT OF ITS INVESTIGATIONS AND FROM ANY ACTIONS TAKEN AS A CONSEQUENCE OF INVESTIGATIONS BY SUCH PARTIES OR BY LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES. However, we cannot and do not undertake to review all material before it is posted on the Website, and cannot ensure prompt removal of objectionable material after it has been posted. Accordingly, we assume no liability for any action or inaction regarding transmissions, communications or content provided by any user or third party. We have no liability or responsibility to anyone for performance or nonperformance of the activities described in this section.
Content Standards
These content standards apply to any and all User Contributions and use of Interactive Services. User Contributions must in their entirety comply with all applicable federal, state, local and international laws and regulations. Without limiting the foregoing, User Contributions must not:
Copyright Infringement
Our policy is to respond to notices of alleged infringement that comply with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (“DMCA”). Copyright-infringing materials found on the Services can be identified and removed via the Company’s DMCA compliance process listed below and you agree to comply with such process in the event you are involved in any claim of copyright infringement to which the DMCA may be applicable.
If you believe in good faith that a user has infringed your copyright(s), you can request that we take down the infringing material(s) by following the steps in this DMCA compliance process.
When a clear and valid notice is received pursuant to the guidelines set forth below (an “Infringement Notice”), we may respond by either taking down the allegedly infringing content (“Allegedly Infringing Content”) or blocking access to it. We may contact the Infringement Notice provider to request additional information.
Under the DMCA, we are required to take reasonable steps to notify the user who posted the Allegedly Infringing Content (“Alleged Infringer”). The Alleged Infringer is allowed under the law to send us a counter-notification as instructed below (“Counter-Notice”). On receiving a Counter-Notice, we may restore the Allegedly Infringing Content, but we may not if we receive notice from the original Infringement Notice provider that a legal action has been filed seeking a court order to restrain the Alleged Infringer from engaging in the allegedly infringing activity.
Infringement Notices and Counter-Notices are legal notices distinct from regular Services activities or communications. As such, they are not subject to The Company’s Privacy Policy. This means we may publish or share them with third parties at our sole discretion, and we may produce them pursuant to a legal discovery request.
Anyone making a false or fraudulent Infringement Notice or Counter-Notice may be liable for damages under the DMCA, including costs and attorney’s fees.
Guidelines for Filing an Infringement Notice
Please don’t abuse this system, but if you truly believe your work has been infringed, you should file an Infringement Notice in accordance with the Online Copyright Infringement Liability Limitation Act of the DMCA. To file a DMCA Infringement Notice with The Company, you must send us a written Infringement Notice. We reserve the right to ignore an Infringement Notice that is not in compliance with the DMCA. Your Infringement Notice must:
1. Identify specifically the copyrighted work(s) you believe has/have been infringed, or, if your claim involves multiple copyrighted works, a representative list of such works.
2. Identify the Content that you claim is infringing on your copyrighted work. You must provide information reasonably sufficient to enable us to locate the item on the Website. You should provide clear screenshots of the Allegedly Infringing Materials (this
is for identification purposes only, not to “prove” your claims). The information provided should be as detailed as possible.
3. Provide information sufficient to permit us to contact you directly: your name, mailing address, telephone number, and email (if available).
4. If possible, provide information sufficient to permit us to notify the Alleged Infringer.
5. Include the following statement: “I have a good faith belief that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law.”
6. Include the following statement: “I swear, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that I am the copyright owner or am authorized to act on behalf of the owner of an exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.”
7. The Infringement Notice must include your physical or electronic signature.
8. The Infringement Notice must be sent to our DMCA designated agent at the following address: DMCA Designated Agent
Spread Karma, LLC
7109 Sollers Point Road
Baltimore, Maryland 21201
267-324-7329
team@spreadkarma.org
Please be aware that if you knowingly misrepresent that your Allegedly Infringing Content was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification, you may be held liable for damages (including costs and attorneys’ fees) under Section 512(f) of the DMCA. Without limiting the foregoing or assuming additional legal obligations, we have a policy of terminating repeat violators of the Copyright Act, in accordance with applicable law.
Reliance on Information Posted
The information presented on or through the Website is made available solely for general information purposes. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness or usefulness of this information. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. We disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by you or any other visitor to the Website, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents. This Website may include content provided by third parties, including materials provided by other users, bloggers and third-party licensors, syndicators, aggregators and/or reporting services. All statements and/or opinions expressed in these materials, and all articles and responses to questions and other content, other than the content provided by the Company, are solely the opinions and the responsibility of the person or entity providing those materials. These materials do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Company. We are not responsible, or liable to you or any
Changes to the Website
We may update the content on this Website from time to time, but its content is not necessarily complete or up-to-date. Any of the material on the Website may be out of date at any given time, and we are under no obligation to update such material.
Information About You and Your Visits to the Website
All information we collect on this Website is subject to our Privacy Policy. By using the Website, you consent to all actions taken by us with respect to your information in compliance with the Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms of Use by reference.
Linking to the Website and Social Media Features
You may link to our homepage, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it, but you must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval or endorsement on our part without our express written consent.
This Website may provide certain social media features that enable you to:
You may use these features solely as they are provided by us, solely with respect to the content they are displayed with, and otherwise in accordance with any additional terms and conditions we provide with respect to such features. Subject to the foregoing, you must not:
You agree to cooperate with us in causing any unauthorized framing or linking
immediately to cease. We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice.
We may disable all or any social media features and any links at any time without notice
in our discretion.
Links from Website
If the Website contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your convenience only. This includes links contained in advertisements, including banner advertisements and sponsored links. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources, and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them. If you decide to access any of the third party websites linked to this Website, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites.
Disclaimer of Warranties
You understand that we cannot and do not guarantee or warrant that files available for downloading from the internet or the Website will be free of viruses or other destructive code. You are responsible for implementing sufficient procedures and
checkpoints to satisfy your particular requirements for anti-virus protection and accuracy of data input and output, and for maintaining a means external to our site for any reconstruction of any lost data. WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A DISTRIBUTED DENIAL-OF-SERVICE ATTACK, VIRUSES OR OTHER TECHNOLOGICALLY HARMFUL MATERIAL THAT MAY INFECT YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, DATA OR OTHER PROPRIETARY MATERIAL DUE TO YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR TO YOUR DOWNLOADING OF ANY MATERIAL POSTED ON IT, OR ON ANY WEBSITE LINKED TO IT.
YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. NEITHER THE COMPANY NOR ANY PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPANY MAKES ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE COMPLETENESS, SECURITY, RELIABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY OR AVAILABILITY OF THE WEBSITE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, NEITHER THE COMPANY NOR ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPANY REPRESENTS OR WARRANTS THAT THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL BE ACCURATE, RELIABLE, ERROR-FREE OR UNINTERRUPTED, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, THAT OUR SITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS OR THAT THE WEBSITE OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL OTHERWISE MEET YOUR NEEDS OR EXPECTATIONS.
THE COMPANY HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE. THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY WARRANTIES WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.
Limitation on Liability
IN NO EVENT WILL THE COMPANY, ITS AFFILIATES OR THEIR LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS OR DIRECTORS BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE WEBSITE, ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO IT, ANY CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES, INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, PAIN AND SUFFERING, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, AND WHETHER CAUSED BY TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF FORESEEABLE. THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY LIABILITY WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.
Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless the Company, its affiliates, licensors and service providers, and its and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors and assigns from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms of Use or your use of the Website, including, but not limited to, your User Contributions,
any use of the Website’s content, services and products other than as expressly authorized in these Terms of Use or your use of any information obtained from the Website.
Governing Law and Jurisdiction
All matters relating to the Website and these Terms of Use and any dispute or claim arising therefrom or related thereto (in each case, including non-contractual disputes or claims), shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Maryland without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule (whether of the State of Maryland or any other jurisdiction). Any legal suit, action or proceeding arising out of, or related to, these Terms of Use or the Website shall be instituted exclusively in the federal courts of the United States or the courts of the State of Maryland although we retain the right to bring any suit, action or proceeding against you for breach of these Terms of Use in your country of residence or any other relevant country. You waive any and all objections to the exercise of jurisdiction over you by such courts and to venue in such courts. You and the Company agree that any dispute resolution proceedings will be conducted only on an individual basis and not in a class, consolidated or representative action. If for any reason a claim proceeds in court rather than in arbitration, both you and us agree that parties have each waived any right to a jury trial.
Arbitration
In our sole discretion, we may require You to submit any disputes arising from the use of these Terms of Use or the Website, including disputes arising from or concerning their interpretation, violation, invalidity, non-performance, or termination, to final and
binding arbitration under the Rules of Arbitration of the American Arbitration Association applying Maryland law. Notwithstanding the foregoing, you agree that we may bring suit in court to enjoin infringement or other misuse of intellectual property or other proprietary rights.
Limitation on Time to File Claims
ANY CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM YOU MAY HAVE ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OF USE OR THE WEBSITE MUST BE COMMENCED WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES, OTHERWISE, SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM IS PERMANENTLY BARRED.
Waiver and Severability
No waiver of by the Company of any term or condition set forth in these Terms of Use shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or a waiver of any other term or condition, and any failure of the Company to assert a right or provision under these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.
If any provision of these Terms of Use is held by a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be eliminated or limited to the minimum extent such that the remaining
provisions of the Terms of Use will continue in full force and effect. Entire Agreement The Terms of Use constitute the sole and entire agreement between you and SPREAD KARMA, LLC with respect to the Website and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations and warranties, both written and oral, with respect to the Website.
Your Comments and Concerns
This website is operated by SPREAD KARMA, LLC.
All notices of copyright infringement claims should be sent to the copyright agent designated in our Copyright Policy in the manner and by the means set forth therein. All other feedback, comments, requests for technical support and other communications relating to the Website should be directed to: team@spreadkarma.org