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The following terms and conditions (these "Terms") govern your access to and use of the website sharednation.org, including any content offered on or through sharednation.org (the "Website").

Please read these Terms carefully before using the Website. By using the Website (whether as a Participant or a Candidate, which are collectively referred to in these Terms as "users"), you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these Terms.  If you do not agree to these Terms, do not access the Website.

Overview.  The Website is a crowd-voting site where individuals ("Participants") vote among candidates (collectively, "Candidates") proposing solutions to global commons problems to receive the Participants' combined money and time. Voting takes place in a series of time-bounded voting periods.  A series of voting periods comprises a "Round," and each Round results in one Candidate chosen to receive the majority of contributions of the Participants in that Round. 

How it Works.  Any person aged 18 or older, and anyone aged 14 to 17 with parental consent, can become a Participant.  A Participant creates an account on the Website, submits payment information, and identifies a monthly contribution amount ($2.00 minimum).  Participants are eligible to vote in monthly Rounds.  Rounds conclude on or about the last day of each month, at which time Participants' payment methods will be charged their monthly contribution amount (except in the months where there are no rounds). 

The Candidate that wins the monthly voting Round (the "Awardee") receives, in the form of an unrestricted gift, Participants' aggregated contributions for that month's Round, less service fees as described below, less 10% for 7 quarter-finalist organizations (i.e., those that are not the Awardee), and less 10% divided evenly among all Candidates other than the Awardee(This allocation is effective for all rounds that begin after July 1, 2018; prior allocation schemes, which did not divide 10% of pooled funds among quarter-finalists, can be produced upon request). 
In the event of a tie in voting, the Awardee will be the Candidate with the highest number of "favorite" endorsements (i.e., expressions of support enumerated on each Candidate's web page) from Participants. In the event of a tie in number of "favorites," the Awardee will be selected randomly.

 

Platform.  The Website is a technology platform through which Candidates seek funds and support from Participants.  The owner of the Website, Shared Nation LLC ("Shared Nation"), is not an affiliate, agent or representative of, or consultant to, any Candidate, does not solicit charitable donations on behalf of any Candidate, and does not advise any Candidate.  Shared Nation does not endorse any particular Candidate or project submitted for consideration.  Shared Nation cannot and does not verify information submitted by Candidates regarding their operations or the projects and solutions submitted for consideration, and Shared Nation disclaims all liability with respect to any of the foregoing.  Shared Nation does not represent or warrant that an Awardee will use any funds received in the manner described in its submission to the Website, or that a given project or solution will achieve any particular result.  Candidates are not required to be tax-exempt organizations in order to be considered in a Round, and Participants" monthly contributions are not tax-deductible.

Payments; Cancellation. By submitting your payment information, you agree that Shared Nation will charge your payment method for your monthly contribution on the first day of each month following a completed Round, until you cancel your participation.  When your payment method is charged, the Website's payment processor will debit your payment method for your monthly contribution amount and transmit your contribution, less service fees, to the Awardee and other Candidates in that month's Round.  At any time prior to the closing of the next Round, you may request and receive cancellation of your monthly contribution commitment by emailing team@sharednation.org. 

Voting in each voting period of a Round is encouraged but not required, and your payment method will be charged upon the closing of a Round whether or not you actually voted in any voting period of that Round.

If an Awardee declines to accept the funds contributed by Participants in a Round or Shared Nation otherwise determines such action is warranted, Shared Nation reserves the right to identify a runner-up Awardee or to apply the funds to a future Round.

Service Fees.  Candidates are not charged a fee to join a Round.  Participants' aggregated monthly contributions are transmitted to the Awardee and the other Candidates, less a portion of each Participant's contribution that covers (i) Shared Nation's service fee and (ii) the Website's payment processor's service fee. The current amount of the Shared Nation service fee is 3%; the processor service fee will be 2.9% plus $0.30 per transaction.  Service fees may change from time to time, effective upon the posting of an updated fee schedule on the Website.  By using the Website, Participants and Candidates acknowledge and agree to the then-current service fees and to any and all applicable terms and conditions set forth by our payment processor, available at https://stripe.com/us/legal.

Additional Candidate Terms.  The terms in this "Additional Candidate Terms" section apply to Candidates submitting projects and solutions for consideration on the Website.  A Candidate's use of the Website is subject to all of the provisions of these Terms and Conditions of Use.  By using the Website, a Candidate represents and warrants that (i) all information posted on the Website by the Candidate (including descriptions of the Candidate, its operations, and its project or solution) will be complete, accurate, and not misleading; (ii) any contributions received as a result of the Candidate's use of the Website will be used solely as described by the Candidate on the Website; and (iii) the Candidate complies with all federal, state, and local laws and  regulations applicable to it, its business, and its project or solution, including those relating to charitable solicitation.  A Candidate's use of the Website involves that Candidate's seeking funds and support directly from Participants.  Each Candidate acknowledges and agrees that Shared Nation does not solicit charitable donations on behalf of any Candidate, does not advise any Candidate, and is not a professional fundraising consultant, fundraising counsel, commercial fundraiser, or professional solicitor, and each Candidate agrees it will make no representations to any person to the contrary.  Many states impose charitable fund solicitation laws applicable to direct and indirect charitable solicitation activities in those states, and each Candidate is solely responsible for compliance with any such laws applicable to its operations, including its use of the Website.  

The Awardee in a Round will be based on the percentage of votes garnered in the Round's voting periods, with ties resolved as described under "How it Works," above.  Candidates acknowledge that (i) participation in a Round does not guarantee that a Candidate will be the Awardee in that Round, and (ii) the amount of contributions received by the Awardee in a Round is dependent upon the number of Participants in the Round and the amount of their monthly contributions, and an Awardee is not entitled to any particular amount or minimum amount of contributions.  Awardees receive Participant contributions in the form of unrestricted gifts, and an Awardee is solely responsible for all tax compliance associated with the receipt of contributions.  A small percentage of the contributions in a Round are distributed evenly among all Candidates who are not selected as Awardee, provided they establish an account with the Website's payment processor. Awardees in a given round are not eligible again to receive Shared Nation funding in the three months that follow their win.

Privacy.  Use of the Website is governed by Shared Nation's Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference into these Terms.

Intellectual Property Rights.  The Website and its content, features and functionality are owned by Shared Nation, Candidates, and/or their respective licensors, and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws.  Any unauthorized use of the Website or any content thereon (including the logo of Shared Nation or any Candidate) (collectively, "Content") may violate copyright laws, trademark laws or other laws, rules and regulations.  All rights to the Website and Content not expressly granted herein are reserved by and to the respective owners of such Content.  Users agree not to modify, copy, rent, lease, loan, sell, distribute or create derivative works based on the Website or any Content, in whole or in part.  Users retain ownership of their respective User Communications (as defined below), but grant to Shared Nation, its affiliates and designees, an unlimited, perpetual, transferable, fully paid up, royalty-free, irrevocable, worldwide license to use their User Communications in all media for Shared Nation"s business purposes, without the need for any acknowledgment, compensation or attribution.  Moreover, Shared Nation and its affiliates and designees are free to use any ideas, concepts, know-how, or techniques contained in any User Communication for any purpose whatsoever, including developing, marketing, and providing products and services.

User Communications.  The Website enables users to post comments and (in the case of Candidates) project descriptions on the Website (collectively, "User Communications").  A user alone is responsible for that user's User Communications.  Shared Nation does not endorse or compensate for User Communications submitted by any Website user.  Consistent with Shared Nation's Privacy Policy, User Communications will be treated as non-confidential and non- proprietary.  Accordingly, no user should post, upload, submit or share any User Communications the user wishes to be kept confidential or for which the user expects compensation, acknowledgment, or attribution.  Although Shared Nation has no obligation to do so, it may monitor messages and content posted by users and reserves the right to delete content that violates these Terms.  A user that believes a User Communication or other content violates these Terms should contact team@sharednation.org immediately so that Shared Nation can be made aware and consider necessary actions regarding content removal.

Prohibited Uses.  A user may use the Website only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms and the terms and conditions of the Website's payment processor(s).  By using the Website, a user agrees not to use, encourage, promote, facilitate or instruct others to use the Website for any illegal, harmful or offensive use, or to transmit, store, display, distribute or otherwise make available content that is illegal, harmful, or offensive.  Shared Nation may terminate or restrict a user's use of the Website (including removal of User Communications), in whole or in part, if it determines the user is violating these Terms or applicable law, or if it deems the user's conduct to be harmful to Shared Nation or others.  Prohibited uses include the following: use the Website in any way that violates any applicable laws or regulations; for the purpose of exploiting, harming or attempting to exploit or harm minors in any way; to transmit, or procure the sending of, any advertising or promotional material; to impersonate or attempt to impersonate Shared Nation, its employees or any other person or entity or engaging in other deceptive practices to abuse or defraud the Shared Nation voting system; to engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone's use or enjoyment of the Website; use any robot, spider or other automatic device, process or means to access the Website for any purpose; introduce any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, logic bombs or other malicious material; use the Website or any Content to develop a database or other information resource in any media (print, electronic, or otherwise, now existing or developed in the future) for sale to, distribution to, display to, or use by others; create aggregations, compilations or derivative works based on the Website or Content; or otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Website.

Indemnity.  Each Participant and Candidate agrees to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Shared Nation, 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 such user's use of the Website or violation of these Terms, including, but not limited to, such user's use of any Content or information obtained from the Website.

 Disclaimer of Warranty.  The Website's services are provided on an "as-is" and "as-available" basis without any warranties, express or implied, including without limitation implied warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose, non-infringement or course of performance.

Each user uses the Website at the user's own risk.

Governing Law.  All matters relating to the Website and these Terms and any dispute or claim arising therefrom or related thereto shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of New York.  By accessing or using the Website, a user consents and submits to the exclusive jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts located in New York.  A printed version of these Terms will be admissible in judicial and administrative proceedings based upon or relating to these Terms to the same extent and subject to the same conditions as other business documents and records originally generated and maintained in printed form.

Enforceability; Non-Waiver.  If any provision of these Terms conflicts with applicable law or if any provision is held invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, then such provision will be deemed to be restated to reflect as nearly as possible our original intentions, and the remainder of this Privacy Policy will remain in full force and effect.  Any failure by Shared Nation to insist upon or enforce strict performance of any provision of these Terms, or to exercise any right under these Terms, will not be construed as a waiver or relinquishment of its right to assert or rely upon any such provision or right in that or any other instance; rather, the same will remain in full force and effect.

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