Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By accessing and using OpenGiving, you accept and agree to be bound by these Terms of Service and our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use our services.

2. Description of Service

OpenGiving operates an online marketplace alongside a fundraising platform. Independent sellers list physical goods, digital downloads and freelance services, and may direct a share of each sale to a fundraising campaign. Separately, users can contribute directly to campaigns created on the platform. OpenGiving LLC holds and disburses the funds for both.

We look up delivery addresses with Google Maps, sending what you type to Google to fetch the suggestions you are offered, so your use of that part of the service is also governed by Google's Terms of Service.

3. User Accounts

To use certain features, you must create an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate and complete information
• Maintain the security of your account credentials
• Notify us immediately of any unauthorized use
• Be responsible for all activities under your account

4. Campaign Guidelines

Campaign creators must:

• Provide truthful and accurate information
• Use funds only for stated purposes
• Comply with all applicable laws and regulations
• Not create campaigns for illegal, harmful, or fraudulent purposes

5. Payments

Payments are processed by our payment providers. By making a purchase or a contribution:

• You authorize the charge to your payment method
• You understand that we charge a platform fee on each transaction
• You agree that OpenGiving receives and holds the funds, and disburses them as described in the sections below

6. Marketplace Purchases

When you buy a physical item, a digital download or a service, you are entering into a sale with the seller. We hold your payment until the seller has delivered. Delivery is confirmed when:

• Physical goods: you give the seller a four-digit confirmation code when the item reaches you
• Digital downloads: your payment is complete and the file is available for you to download
• Services: you accept the delivered work, or automatically three days after delivery if you do not respond

Once a delivery is confirmed, the seller may take their payment. If they have not taken it within seven days, we release it to them automatically. A digital download is released as soon as your payment is complete and the file is available to you.

A seller may choose to direct a share of each sale to a fundraising campaign; that share is shown to you before you pay. How and when sellers and campaign organizers are paid is described in section 7.

7. Payouts to Sellers and Organizers

We pay sellers and campaign organizers once money is due to them. For a sale, money becomes due when delivery is confirmed, as described in section 6, and we pay it when the seller takes it, or automatically seven days after confirmation. For a contribution to a campaign, it is when the payment is complete.

Card payments are paid into your own payout account with our payment provider, Stripe. To receive them, your Stripe account must be connected to OpenGiving and have completed Stripe's identity verification.

If your payout account is not ready when a card payment is due to you, we hold your share for you and pay it as soon as your account is ready. If it is not ready within 30 days of the payment becoming due, we pay it only when you ask us at support@opengiving.us, or once your account is ready.

PayPal payments are credited to your OpenGiving wallet, and you can withdraw them to your PayPal account.

Money we hold for you is not a deposit, is not held in trust for you, and does not earn interest. Payments are made by our payment providers, and we are not responsible for how long they take or for a payment they refuse, delay or reverse.

Keeping your payout account and your contact details correct and up to date is your responsibility. We may ask you to verify your identity, or carry out checks the law requires, before we pay you, and we may withhold a payment while we do. If we cannot pay you because your details are missing, wrong or unverified, we hold your share until you claim it, and we deal with money that stays unclaimed as the law requires.

8. Refunds and Disputes

Marketplace purchases. You may request a refund before you confirm delivery. The seller reviews the request; if they decline it, you can ask OpenGiving to review, and our decision is final. Approved refunds are returned to your original payment method. Confirming delivery releases your payment to the seller, so after that a refund is no longer available on the platform. If something is wrong with your order after you have confirmed delivery, contact us at support@opengiving.us and we will review it.

Services. Rather than accepting delivered work, you may raise a dispute. We review the brief, what was delivered and both accounts, and either release payment to the seller or refund you.

Digital downloads. A download cannot be returned, and your payment is released to the seller as soon as the file is available to you, so a refund of a digital download is at our discretion. If an item is not as described, contact us at support@opengiving.us.

Contributions to campaigns. A contribution funds a campaign and is not automatically refundable, because the funds may already have been passed to the organizer. A contribution made by card can be refunded on the platform while we are still holding it for the organizer; once it has been paid to them, only OpenGiving can refund it. If a contribution was made in error or without your authorization, or you believe a campaign misrepresented itself, contact us within 60 days and we will review it. Where we remove a campaign for breaching these Terms, we refund contributions that have not yet been disbursed.

Please contact us at support@opengiving.us before disputing a charge with your bank. We can usually resolve it faster. OpenGiving responds to chargebacks on payments made through the platform. Where a chargeback concerns money already paid to a seller or organizer, we decide case by case whether to recover it from them.

9. Prohibited Activities

You agree not to:

• Use the service for any unlawful purpose
• Impersonate others or provide false information
• Interfere with or disrupt the service
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to our systems
• Harass, abuse, or harm other users

10. Intellectual Property

Users retain ownership of content they create. By posting content, you grant us a license to use, display, and distribute it in connection with our services.

11. Disclaimer of Warranties

Our services are provided “as is” without warranties of any kind. We do not guarantee that the service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free.

12. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, OpenGiving shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of our services.

13. Changes to Terms

We may update these terms from time to time. We will notify users of material changes. Continued use of our services after changes constitutes acceptance of the new terms.

14. Contact Information

For questions about these Terms of Service, please contact us at:

Email: legal@opengiving.us