Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are a binding agreement between you and the operator of Social Exchange (“Social Exchange,” “we,” “our,” or “us”). They govern your access to socialexchange.co and our related applications and services (collectively, the “Platform”). By creating an account, clicking to accept these Terms, or using the Platform, you agree to these Terms.

These Terms apply to volunteers, event organizers, nonprofit and community organizations, local businesses, sponsors, and all other visitors and users. If you use the Platform for an organization or business, you represent that you have authority to bind it to these Terms. Our Privacy Policy explains how we handle personal information and is incorporated into these Terms by reference.

2. Eligibility and Accounts

You must be at least 13 years old to use the Platform. If you are under 18, you may use it only with the consent and supervision of a parent or legal guardian and only where permitted by the event organizer. A parent or guardian who permits a minor to use the Platform agrees to these Terms on the minor's behalf and is responsible for the minor's activity.

You must provide accurate, current, and complete account information, keep your credentials confidential, and promptly notify us at legal@socialexchange.co of suspected unauthorized use. You are responsible for activity under your account except to the extent caused by our breach of applicable law.

3. The Platform's Role

Social Exchange provides technology that helps organizations publish volunteer opportunities, volunteers record verified service, businesses offer perks, and sponsors support events. Unless we expressly state otherwise in writing, we do not organize, operate, supervise, endorse, insure, or control third-party events, organizations, businesses, sponsors, users, or offers. We do not guarantee that a user, listing, event, reported impact, or offer is accurate, safe, suitable, lawful, available, or eligible for any particular grant, tax, employment, school, or professional purpose.

4. Organizations and Event Safety

Each organization or event organizer is solely responsible for its events, including:

• accurate listings, eligibility requirements, schedules, cancellations, and volunteer communications;
• appropriate supervision, staffing, training, equipment, accessibility, transportation, and emergency procedures;
• screening or background checks when appropriate or required, particularly for work involving minors or vulnerable people;
• all permits, insurance, participant releases, guardian consents, and legally required health or safety measures;
• compliance with labor, volunteer, nonprofit, anti-discrimination, safeguarding, and other applicable laws; and
• verifying attendance and hours used for Karma, grants, school credit, employer programs, or other reporting.

Organizers must promptly report and appropriately respond to safety incidents. Volunteers must follow organizer instructions, use reasonable care, disclose relevant participation needs when appropriate, and independently assess whether an activity is suitable for them. Event-specific waivers or rules may also apply; if they conflict with these Terms, these Terms govern your use of the Platform while the event-specific terms govern participation in the event.

5. Karma and Perks

Karma is a limited, revocable Platform record recognizing verified volunteer activity. Karma is not money, property, stored value, cryptocurrency, a security, an investment, or a promise of any monetary value. It cannot be purchased, sold, transferred, traded, or exchanged for cash.

• Karma may be earned only for activity verified under our then-current rules.
• We may correct or reverse Karma credited through error, duplicate reporting, fraud, or invalid verification.
• Businesses—not Social Exchange—publish and fulfill perks and are responsible for honoring their stated terms.
• Perks may have eligibility, location, inventory, expiration, and redemption limits disclosed in their listings.
• Completed redemptions are final unless the business or applicable law provides otherwise.

We may modify the Karma program prospectively. For a material reduction or discontinuation, we will provide at least 30 days' notice when reasonably practicable and, unless fraud, legal requirements, security concerns, or circumstances outside our control prevent it, a reasonable opportunity to redeem an existing valid balance. Karma may be forfeited when an account is terminated for fraud, abuse, or another material violation of these Terms.

6. Business Offers

A business publishing a perk must describe all material conditions clearly, maintain accurate availability, train relevant staff, honor valid redemptions consistent with the listing, and comply with advertising, consumer-protection, tax, licensing, and other applicable laws. A business may impose disclosed quantity or campaign limits but may not add undisclosed restrictions after a user redeems. Social Exchange may remove an offer or restrict a business account when an offer is misleading, unavailable, unlawful, or repeatedly not honored.

7. Sponsorships, Fees, and Refunds

Sponsorship payments are processed by a third-party payment processor and may also be subject to its terms. The recipient, Platform fee, processor fee, and any event-specific conditions will be disclosed before confirmation. Except where expressly stated, Social Exchange does not hold sponsorship funds in escrow.

A sponsorship is not tax-deductible unless the recipient supplies valid documentation expressly stating that it is deductible. Sponsors are responsible for determining their own tax treatment. Recipients are responsible for their use of funds, required disclosures, fulfillment of sponsorship benefits, taxes, and compliance with fundraising and charitable-solicitation laws.

If an event is canceled before sponsorship funds are released, the sponsor will receive a refund of the sponsorship amount; disclosed processor fees may be nonrefundable where permitted by law. After funds are released, refunds are not guaranteed and ordinarily must be resolved with the recipient. We may issue or require a refund for duplicate charges, processing errors, fraud, material misrepresentation, or where required by law. Billing errors must be reported within 7 days after discovery, without limiting rights that cannot legally be waived.

8. Acceptable Use

You may not:

• publish false, deceptive, infringing, unsafe, discriminatory, or unlawful content;
• fabricate attendance, volunteer hours, impact measurements, sponsorships, or redemptions;
• harass, exploit, threaten, discriminate against, or endanger another person;
• impersonate another person or entity or misrepresent your authority or affiliation;
• interfere with security, probe vulnerabilities, introduce malicious code, or bypass access controls or rate limits;
• scrape, harvest, or use Platform data without authorization, including to train an automated system; or
• use the Platform for spam, unauthorized advertising, fraud, money laundering, or any unlawful purpose.

9. User Content

You retain ownership of content you submit. You represent that you have all rights and permissions needed to submit it and that it does not violate law or another person's rights.

You grant Social Exchange a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, format, adapt for technical or accessibility purposes, display, distribute, and make your content available through the Platform and related Platform promotion. This license permits sublicensing only to service providers and distribution channels helping us operate or promote the Platform. It ends when your content is deleted, except for content already shared at your direction, reasonable backup retention, and records we must preserve for legal, safety, fraud-prevention, or compliance purposes. We may—but are not required to—review or remove content.

10. Our Intellectual Property

The Platform, including its software, design, text, graphics, trademarks, and other content we provide, is owned by or licensed to Social Exchange and protected by applicable laws. Subject to these Terms, we grant you a personal, limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable right to use the Platform for its intended purpose. No other rights are granted.

11. Copyright Complaints

If you believe content on the Platform infringes your copyright, email a detailed notice to legal@socialexchange.co, identifying the protected work, the allegedly infringing material and its location, your contact information, a statement of good-faith belief, a statement under penalty of perjury that the notice is accurate and you are authorized to act, and your physical or electronic signature. We may remove allegedly infringing material and terminate repeat infringers where appropriate.

12. Suspension and Termination

You may stop using the Platform and request account deletion at any time. We may remove content or suspend or terminate access when we reasonably believe you violated these Terms, created risk or legal exposure, engaged in fraud or abuse, or when needed to protect users or the Platform. When practicable, we will provide notice and an opportunity to appeal by contacting us. We may act without prior notice in urgent safety, security, fraud, or legal circumstances. Provisions that by their nature should survive—including ownership, payment obligations, disclaimers, liability limits, indemnity, and dispute terms—survive termination.

13. Disclaimers

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE.” SOCIAL EXCHANGE DISCLAIMS ALL EXPRESS OR IMPLIED WARRANTIES, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE PLATFORM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, SECURE, ERROR-FREE, OR THAT LISTINGS, USERS, EVENTS, HOURS, IMPACT REPORTS, SPONSORSHIPS, OR PERKS WILL BE ACCURATE, SAFE, AVAILABLE, OR SUITABLE.

VOLUNTEER ACTIVITIES MAY INVOLVE INHERENT AND UNEXPECTED RISKS. TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, YOU VOLUNTARILY ASSUME THE RISKS OF PARTICIPATING IN THIRD-PARTY EVENTS. NOTHING IN THESE TERMS EXCLUDES A WARRANTY OR RIGHT THAT APPLICABLE LAW DOES NOT ALLOW TO BE EXCLUDED.

14. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, SOCIAL EXCHANGE AND ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, PUNITIVE, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES; LOST PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR OPPORTUNITIES; OR DAMAGES ARISING FROM A THIRD-PARTY EVENT, ORGANIZER, USER, BUSINESS, SPONSOR, OFFER, OR PAYMENT RECIPIENT.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THEIR TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE PLATFORM OR THESE TERMS WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE PLATFORM FEES YOU PAID DIRECTLY TO SOCIAL EXCHANGE DURING THE 12 MONTHS BEFORE THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM OR (B) $100. THESE LIMITS DO NOT APPLY TO FRAUD, WILLFUL MISCONDUCT, OR LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE LIMITED BY LAW.

15. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by law, organizations, event organizers, businesses, sponsors, and users acting for an entity will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Social Exchange and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents from third-party claims, damages, losses, and reasonable legal fees arising from their events, offers, sponsorships, content, violation of law, infringement of another person's rights, or material breach of these Terms. This obligation does not apply to the extent a claim was caused by Social Exchange's own negligence, willful misconduct, or violation of law. We will provide prompt notice and permit reasonable control of the defense, subject to our right to participate and approve any settlement imposing obligations on us.

16. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms to reflect changes to the Platform, law, or our operations. We will post the revised Terms and update the effective date. We will provide registered users reasonable advance notice by email or a prominent Platform notice for material changes, except when an immediate change is required for legal, security, or fraud-prevention reasons. Material changes apply prospectively. Your continued use after the effective date constitutes acceptance; if you disagree, you must stop using the Platform.

17. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by California law, without regard to conflict-of-law rules. Except for claims eligible for small-claims court, any dispute must be brought in the state or federal courts located in San Francisco County, California, and each party consents to their jurisdiction. Nothing in this section deprives a consumer of mandatory protections or the right to bring a claim in another forum where applicable law prohibits this venue requirement. Before filing a claim, please contact us and allow 30 days for a good-faith attempt at informal resolution.

18. General Terms

These Terms and documents expressly incorporated into them are the entire agreement concerning the Platform. If a provision is unenforceable, it will be modified only as much as necessary and the remainder will remain effective. A failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, reorganization, or sale of assets. We are not liable for delay caused by events beyond our reasonable control. Section headings are for convenience only. Electronic notices and acceptances satisfy written-form requirements to the extent permitted by law.

19. Contact

Questions, complaints, or legal notices concerning these Terms may be sent to legal@socialexchange.co.