Date of posting: 27/04/2020
Scroll down to view each section in more detail.
A. Introduction
1.Welcome
2. Accessing and using Crowdfunder.co.uk
3. Your privacy
4. Account registration
B. Creating Projects, offering rewards and making Pledges
1. Our role
2. Project Owners
3. Backers
4. Other important terms
C. Additional terms for Projects for investing in Community Shares
1. Our role
2. Project Owners
3. Backers
D. Terms for Community Members
1. About the content you and other Users provide to Crowdfunder.co.uk
2. Exchanging personal information with other Users
3. Misuse of the siteDisputes between Community Members
E. General provisions
1. Our content
2. Third-party software
3. Links
4. Promises, liability and disclaimer
5. Indemnity
6. Copyright complaints
7. General complaints and requests for further information
8. Written communications
9. General
10. Changes to these Terms and to Crowdfunder.co.uk
11. Contact us
A. Introduction
This section contains information about our website and the fundraising platform we provide. It also explains how to access and register with the website and provides links to our policies and guidelines. These apply to your use of this website including the types of content you are permitted to post, the types of projects and related rewards we permit you to offer and what we do with any personal information we collect as you use this website.
Please note that we do not offer regulated investments through the platform. Therefore we are not authorised or regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. As with all rewards-based crowdfunding and sales of community shares, there is no recourse to either the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
1. Welcome
1.1 Welcome to Crowdfunder. The www.crowdfunder.co.uk website and all other websites in the Crowdfunder family of websites and the services provided through them (collectively, “Crowdfunder.co.uk”) are operated and owned by Crowdfunder Limited (“we”, “us” or “our” as appropriate). For further information about us and our contact details, please visit the About Us page and see paragraph 11 of Section E, Contact us below.
1.2 We may make our services available through a number of channels. They are currently available through Crowdfunder.co.uk.
1.3 To make these Terms quicker to read, we use a few key definitions: we refer to Community Members (as defined below) that are seeking to raise funds and offer Rewards for doing so as “Project Owners”, their fundraising projects as “Projects”, the aims of a Project as its “Project Goal”, Community Members that support those Projects by contributing funds as “Backers”, their contributions as “Pledges”, the minimum total value of Pledges sought by a Project Owner for a particular Project as the “Funding Target”, the maximum period for which Pledges can be made for a Project as the “Fundraising Period” and the total value of Pledges (excluding cancelled Pledges) that a Project has received at the end of the Fundraising Period as “Total Pledges”. Community Members and other visitors to Crowdfunder.co.uk are referred to as “Users” or “you”, as applicable. We refer to a Charity registered with The Charity Commission in the UK as a “Registered Charity” and to a Registered Charity specifically registered with The Charities Trust on its database as a “Crowdfunder Charity”. The Charities Trust is a donations management organisation with registered charity number 327489 and company number 2142757.
1.4 We provide a platform for individuals and organisations registered with Crowdfunder.co.uk (“Community Members”) to raise funds for Projects that benefit their community and to contribute to those Projects by funding them or by contributing their time and skills. The platform allows Project Owners to offer unique items, services or experiences (“Rewards”) as ‘thank you’ gifts for this support and also provides them with an opportunity to build a community around each Project by promoting it on the platform and on certain social media sites to friends, family and other supporters. We also provide an ‘online meeting place’ and platform through which Community Members can raise finance for and invest in Co-operative Society or Community Benefit Society’s shares (“Community Shares”).
1.5 These Terms of Use are organised into 5 sections. Those in this Section A and in Section E apply to all Users, whether Community Members or those just visiting. Those in Sections B and C apply specifically to Project Owners and Backers and those in Section D apply to all Community Members. Our Projects and Rewards Guidelines form part of the terms and conditions that are incorporated in the contract between us (collectively, the “Terms”) so please take the time to read them.
1.6 You will see that each section of these Terms of Use begins with a ‘highlight’ text box which summarises the key terms in that section. These highlights are an informal summary and do not form part of the contract between us.
1.7 Please read these Terms carefully before you start to use Crowdfunder.co.uk, as they will govern your use of Crowdfunder.co.uk, the Projects and Rewards that you create and offer as a Project Owner and the Pledges you make as a Backer, as well as the content you post as a Community Member. We recommend that you print or save a copy of these Terms for future reference.
1.8 By using Crowdfunder.co.uk, you confirm that you accept these Terms and that you agree to comply with them. If you are using Crowdfunder.co.uk in connection with your organisation, the terms 'you', 'your' or 'your organisation' in these Terms are also a reference to the business, charity institution or other organisation or entity (“Business”) on whose behalf you act when using, registering, backing or creating a Project on Crowdfunder.co.uk. If you do not want to be bound (or your Business to be bound, where applicable) by these Terms please do not access, use and/or contribute any content to Crowdfunder.co.uk or interact with its Community Members.
1.9 If you have any queries or concerns regarding these Terms, please contact us using the details in paragraph 11 of Section E, Contact us below.
2. Accessing and using Crowdfunder.co.uk
2.1 Anyone can access Crowdfunder.co.uk. However, to post a Project and become a Project Owner or make a Pledge as a Backer you will need to register as a Community Member by signing up and creating an account. For that purpose, you must be at least 18 years of age or, if higher, the age at which you are legally recognised as an adult in your jurisdiction and there must be no reason why you should not be in contact with any other Community Members. To create an account, please go to the Sign Up page. To receive funds raised from Projects, Project Owners must have a UK bank account. To make a Pledge, Backers will require a valid payment card acceptable to us.
2.2 You are not eligible to use Crowdfunder.co.uk if we have temporarily suspended or previously terminated your access to Crowdfunder.co.uk and we have not expressly authorised you in writing to resume using Crowdfunder.co.uk.
2.3 We try to make Crowdfunder.co.uk available at all times, but, of course, we cannot guarantee this. Please see further paragraph 4 of Section E, Promises, liability and disclaimer regarding the availability of Crowdfunder.co.uk.
3. Your privacy
3.1 We take your privacy very seriously. Please read our Privacy Policy to see how we use your personal information.
4. Account registration
4.1 You can sign up and create your account on the Sign Up page. You can also create an account with Crowdfunder.co.uk by linking your Facebook account using the ‘Continue with Facebook’ facility on the Sign Up page. Whether using the standard registration process or registering using Facebook, you will be asked to confirm your acceptance of these Terms.
4.2 You must make sure that all the information you provide when you register with Crowdfunder.co.uk is true, accurate and current and complete.
4.3 If you change any of your registration details (e.g. email address, postal address), you must update your account.
4.4 To help us maintain the security of Crowdfunder.co.uk, you, and any person with whom you share your login details, must keep your login details confidential. Please do not share your login details with any person you do not know and trust or that is not involved in your Project (nor leave your device unattended whilst logged into Crowdfunder.co.uk) as you will be held responsible for all activities that occur on your account (with or without your knowledge) as a result of doing so. If you become aware of any misuse or unauthorised use of your login details, then you must inform us immediately by sending an email to us.
4.5 In the event that you have, or we have reason to believe that you have breached, or will breach these Terms, we may terminate or suspend your registration and/or access to Crowdfunder.co.uk and/or to any content made available on Crowdfunder.co.uk.
4.6 You can request deletion of your account at any time as long as you do not have any active Projects or any outstanding Rewards or Pledges relating to unexpired Projects you have backed. Please email us to request deletion of your account.
4.7 We reserve the right to delete your account at any time.
B. Creating Projects, offering Rewards and making Pledges.
This section sets out the terms that apply to the projects that your create and the rewards you offer or the pledges or other contributions you make in support of projects.
1. Our role
1.1 What we do
1.1.1 We provide an ‘online meeting place’ and platform through which Community Members can raise finance for their community-focused and charitable Projects and offer Rewards or support those Projects by making Pledges and receiving Rewards. By providing this platform, together with crowdfunding tips and guidance, we facilitate agreement between Project Owners and Backers for Pledges and Rewards, subject always to these Terms; ‘ground rules’ that we put in place to act as safeguards for the benefit of all Community Members. We also provide an ‘online meeting place’ and platform through which Community Members can raise finance for and invest in Community Shares.
1.1.2 Although we may from time to time agree to promote and advertise certain Projects or help to raise awareness of their Project Goals, we will not be involved in the management of or use of Pledges in relation to a Project nor will we directly offer or fulfil Rewards ourselves.
1.2 What we don’t do
1.2.1 Other than as mentioned above, we do not have any involvement in any arrangements Community Members make with each other through Crowdfunder.co.uk. We therefore do not accept any responsibility for the nature or quality of a Project or community share’s performance or any Rewards or returns, nor do we promise that any Community Member, whether Project Owner or Backer, will do as they promise. The arrangements you make are solely private and the contracts relating to Projects, Pledges, Community Shares and/or Rewards are made directly between the individual parties concerned. Accordingly, when using Crowdfunder.co.uk, you take full responsibility for your arrangements with other Community Members whom you contact and the nature, terms and extent of your arrangements with them and obligations to them.
1.2.2 We do not verify the identity of anyone who becomes a Community Member nor the information they provide about their Project, the Rewards offered or themselves. We cannot therefore give any guarantee that any of the Community Members are who they say they are or that the information they provide is accurate, complete or true. Consequently, we make no recommendation or representations in relation to any Community Members or their Projects.
2. Project Owners
2.1 Creating and updating Projects
2.1.1 Once you have registered as a Community Member, you can create and post details of your Project to a publicly accessible webpage on Crowdfunder.co.uk (“Project Profile Page”) using the functionality we provide.
2.1.2 We have specific rules regarding the types of Projects that you can post on Crowdfunder.co.uk. Please see our Projects and Rewards Guidelines which contain these rules and form part of our Terms.
2.1.3 You may not raise funds via another online crowdfunding or similar platform (whether website or app) during the Funding Period of your Project and all Pledges from Community Members must be made through Crowdfunder.co.uk. Otherwise, unless we specifically agree an exclusive arrangement with you in writing, you are not obliged to raise funds for your Project exclusively via Crowdfunder.co.uk which means you are free to raise funds using other means and channels and source of finance.
2.1.4 Although we recommend you have no more than one active Project at any one time, we permit you to post as many active Projects as you like.
2.1.5 There is no limit on the Funding Target you select for each Project. If you are a Business that is registered for VAT, please take this into account when calculating the Funding Target for your Project.
2.1.6 When submitting details of your Project, you will be presented with three funding options, as follows:
- ‘All Or Nothing’ – if you choose this option when listing your Project, we will only distribute funds to you if you reach your Fundraising Target. If you do not reach your Fundraising Target, all Pledges and tips will be returned to Backers.
- ‘Keep What You Raise’ – if you choose this option when listing your Project, we will distribute funds to you at the end of the Fundraising Period regardless whether any Fundraising Target has been reached.
- Forever Funding – if you choose this option your Project will stay open to receive Pledges on a continuous basis (but at a minimum for the Fundraising Period below) and we will transfer funds to you on a daily basis.
2.1.7 The minimum Fundraising Period that you can choose for your Project is 28 days and the maximum is 8 weeks.
2.1.8 Your Project may take up to 3 working days before it goes live and your Project Profile Page is made available on Crowdfunder.co.uk. From time to time, we may provide a Crowdfunding coach (“Coach”) to provide guidance relating to your Project, think of ideas for Rewards and offer tips for marketing and press exposure. If we do so, your Coach will usually be assigned to you within 24 hours of submitting your Project details. Please note that Coaches provide general guidance and information only and neither they nor us will be liable to you in connection with the Project Goal, any Project, Rewards and/or performance, promotion and marketing of your Project, which all remain solely your responsibility. Please see the About Us page for further information regarding our Coaches.
2.1.9 Once you have submitted your Project details for posting you cannot change its Project Goal, the Funding Target or the Fundraising Period. You can however change the Rewards for your Project provided that you have not received any Pledges.
2.1.10 You may post content and other material (e.g. promotional material such as a video containing your Project) and post Project updates to keep Backers updated on the performance of your Project. Please see further paragraph 1 of Section D, About the content you and others provide to Crowdfunder.co.uk, for the rules relating to the content you post on Crowdfunder.co.uk.
2.1.11 If you choose All Or Nothing You may withdraw a Project at any point before the end of the Fundraising Period. Once you have done so, you will not be entitled to any Pledges when you withdraw. You also will not be able to resume that Project at a later date whilst retaining funds from any of the Pledges you had received at the time of withdrawal. If you are using Keep What You Raise you may withdraw a Project at any point before the end of the Fundraising Period. Once you have done so, you will be entitled to receive funds from any Pledges at the time you withdraw. You will not be able to resume that Project at a later date whilst retaining any of the Pledges you had received at the time of withdrawal. If you are using Forever Funding you may withdraw a Project at any point. Once you have done so, you will be entitled to any Pledges at the time you withdraw.
2.1.12 We reserve the right, but are not obliged, to attempt to verify your identity and other information you provide to us and to reject, cancel, interrupt, remove, or suspend an active Project at any time and for any reason. In particular, Projects or Pledges that are flagged to us as fraudulent by Backers or our third party payment providers will be subject to review. If we find fraudulent Pledges have been made to your Project, we will cancel those Pledges and remove the details of the associated Backer from your Project Profile Page. If, in our sole discretion, we determine your Project to be a high fraud risk we may also ask you for more information and you agree to respond to such requests and provide such information within a reasonable time. We or our payment providers may also perform an examination before any funds are distributed to you. We will not be liable to you for any losses that you suffer or incur as a result of us taking any of the actions in this paragraph 2.1.12. We reserve the right to pass on the cost of chargebacks to you.
2.1.13 If the Fundraising Period of your Project ends without any distribution of funds to you (for reasons other than a breach by you of these Terms) you may choose to recreate your Project and repost it for submission.
2.1.14 You may be eligible to apply for additional funding for your Projects from our partners (“Extra Funding”). At the time you submit your Project for listing, we may indicate to you which partners offer Extra Funding that may be available for your Project. If you subsequently submit an expression of interest form for Extra Funding we endeavour to notify you of the funds offered by that partner for which you may be eligible to apply. Any Extra Funding will be subject to application and approval by the relevant partner. We do not guarantee the availability of such funding nor that any application you make for such funding will be successful. The provision of those funds and the terms and conditions under which they are available to you are determined solely at the discretion of the relevant partner. Any Extra Funding you apply for will not count towards your Funding Target and you should not set that target in anticipation of receiving any Extra Funding. Your eligibility to apply for, receive and use any Extra Funding will be subject to the relevant partner’s terms and conditions. For more information on Extra Funding, including partners that offer such funding and how to apply, please visit the Extra Funding page. Our distribution to you of funds from Pledges you receive will not be affected if you do not receive any Extra Funding. Separate fees apply to any Extra Funding your Project receives instead of the fees charged on Pledges from Backers, which do not apply to Extra Funding. The fees payable by you in relation to Extra Funding you receive are set out in paragraph 2.3.2 of this Section B.
2.1.15 We do not provide funds for Projects and/or offer Rewards to Community Members. All finance for Projects and/or offers of Rewards are made by Community Members to Community Members. Should the Projects and/or offer of Rewards relate to active or pending legal proceedings we take no involvement in such Projects, we do not stand to benefit personally as to the outcome of any Project nor do we seek to control Projects or their outcomes.
2.2 Offering Rewards
2.2.1 We have specific rules regarding the types of Rewards that you can offer to Backers on Crowdfunder.co.uk. Please see our Projects and Rewards Guidelines which contain these rules and form part of our Terms.
2.2.2 You can choose whether or not to limit the number of Rewards you offer for each Pledge amount.
2.2.3 You must have all the permissions, consents and licences that are necessary to offer all Rewards relating to your Project before you offer them on your Project Profile Page.
2.3 Fees payable by Project Owners and receiving funds
2.3.1 There is no charge for creating a Project and publishing details of the Project on Crowdfunder.co.uk nor are there any fees payable if the Fundraising Period for your Project ends without any distribution of funds to you.
2.3.2 If you are an individual and your Project is fundraising for a Crowdfunder Charity then, provided the Pledges are transferred directly to the Crowdfunder Charity, no fees will apply in respect of our receipt and transfer of those Pledges.
For all Projects fundraising for a cause relating to a person’s or group’s personal need that is unrelated to legal, regulatory or similar proceedings(“Personal Cause”) or certain other types of Projects notified by us through Crowdfunder.co.uk (including on a temporary basis), no Crowdfunder fee will apply, although transaction fees may still apply, as set out in our Fees page.
For all other Projects, the Crowdfunder and transaction fees set out on our Fees page will be deducted from the Pledges we receive for your Project before they are distributed to you.
2.3.3 All fees payable by Project Owners are subject to Value Added Tax (“VAT”) at the applicable rate in force from time to time . Please note that VAT is assessed on the above fees and not the Total Pledges raised and you are solely responsible for ensuring that you are registered for VAT or similar sales tax as required by the applicable laws of the jurisdiction in which your Business is established.
2.3.4 For All Or Nothing Projects if the Total Pledges meet or exceed the Funding Target at the end of the Fundraising Period, the amounts due to Project Owners will be transferred to Project Owners within approximately 7 working days to the bank account specified by the Project Owner.
2.3.5 For Keep What You Raise Projects the amounts due to Project Owners will be transferred at the end of the Fundraising Period, or sooner if the Project Owner chooses to close the Project before that period ends. The amounts due to Project Owners will be transferred on a daily basis for Forever Funding Projects.
2.3.6 Please note that the above timescales are estimates only and there may be a delay between the end of the Fundraising Period for a successful Project and your access to any funds. All amounts transferred from Pledges to Project Owners will be calculated in accordance with paragraph 2 of this Section B.
2.3.7 The amounts due to Project Owners will only be transferred to them once the Project Owner has verified the Project in the financial section of their account and if a Project Owner does not do this within 28 days of the date the amounts due to the Project Owner are first available to be transferred in accordance with this paragraph 2 then all Pledges shall be returned to Backers.
2.3.8 All fees payable to us, and any amounts payable by us to Project Owners, will be paid in British pounds sterling.
2.4 Pledges
2.4.1 Backers may fail to fulfil payment of Pledges and you acknowledge that their payment of Pledges is entirely outside of our control. Consequently, we cannot guarantee and shall have no liability to any Project Owner for their failure to receive any funds Pledged by Backers in relation to their Project(s) via Crowdunder.co.uk.
2.4.2 In the event we are unable to verify any information to our satisfaction, we may delay, withhold, cancel or refund any Pledges or other amounts without giving any notice to you and do so without incurring any liability to you.
2.4.3 Project Owners may contact us to cancel any Pledge for any reason and at any time before the Fundraising Period ends or the Project otherwise successfully closes and shall not be required to fulfil any related Rewards if they do so. After the Fundraising Period has ended or the Project successfully closes and the amounts due from Pledges have been transferred to a Project Owner, that Project Owner will be responsible for refunding any amounts to Backers (see paragraph 2.6.1(i) of this Section B for further information).
2.4.4 If you choose the All Or Nothing’ funding option and your Project does not reach its Fundraising Target by the end of the Fundraising Period, any Pledges made by Backers for the Project will be cancelled and you will not be entitled to receive any funds in respect of them.
2.4.5 If you choose the Keep What You Raise funding option, any amounts due from Pledges to your Project will be transferred to the Project Owner irrespective of your Project reaching its Fundraising Target by the end of the Fundraising Period.
2.4.6 If you choose the Forever Funding funding option, any amounts due from Pledges to your Project will be transferred to the Project Owner on a daily basis irrespective of your Project reaching its Fundraising Target.
2.4.7 The minimum single Pledge amount is £1. All Pledges must be paid in British pounds sterling.
2.4.8 Where your organisation is able to claim Gift Aid you will be given the option to make Pledges eligible for Gift Aid and to collect the necessary information from Backers to enable you to claim Gift Aid from HMRC. It is your responsibility (and not ours) to ensure that each Pledge meets the qualifying criteria for Gift Aid in accordance with HMRC guidance and that you only seek to claim Gift Aid on such Pledges.
2.4.9 We are not financial, tax or accounting advisers and you should not rely on information in these Terms or that otherwise appears on Crowdfunder.co,uk to determine the financial, tax or accounting treatment of any Pledges you receive using Crowdfunder.co,uk. Please seek advice from an appropriately qualified professional if you are unsure in respect of any of these matters.
2.5 Communicating with Backers and Personal data we share with you relating to Backers
2.5.1 We may make available to you via your account or another part of Crowdfunder.co.uk details of each Backer that makes a Pledge to your Project which may include personal data relating to those Backers (including their name, email address, date and amount of their Pledge and any comments they make). You acknowledge that your processing of that personal data during and after the Fundraising Period including during the course of your Project (e.g. to keep in contact with Backers about the progress of your Project and your achievements) is processing for which you determine the purpose and means, independently of us. As a result, for the purposes of data protection and privacy laws, you are a separate controller of that personal data when using it for your own purposes and shall ensure you comply with all such laws in relation to the use of that information. In particular, you shall ensure you do not contact individuals with any marketing materials without consent where such consent is required by law.
2.5.2 We may make available to you functionality within your account that allows you to send emails or messages to Backers. To the extent that we are, for the purposes of data protection law, a processor of the personal data we process when you use this functionality, the terms of our Data Processing Addendum available on Crowdfunder.co.uk will apply.
2.6 Project Owners’ Obligations
2.6.1 As a Project Owner, you shall:
(a) apply any funds you receive from Backers solely and directly for the purpose of achieving the Project Goals and for no other purposes;
(b) meet all commitments you make in your Project including, but not limited to, delivering all Rewards you offer to Backers;
(c) use all reasonable endeavours to fulfil each Reward by the estimated fulfilment or delivery date (as applicable) specified by you on the applicable Project Profile Page.
(d) promptly and accurately respond in full and to our satisfaction to all queries, clarifications or requests made by us and/or any Backer;
(e) comply with all your obligations as a ‘controller’ of personal data under applicable data protection and privacy laws, including by providing appropriate privacy information to the Backers whose information you receive through Crowdfunder.co.uk;
(f) promptly contact and work with Backers to reach a mutually satisfactory resolution, which may include refunding their Pledges if you are unable to fulfil any of your commitments (including providing any Rewards);
(g) comply with all applicable laws and regulations in relation to your Project, your use of Pledges and your offer and fulfilment of Rewards;
(h) be responsible for paying all fees and collecting and remitting all applicable taxes (including income tax and VAT or similar taxes) connected with your use of Crowdfunder.co.uk, the Pledges you receive and the Rewards you offer;
(i) where you have received any Pledges, be responsible for issuing refund of Pledges to and responding to requests for refunds of Pledges from, Backers;
(j) not take any action or make any business or other decision in reliance on having your Project posted on Crowdfunder.co.uk or on having any funds from Pledges until you have the received clear funds into your bank account; and
(k) provide all assistance and co-operation required by us from time to time, including by providing copies of any records or information you hold, in particular in respect of any regulatory investigation, audit or enquiry.
3. Backers
3.1 Types of contribution
3.1.1 Backers can contribute to a Project by:
(a) making a Pledge; and/or
(b) offering their time and skills to a Project Owner by sending a private message to them using the internal messaging feature on Crowdfunder.co.uk. If you offer your time and skill you do so at your own risk and will be solely responsible for any arrangements you make with Project Owners in connection with the provision of the services that you offer.
3.1.2 You acknowledge that your contribution (whether financial or otherwise) does not entitle you to any rights in or to any Project, including any ownership, control or intellectual property rights.
3.1.3 At the time you make a Pledge you may choose to pay a tip to us. If your individual Pledge or Pledges are cancelled or refunded or if all Pledges for a Project are returned, your tip to us will be refunded to you without deduction.
3.2 Making a Pledge.
3.2.1 Once you have registered as a Community Member, you can make a Pledge by visiting the Project Profile Page of a Project, selecting the amount you wish to contribute and the Reward you would like to receive then selecting your payment method and submitting payment.
3.2.2 Your username will be made publicly available in connection with each Project for which you make a Pledge under the ‘Backers’ tab of the Project Profile Page unless you choose to make a Pledge anonymously. If you do make an anonymous Pledge, although your details will not be published on Crowdfunder.co.uk, your details will still be shared with the relevant Project Owner.
3.3 Rewards
3.3.1 If you wish, you may make a Pledge and elect not to receive a Reward.
3.3.2 Once you have made a Pledge, you cannot change your selected Reward without cancelling your Pledge.
3.4 Payment methods
3.3.1 Once you have confirmed the amount you wish to Pledge, you will be prompted to pay via our third party payment provider, Stripe Payments Europe Limited (“Stripe”). Separate terms and conditions will apply to the provision of payment services provided to you by and the payments you make using its services (“Crowdfunder Payments”). Any personal information you provide to Stripe will be processed in accordance with its privacy policies and not ours. Please see our Privacy Policy for further details regarding your personal information and the third party service providers that we use.
3.4.2 When paying using Crowdfunder Payments we take your Pledge and any tips immediately and hold it in a secure account. We are therefore responsible for distributing funds to Project Owners and for issuing refunds while the Project is open. Please see paragraph 3.6.4 in this Section B for further details on refunds.
3.4.3 For All Or Nothing Projects, if the Funding Period ends but does not meet or exceed its Funding Target, your Pledge will be refunded within 5-10 days.
3.4.4 If you make a Pledge on a Keep What You Raise Project, your Pledge will only be refunded if we or the Project Owner cancels the Project (without closing the Project). Pledges for Forever Funding Projects cannot be cancelled.
3.4.5 If you make a Pledge to a Crowdfunder Charity, it will be processed using Stripe and passed from Stripe’s secure account to The Charities Trust.
3.4.6 The Charities Trust will be responsible for holding the Crowdfunder Charity funds in a secure account, for processing all relevant Gift Aid and for paying the funds to the Crowdfunder Charity’s nominated bank account.
3.5 Fees payable by Backers
3.5.1 If you choose to pay a Pledge by Crowdfunder Payments, then no processing fees are payable in addition to your Pledge and (if applicable) tip amount(s).
3.6 Cancelling a Pledge and Refunds
3.6.1 You may cancel a Pledge (and any tip) on an All Or Nothing or Keep What You Raise Project without charge at any time before the end of the Funding Period for a Project, whether it has reached its Fundraising Target or not. If you do so, you will not be eligible to receive any Rewards in relation to your Pledge. You are unable to cancel a Pledge once made in relation to any Forever Funding Project.
3.6.2 If a Project for which you have made a Pledge is not deemed funded by the end of the Fundraising Period and is under the All Or Nothing funding scheme, your Pledge will be cancelled automatically.
3.6.3 You may not cancel your Pledge once a Project’s Fundraising Period has ended if at the end of the Fundraising Period the Project is deemed funded. This does not affect your statutory or legal rights. Advice about these rights is available from your local Citizens' Advice Bureau or Trading Standards office. Please see further paragraph 4.1 of this Section B, The contract between Project Owners and Backers.
3.6.4 Once your Pledge has been distributed to a Project Owner, the Project Owner shall be solely responsible for issuing, and responding to requests for, any refunds of Pledges. We shall not be liable for any Project Owners’ failure to issue any refunds of Pledges to you.
3.6.5 If you pay a tip to us, we are under no obligation to refund that tip to you except in the circumstances set out in paragraph 3.1.3 of this Section B.
3.7 Backers’ Obligations
3.7.1 As a Backer, you shall:
(a) ensure that you have sufficient funds or credit available for payment of the Pledge;
(b) promptly respond to a Project Owner following a request for information reasonably required by the Project Owner to fulfil a Reward that you have chosen at the time you made your Pledge;
(c) comply with the terms and conditions for the payment processing services provided by our third party payment providers (please see paragraph 3.4 in this Section B, Payment Methods, for further details regarding those providers and the applicable terms and conditions); and
(d) ensure that any funds used to make Pledges will not result in a breach of applicable law.
3.8 Gift Aid
3.8.1 Pledges to Registered Charities may be eligible for the UK Government’s Gift Aid scheme.
3.8.2 If you make a Pledge to a Registered Charity which has elected to claim Gift Aid, you will be asked to confirm you are a UK taxpayer in accordance with the requirements of the Gift Aid scheme.
3.8.3 The Project Owner or Charities Trust will be able to reclaim Gift Aid on eligible Pledges where these meet the requirements under the Gift Aid scheme and add this to the amount donated.
3.8.4 In order for Gift Aid to be claimed Pledges must be freely made without the donor or a "connected person" receiving a benefit in exchange for the Pledge. The receipt of a Reward by a Backer or a connected party may affect the eligibility of a Pledge for Gift Aid.
3.8.5 Further information about the Gift Aid scheme can be found on the HMRC website and at https://www.gov.uk/donating-to-charity/gift-aid, including details of how higher and additional rate taxpayers can reclaim higher or additional tax relief on their donations.
3.8.6 Where a Pledge is made to a Crowdfunder Charity, we are required to pass details of those Backers claiming Gift Aid to The Charities Trust which is required to pass these details to HMRC.Please see our Privacy Policy for further details regarding the personal information we share with The Charities Trust.
3.8.7 We are not financial, tax or accounting advisers and you should not rely on information in these Terms or otherwise on Crowdfunder.co,uk to determine the financial, tax or accounting treatment of any Pledges which you make using Crowdfunder.co.uk. False or otherwise incorrect Gift Aid declarations may affect your personal tax liability. Please consult an appropriately qualified professional before making any such declarations if you are unsure.
4. Other important terms
4.1 The contract between Project Owners and Backers
4.1.1 The contract relating to the provision of funds from Pledges and the fulfilment of Rewards is made solely between a Project Owner and Backers, subject always to these Terms. By making a Pledge, a Backer is making an offer to enter into a contract with the applicable Project Owner.
4.1.2 The following steps have to take place before a contract is made between the Backer and the Project Owner:
(a) after signing into their account the Backer makes a Pledge by submitting their payment details for processing and clicking “Make a Pledge with obligation to pay”. Before making their Pledge, the Backer will have the opportunity to review the Pledge amount and any related Reward and, if necessary, to amend these details; and
(b) the Backer will see an on-screen acknowledgement of their Pledge and receive an email confirming details of the Pledge made, to the email address provided by the Backer.
4.1.3 The Project Owner accepts the Backer’s offer, and a binding contract is made between them, at the time:
(a) the Funding Period ends in the case of All Or Nothing Projects;
(b) the Funding Period ends (or, if earlier, the Project Owner closes the Project) in the case of Keep What You Raise Projects; or
(c) the Pledge is received by us, in the case of Forever Funding Projects.
Accordingly, nothing that we or the Project Owner says or does will amount to any acceptance of a Backer’s offer until the applicable event listed above in this paragraph occurs.
4.2 Interest on Pledges
4.2.1 Any interest on Pledges or other funds held by us shall accrue to our benefit and neither Project Owners nor Backers shall be entitled to such interest in relation to distributed funds or refunded Pledges.
4.3 Publication and sharing of personal information relating to Backers with Project Owners
4.3.1 Unless you have selected the anonymous donation option, we publish the username of each Backer on the Project Profile Page and we share these details and each Backer’s full name, email address and postal address with the applicable Project Owner for them to fulfil your Reward and to contact you in relation to the Project. Please see our Privacy Policy for further details.
4.3.2 For some Rewards, a Project Owner may need further information from Backers, (e.g. clothing sizes), to enable the Project Owner to deliver certain Rewards. The Project Owner shall request such information directly from a Backer after the end of the Fundraising Period for the relevant successful Project.
C. Additional terms for Projects for investing in Community Shares
This section sets out the terms that apply to the projects for Community Shares and investments made in such shares. The terms in this section apply in addition to those set out in Section B relating to projects generally including in respect of fees.
1. Our role
1.1 What we do
1.1.1 We provide an ‘online meeting place’ and platform through which Community Members can raise finance for and invest in Co-operative Society or Community Benefit Society. By doing so and providing tips and other guidance we facilitate agreement between Project Owners and investors for Community Shares on terms agreed between them, subject to the ‘ground rules’ that we put in place to act as safeguards for the benefit of all Community Members.
1.1.2 Although we may from time to time agree to promote and advertise certain Projects or help to raise awareness of the goals of the Co-operative Society or Community Benefit Society, Crowdfunder.co.uk will not be involved in the management of the society, the use of investment funds, the payment of any financial returns nor the process for withdrawing shares.
1.2 What we don’t do
1.2.1 Other than as mentioned above, we do not have any involvement in any arrangements Community Members make with each other through Crowdfunder.co.uk. We therefore do not accept any responsibility for the nature or quality of a society’s performance, any financial returns, the value of Community Shares or any other investment opportunity offered by Crowdfunder.co.uk. The arrangements you make are solely private and the contracts are made directly between the individual parties concerned. Accordingly, when using Crowdfunder.co.uk, you take full responsibility for your arrangements with other Community Members whom you contact and the nature, terms and extent of your arrangements with them and obligations to them.
1.2.2 We do not ordinarily verify the identity of anyone who becomes a Community Member nor the information they provide within their Project. We cannot therefore give any guarantee that any of the Community Members are who they say they are or that the information they provide is accurate, complete or true.
2. Project Owners
2.1 Creating and updating Projects
2.1.1 We have specific rules regarding the types of Projects that you can post on Crowdfunder.co.uk. Please see our Community Share Project Guidelines which contain these rules and form part of our Terms. Otherwise, the terms and conditions relating to Projects set out in Section B above will apply to all Projects relating to Community Shares.
2.1.2 Our Coaches may also be available to you in relation to Projects relating to Community Shares. If you use a Coach, please note that they provide general guidance and information only and neither they nor us will be liable to you in connection with your society’s aims, any Project, the returns you offer investors and/or the performance, promotion and marketing of your Project, which all remain solely your responsibility. See further paragraph 2.1.8 of Section B for further details regarding our Coaches.
2.2 Investment terms
2.2.1 We have specific rules regarding the investment terms and conditions that you can offer to Backers on Crowdfunder.co.uk in relation to Projects for Community Shares. Please see our FAQ page which contain these rules and form part of our Terms.
2.2.2 Only persons authorised by the Co-operative Society or Community Benefit Society seeking to raise capital can create a Project. We will reject any Projects for investments in Community Shares by any person that is not authorised (or that we reasonably suspect is not authorised) by the applicable society.
2.2.3 The Society must have all the permissions, consents and licences that are necessary to offer Community Shares, including registration with the Financial Conduct Authority, before offering them through Crowdfunder.co.uk. If permissions, consents and licences are required to undertake activity relating to the investment monies, these must also be in place before creating the Project.
3. Backers
3.1 Types of contribution
3.1.1 Backers can contribute to a Project by:
(a) making a Pledge; and/or
(b) by offering their time and skills to a Project Owner by sending a private message to them using the internal messaging feature on Crowdfunder.co.uk. If you offer your time and skill you do so at your own risk and will be solely responsible for any arrangements you make with Project Owners in connection with the provision of the services that you offer.
3.1.2 You acknowledge that your contribution (whether financial or otherwise) does not entitle you to any rights in or to any Project, including any ownership, control or intellectual property rights.
D. Terms that apply to all Community Members
This section sets out the main terms of use for the Crowdfunder.co.uk community. It explains how to upload content, and provides the ground rules for contributing content. This section also describes what action we may take if any use of Crowdfunder.co.uk does not comply with our terms and conditions.
1. About the content you and other Users provide to Crowdfunder.co.uk
1.1 The rules of the Crowdfunder.co.uk community
1.1.1 The following rules apply to your use of the community features contained on Crowdfunder.co.uk:
(a) any content which you and other Users post or contribute to Crowdfunder.co.uk using its community features (including content you upload to your Project Profile Page, comments you make on Projects Profile Pages, internal messages and Project updates) is generally known as “user generated content” or “UGC” for short. Paragraphs 1.1.2 to 1.2.1 below in this Section C set out the rules for contributing content, how we and other Users may use your UGC and how you can use their UGC.
(b) obviously we positively encourage Community Members to make full use of Crowdfunder.co.uk and in particular to participate in the Crowdfunder.co.uk community. However, to ensure that everyone has an enjoyable and satisfying experience, we require that you abide by the guidelines set out in these rules:
1.1.2 You agree to ensure that:
(a) you only contribute UGC to Crowdfunder.co.uk if you know that you have the necessary rights to do so. By contributing UGC to Crowdfunder.co.uk, whether text, images, video, sound recordings or other material, you are promising to us and to other Users that: (i) you either own any copyright in that content or that you have obtained the necessary right(s) to make the content available through Crowdfunder.co.uk in accordance with these Terms and permit its use via Crowdfunder.co.uk and in our newsletters and that such permissions are freely available on demand by us should we require; and (ii) you will not be infringing anyone’s intellectual property or other rights or breaching any law or regulation (including data protection and privacy laws), by contributing that content and by allowing it to be used in the ways described in these Terms. If you are in doubt about whether you have permission to post your UGC, please do not upload or post it to Crowdfunder.co.uk.
(b) all information provided by you via Crowdfunder.co.uk or which you provide to other Community Members or in connection with any Project is accurate, true and up to date in all respects and at all times and is not misleading in any way;
(c) all content posted by you is lawful and not defamatory, abusive, threatening, harassing, obscene, discriminatory, or otherwise objectionable or embarrassing to any other person as determined by us in our sole discretion;
(d) you will use Crowdfunder.co.uk and any information and content obtained from it lawfully and only for the purposes for which it has been provided and in accordance with these Terms;
(e) you will not harass or mislead or act unlawfully towards any person that you have contacted via Crowdfunder.co.uk or disclose or use any contact information that they may provide to you without their consent;
(f) you will cease to contact anyone that you have contacted via Crowdfunder.co.uk immediately if they request you to do so; and
(g) any content you upload is not in breach of any copyright or other intellectual property rights owned by a third party and, in the case of any photos or videos that identify individuals, that you have their full permission to make their image available through Crowdfunder.co.uk and to permit use of such content and image by any third parties we may authorise under these Terms.
1.1.3 You may not:
(a) distribute or post spam, in particular by sending unsolicited marketing messages to other Community Members, or distribute or post chain letters, unsolicited loans (Crowdfunder.co.uk strongly recommends that you do not make contact with members offering you unsolicited loans. Crowdfunder.co.uk cannot be liable for any losses incurred if you choose to ignore this advice) or pyramid schemes;
(b) distribute viruses or any other technologies that may harm Crowdfunder.co.uk or the interests of Users of Crowdfunder.co.uk or Community Members or otherwise interfere with or disrupt our servers;
(c) post or transmit any advertisements for or solicitations of business;
(d) after receiving a warning, continue to disrupt the normal flow of dialogue, or post or transmit comments that are not related to the topic being discussed;
(e) except as permitted under these Terms, copy, modify, or distribute our content or trade marks from Crowdfunder.co.uk or Community Members’ copyright material and trademarks or any content or trade marks owned by a third party unless you have their explicit permission;
(f) harvest or otherwise collect or use information about Community Members without their explicit consent;
(g) impersonate another Community Member or falsely state or otherwise misrepresent your affiliation with a person or entity;
(h) allow any other person or entity to use your log in details or account for posting or viewing comments or for communicating with other Community Members;
(i) continue to use Crowdfunder.co.uk if your access to Crowdfunder.co.uk has been suspended or your account terminated;
(j) engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits any other persons from using or enjoying Crowdfunder.co.uk, or which, in our judgment, exposes us to any liability or detriment of any type; or
(k) upload, post or publish to Crowdfunder.co.uk or otherwise provide to us any personal data about children (i.e. individuals under 16) or ’special category’ or criminal conviction data.
1.1.4 Please note that any posting of information or sending of internal messages on or via Crowdfunder.co.uk is the opinion of the person posting or sending only and does not necessarily reflect our opinions or attitudes.
1.2 Who can use your UGC and how they can use it
1.2.1 When you contribute UGC to Crowdfunder.co.uk:
(a) you are granting us unlimited, non-terminable and free permission (including the right to sub-licence that permission) to use, re-use, copy, adapt, abridge, amend, distribute, modify, translate, publish, perform, display, develop, reproduce, communicate to the public and to make your UGC otherwise available in any form and/or by any media (whether now known or hereafter devised), including through any on-demand or broadcast service, whether on a commercial or non-commercial basis anywhere in the world. By way of example only, this will include permission to;
· make all or any part of your UGC available through Crowdfunder.co.uk to other Users of Crowdfunder.co.uk;
· include certain UGC in our newsletters;
· allow any third parties authorised by us to reproduce, display, publish, communicate, perform and/or embed activity and content on their platforms, including their websites and applications; and
· allow third parties to link to pages on Crowdfunder.co.uk which contain your UGC.
(b) you are granting to every other user of Crowdfunder.co.uk unlimited, non-terminable and free permission to use all or any part of your UGC on the same terms as you are permitted to use their UGC as described in the paragraph 1 of Section E below, Our content.
1.2.2 You (or, where applicable, your licensors) will retain all intellectual property rights in the UGC you contribute to Crowdfunder.co.uk and nothing in these Terms shall assign or otherwise transfer any ownership of any such rights in or to your UGC.
1.3 Monitoring your UGC
1.3.1 We may (but are not obliged to) monitor the use of the community facilities from time to time however we still rely on you to inform us of any abuse or inappropriate behaviour, in which case we may review specific postings. If you feel you have been threatened, damaged or abused in our community or via our communication systems or if you believe any infringement of your rights may have occurred through Crowdfunder.co.uk please contact us.
1.3.2 We are not involved in any arrangements made between Users. Any postings on Crowdfunder.co.uk and the uploading of any photos, pictures, videos, animations or other audio-visual material to Crowdfunder.co.uk by Community Members does not constitute any form of recommendation, representation, endorsement or arrangement by us. In particular we have no control over and are not responsible for the truth or accuracy of any content, its compliance with any legal or regulatory requirement or its quality or safety. Please contact Crowdfunder if you have any concerns about the content of any information seen on the website.
1.3.3 Please note that any information posted via the functionality available on Crowdfunder.co.uk is the opinion of the person posting only. If you rely on the information posted, you do so at your own risk. Although we have rules for the posting of content, it is possible that our interactive features could be susceptible to misuse. We ask all Users to contact us in respect of any suspicion of misuse.
2. Exchanging personal information with other Users
2.1 Disclosing personal information
2.1.1 Please be careful when using Crowdfunder.co.uk and any community facilities that you do not reveal any information from which you can be personally identified by other Users such as your home or work contact details, your last name or where you live except in accordance with these Terms and where you feel comfortable revealing such personal information to such persons. You should in any event only reveal such personal information via secure communications that cannot be viewed by other people.
2.2 Receiving personal information
2.2.1 If you wish to make a complaint about any issue regarding personal information please use the “Report” buttons on Crowdfunder.co.uk or send an email to us. For more information on how we handle complaints, please see paragraph 7 of this Section D below.
3. Misuse of Crowdfunder.co.uk
3.1 We reserve the right (but we are not obliged) to do any or all of the following:
· record the content (including any communications), the Crowdfunder.co.uk community or in our communication systems;
· investigate a claim that any one or more items of content do not comply with the community rules set out under paragraph 1 of this Section D, About content you and others provide to Crowdfunder.co.uk, and determine in our sole discretion to remove or request the removal of the content;
· remove without notice any content that is abusive, illegal, or disruptive, or that otherwise fails to conform with these Terms;
· terminate a user's access to post content;
· monitor, edit, or disclose any content;
· edit or remove any content posted on Crowdfunder.co.uk, regardless of whether such content breaches these Terms;
· suspend or terminate your access to Crowdfunder.co.uk.
3.2 If you disagree with a decision made by us, you should email your appeal to us. You must not use the community facilities to dispute or argue about any decision we make.
3.3 Any decision we make to remove or request the removal of any content or to terminate or suspend any accounts shall be final. The termination or suspension of an account shall apply to any and all user accounts that may have been used by a user.
4. Disputes between Community Members
4.1 We are under no obligation to become involved in disputes between any Community Members, or between Users and any third party arising in connection with the use of Crowdfunder.co.uk. This includes, but is not limited to, the fulfilment of Rewards or other commitments and services, and any other terms, conditions, warranties, or representations associated with Projects. We do not monitor and are not liable to you for the performance or punctuality of Projects nor do we endorse them.
4.2 We will co-operate with any law enforcement authorities in any investigations arising out of your dispute with another Community Member.
E. General provisions
This section sets out the terms that apply to everyone who uses Crowdfunder.co.uk.
1. Our content
1.1 All of the content on Crowdfunder.co.uk is owned by (and all copyright, trade mark and other intellectual property rights in that content shall at all times remain vest in) us or our licensors and is protected by UK and international copyright and other intellectual property laws.
1.2 Our content includes any information or other material found on or via Crowdfunder.co.uk, including without limitation text, databases, graphics, videos, software and all other features found on or via Crowdfunder.co.uk.
1.3 We make Crowdfunder.co.uk, our content and any UGC available through Crowdfunder.co.uk for your personal, non-commercial use only (please see paragraph 1 of Section D, About the content you and others provide to Crowdfunder.co.uk for further details about the UGC that we make available through Crowdfunder.co.uk). You may view Crowdfunder.co.uk’s pages and content online and print a copy of these Terms for your records. You may not otherwise reproduce, modify, copy or distribute or use any of the content on Crowdfunder.co.uk without our prior written consent.
1.4 To be clear, you are not in any circumstances permitted to:
1.4.1 make commercial use of any such content except in the case of your own UGC which you may use for the purposes of providing information in connection with your Project on the Project Profile Page and/or your Business (if applicable);
1.4.2 edit any such content; or