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Terms of Use

These Terms of Use constitute a binding contract between You and GuideStar USA, Inc. ("GuideStar"). Your access to and continued use of the GuideStar Web site located at www.guidestar.org (including any successor site) (the "GuideStar Site") constitutes Your acceptance, without limitation, of the terms and conditions of these Terms of Use. If You do not agree to be bound by these terms, You may not access or use the GuideStar Site.

Permitted and Prohibited Uses

Permitted Uses. You may access and use such portions of the GuideStar Site for which neither registration nor a fee is required (but not any other portions of the GuideStar Site, including, without limitation, any features and services for which registration is required, such as features and services associated with "GuideStar Basic" (collectively, "Registration-Based Products"), and any fee-based features or services, such as features and services associated with "GuideStar Select" and "GuideStar Premium" (collectively, "Fee-Based Products")) for the following purposes (collectively, "Permitted Uses"):
  1. to learn about nonprofit organizations for the purposes of evaluating them as recipients of personal charitable donations; or
  2. if You are an entity or governmental agency:
    1. investigating nonprofit entities for purposes of providing goods or services to them or for entering into other types of business relationships with them;
    2. fulfilling Your business or organizational mission of making charitable donations to nonprofit entities;
    3. conducting comparative or other "best practices" research purposes;
    4. for Your own internal business use; and
    5. in the case of governmental agencies, performing regulatory or research functions related to nonprofit entities.
You may download and print information from the GuideStar Site in connection with the Permitted Uses. GuideStar reserves all rights not expressly licensed. If You desire to access or use any Registration-Based Products, You can do so only by agreeing to the User Agreement with respect thereto. If You desire to access or use any Fee-Based Products, You can do so only by agreeing to the License Agreement with respect thereto. Persons or organizations wishing to obtain access to any Fee-Based Products for more than one subscriber must obtain an Enterprise License Agreement.

Prohibited Uses. You may not:
  1. use the GuideStar Site other than as authorized by these Terms of Use;
  2. use the GuideStar Site for the benefit of any third party, other than as part of a Permitted Use;
  3. republish or distribute information from the GuideStar Site (including by posting same on any other Web site);
  4. modify information from the GuideStar Site except in connection with a Permitted Use;
  5. disassemble, decode, decompile, or otherwise reverse engineer the GuideStar Site, including, without limitation, any interfaces or software programs comprising the GuideStar Site;
  6. take any action that would impede or interfere with the operation of the GuideStar Site or alter the contents of the GuideStar Site, or alter or interfere with any other content, site or software that GuideStar owns or controls;
  7. directly or indirectly, change, recompile, reframe, rent, sell, distribute or publish any of the GuideStar Site, any database thereon and/or any content thereon, or any portion thereof;
  8. use any data mining, robots or similar data gathering and extraction methods with respect to the GuideStar Site or any portion thereof; or
  9. use the GuideStar Site directly or indirectly in competition with GuideStar in any way whatsoever.

Access to the GuideStar Site

GuideStar reserves the right, for any reason and without notice, in its sole discretion, to terminate, change, suspend, or interrupt access, in whole or in part, to the GuideStar Site. GuideStar further reserves the right to impose registration, password and other security precautions on access to and use of the GuideStar Site.

Privacy Policy

You agree to the terms of our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference.

Legal Notices and Proprietary Rights

You acknowledge and agree to the terms of GuideStar's Legal Notices, which are incorporated by reference. You agree not to take any action that would infringe, misappropriate, or violate GuideStar's intellectual property interests.

You agree not to upload or otherwise place any information on the GuideStar Site that would infringe or otherwise violate anyone's intellectual property interests or other rights, or that is false, misleading, defamatory, or otherwise contrary to law or regulation.

ACCURACY AND WARRANTY DISCLAIMERS

GuideStar does not warrant or guarantee the accuracy, quality, completeness, currency, or validity of any information on the GuideStar Site (including, without limitation, any database accessible via the GuideStar Site and its content) or linked from the GuideStar Site. The descriptive information is derived from IRS Forms 990, Forms 990-EZ, and Forms 990-PF filed by the nonprofit organizations or their voluntary responses to a GuideStar questionnaire. The financial data are taken from the IRS Business Master File, IRS Forms 990, Forms 990-EZ, Forms 990-PF, or information provided to GuideStar by organizations that are not required to file returns with the IRS. The classified ads and news releases are also provided by the organizations. GuideStar does not edit or control the financial information it receives, although it may (in its sole discretion) note obvious mathematical errors that it believes may exist in the materials as received by it.

Due to, among other things, the possibility of human and/or mechanical error, GuideStar shall not be responsible for any errors or omissions on the GuideStar Site. GuideStar makes no representations as to the accuracy or integrity of the information contained therein, including, without limitation, any content thereon. GuideStar shall not be liable for any damages of any kind incurred as a result of the information posted on the GuideStar Site including, without limitation, any content thereon.

GUIDESTAR MAKES NO WARRANTY THAT THE GUIDESTAR SITE IS BUG FREE OR ERROR FREE, THAT SAME WILL OPERATE WITHOUT ANY INTERRUPTION, OR THAT USE OF SAME WILL RESULT IN ANY PARTICULAR RESULTS. THERE ARE NO WARRANTIES AGAINST INTERFERENCE WITH YOUR ENJOYMENT OF ANY INFORMATION OR AGAINST INFRINGEMENT. THE GUIDESTAR SITE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "WITH ALL FAULTS." GUIDESTAR HAS MADE AND MAKES NO OTHER WARRANTIES, AND IT DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, OR ARISING BY COURSE OF PERFORMANCE, COURSE OF DEALING OR USAGE OF TRADE, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES RELATING TO NONINFRINGEMENT, NONINTERFERENCE, ACCURACY, MERCHANTABILITY, TIMELINESS, PERFORMANCE, TITLE, QUIET ENJOYMENT, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE OR THAT ANY INFORMATION, EFFORTS, SERVICES OR SYSTEM PROVIDED BY GUIDESTAR WILL FULFILL ANY OF YOUR PARTICULAR PURPOSES OR NEEDS. GUIDESTAR MAKES NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES ON BEHALF OF ITSELF WITH RESPECT TO THIRD PARTY SOFTWARE OR EQUIPMENT AND EXPRESSLY EXCLUDES ANY AND ALL LIABILITY ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO A THIRD PARTY'S SOFTWARE AND/OR EQUIPMENT.

LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY; INDEMNITY

IN NO EVENT SHALL GUIDESTAR (INCLUDING ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS) HAVE LIABILITY FOR PUNITIVE, EXEMPLARY, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OR LOSS (INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION DAMAGES FOR LOST BUSINESS, LOST PROFITS, OR LOST DATA) ARISING IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OF USE, THE GUIDESTAR SITE, ANY DATABASE OR CONTENT THEREON OR THE USE OR INABILITY TO USE THE GUIDESTAR SITE, OR ANY DATABASE OR CONTENT THEREON, REGARDLESS OF THE LEGAL THEORY ON WHICH SUCH DAMAGES ARE CLAIMED OR REGARDLESS OF WHETHER GUIDESTAR HAS BEEN NOTIFIED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES OR LOSS. NOT ALL STATE LAWS ALLOW SUCH LIMITATIONS, AND YOUR RIGHTS MAY VARY.

You agree to indemnify, defend and hold harmless GuideStar, its affiliates, and their respective officers, directors, employees, agents, successors, assigns, licensors, partners, joint venturers, customers and any other person or entity involved in the creation, production and/or distribution of the GuideStar Site, from and against any and all claims, liabilities, costs and expenses (including, without limitation, attorneys' fees and expenses) incurred in connection with or arising from any breach by You of these Terms of Use or resulting in connection with or arising from Your use of the GuideStar Site.

Endorsement Disclaimer

GuideStar does not endorse, support, sanction, or verify the information or material on or accessible via the GuideStar Site. Unless otherwise specifically indicated, GuideStar does not endorse and has no affiliation with any of the organizations mentioned, listed in, described on or linked to via the GuideStar Site, and it makes no representations or warranties whatsoever with regard to those organizations or any other organization, entity or person.

Disclaimer Regarding Financial and Legal Advice

The information on the GuideStar Site is provided for educational and informational purposes only. Such information or materials do not constitute and are not intended to provide legal, accounting, or tax advice and should not be relied on in that respect. We suggest that You consult an attorney, accountant, and/or financial advisor to answer any financial or legal questions.  

Classified Ads Disclaimer

GuideStar reserves the right to edit, categorize, revise, or refuse any classified advertisement. In addition, GuideStar has the right to terminate any ad at any time for any reason.

Parties posting ads are responsible for the accuracy and content of their ads. GuideStar will not be liable for any damages arising out of errors or omissions.

GuideStar and its affiliates make no representations or warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, regarding any of the classified ads located on the GuideStar Web site. Due diligence is recommended before entering into any agreement with a classified advertiser. GuideStar will not be held liable for any damages of any kind relating to any ad.  

Disclaimer Regarding Documents Uploaded to the GuideStar Web Site

You are solely responsible for the documents you upload to the GuideStar Web site. You are advised not to upload Schedule B (List of Contributors) with the Form 990 for a public charity. You are advised to block any signatures, social security numbers, and personal addresses from documents that you upload. GuideStar reserves the right to refuse any document. In addition, GuideStar has the right to terminate any document at any time for any reason. GuideStar and its affiliates make no representations or warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, regarding any of the documents on the GuideStar Web site. GuideStar will not be held liable for any damages.

Termination; Equitable Remedies

GuideStar may terminate these Terms of Use (including Your rights hereunder) at any time, with or without notice and with or without cause. Terms of these Terms of Use that, by their nature, survive the termination or expiration of these Terms of Use, shall so survive.

You acknowledge and agree that any unauthorized use or disclosure by You of the GuideStar Site or any infringement or violation of GuideStar's intellectual property rights, shall cause GuideStar irreparable injury for which GuideStar could not be fully compensated by money damages. You agree that, in the event of such a violation, GuideStar would be entitled to seek and recover (in addition to any other available remedies) preliminary and permanent injunctive relief without the necessity of posting bond or security, and further that GuideStar would be entitled to recover from You its attorneys' fees and costs incurred in seeking and obtaining such relief.

Force Majeure

GuideStar shall have no liability whatever for delays or interruptions in delivery or accessibility of any of the GuideStar Site, interruptions of service or other breach of these Terms of Use due to fire, explosion, lightning, power surge or failure, water, acts of God, war, civil disturbance, terrorism, acts or omissions of communications carriers, or other causes beyond GuideStar's reasonable control.

Dispute Resolution

These Terms of Use shall be governed and construed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Virginia, without regard to its choice of law rules. You agree that, by entering into these Terms of Use and accessing and/or using the GuideStar Site, You are transacting business in the Commonwealth of Virginia and are subject to jurisdiction in its courts. Any legal or equitable action arising from these Terms of Use or in connection with the GuideStar Site shall be commenced and maintained in a court of competent subject matter jurisdiction within the Commonwealth of Virginia, and You consent to personal jurisdiction and venue in any such court. In the event it is held that jurisdiction or venue is wanting in such a court, an action then may be commenced in any other court having proper jurisdiction under applicable statutes and court rules. In the event of any dispute adjudicated between the parties, whether in litigation or permitted appeal, the prevailing party shall be entitled to recover from the party not prevailing its reasonable attorneys' fees and costs incurred in such proceeding. The parties agree that neither may bring a claim or assert a cause of action against the other, in any forum or manner, more than one (1) year after the cause of action accrued, except where the party could not have reasonably discovered the wrong giving rise to the claim within the basic facts supporting the claim within one (1) year.

Modification of These Terms of Use

GuideStar reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to modify, alter, or otherwise revise these Terms of Use (as well as its User Agreement, the  License Agreements to our Fee-Based Products and the Legal Notices and Privacy Policy referenced in these Terms of Use) at any time by posting such modified versions on the GuideStar Site. You agree to monitor regularly these Terms of Use as they appear on the GuideStar Site. Your continued use of the GuideStar Site after the posting of any modified versions shall constitute agreement to these Terms of Use. These Terms of Use may be modified by Your agreement to any User Agreement and/or a License Agreement or License Agreements to one or more of our Fee-Based Products. These Terms of Use may not otherwise be modified or amended.

Notices

Except as is stated herein to the contrary, any notices to GuideStar must be given by postal mail sent to GuideStar's headquarters as then listed on the GuideStar Site. Any notices to You will be sent to the e-mail address that You provide to GuideStar.

Severability

Should any term of these Terms of Use be finally held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, unenforceable, void, or otherwise contrary to law or equity, GuideStar and You agree that such provision shall be automatically severed and the remainder of these Terms of Use that can be given effect shall continue to be given effect.

Entire Agreement

Subject to the following sentence, these Terms of Use constitute the entire agreement between GuideStar and You with respect to the subject matter of these Terms of Use, and supersede all prior agreements, understandings or representations between You and GuideStar with respect to the subject matter of these Terms of Use. These Terms of Use do not supersede or alter any User Agreement and/or License Agreement to one or more of our Fee-Based Products; and You must comply with the terms of these Terms of Use and each such other agreement to which You have agreed or may agree in the future. In the event of a conflict between these Terms of Use and any such other agreement to which you have agreed or in the future agree, the terms of such other agreement shall control. These Terms of Use may not be modified except in writing and as is permitted herein.