KivaWelcome to Kiva Microfunds, a California non-profit public benefit corporation (together with its affiliates, officers, directors, agents, employees, representatives, partners and their respective affiliates, collectively, "Kiva"). This Terms of Use ("Agreement") is a contract between you ("you") and Kiva and governs your access and use of the kiva.org website and all other websites owned and operated by Kiva that have this Agreement posted (collectively, the "Website"), including, but not limited to, all transactions conducted on the Website and all Kiva services provided in connection with the Website. By accessing or using the Website, you signify that you have read all of the terms and conditions in, and linked to, this Agreement (including the Privacy Policy), and you agree to be bound by this Agreement, whether or not you participate in Kiva's microlending program or similar programs (collectively, the "Program") or otherwise use the Website (in each such capacity, a "User"). If you do not agree with all of the terms and conditions in this Agreement, please do not participate in the Program or access or use the Website.
This Agreement supersedes any previous Agreement to which you and Kiva may have been bound. This Agreement may be modified by Kiva in its sole discretion from time to time and such modifications shall automatically become part of this Agreement and shall be effective once posted by Kiva on the Website (as indicated by the posted update date). Your participation in the Program and use of the Website will be subject to any such modifications. You should review the Website and this Agreement from time to time for any modifications. If you do not agree with any such modifications, please immediately terminate your registered Kiva account, if any, as outlined in Section 9 below, and please immediately stop participating in the Program and accessing and using the Website.
This Agreement will be binding on, inure to the benefit of and be enforceable against the parties and their respective successors and permitted assigns. Kiva has the right to delegate, assign or otherwise transfer any or all of its rights and duties under this Agreement. Neither the course of conduct between parties nor trade practice shall act to modify any provision of the Agreement. All rights not expressly granted herein are hereby reserved. Headings are for reference purposes only and in no way define, limit, construe or describe the scope or extent of such section.
You may receive a written copy of this Agreement by emailing us at: contactus@kiva.org, Subject: Kiva Terms of Use Agreement.
1. Participation in the Program
Kiva manages the Website, which matches you and other persons (each, a "Lender" and, collectively, "Lenders") with under-banked or low-income borrowers in various countries (each, a "Borrower" and, collectively, "Borrowers") in need of affordable capital. In most instances, these Borrowers are considered "high risk" by traditional lenders for a variety of factors, including, but not limited to, the Borrowers' lack of credit history, the use of the loan proceeds for entrepreneurial endeavors including investment in a "start up" business, the geographic location including the risk of financial instability and foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Please carefully review the Website section entitled "Risk and Due Diligence" which highlights the various risks associated with lending online through Kiva and explains in greater detail the role played by Kiva and the Field Partners (defined below in this Section 1).
By participating in the Program or otherwise accessing or using the Website, you hereby acknowledge and agree that (a) Kiva makes no representation, warranty, covenant or guarantee that any funds you lend to a Borrower via the Website will be repaid in whole or in part, (b) loans and other similar transactions made via the Website (each, a "Loan") are unsecured and bear a high risk of non-repayment and (c) given your financial situation and objectives, you will lend only those amounts on the Website that you can afford to lose. Loans made via the Website are philanthropic in nature with no offered rate of return and, as such, are not intended as, and cannot be considered as, an investment in a financial instrument or security.
1.1.Loan Disbursement. You understand that Loans are not made directly to Borrowers and that Kiva identifies existing domestic and international organizations (each, a "Field Partner" and, collectively, "Field Partners") that work in underbanked or low-income communities and generally have a stated mission to reduce poverty by providing affordable working capital to underbanked or low-income borrowers. Loan requests are posted in cooperation with such Field Partners and are, before being listed on Kiva, converted to US Dollar amounts as necessary and then rounded up to the nearest US Dollar increment of 25, to help streamline the Loan transaction process. Funds loaned by you, the Lender, will be delivered to Field Partners for ultimate disbursement to, or backfilling of Loans to, the Borrower(s) you have selected. In certain cases, Borrowers may receive goods and services funded by Loan amounts, such as agricultural packages, from Field Partners, instead of the monetary amount of the Loan. A Field Partner may voluntarily choose to pre-fund your Borrower in the short-term from its own funds in anticipation of receiving your Loan amounts as backfill. This helps reduce the time the Borrower needs to wait until the Loan is funded on the Website and the funds delivered on a net billing basis to the Field Partner. Kiva serves as a middle-man in the process and aggregates funds from multiple Lenders via the Website and delivers 100% of these funds on a net billing basis (excluding the interest earned, if any, on such funds while they are held in a Kiva user loan funds account, which interest is contributed to fund Kiva's operations) to the Field Partner(s) for disbursement to the Borrowers selected by Lenders for funding on the Website. Please note that many Field Partners require mandatory savings as part of their transaction process to serve as collateral, which savings may help ensure that Borrowers are able to accumulate cash and represent a good risk. In certain cases, mandatory savings (and fees) are netted by Field Partners against the Loans forwarded by Kiva.
The process of disbursement to a Borrower in a particular country, however, may vary from the standard disbursement structure just described. Currency and other national or local regulations may require a different philanthropic funding structure in some countries. In such cases, instead of Loan funds being forwarded directly to the corresponding Field Partner, Kiva may, for example, have to transact with other intermediaries, such as the Field Partner's U.S.-based affiliates or other third parties licensed in the particular country to transact in foreign currencies, to structure a different indirect funding process to enable a Borrower to ultimately be supported by a Loan from you.
Field Partners are solely responsible for screening and selecting each Borrower (including, without limitation, posting requests for Loans on the Website) and making all Loan disbursements, and Kiva expressly disclaims any responsibility to screen or select any Borrower or any Field Partner or monitor the disbursement of Loan proceeds from the Field Partner(s) to the Borrower(s). Kiva and its Field Partners shall have no liability whatsoever with respect to such screening or selection of Borrowers or Field Partners and the disbursement of Loan proceeds from the Field Partner(s) to the Borrower(s), and you shall hold Kiva and its Field Partners harmless from, any and all liabilities with respect to, or resulting from such screenings, selections and disbursements.
1.2 Loan Collection and Repayment. Loans are repaid directly by the Borrower(s) to the Field Partner(s). As Borrowers repay the Loans, the Field Partner(s) will post a record of such repayments actually received by the Field Partner(s) to the Website, and it is the responsibility and obligation of the applicable Field Partner(s) to pay over such collected Loan payments to Kiva. Repayments may be made in periodic installments, depending on the terms of the applicable Loan. Except as may be provided in Sections 1.5 ("Principal Loss Scenarios") and 1.9 below ("Guest Transactions; Promotional Products"), any amounts actually received by Kiva from a Field Partner(s) as repayment by the applicable Borrower(s) will be distributed among the Lenders on a pro rata basis in accordance with the amounts loaned by such Lenders to such Borrower(s). These distributions may, in Kiva's sole discretion, be made periodically or in one lump sum once 100% of all Loan proceeds for a particular Loan have been received by Kiva. Furthermore, please note that timing of distributions to Lenders of any collected repayment may vary and may be materially impacted because of circumstances that, in Kiva's judgment, require Kiva to conduct further reviews with respect to the collected repayments (by way of one example, to resolve issues regarding accuracy of repayment amounts and corresponding data, or for other issues). If, for any reason, the Field Partner(s) are unable to collect Loan repayments directly from the Borrowers or if Kiva, for any reason, is unable to collect Loan repayments directly from the Field Partner(s), repayment of your Loan amounts could be at risk of partial or total delay or non-repayment and a loss of some or all of your principal could occur. You hereby acknowledge and agree that neither the Field Partner(s) nor the Borrower(s) will have direct contractual obligation or liability to pay you any principal and that Kiva is obligated to repay only such Loan principal to the extent actually received by Kiva from a Field Partner with respect to a Borrower (subject to the conditions noted above). None of Kiva, its Field Partner(s) or any Borrower will have any obligation to pay interest on the Loan or other fees or amounts (other than as expressly set forth above) to you or any other Lender in connection with any Loan you make. At this time, Kiva does not charge interest on any Loans posted on the Website. However, you should note that Field Partners charge interest and fees to Borrowers to, for example, cover their operational expenses.
1.3 Tax Deductibility. You understand that Kiva is a non-profit public benefit corporation. Kiva has received exemption with the Internal Revenue Service as an organization that qualifies as a public charity under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended from time to time. You acknowledge, however, that because you are making a Loan and not donating any money, you are not eligible to receive a tax deduction as might otherwise be available in connection with a charitable contribution to a tax-exempt public charity. You also understand that you are solely responsible for determining the proper tax treatment for any Loan you make through the Website and the Program. Kiva has not and will not provide any tax or legal advice to you in connection with any Loan you might make. This Agreement does not attempt to define the tax implications of participating in the Program. If you participate in the Program, you should consult with your own accountants, tax advisors and legal advisors.
1.4. Loan Records. Records of each Loan you make (including this Agreement and any repayment history) are kept by Kiva and, if you have a registered account with Kiva and upon your written request, will be made available to you at any time throughout the term of the Loan. The amount of funds you have available in your Kiva account that is available to be lent ("Kiva Credit") can also be accessed via your Kiva online account created upon registering at the Website.
1.5 Principal Loss Scenarios. You understand and hereby consent (without any prior notice thereof) to any restructuring of the repayment plan for your Loan and/or, in Kiva's sole discretion, any extension of the length of the term of your Loan in order to increase the chances that your Loan is repaid or that amounts of your Loan are repaid. Kiva will generally deem a Loan to be in default if Kiva determines that collection of funds from a Field Partner for such Loan is doubtful or a repayment on the Loan is six (6) months past the originally scheduled repayment date (for any expected repayment, including interim repayments), although case by case differences may exist based on pending prospects for repayment of the Loan. In cases where a Loan is in default, and subject to the distribution timing provisions noted in Section 1.2 above, each applicable Lender will have the option to recover whatever principal has been repaid up to that point.
If for any reason less than 100% of your Loan is repaid, you agree that Kiva and its Field Partners (as well as any "related Field Partner entity" – for example, one that as part of a restructuring or otherwise, assumes control over such a Field Partner, its assets and/or its obligations) shall have no liability therefor, and you hereby release and forever hold harmless Kiva and its Field Partners and any "related Field Partner entity" for any loss you may incur. You should consult with your accountant and/or tax advisors to determine the appropriate tax treatment of such a loss.
1.6 Insufficient Lender Funds. In the event that you make a Loan and your payment does not clear (e.g., an eCheck does not validly deliver to Kiva the full amount of the intended Loan, or your payment provider reverses a payment originally intended for Kiva), you agree that Kiva may, in its sole discretion, (i) offset the amount of the insufficiently funded Loan against your Kiva Credit or (ii) withdraw and cancel your insufficiently-funded Loan from your account as not paid in full.
1.7 Auto-lending; "Pick a Loan" Feature. Without in any way limiting the earlier provisions of this Section 1, Kiva may implement Website features pursuant to which a User may – in lieu of manually accessing his or her registered account to specify a Loan or Loans to make – establish account settings to automatically make Loans based on the User's prior instructions and without further direct input from the User, based on User-selected preferences, the amount of Kiva Credit available in the User's account, and other business factors, such as the availability of Loans on the Website and other parameters as may be determined by Kiva in its sole discretion. To the extent a User chooses to activate the auto-lending feature on the User's registered account, and depending on the particular preferences selected by the User, any and all available Kiva Credit at any time in such User's account (including, but not limited to, repayments on previously made Loans or new Kiva Credits otherwise deposited into the User's account) may be subject to being automatically deployed under the auto-lending program. You understand and acknowledge, however, that a User's activation of the auto-lending choice on such User's account does not necessarily guarantee that Loans will be successfully made. Variables such as a User's particular set of auto-lending preferences, or the general availability of Loans not already funded through manual selection by other Kiva Users, or other feature parameters as established by Kiva in its sole discretion, may impact the chances of an automatic Loan being made. You further acknowledge and agree that any Loans transacted under the auto-lending feature are in all respects Loans voluntarily made by you as the User, based on your instructions as reflected in your preference settings simply executed by the Kiva system and subject to overall availability of Loans and other feature parameters, and are under no circumstances to be considered to be Loans chosen by Kiva on such User's behalf. Furthermore, in no event will a Loan made pursuant to the auto-lending feature, by a User who has chosen to activate the auto-lending feature, be cancellable or refundable by the User. You agree that Kiva and its Field Partners shall have no liability if for any reason less than 100% of a Loan made pursuant to auto-lending is repaid, and you hereby release and forever hold harmless Kiva and its Field Partners for any loss you may incur from an auto-lending Loan. Kiva may modify or terminate the auto-lending functionality at any time or from time to time.
Without in any way limiting the earlier provisions of this Section 1, Kiva may implement Website features pursuant to which a User may ask to have the Website randomly suggest a particular Loan for the User to consider making. To the extent a User employs this 'pick a loan' suggestion feature, you understand and acknowledge that you have an opportunity to learn more about that Loan before deciding whether or not to fund such Loan and that you have complete discretion to decline to fund such Loan. You further acknowledge and agree that any Loans transacted under the 'pick a loan' suggestion feature are in all respects Loans voluntarily made by you as the User. You agree that Kiva and its Field Partners shall have no liability if for any reason less than 100% of a Loan made pursuant to the 'pick a loan' feature is repaid, and you hereby release and forever hold harmless Kiva and its Field Partners for any loss you may incur from a Loan suggested by the 'pick a loan' feature. Kiva may modify or terminate the 'pick a loan' suggestion functionality at any time or from time to time.
1.8 User Account Inactivity; Instructions for Auto-Donation of Funds to Kiva or Auto-Withdrawal Return of Funds to User; Potential Escheatment of Funds. Kiva welcomes its Users' active participation in the Kiva Program. However, there may be occasions when a User becomes "inactive" for an extended period of time – i.e., a User does not log in to his or her Kiva account or there are no credits/withdrawals made to such User's account. Therefore, Kiva may implement Website features pursuant to which you may instruct Kiva in advance as to how you wish any remaining balances in your account to be handled in the event your account were to become inactive for a period of 24 or more consecutive months -- namely, whether in such a case of User inactivity, you (i) wish to automatically donate remaining funds in your account to Kiva's general operating expenses to further Kiva's philanthropic mission or (ii) wish for Kiva to return remaining funds in your account to you via Kiva's standard account withdrawal process. In addition, in such cases of User inactivity, Kiva may elect to automatically terminate the inactive User account.
For Users who have joined Kiva prior to 12:00PM on June 14, 2010: if you wish to take advantage of this feature, you must first affirmatively instruct Kiva by opting in to one of the two choices (i.e., auto-donation to Kiva or auto-withdrawal return to User).
For Users who join Kiva on or after 12:00PM on June 14, 2010: you will upon registration on the Website automatically be opted-in to instructing Kiva to auto-convert any remaining account balances as a donation to Kiva's general operating expenses to further Kiva's philanthropic mission if your account were to become inactive for a period of 24 or more consecutive months. Please note that you are free to change this pre-set option in your discretion and at any time in advance (although you understand any funds that have been auto-donated based on the then-existing preference setting shall not be revocable once the auto-donation has taken place).
In the event that your account shows no activity for an extended period of time and (i) you have not indicated an instruction to Kiva through an inactivity preference selection described above or (ii) your instructions to have remaining balances returned to you cannot be successfully completed, whether due to invalid/incomplete information, your failure to claim the funds after thirty (30) calendar days have passed from the day Kiva has forwarded the funds to you, a return of funds back to Kiva as unclaimed after Kiva has attempted to forward your funds to you, or for any other reason internal or external to Kiva, then Kiva may determine it is appropriate to forward (i.e., escheat) the balance remaining in your inactive Kiva account to the state government of your state of residency. In such a case, Kiva will determine your residency based on the state listed in your mailing address information that may have previously been made available to us. If your address is unknown or is outside of the USA, Kiva may then find it is appropriate to forward (escheat) your funds to the State of California. If your funds are escheated to a state authority, you would have to contact the relevant state's unclaimed property administrator to reclaim such funds.
1.9 Guest Transactions; Promotional Products. Users have the option of making a donation to Kiva and/or a Loan on the Website without creating a Kiva account. Loans made using this "guest" functionality are referred to herein as "Guest Loans." Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, any Loan repayments collected with respect to a Guest Loan will not be repaid to the applicable User, but (i) will instead automatically be returned to Kiva and (ii) each such incremental amount forwarded to Kiva shall be treated as a donation by the applicable User to Kiva's general operating expenses. In addition, Kiva may offer certain promotional products (for example, free trial credits) for Users. Due to the promotional nature of these products, Loan repayments collected with respect to these promotional products will not necessarily be repaid to the applicable User. To understand the repayment mechanics of and other terms applicable to such promotional products, please refer to the specific terms posted by Kiva with respect to such promotional products. These promotional product terms are incorporated by reference into this Agreement.
2. Proprietary Rights
"Kiva", the "Kiva" logo and other Kiva graphics, logos, designs, page headers, button icons, scripts, names and branding are trademarks, service marks or trade dress of Kiva ("Kiva Marks"). Kiva Marks may not be used, including, without limitation, as part of trademarks or domain names, in connection with any product or service in any manner that is likely to cause confusion and may not be copied, imitated, or used, in whole or in part, without the prior written permission of Kiva. Kiva or its licensors own and retain all proprietary rights in the Program, the Website and all content, material and information posted, uploaded, transmitted or otherwise shared by Kiva thereon (collectively, "Content"). The Website contains the copyrighted material, trademarks and other proprietary information of Kiva and its licensors. You may display and make limited copies of the Content (other than the Kiva Marks) for your personal, non-commercial use in connection with your participation in the Program (except as provided herein), but you may not alter, modify, publish, distribute, publicly display or sell any Content or other such proprietary information, or otherwise copy, transmit or use any Content or other such proprietary information without the express, written permission of Kiva. In addition, to the extent you receive information from Kiva, its Field Partners or the Borrower with respect to any Borrower, and that information is later removed from the Website (including, without limitation, due to the Loan delinquency or default of a particular Borrower or the sensitive nature of particular Borrower profiles), you may not further disclose or otherwise provide such information to another party in a way that allows a personal identification of such Borrower, if such Borrower (either directly or through the corresponding Field Partner or Kiva) has opted to have his or her identity withheld on the Website.
If you post, upload, submit, transmit or otherwise share any messages or other content, information, images, photographs, pictures or other materials (collectively, "User Generated Content") on the Website, you agree to grant, and hereby grant to Kiva an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, fully-paid, worldwide license to: (a) use, copy, perform, display and distribute the User Generated Content; (b) modify, alter, prepare derivative works of, and/or incorporate into other works, the User Generated Content; and (c) grant and authorize sublicenses of the foregoing. You represent and warrant that you have the right, power and authority to grant the foregoing license. In addition, you agree to release, discharge and agree to hold harmless Kiva from any and all claims or liability, whether known or unknown, including any and all claims in connection with the publication, production, processing, distribution or exploitation of the User Generated Content, including, without limitation, any claims of infringement or violation of any intellectual property, moral, publicity, privacy or proprietary rights.
You acknowledge, consent and agree that Kiva may, at its sole discretion and to the extent permitted by law, access, read, preserve and disclose your account information, usage history and User Generated Content in order to: (a) comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request; (b) respond to claims that any Content violates the rights of third parties, including intellectual property rights; (c) enforce this Agreement and investigate potential violations thereof; (d) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, or technical issues; (e) respond to your requests for customer service; or (f) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Kiva, its users, or the public.
To file a notice of infringing material on the Website, please provide a notification containing the following details:
· Reasonably sufficient details to enable us to identify the work claimed to be infringed or, if multiple works are claimed to be infringed, a representative list of such works (for example: title, author, any registration or tracking number, URL);
· Reasonably sufficient details to enable us to identify and locate the material that is claimed to be infringing (for example a link to the page that contains the material);
· Your contact information so that we can contact you (for example, your address, telephone number, email address);
· A statement that you have a good faith belief that the use of the material identified by you is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law;
· A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information in the notification is accurate and that you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the exclusive right that is alleged to be infringed.
· Your physical or electronic signature.
Then send this notice to:
By Mail:
Kiva Microfunds
DMCA Agent
3180 18th Street #202
San Francisco, CA 94110
By Fax:
Attn: DMCA Agent, Kiva
(415) 552-5780
By Email:
copyright@kiva.org
If material that you have posted to the Website has been taken down, you may file a counter-notification that contains the following details:
· Identification of the material that has been removed or to which access has been disabled and the location at which the material appeared before it was removed or disabled;
· A statement, under penalty of perjury, that you have a good faith belief that the material was removed or disabled as a result of mistake or misidentification of the material in question;
· Your name, address and telephone number;
· A statement that you consent to the jurisdiction of the Federal District Court for the judicial district in which your address is located or, if your address is outside of the USA, for any judicial district in which Kiva is located and that you will accept service of process from the person who submitted a notice in compliance with Section (c)(1)(C) of the DMCA, as generally described above;
· Your physical or electronic signature.
Then send this notice to Kiva's DMCA Agent based on the contact information provided above in this Section.
The Website contains (or you may be sent through the Website) links to other web sites ("Third Party Sites"), as well as content, information, images, photographs, pictures and materials (including, without limitation, text, graphics, designs, music, sound, video, information and software) belonging to or originating from third parties ("Third Party Content"). Such Third Party Sites and Third Party Content are not investigated, monitored or checked for accuracy, appropriateness, or completeness by Kiva, and Kiva is not responsible for any Third Party Sites accessed through the Website or any Third Party Content posted, uploaded, transmitted or otherwise shared on the Website, including without limitation the content, accuracy, offensiveness, opinions, reliability or policies of or contained in the Third Party Sites or the Third Party Content. Inclusion of or linking to any Third Party Site or any Third Party Content does not imply approval or endorsement thereof by Kiva. If you decide to leave the Website and access a Third Party Site, you do so at your own risk and you should be aware that our terms and policies no longer govern. You should review the applicable terms and policies, including privacy and data gathering practices, of any site to which you navigate from the Website.
3. Acceptable Use
You may access and use the Website for your personal, non-commercial use in connection with the Program. The Website may not be accessed or used by you in connection with any other endeavors -- commercial or otherwise -- except as previously approved in writing by an authorized representative of Kiva. Your access and use of the Website and participation in the Program shall be in strict compliance with this Agreement, including, without limitation, Kiva's Privacy Policy, as well as all other procedures and guidelines set forth on the Website and applicable law. You may not use the Website in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden or impair the Website or software, systems or equipment of Kiva, any User, Field Partner or any other person. You may not engage in advertising to, or solicitation of, any User, Field Partner, Borrower or any other person to buy or sell any products or services through the Website. Only authorized Field Partners and their authorized Borrowers may seek Loans on the Website. You may not transmit any chain letters, junk email or "spam" to any User, Field Partner, Borrower or any other person. Kiva has the right to investigate and take appropriate legal action (including, without limitation, civil, criminal and injunctive redress) against any illegal and/or unauthorized uses of the Website, including collecting or harvesting (whether or not by automated scripts) the name, email address or any other personal or confidential information of any User, Field Partner, Borrower or any other person by electronic or other means for any reason, including, without limitation, the purpose of sending unsolicited email and unauthorized framing of or linking to the Website.
Although Kiva assumes no obligation to monitor the conduct of any User on or off the Website, it is a violation of this Agreement to use the Website or any information obtained from the Website in order to: (i) harass, abuse, or harm another person (including, but not limited to, using profanity in lender messages or joining lending teams in bad faith), (ii) prevent or exclude others, who are using the Website in compliance with this Agreement, from accessing, viewing or funding a particular Loan profile, or (iii) contact, advertise to, solicit, or sell to any User, Field Partner, Borrower or other person without their prior explicit consent. In order to protect such persons from such advertising, solicitation or harassment, Kiva reserves the right to remove content from the Website that violates acceptable use in Kiva's sole discretion and restrict the number of emails or messages that a User may send to others through the Website in any 24-hour or other period to a number that Kiva deems appropriate, in Kiva's sole and absolute discretion.
Kiva reserves the right at all times (but will not have an obligation) to remove or refuse to post or distribute any Third Party Content, and to restrict, suspend or terminate the participation of any User or any lending team from the Website and all Programs at any time, with or without prior notice. Without in any way limiting the foregoing, it is a violation of this Agreement to post, upload, submit, transmit or otherwise share any content, including, but not limited to, written materials or images, that in Kiva's opinion is obscene, harassing, contains profanity, or may be hateful or offensive on racial, ethnic, sexual or any other grounds; is harmful, vulgar or distasteful; contains graphic or gratuitous violence; or is defamatory, libelous, or invades another person's privacy or proprietary rights.
In consideration of your use of the Website, you agree to (a) provide accurate, current and complete information about you as may be prompted by any registration forms on the Website ("Registration Data"); (b) maintain the security of your password and identification; (c) maintain and promptly update the Registration Data, and any other information you provide to Kiva, to keep it accurate, current and complete; and (d) be fully responsible for all use of your account and for any actions that take place using your account. You agree not to impersonate any person or entity.
4. Disclaimers
Kiva is not responsible, and shall have no liability, for any incorrect or inaccurate content posted on the Website or any liability, cost or expense you may incur in connection with the Program, whether caused by any User, Field Partner, Borrower or other person or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Program. You also acknowledge and agree that Field Partners are not liable for content created and posted on the Website. Kiva is not responsible for the conduct, whether online or offline, of any User of the Website or any other person. With respect to the Website, Kiva assumes no responsibility for any error, omission, interruption, deletion, defect, delay in operation or transmission, communications line failure, theft or destruction or unauthorized access to, or alteration of, any communications.
Under no circumstances will Kiva be responsible for any loss or damage, including, without limitation, personal injury or death, resulting from any use of the Website or participation in the Program, any content posted, uploaded, submitted, transmitted or otherwise shared on the Website or any interactions between any Users of the Website, whether online or offline. Kiva neither represents, warrants, covenants guarantees, nor promises any specific results from use of the Website or the Program.
THE WEBSITE, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN IT OR ANY SERVICE OR ADVICE PROVIDED IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROGRAM, IS PROVIDED "AS IS" WITH NO REPRESENTATIONS OR WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. YOU ASSUME TOTAL RESPONSIBILITY AND RISK FOR YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE.
Kiva makes no representation or warranty, express or implied, with respect to any third party data provided to Kiva or its transmission, timeliness, accuracy or completeness, including but not limited to implied warranties or warranties of merchantability or fitness for a particular purpose. Kiva will not be liable in any way to you or to any other person for any inaccuracy, error or delay in or omission of any third party data or the transmission or delivery of any such third party data and any loss or damage arising from (a) any such inaccuracy, error, delay or omission, (b) non-performance or (c) interruption in any such third party data due either to any negligent act or omission by Kiva or "force majeure" or any other cause beyond the control of Kiva.
5. Limitation of Liability
You understand that any and all decisions made by you with respect to the Program are yours alone. Kiva cannot and does not verify the accuracy of information from Field Partners, other Users or Borrowers. Kiva shall not be responsible, or have any duty or obligation to, or liability for: (a) decisions or interactions resulting (directly or indirectly) from participation in the Program; or (b) any damages, costs, losses or expenses a User incurs as a result (directly or indirectly) of making a Loan to a Borrower or as a result (directly or indirectly) of utilizing the Program or information received in connection with the Program. In addition, in no event will Kiva be liable to you or any third person for any damages, costs, losses or expenses, including any lost capital, lost profits or special, incidental, consequential or punitive damages arising from your use of the Website or participation in the Program, even if Kiva has been advised of the possibility of such damages, costs, losses or expenses.
6. Disputes with other Field Partners, Borrowers
Kiva is not responsible for your interactions with any Field Partners, any other User or any Borrower (even to the extent prohibited by this Agreement) and any disputes or damages that may result from such interactions.
Kiva reserves the right, but has no obligation, to monitor disputes between you and such persons.
7. Governing Law; Resolution of Disputes; Arbitration and Waivers
This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of California, USA, without regard to its choice of law or conflict of law provisions. If any dispute arises between you and Kiva, including, without limitation, any dispute arising from or relating to the Website or the Program, you agree that all such disputes will be determined exclusively by final and binding arbitration, in accordance with the then existing commercial rules of the American Arbitration Association in San Francisco if the amount claimed is greater than $100 and otherwise over the telephone or in another city in which Kiva is located. The arbitration shall be heard and adjudicated by one arbitrator to be selected by you and Kiva. Any award will be final, binding and conclusive upon the parties, subject only to judicial review provided by California statute, and a judgment rendered on the arbitration award can be entered in any court having jurisdiction thereof. Notwithstanding the foregoing, either you or Kiva may seek any injunctive relief in a state or federal court in San Francisco, California, as may be necessary to preserve rights pending the completion of arbitration and Kiva may seek any injunctive relief in a state or federal court in San Francisco, California, or another court of competent jurisdiction, at any time against any violations of Section 2 (Proprietary Rights) or Section 3 (Acceptable Use) of this Agreement.
TO THE EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, BY AGREEING TO SUBMIT ALL DISPUTES TO BINDING ARBITRATION, YOU AND KIVA HEREBY WAIVE YOUR RIGHT TO A JURY OR COURT TRIAL OF ANY CLAIM OR CAUSE OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR BASED UPON THIS AGREEMENT OR ANY CONTEMPLATED USE HEREIN, INCLUDING CONTRACT, TORT, BREACH OF DUTY AND ALL OTHER CLAIMS, EXCEPT AS SPECIFICALLY PROVIDED ABOVE.
You waive, to the maximum extent not prohibited by law, any right you may have to claim or recover, in any legal action or proceeding, any special, exemplary, punitive or consequential damages.
8. Indemnity
You agree to indemnify and hold Kiva harmless from any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including reasonable attorney's fees, made or incurred by any third party due to or arising (directly or indirectly) out of your use of the Website or participation in the Program or arising from your breach of this Agreement.
9. Term; Termination
This Agreement will remain in full force and effect while you access or use the Website or participate in the Program as a User and, notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, this Agreement will remain in effect after your participation in the Program and registered account is terminated. Whether or not you are and remain eligible to participate in the Program, use the Website or any Kiva services, may be determined by Kiva in its sole and absolute discretion. You may terminate your participation in the Program and registered account at any time and for any reason by sending a written notice of termination to Kiva along with instructions for the disposition of your then-available Kiva Credit and any additional credits that you may receive in the future (e.g., based on repayments of then-outstanding and active Loans), such notice to be effective within three (3) days of receipt by Kiva. Kiva may also terminate your participation in the Program and registered account at any time and for any reason, effective upon transmission of notice to you at the email address you provide to Kiva. Upon such a Kiva-initiated termination, your available Kiva Credits shall be returned to you within thirty (30) days of account termination and any Kiva Credit you may receive in the future shall also be returned to you in due course. If your participation in the Program and registered account is terminated by Kiva, you agree not to access or use the Website. If you violate this Agreement or if your participation in the Program or registered account is terminated, Kiva has the right to delete your profile and remove your User Generated Content.
10. Entire Agreement; Severability
This Agreement, accepted upon your access and use of the Website and further affirmed by becoming a User, contains the entire agreement between you and Kiva regarding the use of the Website or the Program. This Agreement may not be orally amended. If any provision of this Agreement is held invalid, the remainder of this Agreement shall continue in full force and effect.
Please contact us at contactus@kiva.org with any questions regarding this Agreement.