Kiva Terms of Use Agreement

(Last updated Dec 19th, 2022)*

*Substantive changes from the prior version will generally be highlighted below for at least one month.

Welcome 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 and mobile apps 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 related programs, services or activities (collectively, the "Program") or otherwise access or 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.

Basically,
Welcome to Kiva! You’re legally agreeing to the terms on this page when you visit and use Kiva’s website. So you should read them. This column can help you navigate the major points in the terms.

If you don’t agree with these terms, you shouldn’t use Kiva’s website.

This Agreement supersedes any previous agreement to which you and Kiva may have been bound (provided that if you are a Borrower, Trustee, Field Partner or Lender who has a separate written agreement with Kiva, the terms of that separate agreement will control with respect to any provision that conflicts with this Agreement). 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 8 below, and please immediately stop participating in the Program and accessing and using the Website.

Basically,
The Terms of Use is the current agreement between you and Kiva. If you have any other contracts with Kiva (for example if you are a Kiva borrower or a loan matching sponsor), those may override certain things in this Terms of Use.

Kiva may make changes to this agreement at any time. When we do, you’ll know we’ve updated it by looking at the date at the top of the page.

This Agreement is divided into the following sections:

1. Participation in the Program
2. Acceptable Use
3. Proprietary Rights
4. Disclaimers; Limitation of Liability
5. Governing Law; Resolution of Disputes; Arbitration and Waivers
6. Indemnity
7. Term; Termination
8. Entire Agreement; Severability; Assignment

1. Participation in the Program

Kiva manages the Website, which matches you and other persons (each, a "Lender" and, collectively, "Lenders") with borrowers and social enterprises in various countries in need of affordable capital (each, a "Borrower" and, collectively, "Borrowers"). 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, and the geographic location including the risk of financial instability and foreign exchange rate fluctuations. Please carefully review the Website section entitled "The risks of lending" which highlights the various risks associated with lending online through Kiva and explains in greater detail the role played by Kiva and its Field Partners and Trustees (each defined below in this Section 1).

Basically,
This section describes what Kiva does. Lending on Kiva is risky and you might not get repaid what you lend. Please read our page called “The risks of lending” for more information on the different types of risk you assume when you make a loan.

You may participate in the Program as a Lender by creating an online account on the Website registered to your email address, or by using a guest checkout feature, as described below in Section 1.2. If you participate via Kiva's mobile app, you may not have access to all Website features and functionality through the app; however, you can access all your account settings, functionality, and information about your lending history through Kiva’s website at kiva.org. All transactions between Lenders and Borrowers or Field Partners (“Loans”) must be conducted through a Kiva account, except when making a guest Loan. Technically speaking, there is no direct contractual relationship between you and the Field Partners or Borrowers designated to receive your funds, and Kiva may, in certain circumstances, be considered the "lender" on your behalf when you make Loans on the Website. The funds you have available in your Kiva account which are freely available to be lent – whether deposited from your personal funds, value from a Kiva Card (as defined below in Section 1.12), or repayments on previously made Loans – are referred to as your "Kiva Credit." If you make a Loan through the Website, whether manually or via Kiva’s Auto-Lending feature (as defined below), you are instructing Kiva to apply your Kiva Credit to fund a Borrower and/or Field Partner through the Website. All amounts deposited in your Kiva account must be lent through the Website and/or donated to Kiva. If Kiva receives repayments on your Loans from the applicable Borrowers/Field Partners, such repayment amounts will not be returned to your Kiva account unless and until you instruct Kiva to apply suchh amounts toward another Loan. Alternatively, you can request that Kiva pay you an amount equivalent to such repayments by requesting a withdrawal. You must have both a Kiva account and a PayPal account to receive and withdraw repayments. Please note that PayPal does not facilitate payments in all countries - if PayPal does not allow payments to be received in your country, you will not be able to withdraw your funds.

Basically,
You have to create an account to lend on Kiva, unless you check out as a guest. Money added to your account is called “Kiva credit” and it must be used to make loans on Kiva or donate to Kiva. As borrowers repay, you can relend the money or Kiva can pay you back. You need to have both a Kiva account and a PayPal account to withdraw payments from Kiva.

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. Loans made via the Website are not cancellable or refundable by the User.

Basically,
Again, lending on Kiva is risky! That means you should only lend money that you can afford to lose. Once you’ve made a loan, you can’t cancel it, and Kiva doesn’t guarantee that it will be repaid. You also won’t earn interest on Kiva loans.

Kiva will hold amounts due and payable to Lenders, Field Partners and Borrowers (including Kiva Credit) separate from Kiva’s general funds, in an account or accounts established to hold funds for the benefit of Users with funds in the Kiva system (“User Funds Account”). Kiva will not use such amounts for Kiva’s general operating expenses; however, Kiva reserves the right to retain (a) interest on funds while such funds are held in a User Funds Account and (b) any foreign exchange gains collected in connection with Loan repayments, and to use such interest and gains in support of Kiva’s general operating expenses.

Basically,
Kiva raises money for our operations separate from loans. This means we won’t use the money in your Kiva account to run our organization (unless you decide to donate it to us).

1.1Lending Through Kiva’s Website. The Website displays Loan requests from Borrowers seeking funding from Kiva Lenders. You can log into your Kiva account and manually fund specific Loan requests on the Website. Alternatively, you can let Kiva automatically apply your Kiva Credit toward Loans (“Auto-Lend”) based on preferences in your account settings. Unless you instruct Kiva not to Auto-Lend from your account, up to the full balance of your Kiva Credit may be Auto-Lent if the following circumstances are met: (a) you have not manually made a Loan for at least 45 days prior; (b) there are available Loan requests on the Website that meet the criteria you have designated in your account settings, if applicable; and (c) your Kiva account either (i) contains at least the minimum amount of Kiva Credit required to make a Loan manually, or (ii) no future repayments to your account are expected (in which case amounts less than the minimum manual Loan amount may be Auto-Lent). When you make a Loan, Kiva may ask you to simultaneously make a small donation to support Kiva’s operations; by default you will make a donation to Kiva with each Auto-Loan. You may change your account settings to, for example, give Kiva the option to Auto-Lend your Kiva Credit without waiting at least 45 days, designate criteria for the types of Loans to be automatically made from your Kiva Account, or change the amount of the donation made to Kiva with each Auto-Loan. If you do not designate Loan criteria for Auto-Lending in your account settings, Kiva may apply your funds toward any available Loan request. Unless you opt-out of Auto-Lending, any and all available Kiva Credit in your account, including amounts from repayments on your previous Loans, may be automatically applied toward Loans and accompanying donations to Kiva. However, you understand and acknowledge that Kiva shall have no obligation to lend your Kiva Credit via Auto-Lending at any particular time, or at all. You acknowledge and agree that any Loans transacted pursuant to Auto-Lending are in all respects Loans voluntarily made by you as the Lender, and in no event will such Loans be cancellable or refundable to you. Kiva may modify or terminate the Auto-Lending functionality at any time or from time to time.

Basically,
You can choose specific loans to make through Kiva’s website. If you do not lend your Kiva credit yourself, Kiva will automatically lend it for you (unless you tell us not to). By default, you will also make a small donation to Kiva with each automatic loan. You have the option to select criteria in your account settings to tell Kiva what types of loans to make on your behalf.

1.2Guest Checkout

From time to time, Kiva may offer a guest checkout feature that allows you to make one or more Loans through the Website without creating a Kiva account. If you make a Loan through a guest checkout feature, you will need to provide your email address, and you will still be subject to Kiva’s Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You agree that Kiva may contact you via email at the email address you provide when checking out as a guest. You understand and agree that you will not be able to receive or withdraw Loan repayment amounts if you do not have a Kiva account. From time to time, Kiva may allow you to “claim” your guest Loan(s) by enabling you to finish creating a Kiva account associated with the email address you provided when checking out as a guest. Kiva reserves the right to set time limits on when you must finish creating your Kiva account in order to claim a guest Loan. You agree that Kiva shall have sole discretion to use as Kiva sees fit any and all funds that are repaid on any Loan you make as a guest and do not later claim within the time period set by Kiva.

Basically,
Kiva may allow you to lend without a Kiva account. If you choose to lend as a guest, you will need to provide an email address, and Kiva may let you finish creating an account linked to your email address later. If you do not later create an account, you won’t be able to receive loan repayments, and Kiva will decide what to do with any repayments on your guest loan.

1.3Types of Loans on the Website.

a.Partner Loans. The majority of Loans on the Website are administered by 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, services or supplies to underbanked or low-income borrowers (“Partner Loans”). When a Partner Loan is funded, Kiva sends Lender funds to the Field Partner administering the Partner Loan, and receives Borrower repayments via the Field Partner as the Loan is repaid.

Basically,
Most loans on Kiva’s website are posted by third-party organizations we call “Field Partners.” Field Partners disburse money to borrowers and collect repayments, which they then send to Kiva.

b.Direct Loans. Certain other Loans on the Website are not administered by Field Partners, but instead are made by transferring funds directly from Kiva to a Borrower’s digital account (“Direct Loans”). Because Direct Loans are not managed by a Field Partner, they typically bear a greater risk of non-repayment than most Partner Loans. As Direct Loans are repaid, funds are then transferred directly from the Borrower’s account back to Kiva. Some, but not all, Direct Loans are endorsed by individuals or institutions that vouch for the Borrower’s character (“Trustees”). Trustees may help manage their respective Borrowers’ relationships with Kiva, but Trustees do not handle Loan disbursements or repayments made through Kiva’s system, and they do not guarantee Borrower repayments. Direct Loans and Partner Loans differ in some important ways, which will be explained more below.

Basically,
A few loans on Kiva’s website are posted and managed by Kiva without any assistance from a Field Partner – we call these “direct loans.” In general, direct loans have a higher risk of non-repayment than Field Partner loans because there’s no third-party institution managing the loan. Some direct loans are endorsed by “Trustees,” which are people or institutions that vouch for the borrower’s character but do not actually handle the loan.

1.4Loan Disbursement.

a.Partner Loan Disbursement. Partner Loans are not made directly to Borrowers, but are instead administered by Field Partners. Loan requests are posted in cooperation with such Field Partners and are, before being listed on Kiva, converted to U.S. dollar amounts as necessary and then rounded up to the nearest U.S. 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). 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 are delivered 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 User Funds Account, which interest is contributed toward funding Kiva's operations) to the Field Partner(s) for disbursement to the Borrowers funded through 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 that enables a Borrower to ultimately be supported by a Partner Loan from you. In some cases, Kiva may approve a Field Partner's pledge of collateral to another lender that may include loans supported by Kiva Users.

Basically,
This section explains how we get your money to borrowers. Most loans are distributed to borrowers through Kiva’s Field Partners. Kiva works with lots of different types of Field Partners and borrowers in different countries, so the process of loan distribution can vary depending on the loan.

Field Partners are solely responsible for screening and selecting each Borrower (including, without limitation, posting requests for Partner Loans on the Website) and making all Partner 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.

Basically,
For partner loans, Kiva doesn’t choose the individual borrowers posted to our website by Field Partners. Neither Kiva nor our Field Partners will be liable to you should problems arise with Field Partners, borrowers or the loan disbursement process.

b.Direct Loan Disbursement. Direct Loans are made directly to Borrowers, without facilitation by Field Partners. Direct Loan requests are submitted by Borrowers and approved by Kiva before they are posted to the Website. Funds loaned by you, the Lender, will be transferred directly to the account of the Borrower you have chosen to support. Kiva serves as a middle-man in the process and aggregates funds from multiple Lenders via the Website and delivers 100% of these funds (excluding the interest earned, if any, on such funds while they are held in a User Funds Account, which interest is contributed toward funding Kiva's operations) to the Borrower. Kiva expressly disclaims any responsibility to screen Trustees or Borrowers or monitor Borrowers’ use of Kiva funds. Kiva and the Trustees shall have no liability whatsoever with respect to such screening or selection of Borrowers, and you shall hold Kiva and the Trustees harmless from any and all liabilities with respect to, or resulting from such screening and selection of Borrowers.

Basically,
Kiva does select borrowers who receive a direct loan and sends them the money without help from a Field Partner. Neither Kiva, nor anyone who endorses a direct loan, will be liable to you if any problems arise with these borrowers.

1.5Loan Collection and Repayment. Partner Loans are repaid by Borrowers to the Field Partners. Generally, as a Borrower repays a Loan, the respective Field Partner will post a record to the Website of such repayments actually received by the Field Partner, and it is the responsibility and obligation of the applicable Field Partner to pay over such collected Loan repayments to Kiva. In some cases (for example, for Loans in India), the records of repayments are not posted on the Website as the Borrowers repay the Loans, as a result of certain system and country regulatory constraints. Direct Loans are repaid directly by Borrowers to Kiva, without facilitation by a Field Partner. Repayments may be made in periodic installments, depending on the terms of the applicable Loan. In some cases (for example, for Loans in India), repayments may only be provided at the end of a fixed term (for example, after 43 months), as a result of certain system and country regulatory constraints. Except as may be provided in Section 1.2 (Guest Checkout), Section 1.6 ("Principal Loss Scenarios") or Kiva’s Promotional Lending Terms and Conditions , Kiva commits to pay to Lenders on a pro rata basis (in accordance with the amounts loaned by each such Lender to a given Borrower) amounts equivalent to the repayments actually received by Kiva from such Borrower (whether directly from the Borrower or from a Field Partner). Repaid amounts will show as Kiva Credit in your account, but technically speaking these funds (which reflect amounts Kiva owes to you) are held by Kiva until you instruct us to (a) use the amounts repaid to make new Loans through your Kiva account, or (b) pay you an equivalent amount by requesting a withdrawal. Distributions to Lenders 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 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 (for example, to resolve issues regarding accuracy of repayment amounts and corresponding data, or for other issues). If, for any reason, a given Field Partner is unable to collect Partner Loan repayments directly from the Borrower(s) or if Kiva, for any reason, is unable to collect Loan repayments directly from a Field Partner or a Borrower, 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 Field Partners nor Borrowers will have direct contractual obligation or liability to pay you any principal and that Kiva is only obligated to repay such Loan principal to the extent actually received by Kiva from a Field Partner or a Borrower (subject to the conditions noted above). None of Kiva, its Field Partners 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. However, you should note that in some cases Kiva charges service fees to Field Partners and Direct Loan Borrowers, and Field Partners generally also charge interest and fees to Borrowers.

Basically,
This section explains how loan repayment works. After we receive a repayment on one of your loans, we will pay you and the other lenders back in proportion to how much everyone lent. You can also choose to use repaid amounts to make new loans. If a borrower or Field Partner doesn’t send repayments to Kiva as expected, you won’t get your money back. You don’t have the right to seek repayments directly from Field Partners or borrowers.

1.6Principal Loss Scenarios. Kiva will generally deem a Loan to be in default if Kiva determines that collection of funds for such Loan is doubtful or the cumulative amount repaid as of a quarterly reconciliation is less than the amount expected as of six (6) months to one (1) year prior, although case by case differences may exist based on pending prospects for repayment of the Loan and depending on country context and related system and regulatory constraints. You understand and hereby consent (without any prior notice thereof) to any restructuring of the repayment plan for your Loan(s) and/or, in Kiva's sole discretion, any extension of the length of the term of your Loan(s) in order to increase the chances that your Loan(s) will be repaid in whole or in part. In cases where a Loan is in default, and subject to the distribution timing provisions noted in Section 1.4 (Loan Collection and Repayment) above, each applicable Lender will have the option to recover a portion of whatever principal has been repaid up to that point.

Basically,
Kiva has guidelines for when to declare a loan in default (meaning we believe the loan is not going to be repaid). We may decide it’s better not to follow these guidelines in some cases. For instance, while we won’t change a loan’s repayment terms on the Kiva website, we may nevertheless allow a borrower or Field Partner more time if we think it will increase the chance of repayment.

For Partner Loans made in local currencies other than the U.S. dollar, Kiva gives Field Partners the option to have Lenders bear the risk of principal losses resulting from currency exchange rate fluctuations. Field Partners may require Lenders to bear any losses due to the appreciation of the U.S. dollar relative to the local currency in which the Loan was made. The Loan profile for each Partner Loan on the Website specifies whether the applicable Field Partner will cover some or all losses from currency fluctuations, or whether Lenders will be required to bear the risk of currency exchange rate losses. If there are currency exchange rate gains during the course of a Loan, such gains will first be used to offset any exchange rate losses on that same Loan, and any gains above the original Loan amount will be used by Kiva to further its charitable purposes (for example, funding future Loans or covering Kiva's operating expenses).

Basically,
In addition to loan defaults, you may lose money because of changing currency exchange rates. Kiva loans are made in U.S. dollars, but Field Partners often distribute the money to borrowers in their local currency. Sometimes local currency becomes less valuable during the term of a loan. This means that by the time a borrower repays his or her loan, it might equal less than the original loan amount when it’s converted back to U.S. dollars.

If for any reason less than 100% of your Loan is repaid, regardless of whether you made such Loan manually or pursuant to Auto-Lending, you agree that neither Kiva nor its Borrowers, Field Partners or Trustees (as well as any "related Field Partner or Trustee entity" – for example, one that as part of a restructuring or otherwise, assumes control over such a Field Partner or Trustee, its assets and/or its obligations) shall have any liability therefor, and you hereby release and forever hold harmless Kiva, its Borrowers, Field Partners, Trustees and any related Field Partner or Trustee 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.

Basically,
If any part of your loan is not repaid, you will lose that money. You won’t sue Kiva, Borrowers, Field Partners, Trustees, or anyone else for your losses.

1.7Insufficient 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 if your account contains it, or (ii) if you do not deposit Kiva Credit sufficient to cover the shortfall, close your account.

Basically,
If you try to make a loan and your payment doesn’t clear, we can cover the loan with Kiva credit from your account (if you have any), or close your account if you do not deposit the necessary credit.

1.8Subscriptions. Kiva offers Lenders the ability to sign up for subscriptions, including but not limited to (a) periodic automated deposits of funds to your Kiva account (“Auto Deposits”) which you can log into your account to lend, and/or (b) periodic automated deposits of funds to your Kiva account that are automatically lent via Kiva’s Auto-Lending feature once your account contains sufficient funds to make a Loan (“Subscription Lending”). Subscription Lending products offered from time to time may include, but are not limited to, “Monthly Good” and subscriptions to support loans related to specific causes. If you sign up for Auto Deposit or Subscription Lending, you authorize Kiva to initiate a deposit of funds from your designated payment method to your Kiva account in the amount and frequency specified in your account settings, and to charge you for an optional donation to Kiva’s operations in the amount you designate, until such time as you cancel your subscription through your account settings. If you sign up for Subscription Lending, you authorize Kiva to Auto-Lend funds from your account as described in Section 1.1 above.

Basically,
If you sign up for auto-deposits or a lending subscription, you give Kiva permission to initiate deposits of new funds to your Kiva account from your chosen payment method on a regular basis. Lending subscriptions (like Monthly Good) will automatically lend your funds as soon as you have enough in your account to make a loan.

1.9Tax 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. Funds you donate to Kiva’s operations are eligible for tax deductibility in the United States. You acknowledge, however, that making a Loan on the Website does not constitute a charitable donation, and therefore you are not eligible to receive a tax deduction for any funds lent to a Borrower through the Website. For avoidance of doubt, if you sign up for Auto Deposit or Subscription Lending (see Section 1.8), the funds automatically deposited to your account will be not be eligible for tax deductibility unless and until you donate them to Kiva. 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.

Basically,
Kiva is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that runs on donations. If you donate money to Kiva in addition to your loans, the donations qualify for a tax deduction in the U.S. However, if you make a loan through Kiva, it isn’t considered a donation to Kiva and isn’t tax deductible.

We can’t give you specific tax advice.

1.10Loan Records. Records of each Loan you fund (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. Your Kiva Credit balance can also be accessed via your Kiva account.

Basically,
You can check your lending history and account balance by signing into your Kiva account, or by writing to Kiva to ask for it.

1.11User 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 otherwise indicate to Kiva a desire to keep the account active – for example, through a phone or email communication with Kiva or by taking advantage of embedded response features, such as a click-response button in an email or other electronic communication from Kiva) or there are no credits/withdrawals made to such User's account (including lending and repayment activity from both manual and Auto-Loans). Therefore, Kiva has implemented a Website feature pursuant to which you may instruct Kiva in advance as to how you wish any remaining payments owed to you 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 such funds to Kiva's general operating expenses to further Kiva's philanthropic mission or (ii) wish for Kiva to pay any amounts owed 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 either (i) joined Kiva prior to 12:00PM on June 14, 2010 or (ii) joined Kiva through the Kiva Zip website (formerly hosted at zip.kiva.org) and accepted the Kiva Zip Terms of Use, but did not make a Partner Loan or otherwise accept the Kiva.org Terms of Use prior to June 1, 2016: 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 all other Users: you will upon registration on the Website automatically be opted-in to instructing Kiva to auto-convert any remaining amounts owed to you (in connection with Loan repayments) to a donation to Kiva's general operating expenses to further Kiva's philanthropic mission if your account becomes 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).

Basically,
If your Kiva account has no activity for 2 years, it will become inactive and we reserve the right to close it. You can go to your account settings to let us know ahead of time what we should do with any money we still owe you if this happens. By default, these funds will be donated to Kiva if your account becomes inactive. If you don’t want that to occur, you can change your settings to instruct Kiva to pay the funds to your PayPal account. Depending on when and how you signed up for Kiva, you may not have a default setting. If this is the case, you can go to your account settings and choose to either donate inactive funds to Kiva or have them returned to you.

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 amounts paid to you cannot be successfully completed, whether because there are funds remaining in your account that have never been lent, because of invalid/incomplete information, because you fail to claim the funds after thirty (30) calendar days have passed from the day Kiva has forwarded the funds to you, because your funds were returned 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) any funds we owe you 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.

Basically,
If your account becomes inactive without instructions for what to do with any money we owe you, we may send it to your home state government so that you can claim it later. We may also do this if you’ve told us to return the funds to your PayPal account, but we can’t for some reason (for example, if you haven’t given us a correct PayPal account). If you live outside the U.S., or if we don’t know where you live, we will send the money to the State of California.

1.12Promotional Products. Kiva may offer certain promotions and promotional products to Users, including but not limited to features that allow a User to make a Loan on the Website without spending his or her own personal funds or Kiva Credit. This Agreement, Kiva’s Promotional Lending Terms and Conditions , and any other specific terms posted by Kiva with respect to such promotions and promotional products, shall apply to all Users’ participation in the promotions and use of promotional products.

Basically,
If we offer any special promotions to you (like the ability to make a loan without using your own money), additional terms may apply. You can read our standard promotional terms here .

1.13Kiva Cards. A “Kiva Card” is a hybrid gift product with inherent built-in features that combine elements of both the ability to make a Loan on the Website and an automatic charitable donation to Kiva. The terms and conditions applicable to Kiva Cards can be found here: Kiva Card Terms and Conditions.

Basically,
If you want to gift Kiva to someone, you can purchase a “Kiva Card,” which allows them to make a loan on Kiva, or donates the value of the card to Kiva if they choose not to make a loan within 1 year. There are specific terms and conditions that apply to Kiva Cards. You can read those here.

2. Acceptable Use

2.1Appropriate Conduct. You may access and use the Website for your personal, non-commercial use in connection with the Program (provided that Borrowers may promote their businesses on their Loan profile pages). 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, all other procedures and guidelines set forth on the Website and as part of the Program, as well as applicable law. Only authorized Field Partners and authorized Borrowers may seek Loans on the Website or otherwise through the Program (provided that you may apply to become an authorized Borrower through Kiva’s formal application process). 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 or exploitations of the Program, 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.

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 or any User, Field Partner, or other person. You may not use the Website in any manner that, in Kiva’s sole discretion, creates a poor user experience for any other User, such as by posting content specifically designed to attract a negative reaction from an individual or group, or by “keyword stuffing” lending team pages (loading a page description with keywords in an attempt to manipulate the page’s ranking in search results). Although Kiva assumes no obligation to monitor the conduct of any User on or off the Website or through the Program, it is a violation of this Agreement to use the Website or Program, or any information obtained from the Website or Program, in order to: (i) harass, abuse, or harm another person (including, but not limited to, using profanity in lender messages or creating 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 Borrower profile, (iii) promote or enable illegal activities, (iv) defraud or deceive any person, (v) promote or solicit involvement in support of any political platform, legislation or campaign activity for or against political candidates, (vi) publicly share information about a Borrower’s delinquency or default, (vii) access and use the Website by scripts, bots or other automated technology, (viii) contact, advertise to, solicit, "spam," or sell to any User, Field Partner, Trustee, Borrower or other person without their prior explicit consent (provided that Borrowers may promote their businesses to Users in a respectful way), or (ix) 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; is defamatory, libelous, or invades another person's privacy or proprietary rights; or contains viruses, time bombs, trojan horses, cancelbots, worms or other harmful or disruptive codes, components or devices.

Kiva reserves the right at all times (but will not have an obligation) to restrict, suspend or terminate the participation of any User or any lending team from the Website and the Program at any time, with or without prior notice. In order to protect Users and other persons from advertising, solicitation or harassment, Kiva reserves the right to remove or refuse to post or distribute any 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.

Basically,
This section is about the dos and don’ts of using Kiva. Do use Kiva to make loans and participate in our lending community. Don’t do anything that causes a negative experience for other Kiva users (like sending spam or posting offensive content). Kiva is the judge of what’s inappropriate, and we can suspend your account for bad behavior. You can read Kiva’s community guidelines here.

2.2Safety and Security. To protect your own safety and well-being, you agree to take prudent safeguards and precautions in your participation in the Program, including without limitation in your interaction with other Users, whether offline or online. Kiva strongly recommends that you do not post any personal contact information (for example, personal email addresses, personal phone numbers or home addresses) and use your discretion if any person (a) requests to communicate outside of the Website (for example, by email, phone or in-person), (b) requests money, goods or any similar type of assistance other than through an official Loan request on the Website, (c) asks for assistance with personal transactions (for example, depositing funds and shipping merchandise), or (d) requests your personal contact information or financial information. You agree never to share (i) your credit card number or bank information, (ii) Social Security Number or government-issued identification numbers (for example, driver's license number) or (iii) mother's maiden name or other private information that can be used to access your financial information. As with any interaction, keep in mind that it is always possible for people to misrepresent themselves.

In consideration of your use of the Website or participation in the Program, 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, including but not limited to lending activity and withdrawals, whether due to your authorizing someone else to use your Kiva account, your sharing of your login credentials with any third party, or your actions otherwise resulting in your login credentials being used by a third party. You agree not to impersonate any person or entity. You will promptly report to Kiva any violation of this Agreement by others of which you become aware, including any access of your Kiva account without your permission. Reporting such access is the best way of preventing further fraudulent access to your Kiva account. For errors regarding your account activity other than unauthorized access to your account, you may also contact Kiva to investigate your complaint or questions.

Basically,
Like with all online platforms, you should be cautious with your personal information and stay alert for scammers who may try to contact you through Kiva’s messaging features or impersonate Kiva through other communication channels. Never give out your financial information, personal ID numbers or account password, and do not use the same password on multiple websites. Be honest with the information you use to sign up for Kiva, and let us know if you become aware of any fraudsters.

2.3Kiva API. The Kiva API is a service that Kiva provides to allow third parties to develop and offer applications, services and features using information from the Website and Program (“Third Party Applications”). Third Party Applications are not created or maintained by Kiva but by third parties. These third parties’ terms of service and privacy policies govern your use of Third Party Applications. Any authorization you give to any third party or Third Party Application to access your account information and/or take actions on your behalf does not relieve you of any of your responsibilities under this Agreement. Kiva gives no guarantees or warranties with respect to any Third Party Application and is not responsible for your use of or inability to use any Third Party Application, including without limitation the content, accuracy, reliability or security of Third Party Applications or the privacy practices or other policies of third parties. You may revoke permissions that you have granted to a Third Party Application by logging into your account on the Website or by contacting Kiva.

Basically,
We let third-party developers make Kiva-related apps and services that are not controlled by us. If you use one of these services, it’s at your own risk, and subject to the service’s separate terms and policies.

2.4Kiva Resources; Independent Kiva Events. Kiva does not review, approve, endorse, advise, or provide organizational oversight of Kiva-themed clubs and/or events established or held by persons who are not Kiva employees or formal volunteers. For example, educators and students might form independent school Kiva clubs or hold Kiva-themed lessons, and Users might host Kiva-themed events in their communities. While Kiva makes resources available, such as event ideas, Kiva in a box, Kiva U Toolkits, and lesson plans (collectively, the “Resources”), individuals and groups that use the Resources do not have any official affiliation with Kiva. Although Kiva does not provide direct oversight or guidance to Kiva-themed clubs, groups, and/or events, you agree to uphold Kiva’s values at all meetings and events, and in any promotion of your club, group or event. This means that you will promote an environment where all group members and/or event attendees are treated with respect, and are not discriminated against based on factors such as race, ethnicity, religion, gender or gender identity, sexual orientation, age, national origin, disability, or socioeconomic status.

You agree and understand that all Resources are provided on an “AS IS” and “WITH ALL FAULTS” basis, without warranties or representations of any kind, either express or implied. Your use of the Resources is at your sole risk, and Kiva expressly disclaims all liability arising from or relating to the Resources. While Kiva strives to provide useful and accurate information, Kiva does not warrant that the information offered in the Resources is free of errors or opinion biases. You further understand and acknowledge that you may be exposed to content that may be deemed offensive or objectionable, and you agree to waive, and hereby do waive, any legal or equitable rights or remedies you may have against Kiva with respect to the Resources.

YOU AGREE TO ASSUME FULL RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY AND ALL INJURIES OR DAMAGES YOU MAY SUSTAIN OR THAT MAY BE SUSTAINED BY OTHERS IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE OF THE RESOURCES AND/OR YOUR KIVA-THEMED MEETINGS OR EVENTS. YOU HEREBY RELEASE AND FOREVER HOLD HARMLESS KIVA FROM AND AGAINST ANY LIABILITY ARISING FROM SUCH INJURIES AND/OR DAMAGES.

Basically,
Kiva has resources to help people start Kiva clubs at their school or hold Kiva-themed events. However, these clubs and events are not formally affiliated with Kiva, and Kiva doesn’t have any control over them. If you use Kiva’s resources for independent clubs or events, it’s at your own risk. You won’t sue Kiva for anything relating to these clubs or events.

3. Proprietary Rights

3.1Rights in Content on the Website. "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 (collectively, "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 and Program contain 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, prior written permission of Kiva. In addition, to the extent you receive information from Kiva, its Field Partners, Trustees, or Borrowers 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, Trustee, or Kiva) has opted to have his or her identity withheld on the Website.

Basically,
Kiva owns our name, logo, branding and all the content on our website, and you can’t use it without our permission. That said, you can share website content if it relates to your use of Kiva (and if you’re not making any money off it).

If we later remove content (like borrower information) from the Kiva website, you shouldn’t continue to share that information with others. You also shouldn’t publicly share information about borrower delinquency or defaults.

If you post, upload, submit, transmit or otherwise share any messages or other content, information, images, photographs, pictures or other materials on the Website or to Kiva in connection with or arising from your participation in the Program, including without limitation any feedback provided to Kiva (collectively, "User Generated Content"), 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.

Basically,
We can use anything you post on the Kiva website (like profile information or message board comments), and we can give others permission to use it too. We don’t have to pay you for the use of this content, and you won’t sue us over its use, or over anything posted to the website by another user. You shouldn’t post anything you don’t have permission to post (like a picture that isn’t yours).

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: (i) comply with any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request; (ii) respond to claims that any Content violates the rights of third parties, including without limitation intellectual property rights; (iii) enforce this Agreement and investigate potential violations thereof; (iv) detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security, or technical issues; (v) respond to your requests for customer service; or (vi) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Kiva, its users, or the public. Please see the Privacy Policy for more information regarding the use and disclosure of your information as part of the Program.

Basically,
We can view, save and share anything you post on the website, as well as your account information, for the reasons listed in this section. Our Privacy Policy says more about how we collect and use your information and content.

3.2Notices of Infringement. To file a notice of infringing material on the Website, please provide a notification containing the following details:

  • Reasonably sufficient details to enable Kiva 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 Kiva 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 Kiva 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; and
  • Your physical or electronic signature.

Then send this notice to:

By Mail:

Kiva Microfunds
Legal Department
986 Mission Street, Suite #400
San Francisco, CA 94103 USA

By Fax:
Attn: Legal Department, 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; and
  • Your physical or electronic signature.

Then send this notice to Kiva's DMCA Agent based on the contact information provided above in this Section.

Basically,
If you see something posted to the Kiva website without its owner’s permission, please let us know by following the instructions in this section. If we remove something you’ve posted and you think you had the right to post it, you can let us know about that too.

3.3Third Party Content and Sites. 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 Kiva’s 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.

Basically,
Kiva doesn’t monitor everything that users post to the website, including links to other websites, so we can’t guarantee that they are safe or reliable. If you follow links to other websites, it’s at your own risk.

4. Disclaimers; Limitation of Liability

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 Website or Program, whether caused by any User, Field Partner, Trustee, 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 neither Field Partners, Trustees, nor Borrowers are liable for content created and posted on the Website, and neither Field Partners nor Trustees guarantee repayment by any Borrower. 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 and Program, 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.

Kiva is not responsible for your interactions with any Field Partners, Trustees, 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.

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, including without limitation any content posted, uploaded, submitted, transmitted or otherwise shared on the Website or any interactions between any Users of the Website or Program, whether online or offline. Kiva does not represent, warrant, covenant, guarantee or promise any specific results from use of the Website or the Program.

Basically,
Kiva isn’t liable for any problems you may have if you use the website for lending, borrowing or otherwise, even if those problems are caused by our mistake or another person’s bad behavior. Field Partners, Trustees and borrowers aren’t liable to you either.

THE WEBSITE AND PROGRAM, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY CONTENT OR INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN IT (INCLUDING THIRD PARTY DATA PROVIDED TO KIVA) 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 AND PARTICIPATION IN THE PROGRAM, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ALL OF THE RISKS ASSOCIATED WITH ANY ONLINE AND OFFLINE INTERACTIONS WITH ANY PERSON.

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.

Basically,
Again, you use Kiva at your own risk. While we hope you have a great experience, we don’t make any promises or guarantees about the service we provide or the experience you’ll have.

You understand that any and all decisions made by you with respect to the Website and Program are yours alone. Kiva cannot and does not verify the accuracy of information from Field Partners, Trustees, 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. You acknowledge and agree that Kiva is not acting as your fiduciary, and Kiva assumes no advisory or fiduciary responsibility with respect to you in connection with the Website or your participation in the Program (including without limitation, regarding your funding of Loans). 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.

Basically,
While we strive for correct information on the Kiva website, we don’t double check the accuracy of everything posted on our website, including loans posted by Field Partners. When you use the Kiva website or make a loan, you assume the risks and are responsible for your own decisions.

5. 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 (Acceptable Use) or Section 3 (Proprietary Rights) 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.

Basically,
If you have a dispute with Kiva, you agree to solve it through arbitration instead of a lawsuit. This means an independent person whose job it is to solve disputes will make a binding decision. In other words, you’re giving up your right to a jury or court trial and you agree to be subject to California law, no matter where you live.

6. 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.

Basically,
If someone else sues us because of something you did relating to Kiva, you’ll reimburse us for our costs.

7. 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. From time to time, Kiva may make features available to Users as part of the Program. Kiva reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to include or cease providing these features at any time. Whether or not you are and remain eligible to participate in the Program, use the Website, or take advantage of 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 through your Account Settings. Any funds remaining in your account at the time of deletion, as well as any funds later repaid to the account, will be automatically donated to 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 Credit 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, unless there are circumstances restricting Kiva’s ability to do so (for example, fraud, ongoing investigations, or the like). If your participation in the Program and registered account is terminated by Kiva, you agree not to access or use the Website or participate in the Program. 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.

Basically,
You agree to these terms both during your use of Kiva and after you close your account. You can close your account through your Account Settings. If you don’t withdraw your balance before closing your account, those funds will be automatically donated to Kiva. Any future repayments to your closed account will also be donated to Kiva. We have the right to close your account and notify you that you cannot use Kiva anymore. If we do this, you can’t make a new account and keep using Kiva, but we’ll continue to send you amounts we owe you as we collect loan repayments.

We also can stop providing features of our website and lending program at any time.

8. Entire Agreement; Severability; Assignment

This Agreement, accepted upon your access and use of the Website or participation in the Program and further affirmed by becoming a User, contains the entire agreement between you and Kiva regarding the use of the Website or the Program. Notwithstanding the foregoing, the following applies to Borrowers, Trustees, and Field Partners: in the event of any irreconcilable conflict between your separate written Borrower, Trustee, or Field Partner agreement with Kiva (as applicable) and this Terms of Use Agreement, the provisions of your Borrower, Trustee, or Field Partner agreement (as applicable) shall govern with respect to such conflict. 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.

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 and 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 this 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.

Please contact us at contactus@kiva.org with any questions regarding this Agreement, or to request a written copy of this Agreement.

Basically,
These are some common legal terms we have included. If you want a written copy of these Terms of Use, or if you have any questions, just email us at contactus@kiva.org