Terms of Use

Terms of Service

Last Modified: 12 December 2022

1. INTRODUCTION
   1. In order to provide our services through our app, services, features, software, or website (“Civingo Platform”), we need to obtain your agreement to our Terms of Service ("Terms"). 
   2. Advocacy Unified Network("our," "we," "us," or “Organization”) provides the services as available on the Civingo Platform. These Terms govern your access to and use of our services and any information, text, links, graphics, photos, audio, videos, or other materials or arrangements of materials uploaded, downloaded, or appearing on the services. By using the services, you agree to be bound by these Terms.
   3. These Terms are to be read with our Community Guidelines and Privacy Policy. If you disagree with the terms and conditions of these Terms, please do not use the Civingo Platform.
2. WHO ARE WE
   1. We are a Civil Society Organization-only community platform that seeks to build a positive and valuable digital experience for Civil Society Organizations worldwide. We believe that together, we can leverage technology to make a positive and valuable digital experience for Civil Society Organizations worldwide. In this virtuous cycle, value is created and shared fairly with Civil Society Organization creators and users. We are a free and safe virtual space where Civil Society organizations are empowered to create content and build follower communities.
3. ACCOUNT CREATION
   1. We will need some information from you to get you set up with an account on our Platform, including your name and your contact information, like your mobile phone number and email address. The information that you provide may be subject to additional verification. You agree that you will provide us with accurate, true, and complete information about yourself whenever you are prompted to provide us with information, and that you will update such information whenever it changes. Your failure to do so may constitute a breach of these Terms.
   2. We reserve the right to remove, reclaim, or change a username you select if we determine, in our sole discretion, that such username is inappropriate, obscene, or otherwise objectionable.
   3. You agree that you will maintain the security of all information that you provide to us and that it is solely your responsibility to keep your username, passwords, devices used to access the Civingo Platform, and all other materials secure and confidential. We assume that any transaction initiated or activity that takes place through your account using your credentials is authorized by you. If you become aware of any unauthorized access to your account or any transaction made through your account that was not authorized by you, it is your responsibility to let us know immediately by contacting us at support@civingo.com. It is important that you regularly check your account to ensure that all activity that occurs on it is authorized by you. We are not liable for any damages or losses that you incur due to unauthorized access unless you have notified us immediately, as indicated above. You may not sell or otherwise transfer your account or any portion thereof.
   4. Suppose you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current, or incomplete. In that case, we have the right to suspend or terminate your account and refuse any and all current or future use of the Civingo Platform (or any portion thereof). 
4. ELIGIBILITY
   1. If you access or use our Civingo Platform, you represent and warrant that (i) you are part of or related to a Civil Society Organization; (ii) you are at least 18 years of age or at least the age of majority in your jurisdiction. (iii) you are legally competent and able to be bound by these Terms, and (iv) you have not been previously banned from using the Civingo Platform for any reason. If you are unable to make these representations and warranties or don't agree to any part of our Terms, you may not access or use our Civingo Platform.
5. USER GENERATED CONTENT
   1. We strongly believe in the freedom of expression and allow you to share photographs, images, videos, status updates, and other content on our Platform (“Your Content”). You retain your rights to Your Content that you submit, post, or display on the Civingo Platform. What’s yours is yours, and you own Your Content (and your incorporated audio, photos, and videos are considered part of Your Content). We do not have any ownership over any of the content shared by you, and the rights to the content remain only with you.
   2. You hereby agree that you will not use the Civingo Platform to violate or infringe upon our or any third party’s intellectual property rights. Such content is against our Community Guidelines and may be removed from the Civingo Platform. Further, if you use any content developed by us, then we shall continue to own the intellectual property rights vested in such content.
   3. You represent and warrant that you have, or have obtained, all rights, licenses, consents, permissions, power, and/or authority necessary to grant the rights granted herein for any content that you submit, post, or display on the Civingo Platform. You agree that such content will not contain material subject to copyright or other proprietary rights, including music rights unless you have the necessary permission or are otherwise legally entitled to post the material and to grant us the license described below.
   4. By sharing/posting/uploading content on the Civingo Platform, you grant us a non-exclusive, royalty-free, transferable, sub-licensable, worldwide license to host, use, distribute, run, copy, publicly perform or display, translate, and create derivative works of your content (consistent with your privacy and application settings). You may delete your content and/or account at any point. However, your content may continue to appear on the Civingo Platform if it has been shared with others. To learn more about how we use information and how to control or delete your content, please read our Privacy Policy.
   5. You remain solely responsible for the content you post on our Civingo Platform. We do not endorse and are not responsible for any content shared or posted on the Civingo Platform and for any consequences resulting out of such sharing or posting. The presence of our logo or any trademark on any content shared by you does not mean that we have endorsed or sponsored your content. Further, we will not be liable for or responsible for the consequences of any transactions made or entered into by you with other users of the Civingo Platform or advertisers on the Civingo Platform.
6. RESTRICTED USE
   1. You may not either directly or through the use of any device, software, internet site, web-based service, or other means, modify, publish, transmit, stream, upload, display, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way exploit the content of the Civingo Platform not owned by you or any portion of such content except as expressly provided herein.
   2. You may not use any data mining, robots, or similar data gathering and extraction tools on the content, frame any portion of the Civingo Platform or content, or reproduce, reprint, copy, store, publicly display, broadcast, stream, transmit, modify, translate, port, publish, sublicense, assign, transfer, sell, loan, or otherwise distribute the content which is not owned by you without our prior written consent.
   3. You may not circumvent any mechanisms included in the content not owned by you for preventing the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of the Content.
   4. You may not introduce viruses or any other computer code, files, or programs that interrupt, destroy, or limit the functionality of any computer software or hardware or telecommunications equipment; or damage, disable, overburden, impair, or gain unauthorized access to the Civingo Platform, including our servers, computer network, or user accounts.
   5. Any use of the content not owned by you and not expressly permitted by these Terms is a breach of these Terms and may violate local or international copyright, trademark, and/or other laws.
7. DIGITAL ASSETS
   1. As described above and depending upon the jurisdiction you are in at the time of registration of your account, you may have the opportunity to earn, buy, trade, donate, exchange, and otherwise use various loyalty points and creator points, non-fungible tokens and other assets which may or may not be attached to digital or fiat currencies, (collectively, “Digital Assets”). Digital Assets are not legal tender and are not backed or insured by any government.
   2. While the Civingo Platform may provide information about the estimated value of Digital Assets, and may include information about their historical value, the fiat value of all Digital Assets is subject to volatility and change, and Digital Assets could lose their value.
   3. We do not directly control and are not responsible for the value of any Digital Assets and make no guarantee, express or implied, of their value in fiat. In addition, Digital Assets that you may use on the Civingo Platform, may not be freely tradable or exchangeable outside of the Civingo Platform.
   4. You acknowledge and agree that any purchase of or transaction in Digital Assets conducted by you or on your behalf is made voluntarily, wilfully, and exclusively at your own risk.
   5. In addition, you acknowledge and agree that we do not offer securities-related services in any jurisdiction. You also acknowledge and understand that we are not a money transmitter and work with third-party licensed money transmitters and compliance services entities to conduct regulated transactions if any.
   6. We do not provide investment, financial, tax, or legal advice. The information and applications provided in connection with the Civingo Platform do not constitute investment advice, financial advice, trading advice, or any other sort of advice, and should not be treated by any user as such.
8. DELETION OF YOUR ACCOUNT BY YOU
   1. You can delete your account at any time during the course of your association with us at your sole discretion. You can initiate the process by visiting the settings tab on the Civingo Platform, and the same will get in effect immediately.
   2. Before deleting your account, you must note the following:
      1. If you delete your account, any communities created or owned by you shall automatically get deleted. However, if you delete any community created by you, it will not lead to the automatic deletion of your account.
      2. Upon account deletion, you will lose all the account information and content posted in your community owned by you. You will also lose on the username, and the same shall be made available to any other user who wishes to use it for registration. However, any comments or posts made by you in any other community shall continue to exist without your username.

• Deleting your account won’t delete your information from search engines because we don’t control those sites. You must contact individual search engines in you have any issues in this regard.

1. Post deletion, we may retain information and content of your account if directed by any government or its agency or as required by law at the time being in force.

9. DELETION OF YOUR ACCOUNT BY US
   1. If we receive an order from any government or an agency of any government or any court of competent jurisdiction to deactivate your account or restrict access to it, we shall be obliged to comply with the same and deactivate your access to the same with immediate effect.
   2. These Terms automatically terminate, and your rights to use our Civingo Platform, products, and services also terminate, if you fail to comply with any aspect of our Terms or community guidelines. In addition, we may terminate, suspend or modify your account or your access to the Civingo Platform, with or without notice to you, at any time for any reason.
   3. If your account is terminated with reward points still associated with your account, and such balances were not received or earned as a result of any breach of our Terms, you can reach out to us for more information on how to retrieve such balances. If reward points are associated with your account, and we are unable to contact you or have no record of your use of the Civingo Platform for an extended period of time, we may be required by law to report such reward points as unclaimed property. If we are unable to contact you through your contact information that we have on record to deliver such reward points, we may be required to take steps as required by law.
10. DISCLAIMER
    1. YOU EXPRESSLY UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT: (A) YOUR USE OF THE CIVINGO PLATFORM IS AT YOUR SOLE RISK; THE CIVINGO PLATFORM IS PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS AND THE ORGANIZATION EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, CONDITIONS AND TERMS (COLLECTIVELY, "PROMISES") OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED BY STATUTE, COMMON LAW OR CUSTOM, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, WARRANTIES AS TO PRODUCTS OR SERVICES OFFERED THROUGH THE USE OF THE PROGRAM, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, SATISFACTORY QUALITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND NONINFRINGEMENT; (B) THE COMPANY MAKES AND GIVES NO WARRANTY THAT (i) THE CIVINGO PLATFORM WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR BE UNINTERRUPTED, TIMELY, SECURE, OR ERROR FREE, (ii) THE RESULTS OBTAINED FROM THE USE OF THE CIVINGO PLATFORM WILL BE ACCURATE OR RELIABLE, (iii) THE QUALITY OF ANY PRODUCTS, SERVICES, INFORMATION, OR OTHER MATERIAL OBTAINED BY YOU THROUGH THE CIVINGO PLATFORM WILL MEET YOUR EXPECTATIONS, AND (iv) ANY ERRORS IN THE SERVICE WILL BE CORRECTED; AND (C) ANY MATERIAL DOWNLOADED OR OTHERWISE OBTAINED THROUGH THE USE OF THE CIVINGO PLATFORM IS ACCESSED AT YOUR OWN DISCRETION AND RISK, AND YOU WILL BE SOLELY RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY DAMAGE TO YOUR COMPUTER SYSTEM OR MOBILE DEVICE OR LOSS OF DATA THAT RESULTS FROM THE DOWNLOAD OR USE OF ANY SUCH MATERIAL.
    2. THE LAWS OF CERTAIN JURISDICTIONS OR STATES DO NOT ALLOW LIMITATIONS ON IMPLIED WARRANTIES. TO THE EXTENT SUCH WARRANTIES CANNOT BE DISCLAIMED UNDER THE LAWS OF YOUR JURISDICTION, WE LIMIT THE DURATION AND REMEDIES OF SUCH WARRANTIES TO THE FULL EXTENT PERMISSIBLE UNDER THOSE LAWS.
11. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY
    1. THE INFORMATION PRESENTED ON THE CIVINGO PLATFORM IS MADE AVAILABLE SOLELY FOR INFORMATIONAL PURPOSES. WE DO NOT CONFIRM THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS, OR USEFULNESS OF THE INFORMATION. ANY RELIANCE YOU PLACE ON SUCH INFORMATION IS SOLELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.
    2. IN COUNTRIES WHERE EXCLUSIONS OR LIMITATIONS OF LIABILITY ARE ALLOWED, NEITHER WE, OUR AFFILIATES, NOR OUR SUPPLIERS INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING, OR DELIVERING THE SERVICES WILL BE LIABLE, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW, FOR ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, OR DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUES, LOST SAVINGS, LOST BUSINESS OPPORTUNITY, LOSS OF DATA OR GOODWILL, SERVICE INTERRUPTION, COMPUTER DAMAGE OR SYSTEM FAILURE, OR THE COST OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES OF ANY KIND ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OR FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, STATUTE, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY, OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT WE OR OUR SUPPLIERS HAVE BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE, EVEN IF A LIMITED REMEDY PROVIDED IN THESE TERMS IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE.
    3. WE AREN’T LIABLE FOR THE CONDUCT OR CONTENT, WHETHER ONLINE OR OFFLINE, OF ANY USER OF OUR SERVICES. THE EXCLUSIONS AND LIMITATIONS OF DAMAGES SET FORTH ABOVE ARE FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENTS OF THE BASIS OF THE BARGAIN BETWEEN US AND YOU.
    4. WE DON’T EXCLUDE OR LIMIT OUR LIABILITY TO YOU WHERE IT WOULD BE ILLEGAL TO DO SO. IN COUNTRIES WHERE THE BELOW TYPES OF EXCLUSIONS AREN’T ALLOWED, WE’RE RESPONSIBLE TO YOU ONLY FOR LOSSES AND DAMAGES THAT ARE A REASONABLY FORESEEABLE RESULT OF OUR FAILURE TO USE REASONABLE CARE AND SKILL OR OUR BREACH OF OUR CONTRACT WITH YOU. THIS PARAGRAPH DOESN’T AFFECT CONSUMER RIGHTS THAT CAN’T BE WAIVED OR LIMITED BY ANY CONTRACT OR AGREEMENT
12. GRIEVANCE REDRESSAL MECHANISM
    1. As part of our commitment to the privacy and safety of our users, we continue to self-regulate as well as work alongside the government authorities in order to keep our users safe. If you feel there is any post or content on the Civingo Platform which is against our Community Guidelines or these terms, you can report the same to us. In aid of this we have provided for two parallel methods of grievance redressal on the Civingo Platform being.
       1. Moderators and Moderation Panel.Each community has the right to decide upon its code of conduct and rules to be followed by such a community and the moderators are entrusted with the job to ensure that all the members of the community follow such rules. We have given the power to moderators in each community to self-regulate remove content which is against the community guidelines of the Civingo Platform and the rules of their community as well as resolve concerns raised by users by reporting content within their communities. Each Moderator has been explained and provided with the guidelines on moderating content on the Civingo Platform.

Moderation Panel acts as an appellate body which caters to the appeals made by any user with respect to the decision made by moderators. If any user wishes to report any content posted by the community owner or moderator itself, such report goes directly to the Moderation Panel.

1. Grievance Redressal Officer.We have appointed a Grievance Officer, who can be contacted directly if a user has a concern about their experience. We have put together a robust Grievance Redressal Mechanism in place to help resolve any concerns or complaints raised by you with respect to content or use of our Civingo Platform. If you have to report a copyright infringement, it is advisable to approach the Grievance Redressal Officer directly. The Grievance Officer shall make an endeavour to resolve your complaint within 15 days of its acknowledgment. You may contact the Grievance Officer at grievance@civingo.com.

2. Each user who reports any content or against whom a report is made shall be notified by the Civingo Platform about the decision made by the Moderators, Moderation Panel, or Grievance Officer, as the case may be. Any decision made by the Moderation Panel and /or Grievance Officer shall be considered final and binding.

13. SOFTWARE LICENSE
    1. Our services allow you to download our software which may or may not have third-party integrations. So long as you comply with these terms, we grant you a worldwide, non-exclusive, personal, and non-assignable license to download, install, and run our software solely to access our services. You shall not copy, modify, create derivative works based upon, distribute, sell, lease, or sublicense any of our software or services. You shall also not reverse engineer or decompile our software or services, attempt to do so or assist anyone in doing so unless you have our written consent or applicable law permits it. Although we are granting you this license, we retain any intellectual property rights we have in our software and services.
14. PRIVACY
    1. Please review our Privacy Policy, which describes how we collect information on the Civingo Platform and how we use, process, and share it. Without limiting the terms of our Privacy Policy, you agree by using our Civingo Platform that we do not and cannot guarantee that your use of the Civingo Platform and the information provided by you or to you will be private or secure. You are responsible for using the precautions and security measures best suited for your situation and intended use of the Civingo Platform. We reserve the right at all times to disclose any information we deem necessary to satisfy any applicable law, regulation, legal process, or governmental request.
15. INDEMNIFICATION
    1. You agree to indemnify and defend us and our affiliates and our respective directors, officers, agents, employees, principals, successors, assigns, subsidiaries, or affiliates (collectively, “Civingo Parties”) from and against all losses, liabilities, actual or pending claims, actions, damages, expenses, costs of defense and reasonable attorneys' fees brought against us by any third-party arising from your violation of these Terms, the rights of a third-party or applicable law. At our own expense, we reserve the right to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter subject to indemnification hereunder. In any event, no settlement that affects our rights or obligations may be made without our prior written approval.
16. JURISDICTIONAL ISSUES; TAXES
    1. You are responsible for compliance with all applicable laws. We reserve the right to limit the availability of the Civingo Platform to any person or geographic area at any time. You are solely responsible for any duties, taxes, levies, or fees (including any sales, use, or withholding taxes) imposed on or in connection with the use of the Civingo Platform by any taxing authority.
17. GENERAL
    1. Our Platform is dynamic and may change rapidly. As such, we may change the services we provide at our discretion. We may temporarily or permanently stop providing services or any features to you generally. We may remove or add functionalities to the Civingo Platform without any notice. However, if we change where your consent is required, we will make sure to ask for it. Please keep visiting this page from time to time to stay updated on our latest changes and developments.
    2. We’re developing new features and products to improve the Civingo Platform. As part of these efforts, we may add or remove elements, start offering new services, or stop offering old services. While we try to avoid disruptions, we cannot guarantee that there will not be an outage or change to the services, and your content may not be retrievable due to such outages or changes. We are not liable for any such outages or service changes.
    3. We may make changes to these Terms from time to time. If we make changes, we’ll provide you with notice of them by sending an email to the email address associated with your account, offering an in-product notification, or updating the date at the top of these Terms. Unless we say otherwise in our notice, the amended Terms will be effective immediately. Your continued use of our services after we provide such information will confirm your acceptance of the changes. You must stop using our Services if you don’t agree to the amended Terms.
    4. If any provision or part of a provision of these Terms is unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that provision or portion of the condition is deemed severable from these Terms and does not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.
    5. Our failure to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not operate as a waiver of such right or provision. These Terms reflect the entire agreement between the parties relating to the subject matter hereof and supersede all prior agreements, statements, and understandings of the parties. The section titles in these Terms are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect. The word “including” will be interpreted to mean “including without limitation.” Except as otherwise provided herein, these Terms are intended solely for the benefit of the parties. They are not intended to confer third-party beneficiary rights upon any other person or entity. You agree that communications and transactions between us may be conducted electronically.
18. GOVERNING LAW
    1. The courts of the Netherlands have exclusive jurisdiction to settle any dispute arising out of or in connection with these Terms (including a dispute regarding the existence, validity, or termination of these Terms).
19. DISPUTE RESOLUTION
    1. With the exception of disputes that qualify for small claims court and disputes involving our intellectual property, you and we agree that if there is any dispute between you and the Civingo Parties arising from or relating to these Terms and their interpretation or the breach, termination or validity thereof, the relationships which result from these Terms, including disputes about the validity, scope or enforceability of this agreement to arbitration (collectively, "Covered Disputes"), both parties shall first attempt in good faith to settle any Covered Dispute by providing written notice to the other party describing the facts and circumstances of the Covered Dispute and allowing the receiving party 30 days in which to respond to or settle the Covered Dispute. Both you and we agree that this dispute resolution procedure is a condition precedent that must be satisfied before initiating any litigation or filing any claim against the other party.
    2. Any dispute arising out of or in connection with this contract, including any question regarding its existence, validity, or termination, shall be referred to and finally resolved by arbitration administered by The Netherlands Arbitration Institute (NAI) in accordance with the NAI Arbitration Rules for the time being in force, which rules are deemed to be incorporated by reference in this clause. The seat of the arbitration shall be the Netherlands. The Tribunal shall consist of 1 arbitrator. The language of the arbitration shall be English.
    3. The arbitrator will have the power to grant whatever relief would be available in a court under law or in equity and any award of the arbitrator will be final and binding on each of the parties and may be entered as a judgment in any court of competent jurisdiction. The arbitrator will not, however, have the power to award punitive or exemplary damages, the right to which each party hereby waives. The arbitrator will apply applicable law and the provisions of these Terms and the failure to do so will be deemed an excess of arbitral authority and grounds for judicial review. The arbitrator's decision must be with written explanation and remain confidential.
    4. Payment of all filing, administration and arbitrator fees will be governed by the NAI Arbitration Rules. If the arbitrator determines the claim(s) you assert in the arbitration are frivolous, you agree to reimburse us for all fees associated with the arbitration incurred by us.
    5. We and you agree that any Covered Dispute will be submitted to arbitration on an individual basis only. Neither we nor you are entitled to arbitrate any Covered Dispute as a representative action and the arbitrator will have no authority to proceed on a representative basis
    6. If any provision of the agreement to arbitrate in this Section is found unenforceable, the unenforceable provision will be severed and the remaining arbitration terms will be enforced (but in no case will there be a representative arbitration). Regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, notice on any claim arising from or related to these Terms must be made within one (1) year after such claim arose or be forever barred.
    7. By agreeing to these Terms, you explicitly agree that any claims or actions that you may otherwise have against us under the laws of any jurisdiction outside of the Netherlands are hereby waived, including without limitation, any claims or actions under the laws of your own country and that your sole location and applicable law for any dispute is in the Netherlands according to the terms of this Section.