RAISE is an online crowdfunding platform that brings Users together and allows Users to seek to raise funds for their own Campaigns and to contribute to the Campaigns of others.

By using this website and services offered by RAISE (together with NEXT LIMITED — collectively, “Raise”, “we” or “us”), you are agreeing to these legally binding rules. You are also agreeing to our Privacy Policy and Cookie Policy, and agreeing to follow any other rules on the Site (the “Agreement”).

We may change these terms from time to time. If we do, we will let you know about any material changes, either by notifying you on the Site or by sending you an email. New versions of the terms will never apply retroactively—we will tell you the exact date they go into effect. If you keep using RAISE after a change, that means you accept the new terms.

These Terms are the entire agreement between you and Raise with respect to the Services. They supersede all other communications and proposals (whether oral, written, or electronic) between you and Raise with respect to the Services and govern our relationship. If any provision of these Terms are deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of this Agreement, which shall remain in full force and effect. Raise’s failure to assert any right or provision under this Agreement shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

“Campaign Owners” are those Users who raise funds through the Site and Services;”Campaigns” are Campaign Owners’ fundraising campaigns through the Services;
“Content” refers to all software, technology, designs, materials, information, communications, text, graphics, links, electronic art, animations, illustrations, artwork, audio clips, video clips, photos, images, reviews, ideas, and other data or copyrightable materials or Content, including the selection and arrangements thereof offered through the Services;
“Contributors” or “Backers” refers to those Users contributing funds to Campaigns;
“Contributions” refers to funds donated to Campaigns by Contributors;
“Fundraising Goal” refers to the amount to be raised within the specified timeframe
“Infringement” refers to the unauthorized or not permitted use of copyrighted material or other intellectual property rights;
“Marks” refers to the trademarks, service marks, and logos used and displayed throughout the Services or in any or in any Raise Content;
“Objectives” refers to the expenses to be funded by the raised money
“Platform Fee” refers to the platform fee of 10 % charged on all funds actually raised for your Campaign
“Raise Content” refers to Content provided by Raise to Users in connection with the Services, including, without limitation, the software, the products and the site;
“Refund Policy” refers to the commitment of Raise to offer a refund to Contributors only whan the following conditions are cumulatively met: (i) the Campaign has not reach the Fundraising Goal, (ii) the Contributor has not received a Reward (as confirmed by Raise), and the (iii) Contribution has not been sent to the Campaign Owner.
“Rewards” refers to the gifts or rewards in the form of tangible items or intangible services offered by Campaign Owners to Contributors;
“Services” refers to the Site, mobile applications or connected applications, other offerings and services provided on the Site;
“Site” refers to the Raise website(s);
“Terms” or “Terms of Use” refers the Terms of Use, Additional Policies, Raise’s Privacy Policy, all applicable laws, and all conditions or policies referenced here;
“User”, “you” or “your” refers to Campaign Owners, Contributors or any other visitor to the Site or Users of the Services, either individually or collectively;
“User Content” refers to Content uploaded, transmitted or posted to the Services by a User, including User Content in a Campaign.

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, and revocable license to use our Services subject to the Terms and the following restrictions in particular:

3.1. To use the Services, you will need to register and create an account with a username and password. You must provide us with accurate and complete information, and you must update your account information as needed to keep the information accurate and complete. You may not impersonate anyone else, choose a username that may offend someone, or violate any individual’s rights. You are solely responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account and for all activities associated with or occurring under your account. If you suspect or discover any unauthorized use of your account, you should notify us immediately. We are not responsible for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with the foregoing requirements or as a result of use of your account with or without your knowledge.

3.2. You may submit a request to terminate your account. This will not automatically delete User Content. We may need to retain certain information as required by law or as necessary for our business purposes. These Terms, including our rights to User Content, survive termination of an account.

You must be 18 years or older to sign up for an account and use Our Services.

You may not take any action that infringes or violates other people’s rights, violates the law, or breaches any contract or legal duty you may have toward any party.

Do not post information you know is false, misleading, or inaccurate. Do not do anything deceptive or fraudulent. You may not threaten, abuse, harass, defame, or engage in behavior that is libelous, tortious, obscene, profane, or invasive of another’s privacy. You may not distribute unsolicited or unauthorized advertising or promotional material, or any junk mail, spam, or chain letters.

Do not engage in activities that affect the functioning of the Site. You may not bypass any measures that we have put in place to secure our Site or Services, take actions to gain unauthorized access to any system, data, passwords, or other Raise or User information or Services, reverse engineer or take apart any aspect of the Services to access any underlying information, or use any kind of software to “crawl” or “spider” any part of the Site.

Should you violate any of the Terms of Use, we reserve the right to terminate, suspend, or take any other action related to your account at our sole discretion. You may not access our Site or Services if we have prohibited you from doing so.

5.1. As a Campaign Owner, when you create a Campaign on the Site and ask for Contributions, you understand that you are entering into separate legal agreements with both Raise and with Contributors, and the following rules apply (in addition to the all other Terms and Additional Policies):

– Take all reasonable steps to reach the Objectives associated with a Campaign in the timeframe that is communicated to Contributors. Immediately notify Contributors and Raise if there are obstacles or delays.

– Respond promptly and truthfully to all questions posed by Contributors and any questions or requests Raise makes.

– Provide substantive and quality updates at least once a month to Contributors and Raise.

– If you have received the Contributions from your Campaign, issue refunds to Contributors if you cannot reach the Fundraising Goal or if you cannot deliver Rewards.

– Comply with all applicable laws and regulations in the use of Contributions and delivery of Rewards.

– Campaign Owners should be ready, willing, and able to substantiate claims your Campaign makes, including but not limited to product features and capabilities, the stage of product development, and timelines for delivery. If you are unable to substantiate claims, Raise may terminate your account, withhold funds.

– When you use the Services by creating a Campaign, you may receive information about other Users, including personally identifiable information (“PII”), such as names, e-mail addresses, and physical addresses. This information is provided to you purely for the purpose of fulfilling the Rewards for the applicable Campaign and other Services, and may not be used or disclosed for other purposes, including cross-promotional marketing, without separate, verifiable consent from the User obtained independently from Raise or the Service. You will maintain, and be required to produce if requested, records of all such verifiable consent.

– As a Campaign Owner, you will independently fulfill all duties required of data controllers under all applicable data protection law.

– Campaign Owners are charged a Platform Fee as a portion of the Contributions they raise. The Platform Fees are effective on the date that the Platform Fees are posted and may be updated from time to time. Platform Fees will be charged at the then-current rate.

– Taxing authorities may classify Contributions as taxable income to the Campaign Owner and any beneficiary who will receive funds directly from the applicable Campaign. Raise may ask for the tax identification number (TIN) of Campaign Owners and any beneficiaries so that we may report taxable income to the relevant taxing authorities. Raise will provide Campaign Owners with a tax document if required by the relevant taxing authorities. Raise is unable to provide any User or third party with tax advice and suggests that such Users or third parties consult with tax advisors of their choice. The delivery of Rewards to Contributors may expose Campaign Owners and Contributors to sales and use tax obligations.

– Respond to requests from Raise for information about Your Campaign. Raise does not guarantee any Campaigns or undertake the duty to investigate or moderate any statements made by a Campaign Owner.  However, Raise may, but is not required to and undertakes no obligation to, request information from Campaign Owners to investigate possible breaches of this Agreement. The information Raise may request includes, but is not limited to, information to support Campaign statements, evidence that the Campaign Owner is taking actions to complete the Campaign and deliver promised Rewards, source documentation to substantiate claims and Campaign promises and personal information to confirm the identity of Campaign Owners, vendors, and suppliers. You agree that Raise may employ third parties to assess the documents and your Campaign. You agree to provide this information to Raise upon request. Failure to provide any of the requested information within 14 days, or a longer time provided by Raise in writing, shall be deemed a material breach of this Agreement.

5.2. Raise reserves the right to withhold funds. Campaign Owners are not guaranteed to receive Contributions made to a Campaign, even after the Campaign has ended and the Fundraising Goal has been reached. There may be a delay between the end of a Campaign and our remittance of Contributions to a Campaign Owner for a number of reasons including, but not limited to, refunds, chargeback disputes, fraud, Terms or other policy violations, or any other situation. For example, Raise may withhold Contributions made to a Campaign if the Campaign Owner violates any Terms. Additionally, Raise may withhold funds pending the receipt and evaluation of requested information or during the pendency of any investigation Raise may undertake into your account. If you do not provide information within the requested time or are not able to substantiate claims made in your Campaign, Raise may terminate your Campaign and account and avail itself of any remedies available to it under this Agreement or applicable law. Raise may also withhold funds from Campaign Owners for any other breach of this Agreement. Raise may also seek reimbursement from a Campaign Owner by any other lawful means, including by using third-party collection services.

5.3. Raise offers a limited refund to Contributors in accordance with our Refund Policy. Refunds outside of our Refund Policy must be handled by the Campaign Owner, and Raise has no obligation to provide any refunds or become involved with any dispute between a Campaign Owner and Contributor. Raise reserves the right to terminate User accounts and remove Campaigns for any abuse of the Refund Policy. Raise reserves its right to issue refunds at its own discretion outside of the Refund Policy.

As a Campaign Owner, you are solely responsible for fulfilling the obligations of your Campaign and delivering Rewards. If you are unable to perform on this, or any of your other legal obligations, you may be subject to legal action by Contributors.

As a Contributor, when you make a Contribution to a Campaign, you understand that the following rules and Terms apply (in addition to all other Terms, including Additional Policies):

– All Contributions are made voluntarily and at the sole discretion and risk of the Contributor.

– By contributing to a Campaign, Contributors are supporting an idea, project, or cause they care about and want to help make happen. Like anyone getting in on an early-stage project, Contributors accept the risk that the Campaign may experience changes, delays, and unforeseen challenges, or that a Campaign, and its Rewards, might not come to fruition. Raise does not guarantee or represent that Contributions will be used as promised, that Campaign Owners will deliver Rewards, or that the Campaign will achieve its Objectives. Raise undertakes no duty to investigate claims made by Campaign Owners. Raise also does not endorse, guarantee, make representations, or provide warranties regarding the quality, safety, morality or legality of any Campaign, Rewards or Contribution, or the truth or accuracy of any User Content posted on the Services. The date to deliver a Reward is an estimate by the Campaign Owner, not Raise, and there is no guarantee that the Campaign Owner will fulfil and deliver the Reward by that date. No transfer of title to tangible personal property occurs through Raise.

– Raise does not offer refunds outside our Refund Policy, but may do so under our sole discretion. Where refunds are not available under the Refund Policy, a Contributor may contact the Campaign Owner directly to request a refund. Raise has no obligation to participate or become involved in any dispute between Contributor and Campaign Owner concerning a refund.

– When you Contribute to a Campaign, your card will be charged the amount of the Contribution after you confirm and submit your payment information.

– Once you have made a Contribution to a Campaign, the Campaign Owners may need to contact you to obtain additional information such as shipping address, specific preferences for a Reward, or may ask for feedback on the Campaign or the Reward. In some instances, to receive the Reward, you may need to provide requested information within a specific time frame to receive the Reward, not doing so may result in your forfeiting the Reward. Campaign Owners should not ask for information that is not required to fulfil a Reward, including personal information such as credit card/banking information. Please contact us here if you receive a request for information that appears to be excessive.

– Contributors bear the sole responsibility for determining how to treat their Contributions and receipt of any Reward for tax purposes. Raise does not offer any advice or take any responsibility for how Contributors treat their Contributions or for any financial consequences arising out of such treatment.

7.1. We do not endorse any User Content. Raise provides the platform for creation of Campaigns and interaction of Users. We do not screen any Campaigns or endorse any User Content on Our site. Likewise, Raise does not undertake any duty to investigate or guarantee the truthfulness of any claims made by Campaign Owners. You should evaluate a Campaign’s statements before choosing to back the Campaign.

7.2. We may remove User Content or cancel Campaigns and refund Contributions in our discretion. Raise may remove User Content that violates the Terms at its sole discretion. Removing User Content, terminating an account, or cancelling Campaigns and refunding Contributions are not actions we take lightly, and we may take a while to investigate and determine if such actions are warranted. It is at Raise’s sole discretion whether to discuss the reasons for taking action against any User Content or account.

7.3. We may require you to provide information about your Campaign before disbursing funds. Raise may, but is not required to, request information from you regarding Campaigns.

7.4. We do not guarantee Rewards or Refunds. Campaign Owners bear sole responsibility for the delivery of Rewards and for the offering of any refunds outside our Refund Policy.

7.5. We do not provide tax or legal advice to Users. Users bear sole responsibility for determining how the applicable laws apply to running a Campaign, contributing to a Campaign, or utilizing any of the Services.

7.6. We do not become involved in legal disputes between Users. Raise bears no liability, and has no obligation to investigate, participate, or become involved, in any dispute between Users, including between Contributors and Campaign Owners.

7.7. You are responsible for your Campaigns, even if you engage our help. Raise may offer additional services, including helping with drafting Campaign content, assisting with the design of Campaigns, and referring vendors and other service providers to Campaign Owners. Any such services will be subject to a separate agreement between the Campaign Owner and Raise. Even where we help with your Campaign, Campaign Owners bear sole responsibility for the Campaign and must comply with all obligations in the Terms as the only responsible party for the Campaign.

8.1. Raise’s intellectual property on Services, Content and Marks, are legally protected in a number of ways, including pursuant to copyright, trademark, service marks, patent, trade secrets. You agree to respect all copyright and other legal notices, information, and restrictions contained in any Raise Content, Services or Marks accessed through the Site or the Services. You agree not to change, translate, or otherwise create derivative works of the Services.

8.2. Raise grants you a limited license (that is temporary, non-exclusive, non-sublicensable, and non-transferrable) to access and use User Content and Raise Content solely for use of the Services in accordance with these Terms. You may not reproduce, redistribute, transmit, assign, sell, broadcast, rent, share, lend, modify, adapt, edit, create derivative works of, license, or otherwise transfer or use any User Content or Raise Content unless we give you express written permission to do so. We reserve the right to revoke this limited license to access and use User Content and Raise Content at any time and in our sole discretion.

8.3. Your User Content remains your property. When you submit User Content to the Site or via the Services, you agree to the following terms:

– You grant us a worldwide, non-exclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, sublicensable, and transferable right to use, exercise, commercialize, and exploit the copyright, publicity, trademark, and database rights with respect to your User Content.

– You grant us the right to make changes, edits, modifications, translations, formatting, or delete your User Content.

– You represent and warrant that:

-you have all licenses, rights, consents, and permissions necessary to grant the rights set forth in these Terms to Raise with respect to your User Content;

– your User Content does not and will not infringe any third party’s intellectual property rights, proprietary rights, privacy rights, confidentiality, rights of publicity or otherwise violate these Terms or applicable law; and

– Raise does not need to obtain any licenses, rights, consents, or permissions from, or make any payments to, any third party for any use of your User Content, or have any liability to a User or any other party as a result of Our use or exploitation of your User Content.

8.4. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to delete or disable User Content that has been alleged to be infringing, as well as to terminate User accounts associated with infringers.

We reserve the right to monitor, terminate, suspend, or delete any User account at any time in our sole discretion. We have no obligation to comment on any reasons for account monitoring, termination, suspension, or deletion.

We have no liability to you or third parties for any use of the Services associated with your account or Campaign. Upon suspension or termination of your account, you must cease all use of the Services and User Content. Your representations and warranties shall survive termination.

Raise reserves the right to suspend or terminate a Campaign if it does not comply with this agreement or in its sole discretion. In the event of termination, Raise may refund any and all Campaign funds received by a Campaign Owner to backers and may seek reimbursement from you for any funds you have already received from Raise. Raise may also avail itself of any of the remedies provided for in this Agreement and any remedies available to enforce its rights under this Agreement or applicable law.

10.1. In order to make their Contributions, Backers may use Vodafone’s M-VATU mobile payment system or credit card payment processing services provided by Bred Bank.

10.2. You agree to provide Raise accurate and complete information about yourself and the sources of funds. You authorize Raise to share any such information with Bred Bank and Vodafone and Bred bank and Vodafone to share any such information with raise, as well as transaction information related to your use of the Vodafone’s M-VATU mobile payment system or the Bred Bank payment processing services. In all cases, all processing fees apply in addition to any Platform Fees.  

The Site or Services may be unavailable for scheduled maintenance and other reasons, including unplanned outages and other malfunctions. We are not responsible if the Site or Services are unavailable, or if you lose any data, information, or User Content for any reason.

12.1. You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless Raise, our subsidiaries and affiliated companies, and our officers, directors, employees, partners, contractors, representatives, agents, and third party providers from and against any and all claims, causes of action, damages, obligations, losses, liabilities, costs or debt, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees and costs) and all amounts paid in settlement arising from or relating to, breach of these Terms or violation of any applicable laws. We reserve the right, in our sole discretion and at our own expense, to assume the exclusive defense and control of any matter for which you have agreed to indemnify us and you agree to assist and cooperate with us as reasonably required in the defense or settlement of any such matters.

12.2. RAISE HAS NO FIDUCIARY DUTY TO ANY USER. THE SERVICES, RAISE CONTENT, USER CONTENT, AND ANY OTHER MATERIALS MADE AVAILABLE OR THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, NONINFRINGEMENT OR COURSE OF PERFORMANCE. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW, RAISE AND ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS, ADVERTISERS, SPONSORS AND AGENTS, DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION, IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF TITLE, NON- INFRINGEMENT, ACCURACY, MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ANY WARRANTIES THAT MAY ARISE FROM COURSE OF DEALING, COURSE OF PERFORMANCE OR USAGE OF TRADE. RAISE AND ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS, ADVERTISERS, SPONSORS AND AGENTS DO NOT WARRANT THAT YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE OR SECURE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THE SERVICES OR THE SERVER(S) ON WHICH THE SERVICES ARE HOSTED, OR ANY SERVICES AVAILABLE ON ANY THIRD PARTY PLATFORM ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. NO OPINION, ADVICE OR STATEMENT OF RAISE OR ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSORS, SUPPLIERS, ADVERTISERS, SPONSORS, AGENTS, MEMBERS OR VISITORS, WHETHER MADE THROUGH THE USE OF THE SERVICES, OR ON THIRD-PARTY PLATFORMS OR OTHERWISE, SHALL CREATE ANY WARRANTY. YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES, INCLUDING WITHOUT LIMITATION ANY SERVICES PROVIDED ON ANY THIRD-PARTY PLATFORM, ARE ENTIRELY AT YOUR OWN RISK.

12.3. You use the Services at your own risk. We make no representations about the quality, safety, morality or legality of any Campaign, reward or Contribution or the truth or accuracy of User Content posted on the Services. We do not guarantee the fulfilment or the performance of any Reward, or that Contributions will be used as described in the Campaign. We do not control or endorse User Content posted on the Site or in any Services and, as a result, do not guarantee in any manner the reliability, validity, accuracy or truthfulness of such User Content. Raise is not liable for any damages or losses related to your use of the Services. We do not become involved in disputes between Users, or between Users and any third party relating to the use of the Services.

You release us from all claims. When you use the Services, you release Raise from claims, damages, and demands of every kind – known and unknown, suspected or unsuspected, disclosed or undisclosed – arising out of or related to the Services. All Content that you access or use through the Services is entirely at your own risk and you solely are responsible for any resulting damage or loss to any party.

YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND AGREE THAT, TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE ENTIRE RISK ARISING OUT OF YOUR ACCESS TO AND USE OF THE SERVICES AND USER CONTENT, AND ANY CONTACT YOU HAVE WITH OTHER USERS OR THIRD PARTIES, WHETHER IN PERSON OR ONLINE, REMAINS WITH YOU. NEITHER RAISE NOR ANY OTHER PARTY INVOLVED IN CREATING, PRODUCING, OR DELIVERING THE SERVICES WILL BE LIABLE (WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), PRODUCT LIABILITY OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, AND WHETHER OR NOT RAISE HAS BEEN INFORMED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGE, EVEN IF A LIMITED REMEDY SET FORTH HEREIN IS FOUND TO HAVE FAILED OF ITS ESSENTIAL PURPOSE) FOR: ANY INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, INCLUDING LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF DATA OR LOSS OF GOODWILL; SERVICE INTERRUPTION, COMPUTER DAMAGE OR SYSTEM FAILURE; THE COST OF SUBSTITUTE PRODUCTS OR SERVICES; ANY DAMAGES FOR PERSONAL OR BODILY INJURY OR EMOTIONAL DISTRESS ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS; THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE; ANY COMMUNICATIONS OR OTHER INTERACTIONS WITH OTHER USERS OR OTHER PERSONS WITH WHOM YOU COMMUNICATE OR INTERACT AS A RESULT OF YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES; OR YOUR CAMPAIGNS OR CONTRIBUTIONS.

IN NO EVENT SHALL THE TOTAL, AGGREGATE LIABILITY OF RAISE AND ITS AFFILIATES AND SUBSIDIARIES, AND THEIR RESPECTIVE OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES AND AGENTS, ARISING FROM OR RELATING TO THE TERMS, SERVICES, OR USER CONTENT, OR FROM THE USE OF OR INABILITY TO USE THE SERVICES EXCEED THE TOTAL AMOUNT OF FEES ACTUALLY PAID TO RAISE BY YOU HEREUNDER.

We may modify or discontinue the Services at any time, in our sole discretion. You agree that, except as otherwise expressly provided in these Terms, there shall be no third-party beneficiaries to these Terms. No waiver of any provision of these Terms shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or any other term, and Raise’s failure to assert any right or provision under these Terms shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision. You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim arising out of or related to the Services must commence within one (1) year after the cause of action accrues. Otherwise, such cause of action is permanently barred.

The laws of Vanuatu shall apply to the Agreement. Any dispute, controversy or claim arising out of or relating to this Agreement shall be finally settled by the Supreme Court of Vanuatu which will have exclusive jurisdiction.