Terms of Use

Introduction

The betterplace website is a platform (the “betterplace Platform”) made available by the betterplace Foundation (betterplace gemeinnützige Stiftungs-GmbH) in order to enable communication among the betterplace community and donations to Projects.

betterplace Foundation is a “gemeinnützige Stiftungs-GmbH”, registered Amtsgericht Charlottenburg, HRB 110760 B.

Access to the betterplace Platform is only granted based on the following standard terms and conditions which shall apply to all users of the betterplace Platform in particular for all users which register on the betterplace Platform (the “Registered Users”).

General data protection laws and the specific terms for donations (“Donation Terms”) and the terms for the registration of Projects (“Project Registration Terms”) take precedence over the following general terms of use:

General Terms of Use

1. Definitions

• Project is a non-profit project designed to benefit the common good in the area of culture, community, religion or science which for its realization depends on a Donation.

• Donation is the provision of money, time, goods or other services or benefits by a Registered User of the betterplace Platform to a Recipient in order to support the realization of the Project chosen to benefit from the Donation. The term Donation is used in these General Terms of Use and on the betterplace Platform regardless of the recognition of the Donation for tax purposes.

• Donor is a Registered User who wishes to make a Donation to a Recipient via the betterplace Platform.

• Recipient is a person, company, corporation or other entity which shall receive a Donation as beneficiary of a Project.

• Requirement is a component of a Project with a concrete Purpose for which Donations in the form of money, goods or services can be raised in a quantifiable amount.

• Mixed Requirement is a requirement for which Donations in the form of money as well as in the form of goods, services, time or other means can be raised.

• Project Responsible is the person (individual) responsible for the content of a Project.

• Individual Projects are Projects for which a Donation is destined directly to the person (individual) which shall implement the Project. In Individual Projects the Recipient and the Project Responsible are the same person (individual).

• Organisation Projects are Projects implemented by organisations. In this respect organisations are recognized by the German fiscal administration as charities which can be distinguished from other organisations. For Donations of money to Projects of a German Recognized Charity, betterplace can issue donation receipts.

• Responsible Organisations are organisations which implement the Projects and are Recipients of the Donations.

2. Further Rules

For all users of betterplace Platform the instructions for use available on the platform apply in addition to these terms of use in particular with regard to the content available on the betterplace Platform.

3. Registration

The registration as user is free of charge.

Certain functionalities of the betterplace Platform are only available to Registered Users. In particular, the functionalities regarding Donations and for the publicizing of Projects require prior registration by the user. Registered Users can only be individuals who have the capacity to transact business (beschränkt geschäftsfähig as that term is defined in § 106 of the German Civil Code – Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch). Minors require the consent of their legal guardian.

The user shall give all information required in the course of registration truthfully and correctly, in particular regarding identity and age.

4. User’s Obligations

4.1. To the extent the user provides text, images or other content to the betterplace Platform, he hereby grants all necessary licenses and rights to betterplace to use such content in any manner on the betterplace Platform or in advertising or promotional materials for the betterplace Foundation on- or offline, provided however, that a Registered User upon publicizing the content may clearly indicate by appropriate notice reasonable restrictions of the use of such content. betterplace reserves the right to change, redact, save and make available content provided that such actions reasonably take into account the intended meaning of such content.

4.2. The user is fully responsible for his/her behavior on the betterplace Platform and for all content publicized by him/her. Before taking any concrete action or publicizing any content on the platform the user shall ensure that his/her behavior or content does not violate legal provisions, moral or ethical standards or the rights of third parties (including but not limited to copyright and trademark laws, rights of name, author’s rights, legal data protection, laws protecting minors etc.). In particular, the user undertakes to obtain before publicizing any texts or images the required consent by any third party concerned, such as the photographer or the persons shown in pictures or named in text.

4.3. The user shall consider in his/her behavior on the betterplace Platform that the betterplace community has adopted and requires mutual recognition and respect and a fair and adequate communication with each other. With respect to subjects relating to world view, ideology or religious or political convictions, the utmost restraint and respect towards other’s opinions are required.

4.4. It is prohibited to publicize the following content on the betterplace Platform to post links to such content or to otherwise facilitate access to such content:

• material offensive or dangerous to minors, especially glorifying violence, pornography or other content offensive to morality;
• content which glorifies or furthers hatred, violence or racial discrimination;
• untrue statements of fact or insults, vulgar or obscene words, communication which is disrespectful, provocative or aggressive towards other persons,
• misleading content,
• solicitation of boycotts or unpeaceful or unlawful actions.

4.5. If a user finds content on the betterplace Platform which in his view violates applicable laws or the Conditions of Use, he shall notify betterplace forthwith.

4.6. An excessive load on the betterplace Platform shall be avoided. In particular, any measures are prohibited which could endanger the integrity, stability, or availability of the IT systems of the betterplace Platform.

4.7. Passwords or other access data to the betterplace Platform must be chosen by the User in accordance with general principles for password security and must be kept strictly confidential. betterplace must be informed forthwith if the User has reason to believe that the security of the betterplace Platform or of his access is endangered.

5. Availability of the betterplace Platform

betterplace will strive to keep the platform available free of interruptions. The goal is an availability of 97% per year. However, no representations are made or warranties are given with respect to any particular availability. In particular, betterplace shall be entitled to take the betterplace Platform offline for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance.

betterplace shall be entitled to change functionalities, design and other features of the betterplace Platform within its own free discretion. The Platform can only be accessed in the version which is current in any particular time. betterplace is not required to store earlier versions or content publicized by users.

6. Termination, Denial of Access or of Registration

6.1. The status as Registered User can be terminated by betterplace or by the User at any time by notice in Text Form (as that term is defined in § 126 b German Civil Code (BGB), e.g. email) with effect at the end of the month following such notice.

6.2. The right to extraordinary termination for cause remains unaffected. A cause giving right to extraordinary termination by betterplace shall be assumed if the User has violated substantially or repeatedly obligations set forth in Section 4 above or if false data has been given upon registration.

(3.) Irrespective of the right of extraordinary termination set forth in Section 6.4. above, betterplace is entitled to deny access to any User with respect to some or all functionalities of the betterplace Platform. This includes but is not limited to denying access to the publication of content on the betterplace Platform or to the ability to change such content. In addition, betterplace is entitled to deny access or delete any content publicized on the betterplace Platform. betterplace will use this right in particular if third parties claim or allege vis-à-vis betterplace that such content or behavior of such user violates laws, the rights of third parties or the rules of the betterplace Platform.

6.4. Before a termination for cause or denial of access to a user or certain content, the user shall be given the opportunity to comment.

7. Liability

The betterplace Platform is financed by donations and is made available to all users free of charge. betterplace therefore accepts no responsibility and shall not be liable in any manner for damages regardless of their legal base (including but not limited to default, delay, impossibility, breach of warranty, breach of trust, violation of contractual duties or undertakings, illegality or tort), provided however that betterplace is responsible for claims arising from acts of legal representatives or executives by deliberate act or gross negligence. betterplace is only responsible for other auxiliary persons in cases of deliberate act or if fundamental contractual obligations (to the extent existing) have been violated deliberately or negligently. Other than deliberate acts and gross negligence by betterplace, its legal representatives or executives or the deliberate behavior of other auxiliary persons no liability exits for constructive damages. betterplace also remains responsible for claims arising from fraud or explicit guarantees given or arising under the German law on product liability.

8. Change of General Terms

betterplace is entitled to change any and all general terms of use or to amend such terms. betterplace will announce any changes or amendments with a notice of at least one month before such change or amendment takes effect by a notice made in Text Form (e.g. email). Following such notice, the user shall be entitled to terminate the legal relationship pertaining to the use of the Platform with immediate effect prior to the effective date of such change or amendment. If the User does not effect such termination, this shall be deemed consent to the general terms of use as changed or amended. betterplace will put out a notice with respect to this legally binding presumption.

9. Applicable Law and Place of Jurisdiction

All legal relationships between betterplace and its users as well as between the users with respect to the betterplace Platform shall be governed by the law of the Federal Republic of Germany at the exclusion of the Convention on the International Sale of Goods.

The Place of Jurisdiction shall be the statutory seat of the betterplace Foundation, unless the other party is a consumer as that term is defined in § 13 of the German Civil Code (BGB), domiciled in another member state of the European Economic Area or Switzerland.

Terms of Donation

A. Definitions

• Project is a non-profit project designed to benefit the common good in the area of culture, community, religion or science which for its realization depends on a Donation.

• Donation is the provision of money, time, goods or other services or benefits by a Registered User of the Betterplace Platform to a Recipient in order to support the realization of the Project chosen to benefit from the Donation. The term Donation is used in these General Terms of Use and on the Betterplace Platform regardless of the recognition of the Donation for tax purposes.

• Donor is a Registered User who wishes to make a Donation to a Recipient via the Betterplace Platform.

• Recipient is a person, company, corporation or other entity established in Germany or abroad which shall receive a Donation as beneficiary of a Project.

• Requirement is a component of a Project with a concrete Purpose for which Donations in the form of money, goods or services can be raised in a quantifiable amount.

• Mixed Requirement is a requirement for which Donations in the form of money as well as in the form of goods, services, time or other means can be raised.

• Project Sponsor (PS) is the person (individual) responsible for a Project.

• Individual Projects are Projects for which a Donation is destined directly to the person (individual) which shall implement the Project. In Individual Projects the Recipient and the Project Sponsor are the same person (individual).

• Organization Projects are Projects implemented by organizations. In this respect organizations are recognized by the German fiscal administration (Deutschen Finanzämtern) as charities (als gemeinnützig anerkannt) (“German Recognized Charity”) which can be distinguished from other organizations. For Donations of money to Projects of a German Recognized Charity, Betterplace can issue donation receipts (Zuwendungsbestätigungen).

• Sponsoring Organizations are organizations which implement the Projects and are Recipients of the Donations.

B. General Terms of Donations

I. Scope of Regulation

The Terms of Donations standardize the registration of Donors and all Donations processed via the Betterplace Platform.

The Terms of Donations apply mutatis mutandis for all Donations directed to the Betterplace Foundation itself, provided these donations are processed via the Betterplace Platform.

The Terms of Use apply supplementary to these terms. The Terms of Use are to be accepted by all users during registration and are available on the Betterplace Platform at all times.

II. Types of Donations

Different types of Donations can be contributed via the Betterplace Platform. Depending on the respective Project, Donations in kind, Donations in time and other miscellaneous Donations are as possible as financial donations. Money can be donated as a single payment or in periodic payments.

III. Role of the Betterplace Foundation

The Betterplace Platform merely facilitates Donations. Thus, Betterplace Foundation only provides the technology and a platform in order to enable the interaction between Donors and Recipients for a Project. Therefore each Donor is itself responsible for obtaining information which it needs to make a decision about a specific Project or Donation. All available information provided on the part of Betterplace Foundation is to be found on the Betterplace Platform itself. Beyond that, Betterplace Foundation has no further data concerning Projects or involved parties.

Betterplace Foundation neither assesses the registration of users nor the listing of Projects. In particular there is no control of users’ identity, the Projects’ description or Projects’ reports.

C. Specific Terms of Donations

IV. Donation in Kind, Donation in Time and Miscellaneous Donations

Betterplace Foundation solely establishes the contact between potential Donors and the Project Sponsor (PS) and therefore merely facilitates communication. The transactions involving Donations in kind, Donations in time and miscellaneous Donations take place exclusively between the Donor and Recipient – without any participation of Betterplace Foundation itself.

V. Financial Donations

1. General

The Requirement can be raised through multiple individual Donations. If the aggregated amount of individual Donations does not completely match the Requirement within a period of six months, the Requirement may be terminated. In case of such or otherwise caused dismissal of the Requirement, the accumulated Donations will not be disbursed to the Recipient.

In this case, the Donors shall be given the opportunity to select another Requirement of the same or different Project as the intended purpose of their Donation. The same is true if a payment in favor of the primary intended Requirement is not executed in whole or in part due to a Mixed Requirement.

The Donor commits to irrevocably provide the full amount of money without deductions for cost of bank transfer.

Neither the Donor nor the Recipient is entitled to interest on funds that are not yet disbursed.

A refund of a Donation to the Donor is precluded.

2. Payment

Payments may be processed by the means offered by the Betterplace Platform. The specific terms of the respective service provider apply additionally.

VI. Publication of Donations

One aspect of major importance of the Betterplace Platform is transparency with respect to the realization of the affiliated Projects. The Data Protection Rules, which are published on the Betterplace Platform in their current version at all times, apply to the publication of Donations. In addition, the Donor authorizes Betterplace Foundation to verify with the help of the Recipient and/or the respective financial service provider, if and in which amount the promised Donation was paid. Moreover, Betterplace Foundation is entitled to store this information to the extent required by mandatory national laws for the purpose of disclosure to public institutions, agencies or third parties.

VII. Donation Receipt

If a Donation receipt can be issued for certain Projects or Recipients, this is indicated on the Betterplace Platform. Not each transaction between a Donor and a Recipient mediated by the Betterplace Platform is tax-privileged. A Donation receipt will only be issued by Betterplace Foundation if the Recipient is either a German Recognized Charity or the Betterplace Foundation itself. In each case, Donation receipts will only be issued after the payment to the Recipient was made.

The issuance of a Donation receipt is precluded, if the:

• Recipient is not tax-privileged,
• Project is a direct project,
• Donation made is a Donation in kind, Donation in time or a miscellaneous Donation, which is not a financial Donation as well
• Donation of money does not equal or exceed € 200.00.

Donation receipts will be issued retrospectively at the end of each calendar year.

If a Donation receipt is issued or transmitted by Betterplace Foundation or the Recipient, Betterplace Foundation does not vouch for an applicable tax privilege of the Donation. In particular, the acknowledgement of Donation receipts from foreign Recipients does not suffice for tax deductibility purposes

VIII. Donor’s Obligations

The Donor guarantees that all data provided during registration, particularly with respect to the Donor’s identity and full contractual capability, were given truthfully.

The Donor will execute all declarations essential and appropriate for the realization of its donation.

IX. Obligations of Betterplace Foundation

Unless otherwise agreed, Betterplace Foundation due to its role as facilitator (see supra III.) is solely bound by those obligations concerning the operation of the platform as stipulated in the Terms of Use.

The Betterplace Foundation is authorized, but not obliged to review and if need be suspend all content of the platform irrespective of events. The Terms of Use remain unaffected.

The Betterplace Foundation determines whether the aggregated amount of a Requirement has been attained, and may consult third parties for this purpose.