1. Who we are and what these Terms cover
RaiseClear (raiseclear.com) and TeamRaised (teamraised.com) are two brands of a single donation platform (the "Platform") operated by Virtual Caffeine IO LLC ("VCIO," "we," "us," or "our"), a Washington limited liability company based on Camano Island, Washington. Both brands run on the same service and are governed by the same Terms; the brand you see depends on the site or campaign you visit.
These Terms of Service (the "Terms") are a binding agreement between you and VCIO. They apply when you:
- visit or use raiseclear.com, teamraised.com, or any give.* or app.* subdomain of either (the "Sites");
- make a donation through the Platform (a "Donor"); or
- create, manage, or raise funds through a campaign on the Platform on behalf of a team, club, or organization (an "Organizer," acting for an "Organization").
If you use the Platform on behalf of an Organization, you represent that you are authorized to bind that Organization to these Terms, and "you" includes both you and that Organization.
By using the Platform, you agree to these Terms, our Privacy Policy, our Acceptable Use Policy, and our Donation and Refund Policy, each of which is incorporated by reference. If you do not agree, do not use the Platform.
2. What the Platform does, and what it does not do
The Platform lets an Organization publish a fundraising campaign page and collect voluntary donations from Donors. We provide the software, the campaign pages, and the connection to our payment processor. We do not solicit donations on our own behalf, we are not a charity, and we are not a broker, fiduciary, or agent for either Donors or Organizations.
We do not hold your money. All payment processing is performed by Stripe, Inc. ("Stripe"). Each Organization connects its own Stripe account, and donations settle directly from the Donor to the Organization's connected Stripe account. Funds never pass through, and are never held by, a VCIO account. Because we do not take custody of donated funds, we are not a money transmitter and we do not provide banking, escrow, or custodial services.
We do not verify Organizations or their tax status. We apply basic content review and rely on Stripe's identity and business verification for payouts, but we do not independently confirm that an Organization is legitimate, that it is a registered nonprofit, or that donations to it are tax-deductible. See Section 6.
3. Eligibility and accounts
To create or manage a campaign you must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract. Organizer accounts are created and secured through our authentication provider; you are responsible for keeping your login credentials confidential and for all activity under your account. Tell us promptly at [email protected] if you believe your account has been compromised.
Donors do not need an account to give. You must be at least 18, or have the consent of a parent or guardian who accepts these Terms on your behalf, to make a donation.
4. Fees
Our pricing is deliberately simple. For each successful donation:
- Payment processing is charged by Stripe and passed through to you at cost (currently 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction; Stripe sets and may change this rate). We do not mark it up.
- A flat platform fee of 2% of the donation is charged by VCIO for operating the Platform. It is collected automatically as a Stripe application fee at the time of the donation.
Optional fee coverage by Donors. At checkout, a Donor may choose to add an amount that covers some or all of these fees, so that the Organization receives the full amount the Donor intended to give. Fee coverage is optional and is shown and confirmed before the Donor completes the donation. It changes only who bears the fees (the Donor or the Organization), not the fees themselves: the platform fee and the processing described above apply either way. If a Donor covers the fees, the covered amount is added to the Donor's total; if a Donor does not, the fees are deducted from the donation as usual. VCIO does not pay these fees on anyone's behalf.
The exact fees that apply to a given donation are shown before the donation is completed and are itemized on the emailed receipt. The receipt reflects the actual amounts charged. If our published fee ever differs from the amount shown at checkout, the amount shown at checkout and on the receipt controls. We may change the platform fee prospectively by updating our published fee information and these Terms; changes never apply retroactively to donations already made.
Donations are made in U.S. dollars. Donors are responsible for any costs their own bank or card issuer may charge (for example, foreign transaction fees).
5. Payments, payouts, and Stripe
To receive donations, an Organization must create or connect a Stripe account and complete Stripe's onboarding, identity verification, and any information Stripe requires. By doing so, the Organization agrees to the Stripe Connected Account Agreement and Stripe's other applicable terms, which are a separate agreement between the Organization and Stripe. Payouts, payout timing, holds, reserves, and account verification are governed by Stripe, not by us. We may be unable to release, redirect, or expedite funds that Stripe holds or delays.
You authorize VCIO, as a platform on Stripe, to instruct Stripe to deduct the platform fee described in Section 4 from each donation, and you authorize Stripe to disburse the remaining amount to the Organization's connected account.
6. Organization responsibilities, tax status, and tax-deductibility
If you raise funds through the Platform, you are solely responsible for:
- providing accurate information about your Organization and your campaign, and keeping it truthful and current;
- using donated funds for the purpose you described to Donors;
- determining, collecting, reporting, and remitting any taxes that apply to the funds you raise;
- honoring any promises you make to Donors, including any refund promises; and
- complying with all laws that apply to your fundraising, your Organization, and your use of the funds.
Tax-exempt status is self-attested. The Platform lets an Organization indicate that it is a tax-exempt organization (for example, a 501(c)(3)) and provide its EIN. You alone make that determination and are responsible for its accuracy. We do not verify tax-exempt status, we do not confirm whether an Organization appears in any IRS list, and we do not display any "verified charity" or similar trust badge. We record the identity of the user who makes the attestation and the time it was made.
Tax-deductibility is not guaranteed. Whether a donation is tax-deductible depends on the receiving Organization's actual tax status and on the Donor's circumstances, which we do not assess. Donations to Organizations that are not qualified tax-exempt organizations are not tax-deductible. Nothing on the Platform is tax advice. Donors should keep their receipt and consult their own tax advisor. Organizations are responsible for providing any donor acknowledgment or additional receipt that the law requires of them.
7. Donations
A donation is a voluntary payment from the Donor to the Organization, not a purchase of goods or services from VCIO and not a payment to VCIO (other than the platform fee described in Section 4). We are not responsible for how an Organization uses donated funds or for whether an Organization delivers on any statement, goal, reward, or perk it describes. If a Donor chooses to cover fees under Section 4, that additional amount is part of the Donor's voluntary donation.
Donations are generally intended to be final. Refunds, when available, are handled by the Organization through Stripe and are governed by our Donation and Refund Policy. Because funds settle directly to the Organization, we cannot issue refunds and do not control whether an Organization grants one.
8. Acceptable use, content, and moderation
Your use of the Platform, and the campaigns and content you publish, must comply with our Acceptable Use Policy. You may not use the Platform to raise funds for, or in connection with, anything that policy prohibits.
You are responsible for the content you submit (campaign titles, stories, images, and similar). You grant VCIO a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, store, display, and reproduce that content for the purpose of operating and promoting the Platform and your campaign. You represent that you have the rights to the content you submit and that it does not infringe anyone's rights.
We review campaigns and material edits before they appear publicly, and we may decline, remove, hold, or require changes to any content, or suspend or terminate any campaign or account, if we reasonably believe it violates these Terms or our policies, creates legal or security risk, or is the subject of a payment dispute. We are not obligated to monitor content, and our review does not make us responsible for it. Where a payment concern arises, funds may also be held or reversed by Stripe under Stripe's terms.
9. Suspension and termination
You may stop using the Platform at any time. We may suspend or terminate your access, or a campaign, with or without notice, if you breach these Terms or our policies, if required by law or by Stripe, or to protect the Platform, its users, or the public. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 6, 7, 10, 11, 12, and 14) survive.
10. Disclaimers
The Platform is provided "as is" and "as available," without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure, or that any campaign will reach its goal.
We are not responsible for the conduct of any Organization or Donor, for the truth of any campaign, for how funds are used, for whether an Organization is legitimate or tax-exempt, or for the acts or omissions of Stripe or any other third party. Any dispute about a donation, a refund, or the use of funds is between the Donor and the Organization.
The Platform is a neutral venue. We provide software that connects Donors and Organizations. We are not a party to any donation, we do not solicit on our own behalf, and we do not act as an agent, broker, trustee, or fiduciary for anyone. You use the Platform at your own risk and rely on your own judgment when you choose to give to, or raise funds through, any campaign.
Security. We take reasonable measures to protect the Platform, including encryption in transit, access controls, least-privilege administration, and monitoring for abuse, and we deliberately minimize what we hold: full card numbers and payout banking and identity details are handled by Stripe and do not reside on our systems. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for safeguarding your own account credentials and devices. To the fullest extent permitted by law, we are not liable for unauthorized access or loss that we did not cause through our own gross negligence or willful misconduct.
Assumption of risk and release. Because any dispute over a donation, a refund, a campaign, or the use of funds is between the Donor and the Organization, you release VCIO and its members, officers, and contractors from every claim, demand, damage, and dispute of any kind, known or unknown, arising out of or connected with such a matter. If you are a California resident, you waive California Civil Code Section 1542, which reads: "A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or released party."
11. Limitation of liability
To the fullest extent permitted by law, VCIO and its members, officers, and contractors will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of donations, funds, data, goodwill, or profits, arising out of or relating to the Platform or these Terms, even if advised of the possibility.
To the fullest extent permitted by law, VCIO's total aggregate liability arising out of or relating to the Platform or these Terms will not exceed the greater of (a) the total platform fees VCIO actually received from you in the three months before the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) one hundred U.S. dollars ($100).
Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of the above may not apply to you.
12. Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless VCIO and its members, officers, and contractors from and against any claims, damages, liabilities, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or relating to: your campaign or content; your use of the Platform; your use of donated funds; any statement you make to Donors; your tax-exempt attestation or any representation about tax-deductibility; or your breach of these Terms, our policies, or any law.
13. Changes to the Platform and these Terms
We may modify or discontinue features of the Platform at any time. We may update these Terms from time to time; material changes will be posted here with an updated effective date and, where appropriate, communicated by email or in-product notice. Your continued use after a change takes effect means you accept the updated Terms.
14. Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Washington, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. You and VCIO agree that the exclusive venue for any dispute will be the state and federal courts located in Island County, Washington, and you consent to personal jurisdiction there. If any provision of these Terms is held unenforceable, the rest remains in effect, and the unenforceable provision is limited only as much as necessary.
Class-action and jury-trial waiver. To the fullest extent permitted by law, you and VCIO agree that any dispute will be brought only in an individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any purported class, collective, or representative proceeding, and each of you waives any right to a jury trial.
Time limit. To the fullest extent permitted by law, any claim arising out of or relating to the Platform or these Terms must be brought within one year after it arises, or it is permanently barred.
Force majeure. We are not liable for any failure or delay caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including outages or actions of Stripe, our hosting or infrastructure providers, the public internet, acts of government, or other force-majeure events.
15. Contact
Virtual Caffeine IO LLC
doing business as RaiseClear and TeamRaised
Camano Island, Washington, USA
[email protected] ยท [email protected]