Terms of Service

By accessing or using PledgeAthon (www.pledgeathon.io), including any subdomains, mobile versions, or associated services (collectively, the "Platform"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service ("Terms"). If you do not agree to these Terms, do not use the Platform.

PledgeAthon is operated by PledgeAthon LLC ("PledgeAthon," "we," "us," or "our"), an Ohio limited liability company located at 12269 Scarlett Way, Concord Township, Ohio 44077.

Important notice. These Terms contain a mandatory binding arbitration clause and a class action waiver (Section 16). Please read them carefully — they affect your legal rights.

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account, organize a fundraiser, or manage an organization on PledgeAthon. Minors may participate in fundraisers (for example, as walk-a-thon participants) but may not create or administer accounts. Participant enrollment and data is submitted by the adult organizer, not by the minor.

By creating an account, you represent that you are at least 18 years of age and that all information you provide is accurate, current, and complete.

Parental consent for participants. By uploading participant data that identifies a minor, the organizer represents and warrants that: (a) it has obtained any parental or guardian consent required by applicable law (including COPPA for children under 13, and FERPA or state student-privacy laws where applicable); (b) it is authorized to share the participant's first name and last initial on public fundraiser pages; and (c) it will respond to any parental request to remove participant information. Schools acting pursuant to the FERPA school-official exception may rely on that exception where permitted. PTAs, sports teams, and other non-school organizations must obtain direct parental consent.

Children under 13. PledgeAthon is not directed at children under 13 and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. See our Privacy Policy for more detail on COPPA compliance.

You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for all activity that occurs under your account. Notify us immediately at support@pledgeathon.io if you suspect unauthorized access.

PledgeAthon is a zero-platform-fee a-thon fundraising platform for schools, PTAs, sports teams, churches, nonprofits, and similar organizations. The Platform enables organizers to create pledge-based fundraisers, manage participants, collect online donations, and track progress.

PledgeAthon charges no platform fee on donations. The only cost is standard Stripe payment processing (currently 2.9% + $0.30 per card transaction), which is deducted from card donations before payout to the organizer. Cash and check pledges have no processing fees.

Charitable solicitation registration. Many states (including Ohio under Ohio Rev. Code Chapter 1716, and others such as Florida, New York, and New Jersey) require organizations soliciting charitable donations to register with the state before soliciting. By creating a fundraiser on PledgeAthon, you represent and warrant that your organization has completed any charitable solicitation registration required in every state where donors may reside or be solicited. You are solely responsible for obtaining and maintaining such registrations. You agree to indemnify PledgeAthon for any claim, penalty, or action arising from your failure to do so (see Section 13).

Tax status disclaimer. PledgeAthon does not verify, track, or represent the tax-exempt status of any organization on the platform. We do not determine whether donations or pledges are tax-deductible. It is the sole responsibility of each organization to communicate its tax status (e.g., 501(c)(3), 501(c)(7)) to its donors. PledgeAthon does not issue tax receipts, donation acknowledgment letters, or any documentation for tax filing purposes. Donors should consult their own tax advisor regarding the deductibility of any contribution. Organizations are solely responsible for their own tax obligations including, where applicable, 501(c)(3) compliance, 1099 reporting, and state or local sales tax.

All payment processing is handled by Stripe, Inc. through Stripe Connect. By accepting donations, you agree to Stripe's Connected Account Agreement and Services Agreement. Stripe's terms govern your relationship with Stripe, including payouts, compliance, reserves, and account suspensions.

PledgeAthon does not store your full credit card information. All payment data is handled by Stripe in accordance with PCI-DSS standards.

Donors may leave a voluntary tip to PledgeAthon during the donation process. Tips are entirely optional.

Held donations (pre-onboarding). If a donor contributes to a fundraiser before the organizer has completed Stripe Connect payout onboarding, PledgeAthon will collect the donation and hold it on the organizer's behalf as a limited payment collection agent pending completion of payout setup. Held donations are maintained in PledgeAthon's Stripe platform balance (a Stripe-held account separate from PledgeAthon's day-to-day operating cash) and PledgeAthon does not earn interest or yield on held donations. Once the organizer completes Stripe Connect onboarding, held donations are automatically transferred to the organizer's connected account, after deducting standard Stripe payment processing fees on card donations, any refunds, and any disputed charges. The organizer's obligations under Stripe's Connected Account Agreement and Services Agreement apply from the date of Stripe Connect onboarding forward; PledgeAthon's Terms govern the pre-onboarding holding period.

90-day refund commitment. If the organizer does not complete Stripe Connect onboarding within 90 days after the later of (i) the campaign end date or (ii) the donation date, PledgeAthon will initiate automatic refunds of all held donations in full (including any platform tip) to the donor's original payment method. Where an email address was collected at the time of donation, donors will receive email notification of the refund. Refunds may be delayed or fail where the original payment method is unavailable (e.g., expired, closed, or fraud-flagged card); in such cases, PledgeAthon will work with the donor in good faith on an alternative refund method. PledgeAthon may extend the 90-day window by up to an additional 30 days (for a maximum total hold of 120 days) where needed to complete onboarding verification or resolve a dispute, with written notice to affected donors; PledgeAthon will not shorten the 90-day window in any way that reduces donor refund rights, but may issue refunds earlier at its discretion.

Refund discretion. PledgeAthon reserves the right to refund, hold, cancel, or decline donations for fraud, compliance obligations, failed organizer verification, failure to complete payout setup, chargebacks, or other legal reasons. Refunds for any held donation will be returned to the donor's original payment method where possible. See Section 6 for additional terms governing refunds, chargebacks, and disputes.

Donations are final. Except as described in Section 5 (held donations and the 90-day automatic refund commitment) and elsewhere in this Section 6, donations made through the Platform are final upon successful processing and are non-refundable by default. Nothing in these Terms waives rights a donor may have under applicable consumer-protection law, including the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act.

Refund requests (post-transfer). Once a donation has been transferred to the organizer's connected Stripe account, if a donor requests a refund, the organizer is responsible for processing it through their Stripe dashboard. PledgeAthon may assist but does not process refunds from the organizer's Connect balance unilaterally. Note that Stripe does not refund payment processing fees on refunded donations; the organizer absorbs that cost. Tips left to PledgeAthon are non-refundable once a donation has transferred, except where the donation itself is refunded under Section 5.

Refund requests (pre-transfer). For held donations that have not yet been transferred to the organizer, PledgeAthon may process refunds directly to the donor at its sole discretion, including where the donor has requested a refund in good faith, the organizer consents, or we have reasonable grounds to do so.

Chargebacks. If a donor disputes a charge with their bank (a "chargeback"), Stripe will deduct the disputed amount plus any chargeback fee from PledgeAthon's platform balance (for held donations) or from the organizer's connected account (for transferred donations), consistent with Stripe's terms. Where a chargeback is received against a donation that has already been transferred to an organizer, PledgeAthon will attempt to reverse the transfer from the organizer's connected Stripe balance; if insufficient funds are available, PledgeAthon may invoice the organizer or offset against future payouts. Organizers are responsible for providing evidence to Stripe to contest chargebacks.

Fraudulent fundraisers. PledgeAthon reserves the right to freeze payouts and suspend accounts if we have reasonable grounds to believe a fundraiser is fraudulent. Funds may be held until an investigation is complete, and PledgeAthon may refund donors if fraud is substantiated.

You agree not to use the Platform to:

• Conduct fraudulent, misleading, or deceptive fundraisers
• Collect funds for illegal activities
• Impersonate another person or organization
• Upload viruses, malware, or harmful code
• Attempt unauthorized access to other accounts or systems
• Harass, abuse, or threaten other users
• Violate any applicable law or regulation, including state and federal charitable solicitation registration requirements
• Infringe on the intellectual property rights of any third party

Organizer communications. By creating an account, you consent to receive transactional emails related to your account and fundraisers (welcome, activation, donation notifications, payout confirmations). You may also receive SMS notifications if you provide a phone number (e.g., new donation alerts, fundraiser milestones). Opt out of SMS anytime by replying STOP. Standard message and data rates may apply.

TCPA consent. SMS notifications are sent only to organizers who have affirmatively opted in through a dedicated consent checkbox during signup or in their account settings. Providing a phone number alone does not constitute consent. By checking the SMS consent box, you expressly consent to receive automated or prerecorded SMS messages from PledgeAthon at the number you provided, as permitted under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). Consent is not a condition of using the Platform. Reply STOP to opt out at any time or HELP for help.

Participant communications. By providing participant contact information (such as email addresses), organizers authorize PledgeAthon to send fundraiser-related emails to those participants on behalf of the organization. These emails are limited to: donation page notifications, fundraiser reminders, and fundraiser results. PledgeAthon will not send marketing or promotional emails to participants. PledgeAthon does not send SMS messages to participants.

Donor communications. Donors receive transactional emails only: donation confirmations and activity results. PledgeAthon does not send marketing emails or SMS messages to donors.

PledgeAthon may share a portion of voluntary donor tips ("tip-share") with qualifying organizations through the TipShare program. Currently, PledgeAthon shares 10% of net tip proceeds attributable to an organization's fundraisers, calculated as the gross tip amount less the proportional Stripe payment processing fee attributable to the tip portion of each charge.

Nature of tips. Tips are voluntary payments made by donors to PledgeAthon, not to the organization. The tip-share is PledgeAthon's independent business decision to share a portion of its own revenue with organizations.

Program terms. The TipShare program is voluntary and may be modified, suspended, or discontinued at any time at PledgeAthon's sole discretion, with or without notice. PledgeAthon reserves the right to change the tip-share percentage at any time.

Tax obligations. Organizations are solely responsible for their own tax obligations related to tip-share payments. PledgeAthon will issue a 1099-NEC to organizations when annual tip-share payments exceed $600 in a calendar year, as required by the IRS.

Tax information required. Organizations must provide valid tax information — including EIN (Employer Identification Number), legal name, and mailing address — before tip-share payouts can be issued. PledgeAthon may withhold payouts until this information is provided and verified.

Data retention. PledgeAthon retains EIN, legal name, mailing address, and TipShare payment records for a minimum of 7 years after the relevant tax year, as required by IRS regulations.

Clawback. If a donation associated with a TipShare payment is later refunded, disputed, or charged back, PledgeAthon reserves the right to deduct the corresponding TipShare amount from future payments.

The PledgeAthon name, logo, and software are our intellectual property. Content you upload remains yours. By uploading, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to display, reproduce, and distribute it solely for the purpose of operating the Platform. This license ends when you delete the content or close your account.

DMCA takedown procedure. If you believe content on the Platform infringes your copyright, send a written notice to support@pledgeathon.io with the subject line "DMCA Notice" that includes:

• A physical or electronic signature of the copyright owner or authorized agent
• Identification of the copyrighted work claimed to be infringed
• Identification of the allegedly infringing material and its URL on the Platform
• Your contact information (name, address, phone, email)
• A statement that you have a good-faith belief the use is not authorized
• A statement, under penalty of perjury, that the information is accurate and you are the owner or authorized to act on the owner's behalf

We will respond to valid notices in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512). Counter-notices may be submitted by the alleged infringer using the same contact method.

THE PLATFORM IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING (WITHOUT LIMITATION) WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, NON-INFRINGEMENT, OR UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE OPERATION. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE PLATFORM WILL MEET YOUR REQUIREMENTS OR THAT ANY DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL PLEDGEATHON, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, OR AFFILIATES BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO YOUR USE OF THE PLATFORM.

Damages cap. PLEDGEATHON'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE PLATFORM OR THESE TERMS SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATEST OF (A) THE TOTAL FEES YOU PAID TO PLEDGEATHON IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, (B) THE AMOUNT OF THE SPECIFIC DONATION IN DISPUTE (IF YOU ARE A DONOR ASSERTING A CLAIM RELATED TO A SINGLE DONATION), OR (C) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100).

Carve-outs. The limitations in this Section 12 do not apply to (i) PledgeAthon's gross negligence, fraud, or willful misconduct, (ii) personal-injury claims, (iii) your indemnification obligations under Section 13, or (iv) liability that cannot be limited or excluded under applicable law.

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of certain damages. To the extent any such limitation is unenforceable in your jurisdiction, our liability is limited to the smallest amount permitted by applicable law.

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless PledgeAthon and its officers, directors, employees, agents, and affiliates from and against any and all claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to:

• Your use of the Platform or violation of these Terms
• Content you or your participants upload, post, or transmit through the Platform
• Your fundraisers, campaigns, or solicitations, including any representations made to donors
• Your tax obligations, including 501(c)(3) status, 1099 reporting, and charitable solicitation registration
• Your violation of any applicable law or of any third party's rights, including intellectual property rights
• Conduct of participants in your fundraisers
• Disputes between you and donors, participants, or third parties

PledgeAthon reserves the right, at your expense, to assume exclusive defense and control of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification. You agree to cooperate with our defense of such claims.

You may close your account at any time by contacting support@pledgeathon.io.

PledgeAthon may suspend or terminate your access to the Platform at any time, with or without cause, with or without notice, for any reason including but not limited to breach of these Terms, suspected fraud, legal risk, or business discontinuation. Termination does not entitle you to any refund of tips, fees, or other amounts. Pending payouts from Stripe will be processed per Stripe's normal schedule and terms.

Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including Sections 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 15, 16, 17, and 18) will survive.

PledgeAthon will not be liable for any failure or delay in performance resulting from causes beyond our reasonable control, including but not limited to: acts of God, natural disasters, fires, floods, war, terrorism, riots, civil disturbances, labor disputes, governmental actions, pandemics or epidemics, internet or telecommunications failures, power outages, or third-party service-provider failures that occur despite our commercially reasonable selection and oversight of those providers (including Stripe, Resend, Twilio, Vercel, Neon, or Cloudflare).

Governing law. These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Ohio, United States, without regard to conflict-of-law principles.

Informal resolution. Before filing any claim, you agree to contact us at support@pledgeathon.io and attempt to resolve the dispute through good-faith negotiation for at least thirty (30) days.

Binding arbitration. If the dispute is not resolved informally, you and PledgeAthon agree to resolve the dispute through final and binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, available at adr.org/consumer. The arbitration will be conducted in Franklin County, Ohio, or by video conference at the consumer's election. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court having jurisdiction.

Arbitration fees. Consistent with AAA Consumer Arbitration Rules, PledgeAthon will pay all AAA filing, administrative, case-management, and arbitrator fees for claims in which the consumer seeks less than $75,000. For claims of $75,000 or more, AAA's fee schedule applies. Each party pays its own attorneys' fees unless a statute or the arbitrator authorizes fee-shifting.

Class action waiver. YOU AND PLEDGEATHON AGREE THAT EACH MAY BRING CLAIMS AGAINST THE OTHER ONLY IN AN INDIVIDUAL CAPACITY AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY PURPORTED CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. THE ARBITRATOR MAY NOT CONSOLIDATE CLAIMS OR PRESIDE OVER A CLASS ACTION. If a court or arbitrator determines this class-action waiver is unenforceable with respect to a particular claim, that claim (and only that claim) shall be severed from arbitration and may proceed in court as provided in "Exclusive venue for court proceedings" below. All other claims shall remain subject to arbitration, and the remaining provisions of these Terms shall remain in full force and effect.

Exclusive venue for court proceedings. For any claim not subject to arbitration (for example, small-claims court matters, claims severed from arbitration under the class-action-waiver provision above, or injunctive relief related to intellectual property), you agree that exclusive jurisdiction and venue lie with the state and federal courts located in Franklin County, Ohio, and you consent to personal jurisdiction in those courts.

Opt-out. You may opt out of the arbitration and class-action-waiver provisions by sending written notice to support@pledgeathon.io within 30 days of first accepting these Terms. Opt-out notices must include your full name, address, and a clear statement that you wish to opt out of arbitration. If we later make a material change to this Section 16, a new 30-day opt-out window will open, measured from the effective date of the change.

Limitations period. Any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Platform must be filed within one (1) year after the claim accrues, or it is permanently barred, except where a shorter or longer period is required by applicable law (including statutory claims under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act, the Ohio Consumer Sales Practices Act, or other non-waivable statutes).

We may modify these Terms at any time. If we make material changes, we will provide notice by email to the address associated with your account or by posting a prominent notice on the Platform. Changes take effect on the date indicated at the top of these Terms. Continued use of the Platform after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the modified Terms. If you do not agree, you must stop using the Platform and close your account.

Entire agreement. These Terms, together with our Privacy Policy, constitute the entire agreement between you and PledgeAthon regarding the Platform and supersede all prior agreements.

Severability. If any provision of these Terms is found unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force and effect.

No waiver. Our failure to enforce any right or provision is not a waiver of that right or provision.

Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our prior written consent. We may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

PledgeAthon LLC
12269 Scarlett Way
Concord Township, Ohio 44077
United States
Email: support@pledgeathon.io
Website: www.pledgeathon.io