Terms of Service

1. Accepting these Terms

By using the Services, you agree to these Terms and to our Privacy Policy. When you create an App account, we ask you to accept them, and we keep a record of your acceptance. If you use the Services on behalf of an organization, such as a local agent organization, you confirm that you are authorized to accept these Terms for it. If you do not agree, do not use the Services.

2. About GFIR and the Services

GFIR is a U.S. 501(c)(3) nonprofit. The Website shares information about our work and accepts donations. The App provides household registration, early warning alerts, a digital wallet and emergency cash assistance in the regions where we operate.

The Services are in an early pilot phase. Features, regions, partners and availability may change, and some features may still be in testing.

3. Eligibility and accounts

• You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of majority where you live if that is older, to create an App account.
• Give accurate, complete information and keep it up to date.
• One person, one account. Each household may be registered only once. Registering more than once, or registering under someone else’s identity, is not allowed. Our palm verification is designed to prevent it.
• Keep your password and device secure. You are responsible for activity on your account. Tell us right away if you think someone else has used it.
• We may verify your identity, location and eligibility, and we may refuse or cancel registrations that we cannot verify.

4. Early warning alerts: important limitations

• Alerts are for information only. They are based on forecasts, models and public alert sources that may be incomplete, wrong or late. Hazard levels and maps are estimates.
• GFIR alerts do not replace official warnings. Always follow instructions from your national weather service, disaster management agency, local authorities and emergency services. In an emergency, contact local emergency services right away.
• We cannot guarantee that an alert will be sent for every hazard, that it will arrive in time, or that it will reach you at all. Delivery by notification or text message depends on your device, network coverage, notification settings, and the mobile carriers and providers that deliver messages.
• Do not rely only on GFIR alerts to make decisions about your safety.

5. Emergency cash assistance

• Cash assistance is a charitable gift, not a right. Registering does not guarantee that you will receive assistance.
• GFIR decides eligibility under its program rules. These consider hazard conditions at your registered location, verification of your identity and location, and the funds available. The rules may change.
• Amounts, timing and how assistance is paid vary by region and partner.
• Every case flagged for assistance is reviewed by GFIR staff before money is approved. If you think a decision is wrong, you can ask for a review by contacting hello@gfir.org or your local agent.
• We may refuse, pause or recover assistance that was obtained through fraud, false information, duplicate registration or error.

6. The GFIR wallet and transactions

• GFIR is not a bank. Wallet balances are not bank deposits. They are not insured by the U.S. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) or by any government deposit insurance program.
• You can use the wallet to receive assistance, send money to and request money from other users, and make deposits and withdrawals through partner banks, mobile money providers and local agents, where these are available.
• Transactions are final once confirmed. They are recorded in a tamper-evident ledger and cannot be edited or reversed by you. Check the recipient’s member ID carefully before sending. If you think there is a mistake, contact us right away. We will look into it, but we cannot guarantee that money will be recovered.
• We may ask for palm confirmation before sensitive transactions. Limits on amounts and how often you can transact may apply.
• Partner banks, mobile money providers and agents may have their own terms and fees.
• We may delay, block or reverse a transaction if we suspect fraud, unauthorized use or illegal activity, to correct an error, or if the law requires it. A reversal is recorded as a new, correcting ledger entry. The original entry is never erased.

7. Local agents and partner organizations

If you use the App as a local agent, or on behalf of a partner organization, you also agree to:

• register a household only with the informed consent of the person being registered, after explaining what information is collected (including palm biometrics and location) and why;
• enter accurate information, and never create false or duplicate registrations;
• keep beneficiaries’ personal information confidential and use it only to provide GFIR Services;
• never charge beneficiaries any fee to register for, or to receive, GFIR assistance;
• follow GFIR’s program rules, our instructions and applicable law.

Agents and partner organizations are independent. They are not GFIR employees and are not authorized to act or speak for GFIR. We may suspend or remove agent access at any time. Please report agent misconduct to hello@gfir.org.

8. Donations

• Donations are processed by Stripe, and Stripe’s terms also apply.
• GFIR is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 42-2623380). Donations are tax-deductible in the United States to the extent permitted by law. Unless your receipt says otherwise, no goods or services are given in exchange for your gift. Please ask your tax advisor about your situation.
• Use of funds. Donations are made to GFIR, which has full control and discretion over how they are used in support of our mission. We will honor designations where practical. If a designated purpose becomes impractical, we may use the gift for a similar purpose.
• Refunds. Donations are generally non-refundable. If you made a mistake, such as the wrong amount or a duplicate charge, contact hello@gfir.org within 30 days and we will work with you. Refunds are at GFIR’s discretion. A refunded donation is not tax-deductible.
• Use only payment methods you are authorized to use.

9. Acceptable use

You agree not to:

• give false information, pretend to be someone else, register more than once, or register someone without their consent;
• use the Services for fraud, money laundering, terrorist financing, or anything that violates sanctions or other laws;
• access other people’s accounts or data, or collect information about other users;
• interfere with the Services, or probe, scan or test their security without our permission;
• reverse engineer the App, except where the law allows it;
• use bots, scrapers or other automated tools to access the Services;
• upload viruses or other harmful code;
• use payment notes or other features to harass, threaten or abuse anyone; or
• resell the Services or use them for commercial purposes.

If you find a security vulnerability, please report it to security@gfir.org. We welcome good-faith reports and will not take action against researchers who act in good faith and respect users’ privacy.

10. Intellectual property

GFIR owns the Services and their content, including the GFIR name and logo, or has licensed them. We give you a limited, personal, non-transferable license to use the Services for their intended, non-commercial purpose. If you send us feedback, we may use it without any obligation to you. Map data and hazard data come from third parties and are subject to their licenses and attribution requirements (for example, map data © OpenStreetMap contributors and © Mapbox).

11. Third-party services

The Services rely on third parties such as Stripe, Google, Mapbox, OpenStreetMap, partner banks and mobile money providers. We are not responsible for their services, content or policies.

12. Suspension and termination

You may stop using the Services at any time and delete your account in the App or at gfir.org/delete-account (see our Privacy Policy). We may suspend or end your access if you break these Terms, if we suspect fraud, if the law requires it, or if we end a program or pilot. If your account is closed, we will handle any remaining wallet balance as the law and our program rules require and, where possible, give you a reasonable opportunity to withdraw it. Sections 4 through 6 and 10 through 18 continue to apply after termination.

13. Disclaimers

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. THIS INCLUDES ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, ACCURACY AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT PROMISE THAT ALERTS OR HAZARD INFORMATION WILL BE ACCURATE, COMPLETE OR TIMELY, OR THAT THE SERVICES WILL WORK WITHOUT INTERRUPTION OR ERRORS.

14. Limitation of liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, GFIR AND ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, EMPLOYEES, VOLUNTEERS AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES. THIS INCLUDES DAMAGES ARISING FROM YOUR RELIANCE ON ALERTS OR HAZARD INFORMATION, OR FROM NOT RECEIVING AN ALERT. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM RELATED TO THE SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED US$100.

Some places do not allow certain limits on liability. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited under applicable law.

15. Indemnification

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to protect GFIR, and to pay its reasonable costs, against claims that arise from your breaking these Terms, misusing the Services or breaking the law. This includes, for agents, the registrations they submit.

16. Governing law and disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, USA, without regard to its conflict-of-law rules. Before filing a claim, please contact us at hello@gfir.org so we can try to resolve the issue informally within 30 days. Any dispute that is not resolved will be decided exclusively in the state or federal courts in Los Angeles County, California. If consumer protection laws in your country give you rights that cannot be waived, those rights still apply.

17. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. When we do, we will post the new version here and change the “Last updated” date. If we make important changes, we will tell you through the Website, the App or by email. If you keep using the Services after the changes take effect, you accept the updated Terms.

18. General

• Events beyond our control. We are not responsible for delays or failures caused by events beyond our reasonable control, including natural disasters, network or power outages, and government action.
• Entire agreement. These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the whole agreement between you and GFIR about the Services.
• Severability and waiver. If any part of these Terms cannot be enforced, the rest still applies. If we do not enforce a term, we have not given up the right to enforce it later.
• Assignment. You may not transfer your rights under these Terms. We may transfer ours, for example to a successor charity.
• Language. We may offer translations of these Terms. If a translation and the English version differ, the English version controls.

19. Contact us

Global Fund for Innovation and Resilience
5503 Wilma St, Torrance, CA 90503, USA
Email: hello@gfir.org