Last updated November 1, 2022
Charity Navigator, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity (hereinafter, "Charity Navigator," "we," "us," or "our") welcomes you. We invite you to access and use our online services ("Services"), which are made available to you through the Charity Navigator website, www.charitynavigator.org, (the “Website”) and related applications and platforms, including the Nonprofit Portal (together, our “Platform”).
We provide our Services to Visitors and Registered Users (as defined below) subject to these Terms of Use, which may be updated by us from time to time without notice to you. The Terms of Use are a contract between you and Charity Navigator. Your access to and continued use of certain areas within the Website located at https://charitynavigator.org (including any successor sites), including any portions of the Website that require registration, constitutes your reading, understanding and acceptance, without limitation, of the terms and conditions of the Terms of Use. You agree to be legally bound by these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy, which is hereby incorporated by reference (collectively, the "Agreement"). If you do not agree to any of these terms, then please do not use the Services.
For purposes of the Agreement, unless otherwise herein stated, the term "Registered User" shall include both charities that register with us as well as their Charity Representative Users. Charity and Charity Representative Users are also subject to additional terms and conditions that apply specifically to them.
Charity Navigator is under no obligation to accept any charity or individual as a Registered User and may accept or reject any registration in its sole and complete discretion. In addition, Charity Navigator may deactivate any account at any time, including, without limitation, if it determines that a Registered User has violated the Agreement.
Use of Third-Party Applications. Charity Navigator uses third-party applications to provide the Services, and some of the content appearing on the Website is in fact supplied, supported or provided directly or indirectly by third parties, for example, in instances of framing of third-party websites or incorporation through framesets of content provided by third-party services. We also provide links to third-party websites. For more information on third party applications, please see the Privacy Policy. Charity Navigator has no responsibility for these third-party applications or websites (“Third-Party Applications”) and do not make any representations regarding the content or accuracy of the information presented therein. Your use of such applications or websites is governed by the Agreement and any privacy policies and terms of use of such third parties.
The Services contain material, such as software, text, graphics, images, sound recordings, audiovisual works, and other material provided by or on behalf of Charity Navigator (collectively referred to as "Content").Content may be owned by us or by third parties. Content is protected under both United States and foreign laws. Unauthorized use of Content may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws. You have no rights in or to Content, and you will not use Content except as permitted under the Agreement. Any other use is prohibited without prior written consent from Charity Navigator. You must retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the original Content. You may not sell, transfer, assign, license, sublicense, or modify Content or reproduce, display, publicly perform, make a derivative version of, distribute, or otherwise use Content in any way for any public or commercial purpose. The use or posting of Content on any other website or in a networked computer environment for any purpose is expressly prohibited.
If you violate any part of the Agreement, your permission to access and/or use Content and the Services automatically terminates and you must immediately destroy any copies you have made of Content.
The trademarks, service marks, and logos of Charity Navigator (“Charity Navigator Trademarks") used and displayed on the Services are registered and unregistered trademarks or service marks of Charity Navigator. Nothing in this Agreement, on the Website or within the Services should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any license or right to you to use Charity Navigator Trademarks. You may use the Charity Navigator Trademarks only with Charity Navigator's prior written permission specific for each such use. All goodwill generated from use of Charity Navigator Trademarks inures to our benefit.
Other company, product, and service names located on the Website or within the Services may be trademarks or service marks owned by others ("Third-Party Trademarks,”). Nothing in this Agreement, on the Website or within the Services). should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any license or right to you to use any Third-Party Trademarks.
Elements of the Services are protected by trade dress, trademark, unfair competition, and other state and federal laws and may not be copied or imitated in whole or in part, by any means, including, but not limited to, the use of framing or mirrors. No Content may be retransmitted without our express, written consent for each and every instance.
Notwithstanding anything in this Section to the contrary, any charity that earns Charity Navigator's “Three-Star” rating (“Three-Star Charity”) or "Four-Star" rating ("Four-Star Charity") may use Charity Navigator's Three-Star and Four-Star logos respectively for so long as the charity holds the associated rating, pursuant to and in accordance with the terms set forth in the Charity toolkit within the Nonprofit Portal or such other URL designated by Charity Navigator from time to time, where information describing the terms by which Charity Navigator will grant charities limited rights to use the Three-Star or Four-Star Logos is published, including hyperlinking the logo to the Charity Navigator Website or the charity's respective profile on Charity Navigator's Website. Charity Navigator may modify such terms at any time by posting a modification on such URL, and any such modification shall go into effect thirty (30) days after it is so posted. It is the Three or Four-Star Rated Charity’s responsibility to check for such modifications on a regular basis.
As noted above, the Services provide Visitors and Registered Users the ability to post and upload user content ("User Content").
You retain all copyrights and other intellectual property rights in and to your own User Content. You do, however, hereby grant Charity Navigator a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, transferable, sub-license license to modify, compile, combine with other content and data, copy, record, synchronize, format, and index your User Content and display, perform, sub-license, commercialize, and make it available to others in all media now known or hereafter devised, including, without limitation, through the Platform.
If you submit User Content to us, each such submission constitutes a representation and warranty to Charity Navigator that such User Content is your original creation (or that you otherwise have the right to provide the User Content), that you have the rights necessary to grant the license to the User Content under the prior paragraph, and that it and its use by Charity Navigator does not and will not violate our community guidelines.
You expressly acknowledge and agree that once you upload User Content, it will be accessible and viewable by Charity Navigator and, depending on the forum, others. You can find more information in our Privacy Policy about Charity Navigator’s privacy practices concerning personal data you share with us, but please note that if you share even personal data to a public forum on the Platform, you are sharing it with others outside of Charity Navigator and we are not responsible for its safeguard or security.
SMS communications:
When you opt-in to the service, Charity Navigator will send you a message to confirm your signup. By subscribing to mobile alerts from Charity Navigator, you consent to receive recurring automated text messages regarding charities responding to a particular crisis, as well as news regarding charities you support. There is no fee charged by Charity Navigator for text messages we send you. However, message and data rates from your mobile carrier may apply. Message frequency varies. The Opt-In is not transferable to the charity using the Charity Navigator platform. All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
Data obtained from you in connection with this SMS service may include your mobile phone number, your carrier's name and the date, time and content of your messages. Charity Navigator may use this information to contact you and provide the services you request from us. All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
Alerts sent via SMS may not be delivered if the mobile phone is not in range of a transmission site, or if sufficient network capacity is not available at a particular time. Even within a coverage area, factors beyond the control of your mobile services provider may interfere with message delivery, including your equipment, terrain, proximity to buildings, foliage, and weather. Mobile services providers do not guarantee message delivery and will not be held liable for delayed or undelivered messages. Charity Navigator is also not liable for any delays in the receipt of any SMS message as delivery is subject to effective transmission from your mobile service provider.
If you have any questions, text HELP to the number from which you receive Charity Navigator text messages or contact us at marcomm@charitynavigator.org. To stop receiving messages, text STOP. After you send the message "STOP" we will send you a reply message to confirm that you have been unsubscribed. After this, you will no longer receive messages from us. If you want to join again, just sign up as you did the first time, and we will start sending messages to you again. View the Charity Navigator Privacy Policy here.
WE MAKE NO WARRANTIES OR REPRESENTATIONS ABOUT THE CONTENTS OF THE SERVICES, INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, CONTENT (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY REVIEWS, RATINGS, OR FINANCIAL DATA), OR USER CONTENT. WE SHALL NOT BE SUBJECT TO LIABILITY FOR ANY DELAYS OR INTERRUPTIONS OF THE SERVICES FROM WHATEVER CAUSE. YOU AGREE THAT YOU USE CONTENT, THE SERVICES, AND USER CONTENT AT YOUR OWN RISK.
WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SERVICES WILL OPERATE ERROR-FREE OR THAT THE SERVICES, ITS SERVERS, ITS CONTENT, OR USER CONTENT ARE FREE OF COMPUTER VIRUSES OR SIMILAR CONTAMINATION OR DESTRUCTIVE FEATURES. IF YOUR USE OF CONTENT, USER CONTENT, OR THE SERVICES RESULTS IN THE NEED FOR SERVICING OR REPLACING EQUIPMENT OR DATA, WE SHALL NOT BE RESPONSIBLE FOR THOSE COSTS.
THE CONTENT, THE USER CONTENT, AND THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND. WE DISCLAIM ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE WARRANTY OF TITLE, MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT OF THIRD PARTIES' RIGHTS, AND FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
IN NO EVENT SHALL WE BE LIABLE FOR ANY DAMAGES WHATSOEVER (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, INCIDENTAL AND CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, LOST PROFITS, OR DAMAGES RESULTING FROM LOST DATA OR BUSINESS INTERRUPTION) RESULTING FROM THE USE, INABILITY TO USE, DISCLOSURE, DISPLAY, OR MAINTENANCE OF ANY CONTENT, USER CONTENT, OR THE SERVICES, WHETHER BASED ON WARRANTY, CONTRACT, TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), OR ANY OTHER LEGAL THEORY, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW EXCLUSION OF IMPLIED WARRANTIES OR LIMITATION OF LIABILITY FOR INCIDENTAL OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATIONS OR EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU. IN SUCH STATES, OUR LIABILITY SHALL BE LIMITED TO THE GREATEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW.
THE SERVICES MAY CONTAIN TECHNICAL INACCURACIES OR TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS OR OMISSIONS. WE ARE NOT RESPONSIBLE FOR ANY SUCH TYPOGRAPHICAL, TECHNICAL, OR OTHER ERRORS LISTED ON THE SERVICES. WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MAKE CHANGES, CORRECTIONS, AND/OR IMPROVEMENTS TO THE SERVICES AT ANY TIME WITHOUT NOTICE.
Charity Navigator respects the intellectual property rights of others and attempts to comply with all relevant laws. We will review all claims of copyright infringement received and remove any Content or User Content deemed to have been posted or distributed in violation of any such laws.
Our designated agent under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (the "Act") for the receipt of any Notification of Claimed Infringement which may be given under the Act is as follows:
Charity Navigator, Inc.
Attention: DMCA
299 Market St., Suite 250
Saddle Brook, NJ 07663
If you believe that your work has been copied on the Services in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, please provide our agent with notice in accordance with the requirements of the Act, including (i) a description of the copyrighted work that has been infringed and the specific location on the Services where such work is located; (ii) a description of the location of the original or an authorized copy of the copyrighted work; (iii) your address, telephone number and e-mail address; (iv) a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; (v) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf; and (vi) an electronic or physical signature of the owner of the copyright or the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest.
The Agreement is governed by the internal substantive laws of the State of New Jersey, without respect to its conflict of laws provisions. You expressly agree: (i) to submit to the exclusive personal jurisdiction of the state and federal courts sitting in the State of New Jersey; and (ii) that the Services shall be deemed passive that do not give rise to personal jurisdiction over Charity Navigator, either specific or general, in jurisdictions other than New Jersey. YOU AGREE THAT ANY CAUSE OF ACTION ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THE SERVICES MUST COMMENCED BY YOU WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES, OTHERWISE SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION IS PERMANENTLY BARRED. If any provision of the Agreement is found to be invalid, or otherwise contrary to the law or equity, by a court of competent jurisdiction or terminated in accordance with the Termination provision above, you and Charity Navigator agree that such provision shall be automatically severed and the remainder of the Agreement that can be given effect shall continue to be given effect. The invalidity or termination of such provision shall not affect the validity of any other provisions outlined in the Agreement.
Our failure to act on or enforce any provision of the Agreement shall not be construed as a waiver of that provision or any other provision in the Agreement. No waiver shall be effective against us unless made in writing, and no such waiver shall be construed as a waiver in any other or subsequent instance. Except as expressly agreed by us and you in writing, the Agreement constitutes the entire Agreement between you and us with respect to the subject matter, and supersedes all previous or contemporaneous agreements, whether written or oral, between the parties with respect to the subject matter. The section headings are provided merely for convenience and shall not be given any legal import. The Agreement will inure to the benefit of our successors, assigns, licensees, and sub-licensees.