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Additional Terms of Service

To the General Terms of Service

Table of Contents

Valid from September 2024

The personal designations used in these General Terms of Service always refer equally to female, diverse and male persons. Double naming and gendered designations are omitted in favor of better readability.

1. Scope of Application

These Additional Terms of Service apply to all campaign creators and their campaigns registered on the platform www.GoodCrowd.org to collect donations. All of these campaigns pursue social purposes.

These Additional Terms of Service apply to all campaign creators and their campaigns in addition to the General Terms of Service. In addition to these General Terms of Service, the platform's data protection regulations must also be observed.

In case of conflicts, these Additional Terms of Service take precedence.

The platform is operated by Good Crowd GmbH (Good Crowd GmbH, Schlesische Straße 26, D-10997 Berlin). These Additional Terms of Service govern the legal relationship between Good Crowd GmbH and the respective campaign creator.

Insofar as the designation "Platform" is used uniformly in the following, the legal relationship exists with Good Crowd GmbH as the operator of the platform.

2. Definitions

The definitions of the terms printed in bold and not defined within these Additional Terms of Service result from Section 2 of the General Terms of Service.

3. Permitted Purposes

3.1. Only campaigns that directly serve social purposes may be posted on the platform. In particular, campaigns that promise or prospect a consideration for a donation are excluded. Campaigns that directly or indirectly serve to support or promote political parties are also inadmissible.

3.2. Campaigns that violate laws, third-party rights or good morals are inadmissible.

3.3. Campaigns that are to be regarded as inadmissible business according to the contract terms of the respective payment service providers of the platform are also inadmissible. Such inadmissible business includes e.g. campaigns in favor of a campaign creator or a third party who is on the EU sanctions list or the U.S. sanctions list.

Furthermore, GoodCrowd reserves the right not to allow campaigns in a country or region or in favor of a country or in favor of a region that is subject to national, European or U.S. export control regulations, such as embargos and/or sanctions.

4. Registration of Campaigns, Contract Conclusion for the Use of the Platform for Campaigns between Campaign Creator and Platform and Contract Conclusion between Campaign Creator and Payment Service Provider

4.1. The campaign creator registers their campaign on the platform by filling out the registration form for campaigns on the platform and thereby registering their campaign. By providing this registration form, the platform makes an offer to extend the usage contract according to Section 3.1. of the General Terms of Service (extension by the functionality to use the platform for collecting donations as a campaign creator). By filling out the registration form and creating the campaign, the campaign creator accepts the offer, and the contract for the extended use of the platform as a campaign creator is concluded. After registration, the campaign creator receives a confirmation of the setup of the campaign on the platform by email. This represents a mere confirmation. After receiving this confirmation, the campaign creator can solicit donations for their campaign via the platform. The campaign creator assures and proves upon request of the platform through suitable evidence that the information about the campaign and the participants including the campaign description are accurate.

Registration of a campaign is free. Only the payout of donations is subject to fees. Details can be found in Section 6.5. of these Additional Terms of Service.

4.2. Conclusion of contracts for and in connection with the provision of payment services between the campaign creator and the payment service provider(s): The payment service provider(s) conclude(s) contracts for and in connection with the provision of payment services (payment service contracts) with the respective campaign creator. The respective payment service provider is then obligated to the respective campaign creator to maintain a campaign account for them and to receive monetary amounts in the form of donations from donors on this account.

a) Regarding donations whose payment processing is done via Stripe:

The campaign creator instructs the payment service provider Stripe to pay out the donations received on the campaign account (here the Stripe account) to the bank account in accordance with Section 9.2.5. (payout requirements) of the General Terms of Service. For the transmission of this instruction, the campaign creator commissions the platform as their declaration messenger. In case the platform believes there is suspicion of fraud, the campaign creator commissions the platform as their declaration messenger to pause and/or not execute the transmission of this instruction.

b) Regarding donations whose payment processing is done via PayPal:

The campaign creator instructs the payment service provider PayPal to pay out the solicited donations to the campaign account (here the PayPal account) in accordance with Section 9.2.5. (payout requirements) of the General Terms of Service. For the transmission of this instruction, the campaign creator commissions the platform as their declaration messenger. When using PayPal, a transfer of donations from the campaign account (here the PayPal account) to the bank account is not mandatory. Here, the campaign creator can directly offset their expenses for the campaign via the campaign account (here the PayPal account).

In case of conflicts between these Additional Terms of Service or the General Terms of Service and the payment service contracts, the regulations of the payment service contracts take precedence in the legal relationship between the respective payment service provider and the campaign creator. Donations can be deposited into the campaign account via the payment methods provided on the platform by the respective payment service provider (e.g. PayPal, credit card, bank transfer).

5. Presence on the Platform

Campaign creators create their own campaign pages on the platform to present themselves and their campaigns. The exact possibilities result from the functionality of the platform.

The platform can decide at its own discretion which campaigns are highlighted on the platform.

6. Campaign Processing (Donations)

6.1. Campaign Description

Registration of a campaign requires a campaign description.

6.2. Changes to the Campaign Description

Once the campaign description is published, later changes must be clearly marked. The campaign description should provide the donor with a realistic insight into the status of campaign planning and implementation.

6.3. Purpose of Use

Donations may only be used according to the purpose specified in the campaign description and permitted according to Section 3 of these Additional Terms of Service. Minor deviations, for example regarding the quality or quantity of items to be procured or small price differences, are permissible, provided they are immediately and transparently listed. A difference of less than ten percent is regularly considered a minor deviation.

6.4. Proof of Proper Use of Donations

The platform reserves the right to request proof of proper use of donations from the campaign creator at any time. If the platform requests such proof, the campaign creator is obligated to promptly provide the platform with documents and documentation that enable the platform to prove proper use of the donations.

6.5. Processing Fees and Taxes

6.5.1. Fees

A processing fee is charged for each donation. This fee is to be paid by the respective campaign creator to the platform. Payment is made through the following transfer authorized by the campaign creator through the respective payment service provider in accordance with the respective payment service contracts according to Section 4.2.: During the processing of the donation by the respective payment service provider, the incurred fees are directly deducted from the respective donation and transferred to an account of the platform. Details about the fees can be found in the applicable pricing table. The fees include the respective applicable statutory VAT.

The platform will issue an invoice to the campaign creator for each billing period, insofar as the platform is legally obligated to do so.

6.5.2. Taxes

Any taxation of donations solicited via the platform is the sole responsibility of the campaign creator. In this regard, the time of payment receipt on the campaign account is decisive.

6.5.3. Campaign creators are not allowed to demand commissions from donors in addition to the donation amount.

6.6. Indemnification

The campaign creator indemnifies the platform from claims of the payment service providers they use, which they assert against the platform, e.g. in case of chargebacks and refunds of donations.

7. Linking/Trademark Rights

If a campaign creator uploads their own trademarks, for example logos, via the mechanism provided for this purpose in the platform, this is associated with the unlimited and irrevocable right of the platform to use them as intended on the platform.

The platform is also entitled to refer to the cooperation using the name of the campaign creator as well as the trademark in general, particularly in print, radio or internet. This right can be shaped by the campaign creator through instructions in individual cases.

8. Donor Data and Liability for Improper Data Use

The campaign creator can view the names of their donors. They may use this data exclusively for creating a one-time thank you message as well as to assign the contribution to a person and to be able to thank them in case of a possible personal encounter. Under no circumstances may the responsible party use the name of the supporter for advertising purposes without their express consent.

In the event that the campaign creator violates the aforementioned requirements in this Section 8, they indemnify the platform from any resulting liability towards third parties and agree to compensate the platform for all resulting damages, including reasonable costs of legal defense.

9. Right of Withdrawal Information for Campaign Creators regarding Contract with the Platform

If the campaign creator uses the platform as a consumer, the following provisions apply:

Right of Withdrawal

The campaign creator has the right to withdraw from the contract with the platform within fourteen days without stating reasons.

The withdrawal period is fourteen days from the day of contract conclusion.

To exercise their right of withdrawal, the campaign creator must inform the platform of their decision to withdraw from this usage contract by means of a clear statement by post, email or fax (Post: Good Crowd GmbH, Schlesische Straße 26, 10997 Berlin, Email: [email protected], Fax: +49 30 76 76 44 88 40). The attached sample withdrawal form can be used for this purpose, but it is not required.

To comply with the withdrawal deadline, it is sufficient that the notification of the exercise of the right of withdrawal is sent before the expiry of the withdrawal period.

Consequences of Withdrawal

In case of withdrawal, the platform will immediately and at the latest within fourteen days from the day on which the notification of withdrawal of this contract was received by the platform, refund the fees paid to it by the campaign creator for the use of the platform according to Section 6.5. to the campaign creator. For this refund, the platform uses the same payment method that the campaign creator used in the original transaction, unless expressly agreed otherwise with them; under no circumstances will the campaign creator be charged fees for this refund.

If the campaign creator has expressly requested from the platform that the provision of the platform for use should begin before the expiry of the withdrawal period, the platform may demand payment of a reasonable amount from the campaign creator for the service provided until the withdrawal. The amount of this reasonable sum corresponds to the amount of fees according to Section 6.5. that have been incurred for the donations solicited up to the point in time when the campaign creator notified the platform of the exercise of their right of withdrawal.

End of withdrawal information

Sample Withdrawal Form

(If the campaign creator wants to withdraw from the contract, please fill out this form and return it to the platform.)

  • To Good Crowd GmbH, Schlesische Straße 26, 10997 Berlin, Germany:
  • I/we (*) hereby withdraw from the contract concluded by me/us (*) for the provision of the following service (*)
  • Ordered on (*)
  • Name of consumer(s)
  • Address of consumer(s)
  • Signature of consumer(s) (only for paper communication)
  • Date

(*) Delete as applicable.

10. Right of Withdrawal Information for Donation Recipients of a Project regarding Contract with Payment Service Provider

Regarding the conclusion of the payment service framework contract, only the payment service provider must inform about any rights of withdrawal, their legal requirements and exercise in each individual case. The platform is legally a third party in this respect.

11. Changes to Terms

These Additional Terms of Service are from August 2024 and currently valid.

The platform reserves the right to change these Additional Terms of Service at any time without restriction, in particular to adapt them to legal or technical changes. The changed terms will be announced on this website at least four weeks before they come into effect. Registered users will be notified of upcoming changes by email at least four weeks before they come into effect. The platform therefore asks you to regularly observe the current version on its website. If a registered user does not object to the validity of the new terms within four weeks after receiving the email, the changed terms are deemed accepted. The platform will specifically point out the possibility of objection and the significance of this four-week period to registered users in the email containing the changed terms.

For suggestions and questions about these Additional Terms of Service of the platform, you can contact our support team at any time:

Good Crowd GmbH
– Customer Support and Fundraising Consulting –
Schlesische Straße 26
D-10997 Berlin
[email protected]