Terms of Service

1. Overview & acceptance

These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) are a binding agreement between you and [Company legal name] (“BackerCove,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), a [Entity type]. They govern your access to and use of the BackerCove website, dashboards, community features, and paid services (together, the “Service”). By creating an account, submitting a project, purchasing a package, or otherwise using the Service, you agree to these Terms, our Privacy Policy, and the other policies referenced here. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

Additional policies apply to specific features and are incorporated by reference: the Creator Agreement, Community Guidelines, Acceptable Use Policy, Refund Policy, Cookie Policy, and Crowdfunding Risk Disclosure. Where a feature-specific policy conflicts with these Terms for that feature, the feature-specific policy controls for that feature.

2. Accounts & eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old, or the age of legal majority in your jurisdiction if higher, and able to form a binding contract, to create an account. The Service is not directed to children. You may register as a Backer or as a Creator; some features require email verification and, for certain community and publishing features, approval by us.

You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide, for maintaining the confidentiality of your login credentials, and for all activity under your account. Notify us promptly of any unauthorized use. You may not share, sell, or transfer your account, use another person's account without permission, or create an account using false information or on behalf of someone you are not authorized to represent. We may refuse registration, or suspend or close an account, consistent with these Terms.

3. Our role & the service

BackerCove is a discovery, promotion, and community platform for crowdfunding projects. We help backers find and follow campaigns and help creators reach an audience. We are not a payment processor for pledges, a broker, an escrow agent, a financial intermediary, or a party to any campaign. Pledges, reward purchases, payments, refunds, and fulfillment for a campaign happen on that campaign's own external platform (such as Kickstarter or Indiegogo) and are governed entirely by that platform's terms and the creator's terms. BackerCove never collects or holds pledge funds.

Listings, rankings, badges (such as Featured, Staff Pick, Verified, or Repeat Creator), editorial selections, and search results reflect our own curation and system logic. They are not endorsements, guarantees of quality or legitimacy, or assurances that any campaign will fund, ship, or perform as described. We may add, change, suspend, or discontinue features at any time.

4. User conduct

You agree to use the Service lawfully and in good faith, and to comply with our Acceptable Use Policy and Community Guidelines. Without limiting those policies, you may not: post false, misleading, infringing, or unlawful content; impersonate any person or misrepresent your affiliation; harass, threaten, or abuse others; upload malware or attempt to breach, probe, or overload the Service; scrape or harvest data except as expressly permitted; circumvent access controls or reviewer decisions; or use the Service to facilitate fraud, money laundering, or any prohibited campaign category. We may review, moderate, and remove content and may take enforcement action under these Terms and our policies.

5. Creator and backer responsibilities

Creators are solely responsible for their campaigns, including the accuracy of all claims, imagery, timelines, funding figures, rewards, and the fulfillment of any rewards or obligations to backers. Submitting a project to BackerCove does not transfer any of that responsibility to us. Additional creator obligations are set out in the Creator Agreement.

Backers understand that any decision to pledge to, back, or purchase from a campaign is made on the external platform and at their own discretion and risk. BackerCove does not vet the financial viability of campaigns, does not guarantee delivery or outcomes, and is not a party to any pledge. Please read our Crowdfunding Risk Disclosure before backing any project.

6. Intellectual property & your content

The Service, including its software, design, text, graphics, and trademarks, is owned by BackerCove or its licensors and is protected by intellectual-property laws. We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to use the Service for its intended purpose. You may not copy, modify, distribute, sell, or create derivative works from the Service except as expressly permitted.

You retain ownership of the content you submit, including campaign descriptions, images, logos, and media (“Your Content”). By submitting Your Content, you grant BackerCove a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, adapt for formatting and display, publish, and promote Your Content on and through the Service and our marketing channels, for the purpose of operating, promoting, and improving the Service. You represent that you own or have the necessary rights to Your Content and that it does not infringe any third party's rights or violate any law. This license ends when you remove Your Content or close your account, except for content already shared with others, retained in backups for a limited period, or required to be kept by law.

7. Third-party platforms, links & services

The Service links to and interoperates with third-party platforms and services, including external crowdfunding platforms, Stripe (payments), Discord (community), Cal.com (scheduling), Resend (email), and others. We do not control these third parties, are not responsible for their content, practices, availability, or terms, and their inclusion is not an endorsement. Your use of a third-party platform is governed by that party's own terms and privacy policies.

8. Paid services, billing & Funded-or-Free

Creators may purchase paid services, including Community Boost promotional packages and the paid Campaign Strategy Session. Prices, deliverables, and availability are shown at checkout and may change prospectively. Payments are processed by Stripe; BackerCove does not receive or store your full card details. By purchasing, you authorize the applicable charge and agree to the Refund Policy.

Community Boost packages deliver promotional effort and placement — such as listings, features, announcements, and outreach — not any particular outcome. They do not guarantee funding, backers, pledges, media coverage, or campaign success. The paid Campaign Strategy Session and any free consultation provide general strategic guidance only and are not a guarantee of results and not investment, financial, or legal advice. Where a “Funded-or-Free” or similar arrangement is offered, its exact conditions are stated on the offer and at checkout and operate solely as a billing/refund term; it is not, and must not be read as, a promise that a campaign will succeed.

9. Disclaimers of warranties

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available,” without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, or statutory, including implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement, to the fullest extent permitted by law. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free, that listings are accurate or complete, or that any campaign will fund, deliver, or succeed. Nothing on the Service is investment, financial, tax, or legal advice.

10. Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, BackerCove and its officers, employees, and agents will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for any loss of profits, revenue, data, goodwill, or pledges, arising out of or relating to your use of the Service, any campaign, or any third-party platform, even if advised of the possibility of such damages. To the fullest extent permitted by law, our total aggregate liability for all claims relating to the Service will not exceed the greater of the amounts you paid us for the paid services giving rise to the claim in the twelve months before the claim, or one hundred U.S. dollars (or local equivalent). Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of these may not apply to you.

11. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless BackerCove and its personnel from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or related to Your Content, your campaign, your use or misuse of the Service, your breach of these Terms or any policy, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.

12. Suspension & termination

You may stop using the Service and delete your account at any time. We may suspend, restrict, or terminate your access, remove content, or revoke Discord eligibility if you breach these Terms or our policies, to protect the Service or others, or as required by law. Sections that by their nature should survive termination (including intellectual property, disclaimers, limitation of liability, indemnification, and dispute terms) will survive.

13. Governing law & dispute resolution

These Terms are governed by the laws of [Governing law jurisdiction], without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. The parties will first attempt to resolve any dispute informally by contacting us at [Legal/contact email]. [Dispute-resolution mechanism — e.g. binding arbitration, forum selection, and any class-action waiver — to be finalized by counsel for the chosen jurisdiction.] Nothing in these Terms limits rights you may have under mandatory consumer protection laws in your place of residence.

14. Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last updated” date above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice. Your continued use of the Service after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

Questions about this policy? Contact us.