General Terms and Conditions
Platformata (Platformata.bg) is a site of BCause Foundation, with address: Bulgaria, Sofia, 65 Vitosha Blvd, floor 2, app. 5, hereinafter referred to as the Foundation. It is an online platform for donating to charity campaigns.
Please, read these Terms of Service carefully before using it. These Terms and Conditions constitute a CONTRACT between you and the Foundation, which entitles you to use the services of the Platformata subject to the conditions below. These Terms and Conditions have binding effect only on the relationship between you as a user of Platformata and the Foundation. By accessing (loading) Platformata you agree to be bound by these Terms and Conditions and you are committed to complying with them. If you do not agree with all of the following terms and conditions below, please do not use Platformata.
1. BASIC NOTIONS
For the purposes of these Terms and Conditions, the following terms are used with the following meanings:
USER is any individual who uses any of the services of Platformata.
SERVICE/SERVICES on the site include:
- Access to the web-based information resources/data provided on the web site;
- Creating a charity campaign;
- Creating and personalizing user profiles through a registration that allows the use of the services on the site;
- Receiving emails and newsletters from site users
2. ROLЕS
2.1. The Foundation:
- administers Platformata: аpproves campaigns and recipients; translates donations to recipients;
- develops Platformата as attendance and visibility;
- promotes campaigns to companies, donors, and volunteers.
2.2. USER can include the following roles:
2.1. INITIATOR: a natural or legal person. Inclusion in Platformата is done by creating an account that contains a username and e-mail.
2.2. DONOR: a natural or legal person. Registration is optional but possible. Inclusion in Platformата is done by creating an account that contains a username and e-mail.
2.3. RECIPIENT: a natural or legal person. The initiator describes the Recipient in the campaign it creates. Recipient, Initiator and Donor may/may not match.
3. INITIATOR
3.1. The initiator can create a campaign. The campaign includes a title, financial goal, donation term (up to 6 months), photos, video, text appeal, personal story, recipient presentation, news, donor growth line, Facebook integration, closure and reporting. The campaign is related to recipient of the donations. The initiator completes and submits a questionnaire describing the campaign.
3.2. An initiator can create an unlimited number of campaigns.
4. DONOR
4.1. The donor may:
• donate without/with registration;
• donate anonymously or openly;
• donate online via a virtual POS terminal either via PayPal or via bank transfer;
• receive reports;
• receive a document for donations made by him/her – upon request (contract, official note);
• see his/her activity on dates and campaigns in his/her account history;
• post comments
• send the campaign to a friend via Facebook, Twitter, Google+
• promote a campaign for which he/she donates via Platformata banner and a link to his/her site or social media page
4.2. BCause Foundation, according to its Money Laundering Rules, is required to identify the donor and may require donors to do so.
4.2. If the individual donor wishes to benefit from the tax relief under the Law on Physical Persons Income Tax, he/she shall additionally complete his/her three names and personal data for issuing an official note on an annual basis.
4.3. If the donor-company wishes to conclude a contract and to use the tax benefits under the Law on Corporate Income Tax, it shall additionally fill in the data of the company - name, address, UIC and representative person.
5. RECIPIENT
5.1. Recipients can be:
5.1.1. Legal persons:
• organizations under the Non-Profit Legal Entities Act or the Law on Cultural Centres (chitalishta)
• municipalities
• rducational and healthcare institutions and organizations that are budget-based
• religious Board of Trustees, registered religion,
• other non-trader legal, charitable, social, environmental, health, research, educational, cultural, and sports interests.
Companies may not be Recipients but may be Initiators and use Platformata to attract donations and donors.
5.1.2. Individuals:
• Natural persons in need of treatment in Bulgaria or abroad, who are not able to pay it.
• Individuals who need financial assistance to participate in competitions, competitions, olympiads and other forms of talent - for travel and stays, participation fees, purchase of tools, technical equipment, materials.
5.2. Recipients have a key role in Platformata and must:
• know that a campaign is being created in Platformata in order to raise funds in favour of the recipient. This is the Initiators’s obligation, and the Foundation assists the process if the Initiator does not have accurate data.
• be approved
• be active and update campaign information on their sites and social networks
• send reports periodically to donors through the site
6. APPROVAL
6.1. Approval of recipients.Platformata requires Recipients to be pre-approved, as the Foundation is the intermediary of donations and is responsible for the legality of the donation and the reporting.Recipients are approved when a first campaign is set up to raise funds for them. Periodically collected information can be refreshed at the request of BCause.Responsibility for providing the information necessary for the approval of the Recipient is borne by the Recipient - a natural or legal person. The initiator identifies the Recipient's contacts and informs him/her of his/her desire to create a campaign in his/her favor and of the need to provide information for the Foundation's approval.BCause Foundation requires approval documents that cannot be found in public registers to verify the legal status and the Recipient's ability to use the donations for the intended purpose and with transparency.
Mandatory documents are described here.
6.2. Campaign approval
This approval is not done as appropriate or in substance, Platformata provides fundraising tools for different purposes shared by different groups and people, but according to the following general criteria:
- Clarity - who, for what and why will receive money
- Need - does the description and accompanying documents confirm the need for the campaign and the circumstances surrounding it?
- Ethical considerations - the campaign should not anticipate or provoke: i.) Discrimination on any grounds by persons and groups; ii.) Actions that undermine the dignity of the assisted or other related parties, use of hate speech and provoke tensions or conflicts; iii.) Actions related to political objectives.
6.3. Procedure
The questionnaire completed and the documents attached when creating the campaign are reviewed by the Foundation team. The team formulates recommendations to applicants if necessary, approves or denies inclusion.Deadline for review and approval - up to 3 days, except for requested additional documents.
In addition to the above approval, three successful campaigns in Platformata are required to be included in the "Recurring Donations" section.
7. CONTRACT AND PAYMENT
7.1. The Foundation and the Recipient shall sign a Framework Contract for Funding from the Beneficiary's participation in the Platform. The contract is for three years from the date of the first approved campaign and within this time the recipient may have an unlimited number of campaigns or renew the same campaign with new circumstances. The contract regulates the way of payment of the donations, reporting, submission of up-to-date information and visualization. The contract may be extended.
The contract is sent to the Foundation scanned for the start of the campaign, and then a signed original by mail.
(Download a contract model to fill it in.)
7.2. The amounts shown on the real-time page of each campaign may not be fully accurate. This is due to several reasons: the donor makes a request to donate 20 leva by bank transfer but the actually pays 30; makes a request for 30 leva, but donates 15 euros in PayPal or 29.25 leva. The numbers also do not show payment charges borne by the payment service provider for PayPal or virtual POS transfers, as well as the fees for managing the Platform itself.
7.3. For each Recipient's campaign, the Foundation makes payments. Unless otherwise scheduled, payment is made at the end of the campaign period.
7.4. If the target amount of the campaign is exceeded before its expiration and if the Initiator wishes the campaign to continue, a renegotiation between the Initiator and the Foundation should be undertaken. This could mean a change in the target amount or a change in the circumstances of the campaign (complementary activities, extension of scope, extension of time, other).
8. CURRENT INFORMATION
Submitting up-to-date information is an obligatory condition for keeping the campaign active. The information includes texts, photos, video and media materials for events related to the campaign. Information may be provided by the Initiator and/or the Recipient.
Actual information is needed to update the content and therefore the interest in the campaign. Failure to do so will result in the Foundation reconsidering its relationship with the Recipient.
9. REPORTING
Accountability is a mandatory condition for joining Platformата. The Foundation is responsible for the appropriate use of donations, including financial reporting, to all involved in Platformаta
The recipient organization or individual is due to report within 2 months after the end of their campaign or until 31.01. of each calendar year. The report is a narrative of what has been achieved with donations received, an inventory of invoices, contracts, and visual material - photos, videos, media publications. The report declares what other donations have been made to the same campaign. The Foundation may make random visits and request for review cost statements described in the report at any time for audit purposes.
Upon not reaching the amount by the end of the term, including other donations, the Beneficiary completes a Declaration of Intent to continue raising the funds and sends it scanned to the Foundation.
For donations over BGN 30000 the requirements of the Law on Measures against Money Laundering apply. The foundation is a registered operator of personal data under the Personal Data Protection Act.
10. DONATIONS
All donations to all campaigns are credited to a bank account of the Foundation. It, in turn, transferres donations to the recipients' accounts.
Platformata.bg offers three donation opportunities - with debit/credit cards, PayPal and bank transfer. After the donor chooses his option, Platformata.bg creates a donation pledge with the amount and in favor of the campaign selected by the donor and informs him / her by e-mail about this. Once the donation has been made, the Platform sends a new message that the donation status has been confirmed, it is added to the total amount raised by the campaign, and the donor can be seen on the campaign donors list.
Approval of donations made with a card is approved and displayed automatically.
The approval of donations via PayPal and bank is approved by reference to the PayPal account and the bank account movement. This is done by the Platform Administrator.
The Platform buttons after "PayPal Donation" and "Credit or Debit Card Donations" take the donor to the next page with the steps to make the actual payment.
The button after the "donation to a bank account" cannot take one to the donor's bank account and the donor has to initiate the donation as a completely separate process not supported by the Platform by entering his/her online banking or going to a bank branch.
Donors who have chosen anonymity appear as an "Anonymous Donor".
A donor who has donated two or more times for the same campaign, using the same email for his identification, is shown cumulatively - one name and a total amount of the donations.
A donor who has pledged an amount but has donated another amount is shown on the site with the pledge if it is not greater than the amount actually received. The campaign always gets the actual donations minus the costs and management fee!
Give in USA with CAF America
By virtue of an agreement between the BCause Foundation and CAF America, US taxpayers can make donations to the Platformata.bg directly to the US-based CAF America. CAF America is a registered 501 (c) 3 organization and donations to it are tax deductable.
After donating to CAF America's account, your donation becomes irrevocable and is the property of the organization. You may not impose conditions on CAF America for its use.CAF America has ultimate control, authority and discretion with regard to its assets. All grants made by CAF America are in its sole and independent discretion. You also agree that you may receive no tangible benefit or privilege from either CAF America or any suggested charity in return for your donation.
You will receive a tax certificate directly from CAF America by е-mail for donations up to $ 250 and by mail for donations over $ 250.
The donor may suggest to CAF America how to use his / her donation - in this case, you have the opportunity to suggest your chosen campaign in the Platform.
An integral part of the General Terms of Platformata is the following document:
General Terms and Conditions for the Relationship between BCause Foundation and Donors - Natural and Legal Persons
11. FEES
The Foundation receives the sums of the donations after the payment service provider, for example PayPal, had deducted its costs (which depend on the type of card / account used and the country from which the donation had been made). Typically, these costs range from 1.4% to 3%. By agreement with Unicredit Bulbank, such incoming costs for bank transfers are nill. The costs for the option to donate with CAF America is approximately 7%.
From the amounts actually received, the Foundation will deduct 5% to cover its costs of managing the Platform, approving, monitoring, and accountability of participating recipients, and spending related to the promotion of the Donor Platform. The BCause Foundation does not make a profit from managing this donation service.
12. COPYRIGHTS
12.1. All rights reserved. All intellectual property rights in the information resources and materials posted on the site are subject to protection under the current Copyright and Related Rights Act and their unlawful use constitutes an offense and entails civil, administrative-criminal and criminal liability in accordance with the current Bulgarian legislation.
12.2. Creative commons. Part of the materials on the site may be used under the terms of the Creative Commons license. These materials are specially marked with a sign.
12.3. Each Initiator and Recipient is responsible for ownership of the photos and videos they publish on the site.
13. REGISTRATION
Users of Platformata can view the content without registering, but in order to use its full functionality, registration is required.
To be able to offer campaigns or to fundraise for campaigns, you must have a registered account/profile in Platformata system.
By using Platformata you agree to the terms of use and guarantee that you meet the requirements for using the site.
The data provided when registering an account/profile is used only for the purposes of the services provided by Platformata.
By signing up, the user expressly confirms that he/she is familiar with these Terms and Conditions, accepts them and agrees to comply with them.
Registered users are required to provide true and up-to-date information for registration purposes. If this is not done, Platformata will treat these actions as a violation of the Terms of Service, which may result in a registration being denied or by blocking and deleting the personal account.
Users of the service may not use gross, cynical, indecent or offensive words and expressions. Users have no right to represent themselves for another, to use a foreign name, nickname, aiming to mislead or to harm or otherwise libel another person or to misrepresent themselves.
Platformаta preserves the right to refuse registration or to block existing accounts at its sole discretion.
Registered users of Platformata agree to receive regular information electronically with the most important news about the platform and the projects posted to it.
Registered users of Platformata are responsible for all actions that take place on behalf of their account and are required not to grant third parties the password to access their account.
Registered users agree and authorize Platformata to publicly disclose their username and their names in connection with the ideas and initiatives on which they actively participate as initiators or associates. In this regard, registered users allow their user and personal name to be written on the page of each project in which they participate.
14. TERMINATION OF USERS' ACCOUNTS
Platformata reserves the right to remove a user profile at any time without notice.
Any user who has created an account on Platformata is entitled at any time to edit or delete his account from the system. Platformata reserves the right to keep information about deleted and edited accounts.
15. PERSONAL DATA FOR USERS
15.1. The foundation is registered as an administrator of personal data in the electronic register maintained by the Commission for Personal Data Protection.
15.2. By filling in the data when registering on Platformata, the user agrees to submit their personal data to the Foundation and grant the Foundation the right to administer and process these data for the purpose of processing the user's registration and the provision of the services.
15.3. The user may at any time terminate his/her registration and/or declare his/ her wish that his/her registration and related data be erased by the Foundation.
15.4. The Foundation provides the users who have provided their personal data with all rights, including access, rectification and deletion of data under the Personal Data Protection Act.
15.5. Platformata does not allow the posting of users' personal contacts (phone, e-mail, address).
16. COOKIES
Platformата uses cookies to recognize you (anonymously) and monitor the behavior of site users. We use this information to make the site better.
Platformata can record your IP address. We would only use this information to prevent fraud, catch problems, and gather demographic information (anonymously).
We use various security methods such as encryption systems and authorization systems to keep your information secure.
Platformata undertakes not to provide information to users who use the website for purposes other than those for which it is created.
17. USE OF THE CONTENT
Platformata entitles you to use (copy and distribute) the content on the site for your personal use, for non-commercial purposes.
The content posted on the Platformata is owned by Platformata and/or its partners and clients. By using Platformata you agree not to use the content of Platformata for sale, attempt to sell, distribute or display the information for commercial purposes, or modify its content. You may not sell, modify, distribute or display this content for commercial purposes in any form.
18. CONDITIONS OF SECURITY
Platformata implements measures to ensure the accuracy, timeliness and security of content and user data on the site. However, there is a risk.
By using the site, you agree that you are aware of and take this risk. Platformata does not accept responsibility for the correctness, timeliness and security of the content and information on the site.
Platformata does not guarantee that the site will be continuously accessible and without any technical problems.
Platformata is not responsible for lost profits and/or damages as a result of the use of the site.
19. RULES OF BEHAVIOR
19.1. Users of Platformata declare their readiness to use the service only for their intended purpose and not to commit unlawful actions with it. Service users may not post, upload, download, record and distribute content in any other way through Platformata that:
(i) Infringes patents, copyrights and related rights, business secrets, constitutes third-party personal data, confidential information, and another prohibited by law.
(ii) Which is false, misleading and inaccurate
(iii) Which is contrary to the provisions of the law, good morals and customs in the Republic of Bulgaria
(iv) Which is an advertisement of other services and objects not related to the purposes of Platformata.
(v) Which contains viruses and other software that may damage Software or Hardware on Platformata or its users.
(vi) Which creates a false notion of another person.
19.2. In addition, service users are not entitled:
(i) Perform actions that would overload Platformata infrastructure.
(ii) Try to disturb the activity of the presented Platformata service.
(iii) Try to circumvent restrictions on the services offered by Platformata.
(iv) Use software to index page content.
19.3. In the event of a violation of the site's policy, the Foundation reserves the right to:
(i) Remove or modify any content published by Users on Platformata
(ii) Block and delete user registrations on Platformata
20. ELECTRONIC PAGES OF THIRD PARTIES
Platformata allows the publication of references to third party websites. Referrals to third party websites and of third party websites to Platformata are the sole responsibility of the users. Platformata is not responsible for the content of third-party websites and their visits by their users. In this sense, Platformata is not responsible for any damages caused to its users by third-party websites.
21. BANK ACCOUNTS AND INFORMATION FOR APPROVED CAMPAIGNS IN OTHER WEBSITES
21.1. Platformata does not allow publication of links to other fundraising websites for campaigns approved for publication on Platformata, except for campaigns that are included in the Donors Message Service DMS.
21.2. Platformata does not allow publication of bank accounts and other transfer channels.
22. CHANGES
Platformata reserves the right to modify the Terms of Service or suspend, modify or terminate the service provided, and users will be notified thereof on Platformata website or by a notification of the email provided at registration. If, after notifying the user of the change to the Terms of Service, he continues to use the services of the site, this will be considered as silent acceptance of those changes.
For the issues not settled in these General Conditions, the provisions of the Bulgarian legislation in force shall apply. The disputes that have arisen are settled through negotiations and, if no agreement is reached, refer to the competent Bulgarian court.
These Terms and Conditions have been accepted by the governing bodies of BCause Foundation on December 20, 2017 and updated on 6 May 2020.