We are committed to our values, to ensuring you have the safest experience with our platform, and to protecting your privacy. Please take a moment to review our Privacy Policy and Member Agreement below.
Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy is effective June 06, 2021.
1. Definitions For the purposes of this Privacy Policy:
“You” means the individual accessing or using the Service, or the company, or other legal entity on behalf of which such individual is accessing or using the Service, as applicable.
“Company” (referred to as either "the Company", "We", "Us" or "Our" in this Agreement) refers to Handlender, LLC, PO BOX 490632, Blaine, MN 55449.
“Affiliate” means an entity that controls, is controlled by or is under common control with a party, where "control" means ownership of 50% or more of the shares, equity interest or other securities entitled to vote for election of directors or other managing authority.
“Account” means a unique account created for You to access our Service or parts of our Service.
“Service Provider” means any natural or legal person who processes the data on behalf of the Company. It refers to third-party companies or individuals employed by the Company to facilitate the Service, to provide the Service on behalf of the Company, to perform services related to the Service or to assist the Company in analyzing how the Service is used.
“Third-party Social Media Service” refers to any website or any social network website through which a User can log in or create an account to use the Service.
“Personal Data” is any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual.
“Cookies” are small files that are placed on Your computer, mobile device or any other device by a website, containing the details of Your browsing history on that website among its many uses.
“Device” means any device that can access the Service such as a computer, a cell phone or a digital tablet.
“Usage Data” refers to data collected automatically, either generated by the use of the Service or from the Service infrastructure itself (for example, the duration of a page visit).
2. Changes to this Privacy Policy We may update Our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify You of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page. We will let You know via email and/or a prominent notice when the change is effective. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.
3. Our Service Welcome to Handlender. Handlender is a digital platform designed for the purposes of helping people help people. We aim to transform various organizations, churches, academic institutions, neighborhoods, etc. into real communities by offering an organized, safe, efficient, and burden-free way to give or receive help to others in the same community. We use an automated platform to match our members with others in their organization who have the skills to help with requests. We hope that communities everywhere will use Handlender to build stronger and safer networks around the world, without a dependency upon money. Our goal is to enable people everywhere to mutually experience the Power of Giving and the Comfort of Receiving.
We invite you to read this Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”), which explains our privacy practices and how we handle your personal information collected through Handlender, as well as through social media, our marketing activities, our live events, and other activities described in this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy also explains how we use and share such information and the choices you have.
We use “Handlender” here to refer to the Handlender website(s) and our future iOS and Android apps. We also use “Handlender”, “we”, “us” and “our” to refer to the company and back-end integration tools used to operate our automated processes and platforms. We use “Services” to refer to our automated & semi-automated process and platforms which allow our members to request help, respond to requests, provide feedback, or contact us as described in the Member Agreement.
Unless otherwise indicated, this Privacy Policy applies to all of our Services in all geographies in which Handlender offers its Services. Certain portions of this Policy apply only to Services offered in particular geographies; please see Section 13 for additional information. Capitalized words used but not defined have the meanings described in the Member Agreement.
4. What information is collected? We may collect personal information from you, through technology that automatically collects information from your browser or device, and from third party sources. See below for examples. Note that not all Handlender account types and features are available in all locations, so some of the examples below may not apply where you live. We may also collect personal information that is not specifically listed below, which we use consistent with this Privacy Policy or as otherwise described at the time of collection.
4.1. From you. Your contact details.
When you sign up for Handlender, you may provide your name, address, phone number, profile photo, email address, location, date of birth, gender, demographic information, and similar information.
If you want to join Handlender, or use a Handlender service, before it has been introduced to your community, then you can choose to give us your contact information and ask us to notify you when we are ready to introduce the service to your community.
If you contact support, you may provide us with your contact information and a description of the issue so we can respond.
Data from other accounts.
If you use a third party, like Facebook, Google, or Apple to log in to Handlender (or later connect your third party account to your Handlender account), then you authorize the third party to share your personal information with us, including your name, photo, email address, and any other information you agree to share.
Requests, responses to requests, location, reviews, and recommendations.
Beyond what is required to submit or respond to a request, as outlined in the Member Agreement, you may elect to share information about yourself when submitting or responding to a request, including, but not limited to, information about your household, biographical information, or other personal information.
Payment information.
If you make a payment either to or through Handlender, then you are providing our third-party payment processors (for example, Stripe) with your payment card details and other payment information in order to complete the transaction.
Survey data.
We may contact some Members to request participation in a survey or other general research. If you choose to take part in these, you may provide information, feedback, and comments to us in response.● Contests, sweepstakes, and prize drawings data. If you take part in a contest, sweepstakes, or prize drawing, then you may provide information, feedback, and comments in response.
Messages and email data.
We collect information about you when you send, receive, or engage with messages, emails or physical mail in connection with our Services, including whether you have opened or acted on those messages.
Contact lists.
With your permission, we may sync your contacts with Handlender, including their name, email address, and phone number. You may also manually enter the contact information of others within your community. We use this to invite contacts who aren’t on Handlender to join.
Geolocation.
You may choose to grant the Services permission to access your device’s precise geolocation, which we use to confirm your address and help us operate or personalize our Services, including helping us show you more relevant content or ads.
4.2. From your browser and device. With your permission, where it is required by applicable laws, we, our service providers and partners may collect technical information when you visit or use Handlender, engage with our partners, or interact with our or our partners’ marketing communications, including:
Online activity data, such as the date and time you visited, and how you used Handlender and interacted with our emails and other messages (for example, how you navigated and which links you clicked on).
Some of the data collection described above is facilitated by cookies and similar technologies.
4.3. From third parties and public sources. We may collect information from third parties (such as service providers and partners) and public sources.
Vendors and partners may provide information about businesses to help us create business pages and offer our Services to businesses.
Advertisers may provide us with information about their users or potential customers to help us personalize advertising and measure the performance of their advertisements.
5. How is my information used? We use personal information for the following purposes or as otherwise described at the time we collect it:
5.1. Establishing and developing new communities. We use personal information to identify and invite potential new Members to Handlender, and to set up new Handlender communities. For example, you can ask us to send invitations to potential new Members and reminders on your behalf, invite your friends, or notify you when we start offering the Services to your community.
5.2. Setting you up on Handlender.
To get Members started on Handlender, we may use personal information to:
Confirm Member accounts by employing several techniques, including checks against third party data and public records, verification codes, or geo-verification. We may also use public registries to block registered sex offenders in the United States (and other countries where permitted by law) from signing up for the Services. In some circumstances, we may ask for additional information (such as government-issued identification and business documentation) to confirm Member accounts.
Notify neighbors of new Members as they join the community.
Populate Member profiles and personalize Handlender.
5.3. Provide and improve the Services. We use both manual and automated systems to analyze and use your Content (as defined in the Member Agreement.) and other information, including:
To operate Handlender, inviting communities to join, suggest communities, invite other members, and improve our products and features.
To help you create, publish, view, share, and respond to Content, including highlighting interesting posts.
To highlight urgent or community needs.
To administer and obtain feedback via surveys, sweepstakes, contests, or other promotional activities.
To highlight businesses, ads, offers, products, and services you may be interested in.
To personalize your experience.
To understand the trends, usage statistics, and demographic data of the Members and neighborhoods we serve.
To respond to your support requests and comments.
To test and evaluate potential new products and features on Handlender.
To diagnose and resolve problems, analyze trends, and monitor usage and resource needs.
To accept payments, through our third party payment processors.
To facilitate sending standard and urgent Requests.
To communicate with you about the Service, including by sending announcements, updates, security alerts and support messages via email, notifications, and text messages.
5.4. Create and maintain a trusted environment. We may use your information to help create and maintain a trusted environment on Handlender, including:
To detect and prevent fraud, spam, abuse, security incidents, and other harmful, unauthorized, unethical or illegal activity.
To conduct security investigations, audits and risk assessments.
To comply with our legal obligations.
To confirm or authenticate information or identification.
For the legal and safety reasons described below in Section 6.3.
5.5. Advertising. We may use your information to provide and improve advertisements and other commercial offerings both on and off the Services:
To help personalize advertisements based on what we think may interest you.
To provide and measure the effectiveness of personalized advertising, including whether it is interesting to Members and effective for the advertiser.
To improve the personalization of advertisements.
To send you promotional messages, marketing, advertising and other information that we think may interest you.
To invite you to events and relevant opportunities.
We may customize advertising offers you see on Handlender based on information from our advertisers or vendors, on the demographics of your community, or on your actions, selections, or preferences on Handlender. For example, if you make a Request on Handlender for a particular service, we might show you advertisements for providers of that service or related or similar products. Our third party advertising partners also use cookies and similar technologies to collect information about Members for advertising purposes as described in Section 6.4 below.
5.6. Research and Development. We may use your personal information for research and development purposes. As part of these activities, we may create aggregated, de-identified and/or other anonymous data from personal information we collect. We make personal information into anonymous data by removing information that makes the data personally identifiable to you. We may use this anonymous data and share it with third parties for our lawful business purposes, including to analyze and improve the Services and promote our business.
6. Is my information shared with third parties? We share personal information as follows:
6.1. Content shared on Handlender. Handlender is a platform for members to request or lend a hand to each other. To that end, the Content you post on Handlender, such as requests, replies, recommendations, reviews, messages, and your profile information, may be visible to other Members, businesses, governments and agencies, or the public, as defined in the Member Agreement). Please be sure to read the options you have under the “What are My Choices'' section below. If this information is cached by third party search engines or other third parties, please note we do not control the practices of these third parties, and they may use caches containing outdated information. Please consult these third parties’ privacy policies.
6.2. Account confirmation. We may share your personal information with our verification partners, such as telecommunications providers (if you choose to confirm your account by providing your telephone number) and data providers to confirm your account.
6.3. Legal and safety reasons. We may retain, preserve, or share your Content and personal information with law enforcement, government authorities, and private parties if we have a good-faith belief that it is reasonably necessary to: (a) respond, based on applicable law, to a legal request (e.g. a subpoena, a search warrant, court order, or other request from government or law enforcement); (b) detect, investigate, prevent, and address fraud and other unauthorized, illegal or unethical activity, security, or technical issues; (c) protect our or others’ rights, property, or safety; (d) enforce ourMember Agreementor any other agreements we have with you; (e) prevent physical injury or other harm to any person or entity, including you and Members of the general public.
6.4. Advertising. Currently, Handlender does not collect information for the purposes of advertising. However, we may elect to do so in the future. At that time, if you view, click on, or reply to an advertisement or other offer on the Services, we may share your reply and limited Member profile information with the advertiser, and we may log your interaction as part of tracking the overall effectiveness of the advertisement. We may also pre-populate replies to ads you click on with your contact details, but those details are not shared with the advertiser without your consent. The Services may be supported by third party advertising networks. With your consent, our advertising partners may use cookies and similar technologies to collect information about our Members and their devices over time across Handlender and other online services. Where permissible according to applicable law, we may share certain limited personal information, such as hashed emails and advertising identifiers, with our advertising partners that help serve targeted online advertising to those Members or to similar audiences. Our advertising partners may be able to associate this information with you based on your advertising identifiers or other personal information they have about you. Our advertising partners may then use the information they collect to provide our Members with personalized ads on Handlender and on different websites and services, and to measure the effectiveness of the ads.
6.5. Third party partners. Currently, we do not hold any partnerships with third-party partners. However, in the future, Handlender may choose to partner with third party companies to offer Members the ability to book a range of different services. These offers may be integrated into Handlender, or Handlender may contain links to other websites or apps featuring the offers. In order to tailor these offers to you, we may share limited personal information with such third parties, such as your request selections or zip code for which services are needed, or the business topic of the content you are viewing. When you engage with one of these offers, you may share additional information (such as contact information) directly with the third party partner. If you engage with third party partners through Handlender, the third parties may share with us certain personal information about you to allow us to coordinate, assess, and improve the services provided to you. These third parties have their own privacy policies, which will apply to your activity if you click on or interact with their offers featured on Handlender or other websites or apps.
6.6. Service providers. We may also share your personal information with service providers and/or data processors to help us operate, provide, improve, understand, customize, support, and market our Services. These service providers and data processors are contractually required to use it only to provide their service to us, and are contractually prohibited from using it for their own purposes. They may provide a variety of services, including payment processing, information technology, cybersecurity, fraud prevention, hosting, customer relationship management and support, communications delivery, marketing, advertising, and website and mobile application analytics.
6.7. Social Media. Currently, the Handlender platform does not include social media or sharing features. However, in the future, our Services may include certain social media features, including social media share button. If you choose to share a post using the social media share button, information about that Content will be shared with the relevant social media platform.
6.8. Within the Handlender corporate family. As we grow and Handlender becomes available in more countries, we may expand the corporate family within which we share your information by establishing local subsidiaries or other affiliates in these countries as needed to help us provide Handlender there.
6.9. Business reorganization. We may need to share your personal information with the relevant participants in transactions (or potential transactions) involving a corporate divestiture, merger, consolidation, acquisition, restructuring, reorganization, or sale or other disposition of some or all of the assets of, or equity interests in, Handlender or our affiliates (including, in connection with a bankruptcy or similar proceedings).
6.10. Professional advisors. We may share personal information with our professional advisors, such as lawyers, auditors, bankers and insurers, where necessary in the course of the professional services that they render to us.
7. What are my choices? When third-party partnerships are instated, you will have the option to opt out of third-party personalized advertising by adjusting your cookie settings or changing the privacy settings on your mobile device. Also see our jurisdiction-specific disclosures in Section 13 below for more information about legal rights you have if you live in a listed jurisdiction.
8. How long is my information kept? We retain your information in our server logs, our databases, and our records for as long as necessary to provide the Services. We may need to retain some of your information for a longer period, such as in order to comply with our legal or regulatory obligations, to resolve disputes or defend against legal claims, or to enforce our Member Agreement.
9. How is my information protected?
9.1. Account security. Handlender uses technical and organizational measures intended to keep your data secure, including using https on our web pages to reduce the risk of unauthorized interception of your communications during your visits to the website and two-factor authentication where appropriate. However, the internet is not a fully secure environment and we cannot guarantee that your personal information won’t be intercepted or improperly accessed. Please ensure that you keep your password safe and do not share it with anyone.
9.2. Other services and websites. When using Handlender, you may eventually come across links to websites and services operated by third parties that are not owned or controlled by Handlender. This Privacy Policy does not apply to information collected on any third-party site or application that may link to or be accessible from the Services. These third parties have their own privacy policies, which will apply to any personal information they collect. We do not accept any responsibility or liability for such external sites’ privacy and security practices.
10. Children’s Privacy Children are not allowed to use the Services if they are under 16 years old or not old enough for Handlender to process their personal information without parental or age-specific consent where they live. If you believe we might have collected personal information from a child in one of these categories, please contact us at [email protected], and if we learn that we have, We will delete their personal information. If We need to rely on consent as a legal basis for processing Your information and Your country requires consent from a parent, We may require Your parent's consent before We collect and use that information.
11. Amendments to this Privacy Policy. We may make changes to this Privacy Policy from time to time, so please review it periodically. If we materially change our Privacy Policy, we will take steps to notify you in advance of the change as required by applicable law, for example by emailing you or by posting a notice in the Handlender Connection Newsletters. If you object to any changes, you may close your account. You acknowledge that your continued use of our Services after we publish or send a notice about our changes to this Policy means that the collection, use, and sharing of your personal data is subject to the updated Privacy Policy, as of its effective date.
12. Contact us. If you reside in the United States, contact us at Handlender, LLC., Handlender, LLC, PO BOX 490632, Blaine, MN 55449. Phone: +1 616-466-3578. Email: [email protected].
If you are a California resident, this section applies to you. 13.1.2. Your California Privacy Rights (California's Shine the Light law)
Under California Civil Code Section 1798 (California's Shine the Light law), California residents with an established business relationship with us can request information once a year about sharing their Personal Data with third parties for the third parties' direct marketing purposes. If you'd like to request more information under the California Shine the Light law, and if You are a California resident, You can contact Us using the contact information provided below.
13.1.3. California Privacy Rights for Minor Users (California Business and Professions Code Section 22581) California Business and Professions Code section 22581 allow California residents under the age of 18 who are registered users of online sites, services or applications to request and obtain removal of content or information they have publicly posted.
To request removal of such data, and if You are a California resident, You can contact Us using the contact information provided below, and include the email address associated with Your account. Be aware that Your request does not guarantee complete or comprehensive removal of content or information posted online and that the law may not permit or require removal in certain circumstances.
13.1.4. What are my rights? The following rights are not absolute and are subject to exceptions, and we may be required or permitted by law to decline your request. We cannot process your request if you do not provide us with sufficient detail to allow us to understand and respond to it.
13.1.4.1. Access Categories of Information. You may request the following information about how we have collected and used your personal information during the past 12 months:
the categories of personal information we have collected about you;
the categories of sources from which we collected the personal information;
the business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling the personal information;
the categories of third parties with whom we share the personal information;
the categories of personal information that we sold or disclosed for a business purpose; and
the categories of third parties to whom the personal information was sold or disclosed for a business purpose.
You may make this request by submitting a request via email to [email protected].
13.1.4.2. Access. You may request a copy of the personal information we have collected about you during the past 12 months by submitting a request via email to [email protected].
13.1.4.3. Deletion. You may request that we delete personal information we have collected from you by contacting us if you have an account. You may also submit a request via email to [email protected].
13.1.4.4. Nondiscrimination. You are entitled to exercise your rights described above free from discrimination as prohibited by the CCPA.
13.1.5. Requests by authorized agents. Your authorized agent may make a request for information, access, and deletion on your behalf upon our verification of the agent’s identity and our receipt of a copy of valid power of attorney given to your authorized agent. If you have not provided your agent with such a power of attorney, you must provide your agent signed permission to exercise your rights on your behalf, provide the information we request to verify your identity, and provide us with written confirmation that you have given the authorized agent permission to submit the request. Authorized agents are required by law to implement and maintain reasonable security procedures and practices to protect their clients’ information.
13.1.6. Verifying requests for information, access, and deletion. We will need to verify your identity to process your information, access and deletion requests and reserve the right to confirm your California residency.
If you are a Member, you can verify your identity by submitting your request via email to [email protected]. If you are a Visitor or a Member who is unable to log in to your account, we may verify your identity by requiring you to provide government identification, give a declaration as to your identity under penalty of perjury, reply to a text message sent to the phone number we have in our records, and/or provide additional information.
member agreement
This Member Agreement is effective January 1, 2021.
Welcome to Handlender!
This agreement (“Agreement”) describes your rights and responsibilities related to your use of Handlender’s website, mobile apps, and services as a registered Handlender member, and what you can expect from us. By creating your Handlender account, clicking “submit,” “request,” or “join,” or by otherwise indicating that you agree, you are agreeing to these terms, so please take a moment to read this legally binding Agreement, along with the Privacy Policy. If you use any Handlender website or mobile app but are not a registered member (each, a “visitor”), by using the website or mobile app, you agree to be bound by the terms of this Agreement, and acknowledge that you have read the Privacy Policy.
Handlender is a digital platform designed for the purposes of helping people help people. We aim to transform various organizations, churches, academic institutions, neighborhoods, etc. into real communities by offering an organized, safe, efficient, and burden-free way to give or receive help to others in the same community. We use an automated platform to match our members with others in their organization who have the skills to help with requests. We hope that communities everywhere will use Handlender to build stronger and safer networks around the world, without a dependency upon money. Our goal is to enable people everywhere to mutually experience the Power of Giving and the Comfort of Receiving.
We use “Handlender” here to refer to the Handlender website(s) and our future iOS and Android apps. We also use “Handlender”, “we”, “us” and “our” to refer to the company and back-end integration tools used to operate our automated processes and platforms. We use “Services” to refer to our automated & semi-automated process and platforms which allow our members to request help, respond to requests, provide feedback, or contact us.
If you live in the United States, the Services will be operated and provided to you by Handlender, LLC, PO BOX 490632, Blaine, MN 55449.
IMPORTANT: U.S. MEMBERS AND VISITORS, PLEASE REVIEW THE ARBITRATION AGREEMENT SET FORTH BELOW CAREFULLY, AS IT WILL REQUIRE YOU TO RESOLVE DISPUTES WITH HANDLENDER ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS THROUGH FINAL AND BINDING ARBITRATION. BY ENTERING INTO THIS AGREEMENT, YOU EXPRESSLY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND ALL OF THE TERMS OF THIS AGREEMENT.
1. Eligibility. Each person is limited to one account per organization or community. You must not allow someone else to use your personal account or share passwords or Community Access Codes (CAC) with anyone else (even a family member sharing your home). The responsibility to provide Community Access Code information to each member resides with the organization's Primary Account holder, and should be shared according to the number of members indicated at the time of registration. It is a violation of this agreement for members to share CAC's or to allow someone else to use your personal account. Specialized accounts (such as Primary Organizational Accounts) are allowed to authorize more than one representative of their business or organization to utilize their account password for use in their official capacity.
When you register for Handlender you must use your real name, not a pseudonym, except in circumstances that, in Handlender’s sole judgment, warrant an exception. Submitting inaccurate registration information, registering if you know you don’t meet our eligibility requirements, or otherwise providing false registration information is a violation of this Agreement and could constitute a crime.
You may not use our Services if: (1) you are a resident of the United States and are under 16 years old, or if you are a resident of the EU and are under 16 years old (or do not meet applicable age requirements to use social enterprise services where you live); (2) you are a registered sex offender or share a household with one; (3) we previously disabled your account for violations of our terms or policies; or (4) you are prohibited from receiving our Services or utilizing our platform under applicable law. If you are under the age of eighteen (18), you represent that a parent or legal guardian also agrees to this Agreement on your behalf and that you are fully able and competent to enter into this Agreement. We need your help to enforce these eligibility requirements. If you believe that a member of your community does not meet these eligibility requirements, you may report your concerns to us via email or our Contact Us page. Handlender reserves the right to refuse registration to any person, organization or community and to suspend, delete or deactivate your account or limit your privileges at any time, without liability to you.
2. Account types. Handlender offers personal accounts to individual members, and Champion accounts to organizations and businesses such as Churches, corporations, academic institutions, and similar.
Champion Accounts: As a champion account holder, you are granted access to view requests and responses to requests submitted by the members within the organization for which you are authorized. Every user who holds is registered as the creator of the Handlender Network is considered a Champion account holder. However, you agree and understand that you are not allowed to access profile information for individual member accounts or make or respond to requests on behalf of other members without their permission.
By joining or signing up as a Champion account holder, you agree to keep all request and response information confidential unless:
There are concerns about a member’s immediate safety or the safety of others,
Member information is subpoenaed by a court of law, or
There is a legal obligation to break confidentiality.
Personal Accounts: As a personal account holder, you have access to utilizing all of the available features on the platform, including the ability to submit and respond to requests for help within the community in which your membership is sponsored. While you do not have access to view requests and responses to requests submitted by other members within your organization, you give consent and understand that the primary account holder for your membership will have access to view your requests and responses to requests.
3. Privacy and preferences. Individual members are not charged membership fees to use Handlender. Instead, businesses and organizations join Handlender through a paid membership plan based on the number of members within their organization that they wish to allow to use the platform. In the future, businesses may also pay us to show you ads for their products and services. By using Handlender, you understand that we can show you ads that we think will be relevant to you and your interests and you acknowledge that you have read the Privacy Policy, which explains how we handle members’ and visitors’ personal information.
By using Handlender you understand that in the future, we may elect to track your responses to requests for the purposes of assigning rewards to your profile and account. These rewards may be redeemed at any business in partnership with Handlender.
Our Services, including any personalized or exchanged Services, cannot be provided and the Agreement cannot be performed without Handlender processing data about you and other members and visitors. The provision of personalized content and ads may become essential to the provision of our Services and a core part of our agreement with you. In particular, in order to provide our Services on a continuous and consistent basis under this Agreement, it may become necessary for us to provide and personalize advertising based on your use of Handlender, including information regarding your requests, interests, and your on-site and off-site actions.
By using the Handlender platform, you are consenting to receiving newsletters and updates from Handlender regarding our website and/or user account information. Additionally, by using the Handlender platform, you are also consenting to receiving SMS and email notifications from Handlender about requests for help and offers to lend a hand. You can update your subscription preferences by emailing us, or you can opt-out of our newsletter notifications here. You may opt out of receiving SMS messages and emails by submitting a support ticket requesting account deletion/deactivation.
4. Content and feedback. You retain all ownership rights to the requests submissions, request responses, text, photos, video, responses and other content you submit to Handlender (collectively, your “Content”). You give us permission, in the form of a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, and worldwide license, to use, copy, and publish your Content based on your Handlender settings and the selections you make when submitting or responding to requests and as otherwise described in our Privacy Policy.
This means, for example, if you submit a request on Handlender, you give us permission to store, copy, and share it with others (consistent with your settings), such as with members available to assist with your requests or service providers that support our Services. Do not provide us with any Content that you don’t have the right to publish, or that is defamatory, infringing, illegal or otherwise tortious. We do not proactively moderate Content submitted by members; however, we can remove Content posted by you, suspend, delete or deactivate your account or limit privileges, or otherwise refuse service to you, if you violate this Agreement or our other policies, or infringe intellectual property, or otherwise engage in behavior that we think harms a Handlender community.
You give us permission to use your name and profile picture, and information about actions you have taken on Handlender to show other members of communities in which you are an active member that you have offered help for specific services or submitted a review or comment about another member’s actions as it pertains to lending a hand for a specific request. We may also, for example, make your comments and reviews about another Handlender member visible to other Handlender communities. We may also use and/or re-post these reviews, comments, recommendations and other interactions, along with your name and profile picture, for marketing purposes, with no additional compensation to you. For example, if you provide feedback on Handlender’s platform or on another member’s act of service provided to you, we may use these pieces of information as testimonials when marketing Handlender.
For the avoidance of doubt, this permission is not intended to constitute a consent under EU data protection law.
We welcome you to share any feedback, suggestions, or ideas you have about Handlender with us, so long as you understand we may have already had the same idea, and you agree that we are free to use any feedback you voluntarily provide with no restriction or obligation (payment or otherwise) to you.
5. Interactions with other members.
5.1. Be a good “Handlender.” At Handlender, we believe that altruistic and kind-hearted behavior is the foundation of healthy communities. This Agreement includes our community guidelines on the appropriate use of Handlender.
5.2. Transactions with other members. In using Handlender and its member-to-member transactional features (such as Request a Hand & Lend a Hand), you, and not Handlender, are responsible for your own decisions and actions. In addition, your use of Handlender or any of our features does not make us an employer, placement agency, representative, or agent of or for you or any other member or service provider. If you agree to lend help or receive help from another member, the two of you, and not Handlender, are responsible for your own actions and for complying with any laws that may apply. Handlender is not a party to Requests or responses to Requests, nor disputes between members. If you write a recommendation or other comment about an interaction with a member or the service(s) they provide, or their business, be truthful, fair and friendly in your comments, and do not post any of their personal information (e.g., address, mobile number, or photos) without their permission.
Handlenders: Handlenders are members who reply or respond to requests, indicating their availability and willingness to lend a hand.By joining and using Handlender, and responding to requests for help, you give consent for us to share your contact information (name & phone number) with Requesters each time you respond to a notification indicating you are available and willing to help them.
Requesters: Requesters are members who request standard or urgent help via our platform. By joining and using Handlender, and submitting requests, you agree that you will not utilize or share other member’s contact information, and agree to only use their information as a method to contact them about your specific request for help. Sharing member contact information without their consent could constitute a crime. Abuse and/or misuse of member contact information is a violation of this Agreement, which may result in account suspension or or deactivation, and could also constitute a crime.
Additionally, by registering for Handlender, you agree and understand that payment to or from any Handlender member as compensation for any Request shall not be solicited, required, or expected. You understand and agree that all replies, responses, and related actions pertaining to a Request shall be provided on a voluntary basis and given solely out of a desire to help a fellow Handlender member.
5.3. Disputes between members; waiver of claims against Handlender. In the real world and online, community members sometimes disagree. If you have a dispute with another Handlender member, we hope that you will be able to work it out amicably. However, if you cannot, please understand that Handlender is not responsible for the actions of its members; each member is responsible for their own actions and behavior, whether using Handlender online or via a mobile application. Accordingly, to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, you release us (and our officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures and employees) from claims, demands and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown, arising out of or in any way connected with such disputes. If you are a California resident, you hereby waive California Civil Code §1542, which says: “A general release does not extend to claims that the creditor or releasing party does not know or suspect to exist in his or her favor at the time of executing the release, and that, if known by him or her, would have materially affected his or her settlement with the debtor or releasing party.”
6. Handlender Champion Account Holders. Handlender Champion account holders are provided with additional account features to use to support their community. These additional account features include regular access to request submissions, including member information and submission details, as well as request responses and member details. This information is provided to the champion account holders for the purposes of helping their organization adhere to these terms, as well as to ensure that members are not taking advantage of one another through the use of our platform. These Handlender Champion account holders are not Handlender employees, representatives, or agents. Handlender does not interview, run background checks on, monitor, supervise, or control Handlender members, including Champion account holders. We may, however, track member responses to requests for the purposes of offering rewards, in partnership with local vendors.
7. New Organizations & Memberships.
Pilot Network Membership & Paid Subscriptions/Memberships. If a user creates a Pilot Network, the use of the Handlender platform will be available and usable at no cost to the account holder or network for 90 days, unless otherwise granted by the Handlender admins. By creating a Pilot or Paid Subscription Network, you agree to give Handlender permission to utilize and share the name, logo, and contact information of your organization along with generic information (such as feedback data & general information regarding requests and responses) for marketing purposes. We will never share a users personal information such as phone numbers, emails, and/or personal names without consent from account holders.
8. Text messaging alerts. If you use our standard or urgent request services, or network notifications, note that the alerts are not intended to replace any primary phone service, such as a traditional landline or mobile phone that may be used to contact emergency services. Handlender does not charge for sending text messages, but your carrier may charge you. Alerts sent via SMS may not be delivered if your phone is not in range of a transmission site, or if sufficient network capacity is not available at a particular time; furthermore, within a coverage area, factors beyond the control of the user’s wireless carrier may interfere with message delivery, including equipment, terrain, proximity to buildings, foliage, and weather. You acknowledge that urgent alerts may not be timely received and that your wireless carrier does not guarantee that alerts will be delivered. By using Handlender, you agree to be contacted via SMS (and email) by Handlender.
9. Copyright and DMCA. If you believe Content on Handlender infringes your copyright, you can reach our notification agent at Handlender, LLC., PO BOX 490632, Blaine, MN 55449. Phone: +1 616-466-3578. Email: [email protected]. If you are in the U.S., your notice must satisfy the requirements enumerated in 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3).
10. Parental controls. Parental control protections (such as computer hardware, software, or filtering services) may assist you in limiting access to material that is harmful to or inappropriate for minors. You can find more information about parental controls by reviewing the system preferences, settings, and help documentation for your computer or mobile device.
11. Restrictions from our licensors. In the future, some of the information and services available through Handlender will be licensed from third parties and will be covered by third-party terms and disclosures.
12. Dispute resolution. If you have a dispute with Handlender, you agree to contact us and try to resolve the dispute informally before pursuing other avenues.
13. Integration. To the extent applicable to you, this Agreement includes our community guidelines and Privacy Policy. This Agreement constitutes the entire agreement between you and us with respect to our Services, and supersedes any other agreements or understandings (oral or written).
We can amend this Agreement and any additional terms by notifying you of the changes (for example, by emailing you, by posting an amendment notice in the Handlender Connection Newsletters, or by alerting you to an amendment via SMS messages). If you keep using Handlender after the amendment is effective, you accept and are bound by the new terms; if you disagree with the new terms, you should stop using Handlender and delete your account.
14. No warranty. Handlender AND THE ASSOCIATED SOFTWARE AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS.” We do not promise that any aspect of our software or service will work properly or continuously. We may add, change, or discontinue product features; if you are dissatisfied, your only remedy is to stop using Handlender or the affected feature. Some jurisdictions do not allow warranty exclusions, so they may not apply to you.
15. Indemnity. If someone brings a claim against Handlender (whether against the company or any of its employees, directors, or officers) based on a harm you caused, you agree to reimburse us for any costs we incur in defending against that claim, including reasonable attorneys’ fees as well as damages.
16. Liability Limits. WE AND OUR SUPPLIERS SHALL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOST PROFITS OR SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, PUNITIVE OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES (HOWEVER ARISING, INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE) ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH HANDLENDER, INCLUDING THE HANDLENDER SERVICES, OUR SOFTWARE, YOUR USE OF HANDLENDER OR ANY HANDLENDER SERVICE, OR THIS AGREEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL HANDLENDER OR OUR SUPPLIERS BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR MORE THAN $100. Some jurisdictions do not allow damages exclusions, so such exclusions may not apply to you.
17. General. This agreement does not create any agency, partnership, joint venture, joint controllership, employment or franchise relationship. To the extent allowed by applicable law, the English version of this Agreement is binding and other translations are for convenience only. If any part or parts of this Agreement are found under the law to be invalid or unenforceable, then such specific part or parts shall be of no force and effect and shall be severed and the remainder of the Agreement shall continue in full force and effect. Our failure to act in a particular circumstance does not waive our right to act with respect to that or other circumstances. We shall be excused for any problem due to a circumstance beyond our reasonable control. You represent and warrant that you are not located in a country that is (i) subject to a U.S., Irish, or EU Government embargo or has been designated by the U.S. Government as a “terrorist supporting” country or (ii) listed on any U.S., Irish, or EU Government list of prohibited or restricted parties.
18. Jurisdiction-specific disclosures.
18.1. United States. If you live in the United States, this section applies to you.
18.1.1. Governing law. This Agreement is governed by Minnesota law, without giving effect to any conflict of law principles, except as may be otherwise provided in the Arbitration Agreement section of this Agreement. However, the governing law provision regarding the interpretation of this Agreement is not intended to create any other substantive right to Minnesotans to assert claims under Minnesota law whether that be by statute, common law, or otherwise. This section is only intended to specify the use of Minnesota law to interpret this Agreement.
18.1.2. Arbitration agreement. You and Handlender agree to the arbitration and dispute resolution terms in this section (the “Arbitration Agreement”). For the purposes of this Arbitration Agreement, references to “Handlender,” “you,” “we” and “us” include our respective subsidiaries, affiliates, agents, employees, employers, partners, shareholders, predecessors in interest, successors, assigns, and heirs. We encourage you to read these important terms, which include an arbitration requirement (except for small claims) and require claims to be brought individually, and include instructions for how to opt out if you do not agree.
18.1.2.1. Applicability. You agree that any dispute or claim relating in any way to your access or use of the Handlender website, mobile apps, and service, or to any aspect of your relationship with Handlender, will be resolved by binding arbitration, rather than in court, except that you may assert claims in small claims court if your claims qualify.
18.1.2.2. Arbitration rules and forum. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this Arbitration Agreement. To begin an arbitration proceeding, you must send a letter requesting arbitration and describing your claim to Handlender, LLC, PO BOX 490632, Blaine, MN 55449, attn: Legal Department. You may choose to have the arbitration conducted by telephone, based on written submissions, or in person or at another mutually agreed location. Any judgment on the award rendered by the arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.
18.1.2.3. Authority of Arbitrator. The arbitrator shall have exclusive authority to (i) determine the scope and enforceability of this Arbitration Agreement and (ii) resolve any dispute related to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability or formation of this Arbitration Agreement including, but not limited to, any claim that all or any part of this Arbitration Agreement is void or voidable. The arbitration will decide the rights and liabilities, if any, of you and Handlender. The arbitrator shall have the authority to grant motions dispositive of all or part of any claim. The arbitrator shall have the authority to award monetary damages and to grant any non-monetary remedy or relief available to an individual under applicable law, the arbitral forum’s rules, and the Agreement (including the Arbitration Agreement). The arbitrator shall issue a written award and statement of decision describing the essential findings and conclusions on which the award is based, including the calculation of any damages awarded. The arbitrator has the same authority to award relief on an individual basis that a judge in a court of law would have. The award of the arbitrator is final and binding upon you and us.
18.1.2.4. Waiver of jury trial. YOU AND HANDLENDER HEREBY WAIVE ANY CONSTITUTIONAL AND STATUTORY RIGHTS TO SUE IN COURT AND HAVE A TRIAL IN FRONT OF A JUDGE OR A JURY. There is no judge or jury in arbitration, and court review of an arbitration award is subject to very limited review.
18.1.2.5. Waiver of class or other non-individualized relief. ALL CLAIMS AND DISPUTES WITHIN THE SCOPE OF THIS ARBITRATION AGREEMENT MUST BE ARBITRATED ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT ON A CLASS OR COLLECTIVE BASIS, ONLY INDIVIDUAL RELIEF IS AVAILABLE, AND CLAIMS OF MORE THAN ONE CUSTOMER OR USER CANNOT BE ARBITRATED OR CONSOLIDATED WITH THOSE OF ANY OTHER CUSTOMER OR USER. If a decision is issued stating that applicable law precludes enforcement of any of this subsection’s limitations as to a given claim for relief, then the claim must be severed from the arbitration and brought into the federal or state court located in Minneapolis, Minnesota. All other claims shall be arbitrated.
18.1.2.6. 30-day right to opt out. You have the right to opt out of the provisions of this Agreement that mandate arbitration by sending written notice of your decision to opt out to: [email protected], within 30 days after first becoming subject to a version of this Agreement containing an arbitration provision. Your notice must include your name and address, your Handlender username (if any), the email address you used to set up your Handlender account, and an unequivocal statement that you want to opt out of this Arbitration Agreement. If you opt out of arbitration, all other parts of this Agreement will continue to apply to you. Opting out of arbitration has no effect on any other arbitration agreements that you may currently have, or may enter in the future, with us.
18.1.2.7. Survival of agreement. This Arbitration Agreement will survive the termination of your relationship with Handlender. 18.1.2.8. Modification. Notwithstanding any provision in this Agreement to the contrary, we agree that if Handlender makes any future material change to this Arbitration Agreement, you may reject that change within thirty (30) days of such change becoming effective by writing Handlender at the following address: [email protected].
