Terms of Service

The Sumners Foundation
Website Terms of Service

Effective Date: January 1, 2024

  1. Agreement. The following Terms of Service (the "Terms") constitute a binding agreement between you and The Sumners Foundation ("The Foundation" “we,” “our,” and “us”). These Terms set forth conditions regarding your access to and use of our website (the “Website”). By accessing or using the Website in any manner, you agree to be bound by these Terms.

    PLEASE NOTE THAT, EXCEPT AS PROVIDED BELOW, THESE TERMS REQUIRE RESOLUTION OF DISPUTES THROUGH USE OF AN ARBITRATION SERVICE. YOU HEREBY AGREE THAT ALL DISPUTES ARISING FROM OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE WILL BE RESOLVED IN ACCORDANCE WITH SECTION 19 BELOW.
  2. Modification. The Foundation reserves the right, at its sole discretion, to modify these Terms at any time and without prior notice. The date of the last modification to the Terms will be posted at the beginning of these Terms. By continuing to access or use the Website, you are indicating that you agree to be bound by any modified Terms.
  3. Privacy. These Terms include the provisions in this document, as well as those in our Privacy Policy.
  4. Acceptable Use. The Foundation hereby grants you permission to access and use the Website, provided such use is in compliance with these Terms, and you further specifically agree that your use will adhere to the following restrictions and obligations
    • You may only use the Website for your own personal, non-commercial use and in accordance with these Terms. You may not transfer your access to others or allow others to access the Website through your own access. 
    • You may only use the Website for lawful activity. It is your responsibility to comply with all applicable local, state, and federal laws and regulations. 
    • You may not use the Website in any manner that The Foundation deems to be harmful, violent, fraudulent, deceptive, threatening, harassing, defamatory, obscene, or otherwise objectionable.
    • You may not copy, rip, or capture any content encountered on the Website, including the Scholar Directory (as defined below). This includes bulk copying or "scraping" any portion of the Website content using a bot or other tool.
    • You may not decompile, reverse engineer, or otherwise attempt to obtain the source code or underlying ideas or information of or relating to the Website.
    • You may not enter, store or transmit viruses, worms or other malicious code within, through, to or using the Website.
    • You may not defeat, avoid, bypass, remove, deactivate or otherwise circumvent any software protection mechanisms in the Website.
    • You may not remove or obfuscate any product identification, copyright or other proprietary notice from any element of the Website or associated documentation.
  5. Scholar Directory. If you are a current or former scholarship recipient of The Foundation, you will be able to access The Foundation’s directory of scholarship alumni (the “Scholar Directory”), and this Section 5 applies to your access and use of the Scholar Directory.
    • You will need to choose a password in order to access the Scholar Directory. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your password, and are fully responsible for any and all activities that occur under your password. You agree to immediately notify The Foundation of any unauthorized use of your password or account or any other breach of security. The Foundation will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to comply with this section.
    • Although we encourage you to use the Scholar Directory to connect with fellow scholarship recipients, you may not use the Scholar Directory to send marketing communications or harmful, abusive, threatening, or inappropriate messages of any kind to other scholarship recipients.
    • You may only view the Scholar Directory on the Website. You may not download or otherwise bulk export the Scholar Directory.
    • We may prevent your access to the Scholar Directory if we determine that you have breached these Terms or otherwise misused your access to the Scholar Directory.
  6. Grant and Scholarship Applications. If you wish to submit an application for a scholarship or, if you represent a nonprofit organization, submit a grant, you may do so by following the instructions on our Website. The application process is hosted by our third-party service provider Foundant, and you will be taken to the Foundant website in order to submit your application. You will be required to create an account with Foundant in order to submit your application to The Foundation.
  7. Content. As between you and The Foundation, The Foundation owns all right, title and interest in and to the materials available through the Website, including, but not limited to, text, graphics, data, articles, photos, images, videos, and illustrations (all of the foregoing, the “The Foundation Content”). 

    You may not use, copy, adapt, modify, prepare derivative works based upon, distribute, license, sell, transfer, publicly display, transmit, broadcast, or otherwise exploit the The Foundation Content, except as necessary to access and use the Website in accordance with these Terms.
  8. Donations. You have the ability to donate to The Foundation via the Website. By providing a credit card or other payment method for a donation, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to use the designated payment method and that you authorize us (or our third-party payment processor) to charge your payment method for the total amount of your donation (including any applicable taxes and other charges). If the payment method cannot be verified, is invalid, or is otherwise not acceptable, your donation may be suspended or cancelled. You must resolve any problem we (or our third-party payment processor) encounter in order to proceed with your donation.
  9. Third Party Services. As noted above, if you choose to submit an application to The Foundation or make a donation to The Foundation, you will be directed either to the Foundant website (for applications) or the website of our payment processor (for donations) (each, a “Third Party Service”). Your use of any Third Party Service is subject to a separate agreement between you and the provider of that Third Party Service (the “Third Party Provider”). You hereby acknowledge that The Foundation does not control such Third Party Providers or Third Party Services, and cannot be held responsible for their content, operation, or use. The Foundation does not make any representation, warranty, or endorsement, express or implied, with respect to the legality, accuracy, quality, or authenticity of content, information, or service provided by Third Party Services. THE FOUNDATION HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL LIABILITY AND RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY THIRD PARTY SERVICES AND FOR THE ACTS OR OMISSIONS OF ANY THIRD PARTY PROVIDERS, AND YOU HEREBY IRREVOCABLY WAIVE ANY CLAIM AGAINST THE FOUNDATION WITH RESPECT TO THE CONTENT OR OPERATION OF ANY THIRD PARTY SERVICES.
  10. Feedback. We welcome and encourage you to provide feedback, comments and suggestions for improvements to the Website (“Feedback”). You agree that The Foundation has the right, but not the obligation, to use such Feedback without any obligation to provide you credit, royalty payment, or ownership interest in the changes to the Website.
  11. Termination. The Foundation may immediately and without notice terminate these Terms and disable your access to the Website (including the Scholar Directory, if applicable) if The Foundation determines, in its sole discretion, that (a) you have breached these Terms, or (b) you have violated applicable laws, regulations or third party rights.
    Provisions that, by their nature, should survive termination of these Terms shall survive termination. By way of example, all of the following will survive termination: any limitations on our liability, any terms regarding ownership or intellectual property rights, and terms regarding disputes between us.
  12. Indemnification. To the fullest extent allowed by applicable law, you agree to indemnify, defend, and hold The Foundation, its affiliates, officers, agents, employees, and partners harmless from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses and expenses (including attorneys’ fees) arising from or in any way related to any third party claims relating to (a) your use of the Website (including any actions taken by a third party using your account), and (b) your violation of these Terms.
  13. Disclaimer of Warranties. YOU HEREBY ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU ARE USING THE WEBSITE AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE WEBSITE AND THE FOUNDATION CONTENT ARE ALL PROVIDED "AS IS," AND THE FOUNDATION, ITS AFFILIATES AND ITS THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS HEREBY DISCLAIM ANY AND ALL WARRANTIES, EXPRESS AND IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, AND ANY OTHER WARRANTY, CONDITION, GUARANTEE OR REPRESENTATION, WHETHER ORAL, IN WRITING OR IN ELECTRONIC FORM. THE FOUNDATION, ITS AFFILIATES, AND ITS THIRD PARTY SERVICE PROVIDERS DO NOT REPRESENT OR WARRANT THAT ACCESS TO THE WEBSITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR THAT THERE WILL BE NO FAILURES, ERRORS OR OMISSIONS OR LOSS OF TRANSMITTED INFORMATION, OR THAT NO VIRUSES WILL BE TRANSMITTED THROUGH THE WEBSITE. 

    Because some states do not permit disclaimer of implied warranties, you may have additional rights under your local laws. 
  14. Limitation of Liability. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT ALLOWED BY APPLICABLE LAW, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES AND UNDER NO LEGAL THEORY (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, TORT, CONTRACT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE) SHALL THE FOUNDATION (OR ITS LICENSORS) BE LIABLE TO YOU OR TO ANY OTHER PERSON FOR (A) ANY INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, OR CONSEQUENTIAL DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, INCLUDING DAMAGES FOR LOST PROFITS, LOSS OF GOODWILL, WORK STOPPAGE, ACCURACY OF RESULTS, OR COMPUTER FAILURE OR MALFUNCTION, (B) ANY AMOUNT, IN THE AGGREGATE, IN EXCESS OF $20, OR (C) ANY MATTER BEYOND OUR REASONABLE CONTROL. SOME STATES DO NOT ALLOW THE EXCLUSION OR LIMITATION OF CERTAIN DAMAGES, SO THE ABOVE LIMITATION AND EXCLUSIONS MAY NOT APPLY TO YOU.
  15. Notices. Any notices or other communications permitted or required hereunder will be in writing and given by The Foundation (a) via email (in each case to the address that you provide) or (b) by posting to the website.
  16. No Waiver. The failure of The Foundation to enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not constitute a waiver of future enforcement of that right or provision.
  17. Assignment. You may not assign or transfer these Terms, by operation of law or otherwise, without The Foundation’s prior written consent. Any attempt by you to assign or transfer these Terms without such consent will be null and of no effect. The Foundation may assign or transfer these Terms, at its sole discretion, without restriction. Subject to the foregoing, these Terms will bind and inure to the benefit of the parties, their successors and permitted assigns. Unless a person or entity is explicitly identified as a third party beneficiary to these Terms, these Terms do not and are not intended to confer any rights or remedies upon any person or entity other than the parties.
  18. Severability. If for any reason an arbitrator or a court of competent jurisdiction finds any provision of these Terms invalid or unenforceable, that provision will be enforced to the maximum extent permissible and the other provisions of these Terms will remain in full force and effect.
  19. Governing Law; Arbitration. These Terms are governed by and will be construed under the laws of the State of Texas, without regard to the conflicts of laws provisions thereof. The arbitration shall be held in accordance with the Streamlined Arbitration Rules and Procedures of Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Website, Inc. ("JAMS") then in effect, by one commercial arbitrator with substantial experience in resolving intellectual property and commercial contract disputes, who shall be selected from the appropriate list of JAMS arbitrators in accordance with such Rules. The arbitration shall be held in the US county of your most recent physical address or, if there is no such US county, in Dallas County, Texas. Judgment upon the award rendered by such arbitrator may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

    Notwithstanding the foregoing obligation to arbitrate disputes, each party shall have the right to pursue injunctive or other equitable relief at any time, from any court of competent jurisdiction. For all purposes of these Terms, the parties consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the state or federal courts located in Dallas County, Texas. Any arbitration under these Terms will take place on an individual basis: class arbitrations and class actions are not permitted. YOU UNDERSTAND AND AGREE THAT BY ENTERING INTO THESE TERMS, YOU AND THE FOUNDATION ARE EACH WAIVING THE RIGHT TO TRIAL BY JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION.
  20. Entire Agreement. These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and The Foundation regarding your use of the Website, and supersede all prior written or oral agreements.
  21. Contact Us. If you have any questions about the Website, please do not hesitate to contact us at janemarie@sumnersfoundation.org