Terms of Use

1The Service

PAC Yard provides software and related services that help political action committees and other political committees (“Committees”) set up and manage their operations, including websites and technology, contribution processing and financial records, social media integration, event organization, marketing, and outreach to communities and candidates. PAC Yard is a technology provider. We are not a political committee, we do not act as any Committee’s treasurer, and we do not provide legal, accounting or tax advice.

2Nonpartisanship

PAC Yard is nonpartisan. We offer the Service to Committees regardless of party, ideology or candidate preference, on the same terms. PAC Yard does not endorse, support or oppose any candidate, party, Committee or ballot measure. Content published by a Committee through the Service, including its positions, solicitations and communications, belongs to and reflects only that Committee, not PAC Yard.

3Eligibility and accounts

• You must be at least 18 years old to create an account.
• You must give accurate, current and complete information and keep it up to date.
• You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for all activity under your account. Tell us promptly about any unauthorized use.

4Committee responsibilities

Each Committee is solely responsible for its own compliance with the Federal Election Campaign Act, Federal Election Commission (“FEC”) regulations, and all applicable state and local campaign finance, election, tax, privacy and consumer protection laws. This includes, among other things:

• registering and filing all required reports with the FEC or state authorities, accurately and on time;
• collecting and reporting required contributor information, such as name, mailing address, occupation and employer;
• enforcing contribution limits and refusing or refunding prohibited or excessive contributions, including contributions from foreign nationals, federal contractors, corporations or labor organizations where prohibited, and contributions made in the name of another;
• including required disclaimers (“paid for by” notices) on its communications and solicitations;
• keeping records for as long as the law requires; and
• publishing its own privacy policy and terms for its supporters and following them.

Tools in the Service that help with compliance are provided for convenience. They do not replace the judgment of a Committee’s treasurer or professional advisers.

5Contributions

When you make a contribution to a Committee through the Service, you confirm that:

• the contribution is made from your own funds and not from funds provided by another person or entity;
• you are a U.S. citizen or lawfully admitted permanent resident (green card holder);
• you are not a federal government contractor making the contribution, and you are not making it from the funds of a corporation, labor organization, national bank or other prohibited source;
• you are making the contribution with a personal credit or debit card for which you are legally responsible, not a corporate or business card; and
• you are at least 18 years old.

Contributions are made to the Committee you select, not to PAC Yard. Contributions to political committees are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes. Each Committee sets its own refund policy and handles refund requests. Payments are processed by third-party payment processors, whose terms also apply.

6Acceptable use

You agree not to use the Service to:

• violate any law, including campaign finance, election, privacy, anti-spam (such as the CAN-SPAM Act) and telemarketing (such as the Telephone Consumer Protection Act) laws;
• send messages to people who have not given any consent the law requires, or keep messaging people who have opted out;
• impersonate any person, candidate, committee or organization, or misrepresent who is paying for a communication;
• publish content that is defamatory, fraudulent, threatening or that infringes others’ rights;
• use contributor information obtained from FEC or state reports for soliciting contributions or for commercial purposes, as federal law prohibits; or
• interfere with the Service, probe or breach its security, or access it by automated means except through interfaces we provide.

7Data sharing between Committees

Each Committee controls the personal information of its own supporters. PAC Yard does not share one Committee’s supporter data with another Committee on its own initiative. Any sharing of personal information between Committees, such as list sharing, joint fundraising or co-sponsored events, happens only as permitted by each Committee’s own privacy policy and terms of use and by what the supporter accepted when providing their information. Committees that share data are responsible for having a lawful basis and any required consent, and for honoring opt-outs.

8Hosting and availability

The Service is hosted on Microsoft Azure data centers in the United States. We work to keep the Service available and secure but do not guarantee it will be uninterrupted or error-free. We may change, suspend or discontinue features, and we may perform maintenance that temporarily limits access.

9Third-party services

The Service connects to third-party services such as payment processors and social media platforms. Your use of those services is governed by their own terms and privacy policies. PAC Yard is not responsible for third-party services.

10Fees

Fees for Committees are described when a Committee signs up or changes its plan. Unless stated otherwise, fees are billed in advance and are non-refundable except as required by law.

11Content and intellectual property

The Service, including its software, design and the PAC Yard name and logo, is owned by Nine Roars LLC and protected by intellectual property laws. Committees and users keep ownership of the content they upload and grant PAC Yard a limited license to host, store, display and process that content only as needed to provide the Service.

12Suspension and termination

You may stop using the Service at any time. We may suspend or terminate access if you violate these Terms or the law, or if needed to protect the Service, other users or the public. When a Committee’s account ends, we will make its records available for export for a reasonable period, subject to the retention practices in our Privacy Policy.

13Disclaimers

The Service is provided “as is” and “as available.” To the fullest extent permitted by law, PAC Yard disclaims all warranties, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. PAC Yard does not warrant that use of the Service will satisfy any Committee’s legal or regulatory obligations.

14Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, PAC Yard will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for lost profits, data or contributions, arising from your use of the Service. PAC Yard’s total liability for any claim relating to the Service is limited to the amount you paid PAC Yard in the twelve months before the claim arose.

15Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless PAC Yard and Nine Roars LLC from claims, penalties and expenses, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, arising from your use of the Service, your content, or your or your Committee’s violation of these Terms or of any law, including campaign finance law.

16Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms from time to time. We will post the updated Terms on this page with a new effective date and, for material changes, give reasonable notice. Continuing to use the Service after changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms.

17Contact

Questions about these Terms can be directed to Nine Roars LLC.