Terms of Service

Effective Date: February 06, 2023

Introduction

Catholic Charities USA (“CCUSA”) grants User (“User”) non-exclusive, non-transferable permission to display the webpages and access content hosted on the CCUSA website (“Website”) subject to the restrictions in this Terms of Service agreement (“TOS”). This TOS is a legally binding contract between User and CCUSA governing the access and use of the services offered and all information, content, media, printed materials and other electronic documentation accessible from www.catholiccharitiesusa.org, any sub-domains thereof (each of which constituting a part of the Website), regardless of whether any such materials or services are provided in a publicly-accessible or a restricted access section of the Website. Restricted access sections of the Website have their own supplemental terms of service.

USER AGREES THAT BY ACCESSING THE WEBSITE, USER HAS READ, UNDERSTOOD AND AGREED TO BE BOUND BY ALL THESE TERMS OF SERVICE. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH ALL OF THESE TERMS OF SERVICE, THEN YOU ARE EXPRESSLY PROHIBITED FROM USING THE WEBSITE AND YOU MUST DISCONTINUE USE IMMEDIATELY.

The Website is offered by CCUSA to Users free of charge on the express condition that Users accept and abide by the TOS. Access to and use of the Website are conditioned upon continued compliance with the TOS, and use of the Website constitutes acceptance of the TOS. CCUSA expressly reserves the right to change the TOS at any time by reasonable notice, including without limitation by posting revised terms on the Website (which shall constitute reasonable notice), and/or by notifying User via email at the email address we have on file for User. Any such amended terms shall be binding upon Users upon posting.

PLEASE NOTE THE ARBITRATION PROVISION SET FORTH BELOW, WHICH MAY, EXCEPT WHERE AND TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY LAW, REQUIRE USER TO ARBITRATE ANY CLAIMS USER MAY HAVE AGAINST CCUSA ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS. ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS MEANS THAT USER WILL NOT HAVE, AND USER WAIVES, THE RIGHT FOR A JUDGE OR JURY TO DECIDE USER CLAIMS, AND THAT USER MAY NOT PROCEED IN A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED OR REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY.

Intellectual Property

All works of authorship hosted on the Website that have been generated by CCUSA or on its behalf by employees, agents or contractors, including, but not limited to, any designs, text, sound recordings, images, icons and the overall appearance of the Website or sections thereof, are the sole and exclusive property of CCUSA. The posting of such works on the Website does not constitute a waiver of any of CCUSA’s intellectual property or proprietary rights, including, but not limited to, copyrights, trademarks, service marks, patents and other intellectual property or proprietary rights. In addition, the posting of such works on the Website does not constitute a transfer by implication, estoppel or otherwise of any such rights or of any license to Users of the Website or to any third party. The contents of the Website are protected by U.S. and foreign copyright laws, both as individual works and in some instances as collections, as well as by U.S. and foreign trademark laws. By using this Website, User agrees not to utilize any copyright, trademark, proprietary or confidential information contained therein in a manner inconsistent with the TOS or in violation of any U.S. or foreign law governing the protection of intellectual property or proprietary rights.

No material from the Website may be copied, reproduced, displayed, republished, downloaded, posted, digitized, translated, modified, transmitted, distributed or commercially exploited in any way without CCUSA’s express consent. CCUSA grants User the right to view and print information, documents and webpages located on the Website for personal use but not for any other activities, provided that: (a) any copies of the Website or sections thereof must retain any copyright, intellectual property, proprietary or other notices or disclaimers contained in the original materials, (b) User must give attribution to CCUSA and if possible provide a reference or link to CCUSA’s main website, www.catholiccharitiesusa.org, (c) the material must be printed in its entirety without modification, reformatting, adaptation or adjustment, and (d) if the material is combined with other materials, User must clearly designate which portion of the complete work is CCUSA’s material. Any User who shares the printed materials with others must advise the recipient as to the TOS and they must agree to abide by the TOS. Failure to comply with these conditions will immediately terminate this permission and may result in the infringement or violation of copyrights, trademarks or other proprietary rights owned by CCUSA.

External Links

CCUSA may provide links to other internet websites or resources. CCUSA, its agents, or any other parties involved in the preparation or publication of this Website shall not be responsible for the content of any linked website or any link contained in a linked website, or any changes or updates to such websites, nor does CCUSA endorse any such links or other related materials. It is the User’s responsibility to take precautions when accessing any linked websites or content hosted on third party websites.

Registration

In order to access certain areas or functionality of the Website (e.g., a Members-only forum), Users may need to register an account. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and the additional personal information. Registered Users of any Members-only areas must abide by all of the requirements of the TOS described herein, including but not limited to acceptable terms of use related to user-generated content described above.

Your access to any such Members-only areas, content or other Website functionality that requires registration is granted solely at CCUSA’s discretion. In consideration of this access, you represent that you are of legal age to form a binding contract and are not a person barred from receiving services under the laws of the United States or any other applicable jurisdiction. You further agree to: (a) provide true, accurate, current and complete information about yourself when prompted and (b) maintain and promptly update your information to keep it true, accurate, current and complete. If you provide any information that is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, or if CCUSA has reasonable grounds to suspect that such information is untrue, inaccurate, not current or incomplete, CCUSA may, in its sole discretion, suspend or terminate your access to any such Members-only areas, content or functionality and refuse any and all current or future use of the Website (or portion thereof).

You are responsible for preserving the confidentiality of your account password and will notify us of any known or suspected unauthorized use of your account. You agree that you are responsible for all acts or omissions that occur on your account while your password is being used.

You acknowledge, consent and agree that CCUSA may access, preserve and disclose your account information and user-generated content if required to do so by law or if CCUSA believes that such access, preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to (a) comply with legal process; (b) enforce the requirements of the TOS; (c) respond to claims that any such content violates the rights of third parties; (d) respond to your requests for customer service; or (e) protect the rights, property or personal safety of CCUSA, other Users or the public.

Privacy

CCUSA’s collection of personal information via the Website is governed by CCUSA’s Privacy Policy.

Notice of Claims of Intellectual Property Infringement

CCUSA complies with the provisions of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA). As described elsewhere herein, the Website may from time to time feature User-generated content or content published to the Website by third parties (e.g., CCUSA partners or affiliates). CCUSA does not authorize or permit the use of content on the Website that infringes on the intellectual property rights or other proprietary rights of others and will remove any such content if properly notified in accordance with the procedure set forth in the TOS. If you believe that any of the content on the Website infringes your copyright or trademark rights or violates your right of publicity or other proprietary rights, please contact CCUSA’s agent for the notice of any claim of infringement of any copyright or trademark or other proprietary rights, who can be reached using the contact information provided below:

By mail:

Catholic Charities USA
ATTN: Bill Gangluff, CMO
2050 Ballenger Avenue
Suite 400
Alexandria, VA 22314

By E-mail:

bgangluff@catholiccharitiesusa.org

Please include the following information with your request to expedite processing:

  1. A physical or electronic signature of a person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of at least one exclusive right that is allegedly infringed.
  2. An identification of the copyrighted work, trademark or proprietary right claimed to have been infringed, or, if you believe that multiple works, marks or proprietary rights have been infringed on the Website, a representative list of such works, trademarks or publicity rights.
  3. An identification of the published material that is allegedly infringing or otherwise the subject of infringing activity for which you request removal, and information reasonably sufficient to permit CCUSA to locate any such material.
  4. Information reasonably sufficient to permit CCUSA to contact you (e.g., an address, telephone number or an e-mail address) in connection with the request.
  5. A statement that you in good faith believe that use of the material in the manner complained of is not authorized by the owner, its agent or otherwise permissible by law.
  6. A statement that the information in the notification is accurate, and that, under penalty of perjury, you are authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the intellectual property or proprietary right that is allegedly infringed. 

Upon receipt of a request containing the information described above, CCUSA shall investigate the matter and take appropriate action to remove any content found to infringe or violate any third-party rights. 

Disclaimer of Warranty and Liability

To the fullest extent permitted under law, the Website is provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis. CCUSA makes no representations or warranties of any kind, express or implied, regarding the availability, operation or administration of the Website or the information or content on it. CCUSA does not make any express or implied warranties, representations or endorsements whatsoever in connection with User-generated content published to the Website, other websites accessed by links posted on the Website or the internet generally. To the full extent permitted by applicable law, CCUSA specifically disclaims all such warranties, whether express or implied, including but not limited to the implied warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose. CCUSA will not be liable for any damages of any kind arising from the use of or inability to use the Website. User expressly agrees that User uses the Website solely at User’s own risk. 

CCUSA does not guarantee that the Website will meet User’s requirements or that it is error-free, reliable, without interruption or available at all times. CCUSA does not guarantee that the services that may be obtained from the use of the Website, including any support services, will be effective, reliable and accurate or meet User’s requirements. CCUSA does not guarantee that User will be able to access or use the Website (either directly or through third-party networks) at all times or locations of User’s choosing. 

To the fullest extent permitted under law, in no event shall CCUSA be liable for any injury, loss, claim, damage or any incidental or consequential damages arising either directly or indirectly out of or in any way connected with the Website, or any failure or delay in updating or including any materials on the Website, or any use of or inability to use any materials on the Website, even if CCUSA has been advised of the possibility of such damages. 

In addition, when using the Website, information will be transmitted over a medium that is beyond the control and jurisdiction of CCUSA, its partners and sponsors or any other third party mentioned on the Website. Accordingly, CCUSA assumes no liability for or relating to the delay, failure, interruption or corruption of any data or other information transmitted in connection with use of the Website. 

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to User.

Right to Restrict Access, Remove Content and Discontinue Service

CCUSA has the right to restrict User’s access to the Website, including individual areas or services provided by the Website, for any reason. CCUSA has the right (though not the obligation) in its sole discretion to remove any content at any time for any reason, including but not limited to applicable federal or state statutes or common law. CCUSA also reserves the right to modify, suspend or discontinue the Website, with or without notice, at any time and without any liability to Website Users.

Dispute Resolution and Agreement to Arbitrate

Except where and to the extent prohibited by law, User and CCUSA agree that, if there is any controversy, claim, action or dispute arising out of or related to User’s use of the Website or the breach, enforcement, interpretation or validity of this TOS or any part of it (“Dispute”), both parties shall first try in good faith to settle such Dispute by providing written notice to the other party describing the facts and circumstances of the Dispute and allowing the receiving party 30 days in which to respond to or settle the Dispute. Notice shall be sent to the address provided in the “Contact Us” section below or to User, at the address CCUSA has on file for User.

Both User and CCUSA agree that this dispute resolution procedure is a condition precedent that must be satisfied before initiating any litigation or filing any claim against the other party. IF ANY DISPUTE CANNOT BE RESOLVED BY THE ABOVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEDURE, USER AGREES THAT THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION FOR SUCH DISPUTE WILL BE DECIDED BY BINDING ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS. ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS MEANS THAT USER WILL NOT HAVE, AND USER WAIVES, THE RIGHT FOR A JUDGE OR JURY TO DECIDE USER CLAIMS AND THAT USER MAY NOT PROCEED IN A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED OR REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY. Other rights that User and CCUSA would otherwise have in court will not be available or will be more limited in arbitration, including discovery and appeal rights. All such disputes shall be exclusively submitted to JAMS (www.jamsadr.com) for binding arbitration under its rules then in effect, before one arbitrator to be mutually agreed upon by both parties.

The arbitrator, and not any federal, state or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve any dispute arising under or relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability or formation of this TOS, including any claim that all or any part of this TOS is void or voidable.

Governing Law

User agree that if CCUSA does not exercise or enforce any legal right or remedy that is contained in the TOS (or for which CCUSA is entitled under any applicable law), this will not be construed as a waiver of these rights and remedies.

The state and federal courts located in Alexandria, Virginia, will have exclusive jurisdiction to adjudicate any dispute arising out of or relating to the TOS, including their formation as a contract or their enforcement. Each party hereby consents and submits to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts and waives any defense it may have to such jurisdiction on the grounds of forum non conveniens. Each party also hereby waives any right to jury trial in connection with any action or litigation in any way arising out of or related to the TOS. In any action or proceeding to enforce rights under the TOS, the prevailing party will be entitled to recover its reasonable costs and attorney’s fees.

Severability

If any one or more of the provisions of this TOS are held to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect for any reason, the validity, legality and enforceability of any such provision or provision in every other respect and of the remaining provisions of this TOS shall not be in any way impaired. 

Termination

This TOS will continue to apply to User until terminated by CCUSA. CCUSA may at any time terminate its legal agreement with User and User’s right to access and use the Website if User has breached any provision of the TOS, if CCUSA is required to do so by law, or if CCUSA no longer maintains the Website and is terminating the service.

Contact Us

If User has any questions, comments or concerns about these Terms of Service, please contact us at:

Catholic Charities USA
2050 Ballenger Ave.
Suite 400
Alexandria, VA 22314
info@catholiccharitiesusa.org
(703) 549-1390