Terms of Service

1. The Short Version

STAND/WITH/ME is a platform that connects supporters with peaceful activists through direct funding. Activists build a campaign budget — what they need, how much it costs, and when they need it. Supporters browse those needs and fund the ones they're comfortable with. After the action, activists submit proof and every supporter sees exactly where the money went. That's the deal.

By using STAND/WITH/ME, you agree to these terms. If you don't agree, don't use the platform. We're not for everyone — and we're fine with that.

2. The Peace Pledge

This is the foundation of everything. Every user — supporter and activist alike — signs the Peace Pledge before they can use STAND/WITH/ME. It's not a formality. It's a commitment.

Violating the Peace Pledge results in immediate account termination, cancellation of pending payments, and permanent ban. We will pursue recovery of funds on behalf of supporters. No warnings. No second chances.

3. Who Can Use STAND/WITH/ME

• You must be 18 years or older
• You must provide accurate, truthful information
• You must sign the Peace Pledge
• One account per person — no exceptions
• You are responsible for everything that happens under your account
• You must not be located in a country, region, or territory subject to comprehensive U.S. sanctions

4. Identity Verification (Activists)

Every activist on STAND/WITH/ME is verified. This is non-negotiable. We use Stripe Identity — the same verification system trusted by Shopify, Lyft, and Instacart — to confirm you are who you say you are.

The verification process:

• Government-issued photo ID — scanned and analyzed by Stripe's machine learning for authenticity, tampering, and fraud
• Facial biometric match — a selfie compared against your ID photo to confirm you are the document holder
• Database validation — your information is checked against government and third-party databases

Your government ID image is processed by Stripe and is not stored on our servers. Stripe retains verification data in accordance with their Privacy Policy.

Submitting fraudulent, stolen, or manipulated identity documents results in immediate permanent ban and referral to law enforcement where required by law.

5. Activist Orientation & Certification

After identity verification, every activist completes a mandatory orientation covering nonviolent action principles, platform policies, de-escalation techniques, legal rights during protest, proof-of-action requirements, and safety tools.

You must pass a 10-question assessment with a score of 8/10 or higher. You may retake the assessment immediately if you don't pass. The questions change with each attempt.

This orientation is not optional. It exists to protect you, protect your supporters, and give you a credential that stands up to scrutiny. When someone calls you a “paid agitator,” your answer is: “I'm a certified, verified activist. What training did your side require?”

6. For Supporters — How Funding Works

Every campaign is a budget — a list of specific needs, each with an amount and a timeline. You don't just throw money at a campaign. You choose exactly what you're funding and when you're comfortable paying.

How Campaign Budgets Work

An activist building a campaign breaks it into line items — what they need, how much it costs, and when they need it. For example:

You Choose What to Fund

As a supporter, you browse a campaign's needs and fund the ones that match your comfort level:

• Fund an upfront need — your payment is charged immediately. You're accepting more risk, but you're making the action possible. No posters without someone paying for posters.
• Fund a future need — your card is pre-authorized now but charged when that need's date arrives. If the campaign is canceled before then, the pre-authorization is released.
• Fund a post-action need — your card is pre-authorized now but only charged after the action is completed and proof is verified. Lowest risk. Released automatically if proof is rejected.

After the Action

• Impact reports — regardless of when you paid, you receive a copy of the activist's impact report showing exactly where every dollar went.
• Dispute resolution — you may dispute any charge through our resolution process. We investigate every dispute. For upfront payments where the activist fails to act, we pursue fund recovery on your behalf.

Important: Contributions to activists are direct payments, not tax-deductible charitable donations. STAND/WITH/ME is not a 501(c)(3) organization. Activists are independent contractors, not employees of STAND/WITH/ME. Funding upfront needs carries inherent risk — you are trusting a verified activist to follow through. Fund the needs that match your comfort level and your budget.

7. For Activists — Your Obligations

• Complete identity verification via Stripe Identity and set up Stripe Connect before posting any actions
• Complete the Activist Orientation with a passing score of 8/10
• All proposed actions must comply with the Peace Pledge
• Build your campaign budget honestly — break it into specific needs with real amounts and real timelines. If you need $400 for posters now, say so. If food isn't needed until the day of, say that. Inflating amounts, fabricating needs, or misrepresenting timelines is fraud.
• You must submit truthful, unaltered proof of completed actions — photos, video, attendance data, and a written impact summary
• Funds must be used for the stated purpose described in your campaign. Misuse of funds is fraud — especially when supporters paid upfront trusting you to deliver.
• If you cannot complete a funded action, you must cancel it as soon as possible. Pre-authorizations will be released, and we will pursue recovery of upfront payments on behalf of supporters.
• Plan for payment failures. Not every supporter's card will be charged successfully — cards expire, get declined, or hit spending limits. This is outside of STAND/WITH/ME's control. You should expect roughly 10-15% of charges to fail and budget your campaign accordingly. You are not compensated for failed charges.

Earnings & Payouts:

• 90% of each contribution goes directly to your Stripe balance — we never hold your money
• 10% platform fee deducted by Stripe at point of payment — covers processing (~3%), AI review, safety infrastructure, verification, and legal aid partnerships
• Standard payouts to your bank: 1-2 business days on a rolling basis
• Eligible accounts may qualify for Stripe Instant Payouts at an additional fee — set by Stripe, not us
• All amounts in USD

8. Prohibited Conduct

The following will result in immediate account termination, cancellation of pending payments, and permanent ban:

Zero Tolerance — Instant Permanent Ban

• ✕Violence, threats of violence, or incitement to violence of any kind
• ✕Property destruction, vandalism, or arson
• ✕Harassment, doxxing, stalking, or intimidation
• ✕Bringing weapons to any action, for any reason
• ✕Hate speech, discriminatory conduct, or targeting people based on identity
• ✕Fabricated, AI-generated, or manipulated proof of action
• ✕Using funds for purposes other than the stated campaign
• ✕Submitting fraudulent or stolen identity documents
• ✕Creating multiple accounts or evading a previous ban

Content Violations — Warning, Then Ban

• ⚠Sexually explicit content
• ⚠Spam or unauthorized commercial promotion
• ⚠Misleading campaign descriptions or exaggerated claims
• ⚠Impersonating another person or organization
• ⚠Sharing another user's personal information without consent

9. AI Review System

Every action proposal submitted to STAND/WITH/ME is reviewed by a dual AI system before going live. This is how we enforce the Peace Pledge at scale.

• Two independent AI models review every submission for compliance with the Peace Pledge, prohibited content, and platform policies
• Both models must approve a submission for it to go live
• AI review supplements — but does not replace — human moderation. Our team reviews flagged content, edge cases, and all disputes
• You may appeal any AI decision through our support team. A human will review your appeal within 48 hours.

We are transparent about using AI. We are not transparent about which specific signals trigger review flags — because people who want to game the system don't need a roadmap.

10. Safety & Emergency Features

STAND/WITH/ME includes safety tools for activists operating in the field. By using these features, you agree to the following:

• Safety Mode — when activated during an action, provides real-time hazard monitoring. Location data is encrypted end-to-end and shared only with your designated emergency contacts.
• Emergency SOS — one-tap alert that shares your precise GPS location with your emergency contacts and, if you choose, with our legal aid partners. Location data is encrypted in transit and at rest.
• Location sharing is always user-initiated. We never track your location without your explicit activation of Safety Mode or Emergency SOS.
• STAND/WITH/ME is not an emergency service. In a life-threatening situation, call 911 first. Our safety tools are supplementary.

11. Payments, Fees & Stripe

All payment processing is handled by Stripe. By using STAND/WITH/ME, you also agree to Stripe's Connected Account Agreement and Services Agreement.

How Money Moves

STAND/WITH/ME uses Stripe Connect with direct charges. This means supporter payments go directly into the activist's Stripe balance — we never hold activist funds. There is no escrow. The 10% platform fee is deducted by Stripe at the point of transaction. The activist's 90% is theirs immediately.

Unlike other platforms, we don't make money off holding your money. No 30-day holds. No “pending review” limbo. No earning interest on your balance while you wait. Your funds are in your Stripe account and you control when they hit your bank. Activists must comply with Stripe's Connected Account Agreement, but we do not impose additional holds or delays beyond what Stripe requires.

• Platform fee: 10% of each contribution (deducted at point of payment)
• Each campaign need has its own payment timing. Supporters choose which needs to fund. Payments are charged according to the timeline of the specific need funded.
• Standard payouts from Stripe to activist bank accounts settle in 1-2 business days on a rolling basis
• Eligible accounts may qualify for Stripe's Instant Payouts at an additional fee set by Stripe — availability and eligibility are determined by Stripe, not STAND/WITH/ME
• All amounts in USD
• We do not store credit card numbers, bank account details, or SSNs. All financial data is handled by Stripe.

12. Your Content & Intellectual Property

You own the content you create on STAND/WITH/ME — your campaign descriptions, photos, videos, and impact reports. By posting content on the platform, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide license to display, distribute, and promote that content in connection with operating the platform.

We may feature successful campaigns in marketing materials, social media, and press coverage. If you don't want your content featured, email us at legal@standwithme.org and we'll exclude it.

13. Limitation of Liability

Let's be honest about what we are and what we aren't.

STAND/WITH/ME is a platform. We connect supporters with activists. We verify identities. We process payments. We provide safety tools. We enforce the Peace Pledge.

STAND/WITH/ME is not responsible for:

• The conduct of individual activists or supporters
• The outcome or impact of funded actions
• Physical injury, arrest, or legal consequences arising from protest participation
• Actions taken by law enforcement during protests
• Third-party services including Stripe, Clerk, or any linked platform

To the maximum extent permitted by law, STAND/WITH/ME's total liability to you for any claims arising from your use of the platform shall not exceed the amount you paid to STAND/WITH/ME in the 12 months preceding the claim.

We provide the platform “as is” without warranties of any kind, express or implied. We do not guarantee that the platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure at all times.

14. Account Termination

You may delete your account at any time through the app settings. If you have outstanding funded actions or unreleased funds, you must complete or cancel those obligations before deleting your account.

We may terminate your account immediately and without notice for Peace Pledge violations, prohibited conduct, fraudulent activity, or any behavior that threatens the safety of our community. Terminated accounts cannot be reinstated for zero-tolerance violations.

15. Dispute Resolution

If a supporter believes an activist's proof of action is fraudulent, incomplete, or does not match the funded campaign, they may file a dispute through the app. Our process:

• Disputes are reviewed by a human moderator within 48 hours
• The activist is notified and given 72 hours to respond with additional evidence
• If the dispute is upheld, funds are returned to the supporter and the activist receives a strike. Three strikes result in permanent ban.
• If the dispute involves fraud (fabricated proof, fund misuse), it is treated as a zero-tolerance violation — immediate permanent ban.

For legal disputes between you and STAND/WITH/ME, you agree to binding arbitration under the rules of the American Arbitration Association, conducted in the state of Delaware. You waive the right to participate in class action lawsuits against STAND/WITH/ME.

16. Changes to These Terms

We may update these terms as the platform evolves. Material changes will be communicated via email and in-app notification at least 30 days before taking effect. Continued use of STAND/WITH/ME after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated terms. If you disagree with a change, you may delete your account.

17. Governing Law

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, United States, without regard to conflict of law principles.

18. Contact

For questions about these Terms of Service:

legal@standwithme.org