Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how FundMyUniverse (“we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and shares personal information when people in the United States visit or use our website and services (the “Platform”). It covers donors, account holders, campaign organizers, beneficiaries, applicants, and visitors. All Platform users must be at least 18 years old.

1. Information We Collect

The information we collect depends on how you use the Platform. It may include:

• Account and contact information: name, email address, account identifier, account type, country, and information you provide to create or manage an account. Clerk provides account authentication.
• Profile and application information: display name, biography, location, profile images, organization details, social and website links, cause information, application answers, and supporting information you submit.
• Campaign and beneficiary information: campaign titles, descriptions, stories, goals, locations, images, video links, updates, intended use of funds, and information about a person or organization named as a beneficiary.
• Donation and transaction information: donor name and email, donation amount, currency, optional tip and fee amounts, recurring-support status, message, anonymity setting, referral attribution, payment status, and payment-provider reference numbers. Some checkout flows may request additional details, such as an address, occupation, or employer.
• Payout and verification information: Stripe Connect and Stripe Identity collect information needed for organizer onboarding, identity verification, and payouts. We receive identifiers, verification or onboarding status, and transaction and payout information needed to operate the Platform; our records do not contain copies of identity documents submitted directly to Stripe.
• Journal and support information: articles, comments, likes, audio or other media you submit, messages to support, and reports about content or users.
• Technical and activity information: information sent by your browser or device when you use the Platform, such as IP address and request or diagnostic details, along with account, donation, referral, and other activity needed to operate, secure, and understand the service.

2. How We Use Information

We use information to provide and operate the Platform, including to:

• create and manage accounts, profiles, campaigns, applications, and beneficiary relationships;
• process donations, recurring support, receipts, refunds, payment reconciliation, and payouts;
• verify organizers and beneficiaries, protect the Platform, investigate reports, and prevent fraud or misuse;
• send transaction messages, receipts, account notices, and notifications you have enabled;
• attribute referrals, measure internal platform activity, and improve service operations;
• respond to questions and requests, including by using AI features when you choose to submit text, a support message, or audio for assistance, writing help, or transcription; and
• comply with applicable law and protect the rights, safety, and property of users and the Platform.

3. Payments, Identity Verification, and Payouts

Stripe processes payment-card information and the bank, identity, and other information needed for Stripe Connect and Stripe Identity. We do not store full payment-card numbers or security codes in the Platform database. We do keep donation and payment records such as donor contact details, amounts, currency, fees and tips, payment status, recurring-payment references, and Stripe identifiers. For organizer accounts, we keep Connect account identifiers and the onboarding, verification, transfer, and payout statuses needed to run the service.

Stripe’s processing is also governed by its own privacy policy. Stripe verification results may affect whether an organizer can collect or receive funds. For eligible nonprofit support, if you request a separate tax receipt, we use the transaction and donor details and the nonprofit’s stored registration information to send it. A receipt does not determine whether a contribution is tax-deductible.

4. When We Share Information

We share information as needed to provide the Platform, complete transactions, and meet legal or safety obligations:

• Service providers: Clerk supports authentication; Stripe supports payments, connected accounts, identity verification, and payment-risk checks; Replit provides application hosting and AI integration services; OpenAI processes content submitted to AI writing, support, or transcription features through that integration; and Replit App Storage, backed by Google Cloud Storage, stores Journal media. Resend and an SMTP email-delivery service may be used for receipts and other service messages. We also store account, campaign, donation, and activity records in a PostgreSQL database.
• Organizers and beneficiaries: We may provide campaign organizers or intended beneficiaries with donation, contact, campaign, or beneficiary information needed to administer a fundraiser, acknowledge support, coordinate an invitation, or arrange a payout.
• Public visitors: Information you or an organizer choose to publish on a profile, campaign, Journal post, or public donation display may be visible to anyone.
• Legal and safety reasons: We may disclose information to courts, regulators, law enforcement, payment providers, or other parties when required by law or when reasonably needed to address fraud, safety, disputes, or misuse of the Platform.
• Business changes: Information may be transferred as part of a merger, financing, reorganization, or sale of the service, subject to applicable law.

Service providers process information to provide their services to us. Their own privacy notices also describe their handling of information.

5. Public Content and Donation Privacy

Published profiles, campaigns, and Journal content may show information such as display names, biographies, images, stories, campaign goals and progress, updates, links, comments, and other content submitted for publication. Public pages may be indexed by search engines, copied, or shared by other people. Information copied or indexed by others may not be removable by FundMyUniverse.

Donation pages may display a donor’s name, amount, or message depending on the donation and display settings. Choosing an anonymous public display changes what appears publicly; it does not remove transaction information from FundMyUniverse’s records or from Stripe, and it does not guarantee that an organizer cannot identify you.

You can change some profile and public-activity settings. Published campaign and profile pages cannot be removed by users, and closing an account does not automatically remove those pages or transaction records.

6. Cookies and Browser Storage

The Platform and its providers use cookies and similar browser storage for sign-in, preferences, and referral attribution. Clerk uses authentication-related cookies. When you follow a referral link, the Platform may save a first-party referral token in a cookie for up to one year and in browser storage until it is cleared or replaced, so a later donation can be attributed to that referral.

Some application forms save draft answers in your browser so you can resume later. Browser settings can be used to clear cookies and local storage. Blocking them may interfere with sign-in, saved drafts, or referral attribution.

7. U.S. Privacy Rights and Requests

Privacy rights depend on the state law that applies to you and the circumstances of the request. Where applicable, rights may include asking to know or access, correct, or delete personal information; receive a portable copy; opt out of certain sales, sharing, targeted advertising, or profiling; limit certain uses of sensitive personal information; or appeal a decision about a request. Exceptions and eligibility requirements vary by state.

To make a request, email legal@fundmyuniverse.com and describe the request and the state where you reside. We may ask for information needed to verify your identity or authority to act for someone else. We respond within the time required by applicable law. Some information may need to be kept for transactions, legal obligations, fraud prevention, disputes, or other permitted reasons.

You may change certain optional email-notification preferences in your account settings. Necessary service messages, such as payment or account notices, may still be sent.

8. Retention and Deletion

Retention periods vary by information type and purpose. We keep information for as long as reasonably needed to operate the Platform, maintain accounts and public pages, process and document transactions, meet legal or accounting obligations, prevent fraud, resolve disputes, and enforce our terms. You may request account closure or exercise a privacy right by contacting us, but some transaction records and published campaign or profile pages may remain when they are needed for these purposes or are required or permitted by law.

9. Security

We and our service providers use measures designed to protect information. No website, transmission, or storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. Please avoid placing sensitive personal information in public campaign, profile, or Journal content.

10. Processing in Other Locations

FundMyUniverse is operated from the United States. Some service providers may process information in locations outside your state or outside the United States. The locations can depend on the provider and service involved; we do not list a specific processing location for every provider in this policy.

11. Children

The Platform is for people age 18 and older. People under 18 may not create accounts, donate, organize campaigns, apply, or otherwise use the Platform. If you believe someone under 18 has provided personal information to us, contact us so we can review the situation and take any action required by law.

12. Third-Party Services and Links

The Platform may link to or display content from third-party websites or services, including payment, social-media, video, and other services. When you visit or interact with them, those providers may collect information directly from your device under their own privacy notices and settings. We do not control their privacy practices.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy by posting a revised version on this page and changing the “Last updated” date. If a change requires additional notice under applicable law, we will provide that notice.

14. Contact

For privacy questions, account-closure requests, or privacy-rights requests, contact:
legal@fundmyuniverse.com
FundMyUniverse LLC
United States