Terms of Service

Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account. If you set up or administer a community, you represent that you are authorized to do so on its behalf.

The service

aVillage is a tool for coordinating practical care (such as meals, rides, and volunteer help) for foster, adoptive, and kinship families within a community.

aVillage is not a case-management system and does not provide legal, medical, counseling, or child-welfare advice. Always rely on qualified professionals and official agencies for those needs.

Your account

You are responsible for keeping your login credentials secure and for activity under your account. Notify us promptly of any unauthorized use.

Community roles and responsibilities

Communities and their leaders are responsible for who they invite, the roles they assign, and the content they share. Only collect and share information that is necessary, and respect the privacy of the families you serve.

Acceptable use

Do not use aVillage to break the law, harass others, or post content you don't have the right to share.

Do not enter unnecessary sensitive information about children (such as full names, case numbers, or medical or legal records).

Do not attempt to access data you are not authorized to see, disrupt the service, or reverse engineer it.

Your content

You keep ownership of the content you submit. You grant us a limited license to host, process, and display that content solely to operate and improve the service for you and your community.

You are responsible for the content you submit and confirm you have the right to share it.

AI features

Optional AI-assisted features generate drafts to save you time. Output may be inaccurate and is not professional advice. You are responsible for reviewing AI-generated content before using or sending it.

Payments, donations, and fees

Donations are voluntary and are processed by our third-party payment processor, Stripe. By submitting a donation you authorize the charge and confirm the payment method is yours.

You can give in two ways: (1) a donation to a specific community's care ministry, or (2) a contribution that supports aVillage itself. The recipient is shown before you confirm.

aVillage is free for every church. A church may choose to set a voluntary contribution (including a recurring monthly amount) to help keep the app free for churches that cannot give. Any suggested amount is only a suggestion — you may give more, less, or nothing. A contribution is always optional, never unlocks or restricts any feature, and can be changed or stopped at any time in the app.

Fees: card-processing fees apply to every payment. For a gift to a community's ministry, aVillage also retains a platform fee (the current rate is shown before you confirm) that helps keep aVillage free for every church; both this platform fee and the processing fee are disclosed before you confirm. When you give to a community you may choose to cover the fees so the community receives the full intended amount; if you do not, they are deducted from the donation. A gift made directly to aVillage carries no platform fee — only the processing fee, which you may also choose to cover.

Statement descriptor: your payment is processed through our payment provider and may appear on your card or bank statement under our registered payment-account business name rather than "aVillage." The name that will appear is shown to you before you confirm.

Donations to a community are made to that community or church — not to aVillage. aVillage only facilitates the transaction and is not responsible for how a community uses the funds it receives. Contributions made to aVillage support the operation of the app.

Tax matters are between you and the recipient organization. aVillage does not provide tax or legal advice and does not represent that any donation is tax-deductible; a community is responsible for its own charitable status and any receipts it issues.

Recurring gifts (if you choose one) continue on the schedule shown until you cancel. You can cancel a recurring gift at any time, effective for future charges.

Refunds: donations are generally non-refundable except as required by law. If a payment was made in error, contact us (for app contributions) or the community (for community donations) and we will work with you and Stripe in good faith.

Authorization and accuracy: you agree to provide accurate payment information and that you are permitted to use the payment method. Payments are also subject to Stripe's terms.

Text messages (SMS)

Text messaging is optional and requires your prior express consent (opt-in). If you opt in, you agree to receive automated text messages from your community through aVillage (such as care-need alerts and reminders) at the number you provide.

Consent to receive texts is not a condition of using aVillage or of any donation. Message frequency varies, and message and data rates may apply.

You can opt out at any time by replying STOP, or reply HELP for help; you can also turn texts off in the app. You confirm you are the owner or authorized user of the number you provide and will tell us if it changes.

Intellectual property

aVillage, including its software, design, and trademarks, is owned by us and protected by law. These Terms do not grant you any rights to our branding or software except to use the app as intended.

Disclaimers

The service is provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement. We do not warrant that the service will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure.

Limitation of liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, aVillage and its affiliates will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of data, goodwill, or profits.

Our total liability for any claim relating to the service will not exceed the greater of the amount you paid us in the 12 months before the claim or USD $100.

Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless aVillage from claims, damages, and expenses arising out of your content, your use of the service, or your violation of these Terms or the law.

Dispute resolution; binding arbitration; class-action waiver

Please read this section carefully — it affects your legal rights.

Informal resolution first: before starting an arbitration, you agree to contact us at aVillage@lukshi.com and try to resolve the dispute informally for at least 30 days.

Binding arbitration: except as noted below, any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the service will be resolved by final and binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association (AAA) under its applicable rules, rather than in court. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Class-action waiver: you and aVillage agree to bring claims only in an individual capacity, and not as a plaintiff or class member in any class, collective, or representative proceeding. The arbitrator may not consolidate more than one person's claims.

Exceptions: either party may bring an individual claim in small-claims court, and either party may seek injunctive relief in court for intellectual-property or unauthorized-access matters.

30-day opt-out: you may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing aVillage@lukshi.com within 30 days of first accepting these Terms, stating your name and that you opt out of arbitration.

Governing law

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, United States, without regard to conflict-of-laws rules. Subject to the arbitration agreement above, the courts located there will have exclusive jurisdiction.

Termination

You may stop using aVillage and delete your account at any time. We may suspend or terminate access if you violate these Terms or to protect the service or its users.

Changes to these Terms

We may update these Terms. If we make material changes, we will update the date above and, where appropriate, notify you in the app. Continued use after changes take effect means you accept the updated Terms.

Miscellaneous

If any provision is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. These Terms are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the service. You may not assign them without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger or sale.

Contact us

Questions about these Terms? Email aVillage@lukshi.com.