Terms of Service

1. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account or using Scratch ("the Service"), operated by Nemomakes, a California corporation doing business as Scratch ("we," "our," or "us"), you agree to be bound by these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, do not use the Service.

2. Description of Service

Scratch is a mutual aid platform that enables community members to request financial help and donate to others. We facilitate connections and payment processing but do not guarantee that any request will be funded or that any specific outcome will occur.

3. Eligibility

• You must be at least 13 years old to use the Service. The Service is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their information.
• You must be at least 18 years old to create a request or receive payouts. Users under 18 may browse and donate only, and only with the consent of a parent or legal guardian, who agrees to these Terms on the minor's behalf and is responsible for all activity on the account, including any payment made.
• Any payment method used by a minor must be used with its holder's permission.
• You must provide accurate and complete information when creating an account, including your date of birth; misrepresenting your age is grounds for termination
• You must be a legal resident of the United States to receive payouts
• You are responsible for maintaining the security of your account credentials

4. Requests for Help

• Requests must be truthful and for genuine needs
• You may have only one active request at a time
• Request amounts are subject to limits based on your Reciprocity Score level
• A cooldown period applies between requests (7 days for donors, 14 days for non-donors)
• Maximum of 3 requests per rolling 30-day period
• We reserve the right to review, approve, or reject any request

5. Donations

• Donations are voluntary and made at your own discretion
• Donations are not tax-deductible — Scratch is not a registered charity
• Payment processing is handled by Stripe and subject to Stripe's terms of service
• Refunds are available for cancelled requests within the cancellation policy window

Donations are unconditional gifts. A donation does not create any contract with, obligation from, or expectation of repayment or reciprocation by the recipient or Scratch. The Reciprocity Score is a community-standing metric only; it is not consideration, an investment return, or a promise of future benefit.

Public pages and Personal Jars. Each member has a public page (scratchapp.us/@username) where anyone — including visitors without a Scratch account — may donate to that member. These donations are unconditional gifts to the member, collected in the member's Personal Jar and paid out only to that member's own verified bank account via Stripe. Scratch does not hold member balances, does not offer member-to-member money transfers, and is not a bank or money-transmission service; payment processing and settlement are performed by Stripe. Members may withdraw their jar balance or disable contributions at any time. Donations made by guests are subject to the same gift terms, refund policies, and fraud protections as member donations.

6. Payouts

• To receive payouts, you must complete identity verification and link a bank account through Stripe
• Identity verification requires your legal name, date of birth, and the last 4 digits of your Social Security Number
• Stripe may require additional verification information
• Payouts are processed through Stripe Connect and subject to Stripe's processing times
• You are responsible for reporting payout income on your tax returns. Stripe handles 1099 reporting as required by law.

Chargebacks. If a donation to your request is disputed, charged back, or reversed after funds have been paid to you, you owe us the disputed amount plus any dispute fees we incur. We may recover this amount by offsetting future donations or payouts, debiting your connected account, or invoicing you directly.

7. Reciprocity Score

Your Reciprocity Score reflects your participation in the Scratch community. It is calculated based on your donation history, donation-to-withdrawal ratio, referrals, and other community engagement factors. Your score determines your request limits and feed visibility. We reserve the right to modify the scoring system at any time.

8. Cancellation Policy; Expired Requests; Account Deletion

• Requests cancelled within 24 hours receive full automatic refunds to donors
• Requests cancelled between 24-48 hours may be subject to abuse tracking
• Requests older than 48 hours cannot be cancelled — only paused or closed with withdrawal of raised funds

If your funded request expires without a working payout account, we will hold the funds for a limited claim period (currently 60 days), after which all donations are returned to donors and your claim to them lapses. Deleting your account forfeits any unclaimed funds, which are returned to donors. Donations refunded for any reason are removed from your Reciprocity Score.

9. Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to:

• Create fraudulent or misleading requests
• Use the Service for money laundering or illegal activity
• Create multiple accounts to circumvent request limits
• Harass, abuse, or threaten other users
• Solicit or arrange payment, donations, or compensation outside the Service, direct other users to off-platform payment methods or contact channels, or offer money in exchange for tasks, favors, or handling funds on your behalf
• Attempt to manipulate your Reciprocity Score through deceptive means
• Use automated systems or bots to interact with the Service
• Reverse-engineer, decompile, or attempt to extract the source code of the Service

See Sections 13 and 14 for our disclaimer of responsibility when other users violate this section.

10. Account Termination

We may suspend or terminate your account at our discretion if we believe you have violated these Terms, engaged in fraudulent activity, or pose a risk to other users or the platform. You may delete your account at any time through the app settings.

11. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Service is provided "AS IS" and "AS AVAILABLE," without warranties of any kind, whether express, implied, statutory, or otherwise, including without limitation any implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, or non-infringement. We do not warrant that the Service will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free; that requests will be funded; that funds received through the Service will be used for any stated purpose; or that any specific outcome will be achieved through your use of the Service.

12. User-to-User Interactions; No Vetting

Scratch is a platform that connects community members. We do not vet, screen, background-check, endorse, or verify the identity, age, citizenship, residency, financial circumstances, stated needs, statements, or intentions of any user, nor do we verify that funds raised through a request will be used for the purpose stated by the requester. We are not a party to any transaction, communication, agreement, or relationship between users. Any interaction you have with another user — whether through a request, a donation, a message, a circle, a referral, or otherwise — is solely between you and that user. You are solely responsible for your own due diligence before donating to, communicating with, sending money to, meeting, or otherwise relying on any other user.

13. No Responsibility for Scams, Fraud, or Misconduct Between Users

You understand and acknowledge that other users may, despite our policies, misrepresent who they are, why they are requesting help, how they intend to use donated funds, or what they are willing to provide in return. Common patterns include but are not limited to: fabricated emergencies, fake identities, romance scams, advance-fee scams, requests for off-platform payment, solicitations to move conversations off Scratch, impersonation, and requests for personal information.

Your sole recourse in such circumstances is against the user who caused the harm.

14. Off-Platform Interactions

Scratch can only see what happens on Scratch. If you communicate with another user, send money to another user, agree to provide goods or services to another user, or meet another user through any channel outside the Service — including iMessage, SMS, email, social media, other payment apps (such as Venmo, Cash App, Zelle, PayPal, or wire transfer), or in person — those interactions take place entirely outside the Service. Scratch has no visibility into, control over, or responsibility for off-platform interactions. Any agreement, transaction, payment, or relationship formed off-platform is solely between the users involved, and Scratch disclaims all liability for any loss or harm arising from such off-platform conduct.

15. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted by applicable law, in no event will Nemomakes (operating as Scratch), its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, agents, or licensors be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, punitive, or exemplary damages — including loss of funds, donations, profits, data, goodwill, or other intangible losses — arising out of or relating to your use of the Service, the acts or omissions of any other user, or any off-platform interaction, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. In no event will our total aggregate liability to you for all claims arising out of or relating to the Service exceed the greater of (a) the total fees you have paid Scratch in the six (6) months preceding the event giving rise to the claim, or (b) one hundred U.S. dollars (US$100). Some jurisdictions do not allow the limitation of certain damages, so portions of this section may not apply to you.

16. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Nemomakes (operating as Scratch) and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents from and against any and all claims, demands, losses, liabilities, damages, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or related to: (a) your use of or conduct on the Service; (b) any request you create or donation you make; (c) your interactions or transactions with any other user, whether on or off the Service; (d) your violation of these Terms or any applicable law; or (e) any misrepresentation by you of your identity, circumstances, or stated need.

17. User Conduct, Safety, and Reporting

You are responsible for your own safety on Scratch. To reduce your risk, we recommend that you: (a) keep all communications and payments related to a request on the Service; (b) never share your address, phone number, government identification, banking information, or other personal information with another user; (c) decline any request to move a conversation, payment, or transaction off the Service; (d) never accept payment outside Scratch in lieu of, or in addition to, a donation made on Scratch; and (e) report any suspicious user, request, or message to info@scratchapp.us. These are safety practices, not guarantees. Following them does not create any obligation on Scratch's part to prevent, detect, investigate, or remedy any conduct by another user.

18. No Recovery Guarantee

If you believe you have been the victim of fraud, a scam, or other misconduct by another user, we encourage you to report it to info@scratchapp.us and to the appropriate law enforcement authorities. Scratch may, at our sole discretion, suspend or terminate the offending user's account, cooperate with law enforcement, or take other steps we deem appropriate. However, Scratch makes no representation, warranty, or guarantee that we will recover any funds, refund any donation, reimburse any loss, or take any specific enforcement action beyond what is required of us under applicable law and our payment processor's policies. Refund eligibility is governed by Section 8 (Cancellation Policy) and by Stripe's processing rules; no other refund right is created by these Terms.

19. Changes to Terms

We may modify these Terms at any time. We will notify you of material changes via in-app notification or email. Your continued use of the Service after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated Terms.

20. Governing Law; Dispute Resolution; Binding Arbitration; Class Action Waiver

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the State of California, without regard to conflict of law principles.

Informal resolution first. Before filing any claim, you agree to contact us at info@scratchapp.us with a written description of the dispute and give us thirty (30) days to resolve it informally.

Binding arbitration. Except as provided below, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service that is not resolved informally will be resolved by final and binding arbitration on an individual basis, administered by JAMS under its Streamlined Arbitration Rules and its Consumer Arbitration Minimum Standards, before a single arbitrator. The Federal Arbitration Act governs the interpretation and enforcement of this section. The arbitration will be held in the county where you live or by videoconference, at your election. Payment of filing and arbitrator fees will be governed by the JAMS rules; where those rules require it, we will bear costs beyond your filing fee.

Exceptions. Either party may (a) bring an individual claim in small claims court, or (b) seek injunctive or other equitable relief in court for infringement or misuse of intellectual property or for unauthorized access to the Service.

Class action and jury trial waiver. You and Scratch each waive the right to a trial by jury and the right to participate in a class action, class arbitration, or other representative proceeding. Claims may be brought only in an individual capacity. If the class action waiver is found unenforceable as to a particular claim, that claim (and only that claim) must proceed in court, and the remainder of this section stays in effect.

Opt-out. You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing info@scratchapp.us within thirty (30) days of first accepting these Terms, stating your name, account email, and intent to opt out. Opting out does not affect any other provision of these Terms.

Any claim must be filed within one (1) year after it accrues, or it is permanently barred, to the extent permitted by law. For any claim not subject to arbitration, you consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in California.

21. Fees

Standard withdrawals carry no Scratch platform fee. Donors may choose to cover payment-processing costs at donation time; if declined, processing costs are deducted from the amount available to the recipient. Optional instant withdrawals carry the fee disclosed in-app at the time of withdrawal. Circle subscription plans are billed as disclosed at purchase. All fees are shown before you confirm a transaction, and we may change fees prospectively with notice.

22. Fraud Prevention; Holds and Reversals

We may, at our sole discretion and without prior notice, investigate any account, request, donation, or message; suspend, freeze, hold, or delay any request, payout, or funds pending investigation; reverse, refund, or cancel any donation we believe to be fraudulent, unauthorized, or in violation of these Terms; withhold or offset funds otherwise payable to you against amounts you owe us or amounts subject to reversal; and report conduct to payment networks and law enforcement. We are not liable for any loss arising from an investigation, hold, delay, reversal, or refund taken in good faith. Determinations under this section are final.

23. Monitoring

We may review, filter, and analyze content submitted to the Service — including requests, profiles, images, and messages between users — using automated systems and human review, for fraud prevention, safety, and enforcement of these Terms. You consent to this monitoring. We may act on what we find (including warnings, holds, and termination) but assume no duty to detect or prevent any particular conduct.

24. No Banking Services

Scratch is not a bank or money transmitter. Payment processing and custody of funds are provided by Stripe. Funds are not deposits, earn no interest, and are not FDIC-insured.

25. Communications

You consent to receive verification and transactional text messages and emails from us or our service providers (message/data rates may apply) and, unless you opt out, marketing emails. You also consent to receive disclosures and notices from us electronically.

26. General

These Terms are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Service. If any provision is found unenforceable, the remainder stays in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms; we may. Sections 9 through 18, 20, and 22, and any provision that by its nature should survive, survive termination of your account. We are not liable for delay or failure to perform caused by events beyond our reasonable control. California users: complaints may be directed to the Complaint Assistance Unit of the Division of Consumer Services of the California Department of Consumer Affairs, 1625 North Market Blvd., Suite N 112, Sacramento, CA 95834; (800) 952-5210.

27. Contact Us

If you have questions about these Terms, contact us at:

Nemomakes, operating as Scratch
info@scratchapp.us