Terms of Service

1. Agreement to Terms

These Terms of Service ("Terms") are a legally binding agreement between you ("User", "you", or "your") and GivingStump, Inc. ("GivingStump", "we", "us", or "our") governing your access to and use of the GivingStump platform, website, mobile experiences, and related services (collectively, the "Service").

By accessing, browsing, or using the Service in any manner, you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound by these Terms and our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated by reference. If you do not agree, you must not use the Service.

2. Description of Service

GivingStump operates an online marketplace that connects homeowners and property owners ("Customers") with tree service contractors ("Contractors") to facilitate discovery, competitive bidding, scheduling, communications, notifications (including email and in-app), payment processing, and related workflow tools for tree removal, trimming, and related work.

Marketplace only: GivingStump is a technology platform. We do not perform tree work, do not employ or supervise Contractors, and are not a party to the contract between a Customer and a Contractor for on-site services. We do not guarantee the quality, safety, legality, insurance status, licensing status, or timeliness of any Contractor or job outcome.

Features may change over time. Descriptions on the site, in onboarding, or at checkout control if they conflict with an outdated summary elsewhere.

3. User Accounts and Registration

To use certain features, you must create an account with accurate, current, and complete information. You are responsible for safeguarding your credentials and for activity under your account.

You represent and warrant that:

• You are at least 18 and have capacity to enter binding contracts where you live
• Registration information is truthful and not misleading
• You will update your account information to keep it accurate
• You will not create multiple accounts to evade rules or fees
• You will not share credentials with third parties
• You will notify us promptly of unauthorized access

We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these Terms or applicable law, or that present fraud, abuse, or security risk.

4. Contractor Requirements and Verification

Contractors agree to:

• Maintain licenses, permits, and insurance required by applicable law for the work you offer
• Maintain commercial general liability insurance in amounts appropriate for your operations and as we may require during onboarding or re-verification (for example, minimum limits stated in the Contractor onboarding flow)
• Maintain workers' compensation or statutory equivalents where required by law
• Provide proof of insurance, licensing, or bonding when we or a Customer requests
• Comply with applicable safety and occupational health rules
• Have the skill, experience, and equipment to perform proposed work safely and competently

We may offer credential checks or badges for convenience. They are not a substitute for a Customer's own diligence. Customers are responsible for verifying qualifications and coverage before accepting bids or allowing work, including any independent vetting they choose to perform outside the platform.

We may remove Contractors who fail to maintain required credentials, misrepresent qualifications, or violate these Terms or law.

5. Job Posting and Bidding

Customers. When you post a job, you represent and warrant that:

• Descriptions and photos you submit are accurate to the best of your knowledge
• You have authority to request work on the property
• You have obtained permits, easements, HOA approvals, utility notifications, and other permissions required for the work
• You will not solicit illegal work
• You will engage with bids and messages in good faith

Contractors. When you bid, you represent and warrant that:

• You can and intend to perform the work as described
• Your bid reflects the full price and scope you offer, subject to lawful change only by mutual written agreement with the Customer through the Service where supported
• You will honor an accepted bid except as law or platform rules require otherwise
• You will not manipulate bids, collude, or engage in anti-competitive conduct

We do not guarantee bids, acceptance, completion, or dispute-free transactions.

6. Payments, Platform Fees, and Escrow (Stripe)

Stripe. Payments run through Stripe, including Stripe Connect for Contractor payouts. Your use of payments is also subject to the Stripe Services Agreement and, where applicable, the Connected Account Agreement. If Stripe's terms conflict with these Terms on payment processing, Stripe's agreement with you governs the payment rails.

How escrow works on GivingStump. To support jobs that may take longer than card networks allow for uncaptured authorizations, the Service may use a flow in which the Customer's payment is captured to the platform and held until release conditions are met (for example, completion confirmed in the product), after which funds are transferred to the Contractor's Connect account, minus platform fees and permitted deductions. Exact steps, statuses, and timing are shown in the product and may evolve; the operational flow in the Service at the time of payment controls.

Who pays the platform fee. Contractors pay GivingStump's platform fee; it is deducted from the Contractor's payout. Customers pay the accepted bid amount (plus any separately disclosed payment-processing charges or taxes) and do not pay a separate platform fee. The platform fee applies only to completed, paid work won through the Service—never per lead, per bid, or as a subscription.

Contractor fee rates. Unless a different rate is shown for your account in your Contractor dashboard or agreed with us in writing, the platform fee on each completed job is:

• Founding Contractors (the first fifty Contractors to sign up): 5%, locked for three years from signup, after which the then-current standard rate applies.
• Standard Contractors (everyone after the founding group): 8%.
• Custom or promotional rates we assign in writing or display in the product. Where a specific rate is shown for your account, the rate displayed in your Contractor dashboard at the time of a transaction controls.

Card processing and network fees may be charged separately as disclosed at payment. Taxes, if any, are your responsibility as required by law.

Refunds and holds. Refunds, partial releases, and escrow holds depend on job status, dispute handling, fraud review, and law. We may delay or redirect funds when reasonably necessary to investigate fraud, chargebacks, or Terms violations.

Taxes and reporting. Contractors are responsible for their own taxes. We may provide tools or summaries, but they are not tax or legal advice.

7. Service Agreements; Independent Contractors

Contractors are independent businesses, not employees, agents, or partners of GivingStump. We do not control how, when, or where work is performed on site.

When a Customer accepts a bid, the service relationship is between Customer and Contractor. GivingStump is not liable for workmanship, safety, compliance, damage, injury, delay, or disputes between Users, except where applicable law does not allow such exclusion.

Users must agree on scope, change orders, warranties, and site-specific terms directly. Where the Service offers standard flows or forms, they supplement—but do not replace—your obligations under law and good trade practice.

8. User Content; License to Us

You may upload or submit content such as job descriptions, photos, videos, messages, reviews, and profile information ("User Content"). You retain ownership of your User Content subject to the license below.

You grant GivingStump a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, display, perform, distribute, and create limited technical copies (such as thumbnails or transcoded formats) of User Content as needed to operate, promote, secure, and improve the Service; to share relevant job materials with matched or bidding Contractors; and to comply with law. You represent that you have all rights needed to grant this license.

You may not upload content you do not have rights to, or that is illegal, invasive of privacy, or malicious. We may remove content that violates these Terms or law, or that creates risk to Users or the platform.

Copyright complaints. If you believe material on the Service infringes your copyright, send a notice to legal@givingstump.com with the information required under the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512), including identification of the work, the material claimed to infringe, your contact information, a good-faith statement, and your physical or electronic signature. We may remove or disable access to challenged material and may terminate repeat infringers where appropriate.

9. AI-Assisted Features

Parts of the Service may use automated or machine-learning tools to suggest text, categorize information, or generate informational summaries from inputs you provide (such as photos or descriptions). Outputs may be incorrect, incomplete, or not suitable for your situation.

Not professional advice. AI-assisted outputs are not arboricultural, engineering, legal, insurance, or safety advice. You remain solely responsible for decisions about tree work, bids, pricing, permits, and site safety. Always consult qualified professionals for assessments that affect people, property, or compliance.

We may use vendors and models that process inputs according to our Privacy Policy. Do not submit sensitive personal data of third parties or confidential information you are not authorized to share.

10. Electronic Communications

We send account, security, job, bid, scheduling, and payment-related notices, and other operational messages reasonably necessary to the Service, through email, in-product notifications, and, where enabled, push notifications. GivingStump does not send SMS or RCS text messages.

Marketing. We will obtain any additional consent required by law before sending promotional email. Transactional messages may continue even if you opt out of marketing, unless you close your account or we can no longer lawfully contact you. You can opt out of non-essential email using the unsubscribe link or through notification settings where available.

You consent to receive agreements, notices, and disclosures electronically through the Service and the email on file.

11. Dispute Resolution

User-to-user disputes. Customers and Contractors should first try to resolve issues directly and through tools we provide. We may hold or release funds in line with these Terms, investigation findings, and law.

Arbitration with GivingStump. Except for the carve-outs below, any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or the Service will be resolved by binding arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Arbitration Rules. The seat of arbitration is the state where GivingStump maintains its principal place of business, unless the rules or law require otherwise. Judgment on the award may be entered in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Carve-outs. Either party may (a) bring an individual action in small claims court if the claim qualifies; or (b) seek temporary or preliminary injunctive relief in a court of competent jurisdiction to protect intellectual property or confidential information, or to prevent unauthorized access or abuse of the Service, without waiving the right to arbitrate the underlying merits.

Class action waiver. You and GivingStump agree to bring claims only in an individual capacity, not as a plaintiff or class member in any class or representative proceeding. If this waiver is held unenforceable as to a claim, that claim (and only that claim) must proceed in court.

12. Disclaimers; Limitation of Liability

THE SERVICE IS PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE." TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, GIVINGSTUMP DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, WHETHER EXPRESS, IMPLIED, OR STATUTORY, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

We do not warrant uninterrupted or error-free operation, the conduct of Users, or the accuracy of AI-assisted outputs, listings, or third-party data.

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, GIVINGSTUMP AND ITS AFFILIATES, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, AND AGENTS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR ANY LOSS OF PROFITS, DATA, GOODWILL, OR OTHER INTANGIBLE LOSSES, ARISING FROM YOUR USE OF THE SERVICE, WHETHER BASED IN CONTRACT, TORT, STRICT LIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY.

EXCEPT WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW, GIVINGSTUMP'S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ALL CLAIMS RELATING TO THE SERVICE IN ANY TWELVE-MONTH PERIOD IS THE GREATER OF (A) THE PLATFORM FEES YOU PAID TO GIVINGSTUMP IN THAT PERIOD OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS ($100). Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations; in those jurisdictions, our liability is limited to the fullest extent permitted.

13. Indemnification

You will indemnify, defend, and hold harmless GivingStump and its affiliates, officers, directors, employees, and agents from any claims, damages, losses, liabilities, costs, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising from: (a) your use of the Service; (b) your User Content; (c) your breach of these Terms; (d) your violation of law or third-party rights; (e) disputes between you and another User; or (f) services you perform as a Contractor or purchase as a Customer.

14. Intellectual Property

The Service, including software, branding, and our content (excluding your User Content), is owned by GivingStump or its licensors and is protected by intellectual property laws.

We grant you a limited, revocable, non-exclusive, non-transferable license to access and use the Service for its intended purpose. You may not copy, scrape, reverse engineer, circumvent security, or use our marks without permission.

Feedback you provide may be used by us without restriction or compensation to you.

15. Prohibited Conduct

You agree not to:

• Violate law or third-party rights
• Harass, threaten, defraud, or discriminate unlawfully
• Misrepresent identity, licensing, insurance, or affiliation
• Manipulate bids, reviews, or rankings
• Interfere with the Service, impose unreasonable load, or bypass access controls
• Upload malware or harvest data without consent
• Use the Service to compete with us in a way that violates law or our written agreements with you

We may investigate and cooperate with law enforcement regarding violations.

16. Termination

You may stop using the Service and may request account closure subject to completion of open payments and lawful record-keeping.

We may suspend or terminate access for breach, risk, legal process, or operational reasons, with or without notice where permitted by law.

Provisions that by nature should survive (fees owed, disclaimers, limits, indemnity, arbitration, governing law) survive termination.

17. Changes to the Service and These Terms

We may modify or discontinue features. We may update these Terms by posting a revised version and updating the last-updated date (and document version where shown).

If a change is material, we will provide reasonable notice as required by law—for example, by email, in-product notice, or requiring re-acceptance before continued use of payment features.

Continued use after the effective date of non-material updates constitutes acceptance. If you do not agree, stop using the Service.

18. Governing Law; Venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Delaware, excluding conflict-of-law rules that would apply another jurisdiction's law.

Subject to Section 11, you and GivingStump consent to exclusive jurisdiction and venue in the state and federal courts located in Delaware for disputes heard in court.

19. General

These Terms and the Privacy Policy are the entire agreement between you and GivingStump about the Service, superseding prior understandings on the same subject.

If a provision is unenforceable, the remainder stays in effect. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. You may not assign these Terms without our consent; we may assign them in connection with a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets.

Contact.

GivingStump, Inc.
Email: legal@givingstump.com
Support: support@givingstump.com
Website: https://www.givingstump.com