Terms

01Acceptance of Terms

By accessing or using the ESSA Foundation website, submitting an application, or otherwise interacting with our services, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference.

If you do not agree to these Terms, you may not use our website or services. If you are accessing or using our services on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have the authority to bind that organization to these Terms, and references to “you” include both you individually and that organization.

These Terms constitute a legally binding agreement between you and The ESSA Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN: 41-4251617).

02Description of Services

The ESSA Foundation provides the following services to qualifying organizations:

• Fiscal sponsorship: The ESSA Foundation acts as a legal umbrella organization, allowing sponsored initiatives to receive tax-deductible donations and apply for grants under ESSA Foundation’s 501(c)(3) status.
• Financial infrastructure: Accepted organizations receive access to a dedicated digital Visa card tied to a program-specific account to fund approved expenses.
• Curriculum and training resources: The ESSA Foundation develops and provides STEM curriculum, training materials, and educational resources tailored to each sponsored program.
• Industry connections and mentorship: The ESSA Foundation facilitates introductions to professionals, researchers, and advisors relevant to each program’s focus area.
• Grants access (coming soon): The ESSA Foundation will assist sponsored organizations in identifying and pursuing grant funding opportunities.

The ESSA Foundation reserves the right to modify, suspend, or discontinue any aspect of its services at any time, with or without notice. We will make reasonable efforts to notify active sponsored organizations of material changes to services that directly affect them.

03Eligibility

To submit an application or enter into a fiscal sponsorship relationship with The ESSA Foundation, you must meet the following requirements:

• You must be at least 13 years of age. If you are between 13 and 17, you represent that a parent or guardian has reviewed and approved your use of these services and your submission of an application.
• You must have the authority to submit an application on behalf of the organization described in the application.
• The information you provide in your application must be truthful, accurate, and not misleading in any material respect.
• Your organization’s activities must be consistent with ESSA Foundation’s educational mission and must not involve activities that are illegal, harmful, or inconsistent with our charitable purposes.
• Your organization must not be subject to sanctions, export restrictions, or designations as a prohibited or restricted entity under applicable U.S. law.

The ESSA Foundation does not discriminate in its selection of sponsored organizations on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.

04Application Process

Submitting an application does not guarantee acceptance into ESSA Foundation’s fiscal sponsorship program. The ESSA Foundation evaluates all applications at its sole discretion based on mission alignment, organizational capacity, geographic scope, and other factors.

• Applications are reviewed personally by ESSA Foundation staff. We aim to respond to all applications within two weeks of receipt.
• You are responsible for the accuracy and completeness of all information submitted. Providing false, misleading, or materially incomplete information is grounds for immediate rejection or termination of a sponsorship relationship.
• The ESSA Foundation may request additional documentation, clarification, or a follow-up conversation before making a decision.
• The ESSA Foundation is not obligated to provide a reason for declining any application.
• You may not submit more than three applications within any ten-minute period. Automated, bulk, or duplicative submissions are prohibited and may result in your IP address being blocked from further submissions.

05Fiscal Sponsorship Terms

If your application is accepted, your fiscal sponsorship relationship with The ESSA Foundation will be governed by a separate Fiscal Sponsorship Agreement (“FSA”) that you will be required to execute prior to receiving any services or funds. These Terms of Use apply during the application process and to your general use of the website; the FSA governs the ongoing sponsorship relationship. In the event of any conflict between these Terms and the FSA, the FSA controls.

Administrative Fee

The ESSA Foundation charges a flat administrative fee of 4% on all donations received through the fiscal sponsorship program. This fee covers financial compliance, tax filings, and operational oversight. The applicable fee will be specified in your FSA and may be updated upon renewal.

Fund Ownership and Transfer

Funds received under fiscal sponsorship are legally owned by The ESSA Foundation as required under IRS regulations governing fiscal sponsorship arrangements. The ESSA Foundation holds these funds as a fiduciary and disburses them exclusively for approved program purposes as specified in the FSA. Upon termination of the sponsorship relationship, any remaining funds will be transferred to your successor organization (if you have incorporated as a nonprofit) or redistributed to a qualifying organization with a substantially similar purpose, consistent with ESSA Foundation’s charitable mission and IRS requirements.

Visa Card Usage

If you are issued a digital Visa card through ESSA Foundation’s program, you agree to use it exclusively for approved program expenses as defined in your FSA. Misuse of program funds, including personal expenditures, unauthorized purchases, or expenses inconsistent with your program’s stated purpose, may result in immediate suspension of card access, clawback of funds, and termination of the sponsorship relationship. The ESSA Foundation reserves the right to review all card transactions.

06Acceptable Use

You agree to use our website and services only for lawful purposes and in a manner consistent with these Terms. Specifically, you agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete information when submitting an application or communicating with us.
• Use our services only to advance your organization’s genuine STEM education mission.
• Notify us promptly of any material changes to the information you provided in your application, including changes to your organization’s legal status, leadership, mission, or activities.
• Comply with all applicable laws and regulations in connection with your use of our services.
• Respect the intellectual property rights of The ESSA Foundation and third parties.

07Prohibited Conduct

You may not use our website or services to:

• Submit false, fraudulent, or misleading application information.
• Impersonate any person or organization, or falsely represent your affiliation with any entity.
• Engage in, facilitate, or promote illegal activity of any kind.
• Attempt to circumvent any security, rate-limiting, or anti-spam measures we have implemented, including submitting applications through automated scripts, bots, or proxies.
• Scrape, harvest, or systematically collect content or data from our website without our prior written permission.
• Introduce viruses, malware, or other harmful code into our systems.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of our website, servers, or infrastructure.
• Use ESSA Foundation’s name, logo, tax-exempt status, or EIN in any manner not expressly authorized by a signed FSA or written permission from The ESSA Foundation.
• Claim or suggest an affiliation with or endorsement by The ESSA Foundation that does not exist.
• Use program funds for personal enrichment, political activities, lobbying, or any purpose inconsistent with your approved program description.

Violations of this section may result in immediate termination of your access to our services and, where applicable, termination of your fiscal sponsorship agreement without refund.

08Intellectual Property

ESSA Foundation Content

All content on the ESSA Foundation website, including text, graphics, logos, images, curriculum materials, and software, is owned by or licensed to The ESSA Foundation and is protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify, publicly display, or create derivative works from any ESSA Foundation content without our prior written permission, except as expressly permitted by these Terms.

Limited License

Subject to these Terms, The ESSA Foundation grants you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use our website and any curriculum or training materials provided to your sponsored organization solely for the non-commercial, educational purposes of your program. This license does not include the right to sublicense, sell, or redistribute ESSA Foundation materials.

Your Content

By submitting an application, you represent that all information and content you provide is either your own original work or that you have the necessary rights to provide it. You grant The ESSA Foundation a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, and display information you submit for the purpose of evaluating your application, administering your sponsorship, and describing our work (for example, in anonymized impact reports). We will not publicly identify your organization without your consent.

09Disclaimers

OUR WEBSITE AND SERVICES ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE ESSA FOUNDATION EXPRESSLY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT.

THE ESSA FOUNDATION DOES NOT WARRANT THAT: (A) OUR WEBSITE WILL BE AVAILABLE AT ALL TIMES OR AT ANY PARTICULAR TIME; (B) ANY ERRORS OR DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED; (C) THE WEBSITE IS FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS; OR (D) THE RESULTS OF USING THE WEBSITE WILL MEET YOUR NEEDS OR EXPECTATIONS.

THE ESSA FOUNDATION DOES NOT GUARANTEE THAT YOUR APPLICATION WILL BE ACCEPTED, THAT ANY SPECIFIC LEVEL OF FUNDING WILL BE AVAILABLE, OR THAT ANY SPECIFIC GRANT, DONOR, OR PARTNERSHIP OPPORTUNITY WILL BE SECURED ON YOUR BEHALF.

Nothing in these Terms limits or excludes any liability that cannot be limited or excluded under applicable law, including liability for gross negligence, fraud, or willful misconduct.

10Limitation of Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, IN NO EVENT SHALL THE ESSA FOUNDATION, ITS OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, VOLUNTEERS, OR AGENTS BE LIABLE TO YOU FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, PUNITIVE, OR EXEMPLARY DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF DATA, LOSS OF GOODWILL, OR COSTS OF SUBSTITUTE SERVICES, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF OUR SERVICES, EVEN IF WE HAVE BEEN ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY APPLICABLE LAW, THE ESSA FOUNDATION’S TOTAL LIABILITY TO YOU FOR ALL CLAIMS ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OR YOUR USE OF OUR SERVICES SHALL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF: (A) THE TOTAL ADMINISTRATIVE FEES PAID BY YOUR ORGANIZATION TO THE ESSA FOUNDATION IN THE TWELVE MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE HUNDRED DOLLARS (US $100).

Some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation may not apply to you.

11Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless The ESSA Foundation and its officers, directors, employees, volunteers, and agents from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising out of or in any way connected with: (a) your access to or use of our website or services; (b) your violation of these Terms; (c) your violation of any applicable law or the rights of any third party; (d) any false or misleading information you have provided to us; or (e) any activities conducted under your fiscal sponsorship agreement.

The ESSA Foundation reserves the right to assume exclusive control of the defense of any matter otherwise subject to indemnification by you, at your expense. You agree to cooperate with ESSA Foundation’s defense of such claims.

12Termination

The ESSA Foundation may, in its sole discretion, suspend or terminate your access to our website or services at any time, with or without cause, and with or without notice. Reasons for termination may include, but are not limited to, violation of these Terms, submission of fraudulent information, misuse of program funds, illegal activity, or conduct that The ESSA Foundation reasonably determines to be harmful to its mission or reputation.

You may discontinue your use of our website at any time. If you are a sponsored organization and wish to terminate your fiscal sponsorship relationship, the process and consequences are governed by your FSA.

Sections 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 13, and 15 of these Terms, as well as any provisions that by their nature should survive termination, will survive any termination or expiration of these Terms.

13Governing Law and Dispute Resolution

These Terms are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States and the applicable laws of the state in which The ESSA Foundation is incorporated, without regard to its conflict of law provisions.

Any dispute arising out of or relating to these Terms or your use of our services that cannot be resolved informally shall be resolved exclusively through binding arbitration administered under the rules of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), except that either party may seek injunctive or other equitable relief in any court of competent jurisdiction to prevent actual or threatened infringement, misappropriation, or violation of intellectual property rights. The arbitration shall be conducted in English and the arbitrator’s decision shall be final and binding.

Class action waiver. You agree that any dispute resolution proceedings will be conducted only on an individual basis and not as a class, consolidated, or representative action. You waive any right to participate in a class action lawsuit or class-wide arbitration.

If you are located in the European Union or United Kingdom, nothing in these Terms limits your right to bring a claim before the courts of your country of residence or to seek alternative dispute resolution through your local consumer protection bodies.

14Changes to These Terms

The ESSA Foundation reserves the right to modify these Terms at any time. When we make changes, we will update the “Last updated” date at the top of this page. For material changes, we will provide more prominent notice, such as a banner on our website or, where we have your email address, by notifying you directly.

Your continued use of our website or services after changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the revised Terms. If you do not agree to the revised Terms, you must stop using our website and services.

15Contact Us

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

You may also visit our Privacy Policy for information about how we collect and use your data.