Terms of Service

The Esprit de Corps Foundation (“EDC,” “the Foundation,” “we”) is a nonprofit corporation organized in Illinois and recognized by the IRS as a 501(c)(3) public charity. We build community and programs for veterans, current service members, National Guard and Reserve, military spouses, dependents, and family members. Community members, supporters, and partners are welcome under the same Terms.

Our mission is to strengthen the lives of those who serve by creating places where purpose, belonging, and community endure. We pursue that mission across four pillars: Recreation & Adventure, Community & Service, Growth & Opportunity, and Family & Belonging. Technology, community, and volunteers are the tools we use to get there.

These Terms apply to every person who visits espritdcf.org, joins any Foundation portal or program, receives a benefit, attends an event, participates in a Chapter, or interacts with our team. By accessing any Foundation surface you agree to these Terms and to the specific policies referenced below.

Every authenticated Foundation portal (Team, Ranks, Volunteer) requires you to be at least 18. Public marketing pages are open to all ages. See the Age Policy for the full rules.

Whoever holds an account is responsible for what happens under it:

• Keep your credentials confidential. Do not share magic links, session cookies, or one-time codes.
• Keep two-factor authentication active on any portal that requires it.
• Report suspected compromise to security@espritdcf.org within 24 hours.
• Your account is tied to a real, named individual; role changes must be reported so we can update your permissions.

Use of any Foundation surface is subject to our Acceptable Use Policy. That policy explains prohibited conduct, content, and data handling — including the special restrictions on the Team Portal (admin.espritdcf.org).

The Community Guidelines describe how everyone is expected to treat everyone else. Violence, hate speech, harassment, slurs, sexual content targeting minors, incitement, and threats are never permitted anywhere. Automated systems may flag or remove content that appears to violate these standards.

You retain ownership of content you post. By posting inside a Foundation portal, you grant the Foundation a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to store, display, transmit, and use that content solely to operate and improve the Foundation’s mission and services. We do not sell your content or license it to third parties for advertising.

Portal-generated records (team notebooks, chat, CRM data, meeting minutes, event materials created for Foundation work) are Foundation records under the Data Retention & Records Policy.

We publish and share benefits, programs, resources, and referrals from third parties (VA resources, state agencies, employers, nonprofits, service providers). We do these things at the best of our ability and in good faith. We do not represent, endorse, or guarantee any third-party resource, provider, opportunity, employer, or outcome. See the Resources Disclaimer for details.

Additional rules apply to specific parts of the ecosystem:

• Programs — Operation Adventure, Serve, Next Mission, Anchor, Muster, Emerging Leaders, YP Committee.
• Esprit de Corps Campus — the future physical home of the Foundation.
• Membership — Ranks Participant · Chapter Participant · Paid EDC Member.

Donations, membership fees (when live), and paid programs are covered by the Payments & Refunds Policy. Depending on the campaign or event, transactions are processed by Stripe or Givebutter; ticketed events may also use Eventbrite or AllEvents. Card numbers never touch our servers. Each processor’s terms and privacy policy also apply to your transaction.

Organizations that participate in Foundation surfaces (approved providers, employers, nonprofit partners, sponsors, and vendors) do so under agreements executed with the Foundation. Sponsorship recognition and partner status may be scaled or terminated at the Foundation’s discretion.

Partnership is not official unless both parties sign a written Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or partnership agreement. Verbal understandings, meeting notes, social posts, and email introductions are not partnerships. Nothing published on a Foundation surface constitutes acceptance of a partnership without a signed MOU.

Independence of partners and sponsors. Partners, sponsors, employers, vendors, and any organization featured on Foundation surfaces are independent third parties. The Foundation is not responsible or liable for their acts, omissions, products, services, statements, employment decisions, safety practices, or interactions with you. Your dealings with them are between you and them.

The Foundation uses third-party services to run donations, event ticketing, RSVPs, and event listings. When you use one of these services through us, that service’s own Terms of Service and Privacy Policy also apply:

• Stripe (donations, future paid membership)
• Givebutter (donation campaigns, ticketed events, peer-to-peer fundraising)
• Eventbrite (event RSVPs and ticket sales)
• AllEvents (event listings and RSVPs)

The Foundation is not responsible for downtime, outages, disputed charges, or account issues internal to those platforms. Refund handling for third-party-processed transactions follows the Payments & Refunds Policy.

Communications. When you contact us, register for an event, donate, apply to volunteer or serve, submit a form, or otherwise engage with a Foundation surface, you consent to receive transactional communications relating to your request or participation.

Newsletter + updates auto-subscribe. If you participate in a Foundation program, event, or engagement (e.g., attend an event, volunteer, donate, apply, or join Ranks) you may be added to Foundation mailing lists so we can send updates about our work. You can unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time using the link in any email, or by emailing privacy@espritdcf.org. Unsubscribing from marketing does not stop transactional communications (receipts, event confirmations, safety notices, legal notices).

Media and photography. Foundation events and programs are photographed and recorded. By participating in a Foundation event or program, you grant the Foundation a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license to use your name, likeness, voice, image, and quotes in Foundation communications, marketing materials, reports, fundraising, social media, and press. Tell an event lead or email privacy@espritdcf.org if you do not want to be photographed or featured; we will use reasonable efforts to honor the request going forward.

The Foundation reserves the right to remove, suspend, or terminate anyone’s access to any Foundation surface — Team Portal, Ranks, Volunteer, programs, events, or Chapters — with or without reason, and at the Foundation’s sole discretion. Common examples include violations of these Terms or the Acceptable Use Policy, safety concerns, misrepresentation, harassment, non-payment for paid services, misuse of Foundation data or marks, or failure to meet the responsibilities of a role you accepted. We are not obligated to provide reason or advance notice, but we generally will unless doing so would harm safety, an investigation, or another person.

Removal from one surface may result in removal from all Foundation surfaces. Historical activity records remain attributed as required by law and by the Foundation’s records-retention schedule.

Foundation surfaces, resources, and programs are provided as-is and as-available. To the fullest extent allowed by law, the Foundation disclaims all implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement with respect to our services, resources, and third-party referrals.

To the fullest extent allowed by law, the Foundation and its directors, officers, employees, and volunteers are not liable for indirect, incidental, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of your use of Foundation surfaces or reliance on Foundation-published resources. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law.

Foundation surfaces are provided as-is and as-available. The Foundation does not guarantee uninterrupted access, error-free operation, or preservation of any specific feature. Downtime, defects, and data-processing errors may occur.

Feature changes. The Foundation may add, modify, restrict, or discontinue features, portals, endpoints, integrations, and content at any time without notice. When feasible, material changes are announced in the Change Log or via portal notification.

Reporting bugs, errors, and defects. Two channels are available. Inside a portal:use the “Report a bug” affordance available in Team Portal, Ranks, and the Volunteer Portal. That form automatically attaches the current page URL, an anonymized browser and device summary, and any error code the browser captured. You may optionally attach a screenshot of the page. Screenshots are only captured with your explicit consent on the report dialog and are used solely to help us reproduce and fix the issue. Outside a portal: email support@espritdcf.org with a description of what happened, what you expected, and (if you can) the browser, device, and time. We prioritize safety, data-integrity, and payment-related reports.

Feedback + suggestions. If you send us product feedback, feature requests, or suggestions, you grant the Foundation a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to use, modify, and incorporate that feedback in Foundation surfaces without any obligation to you. Do not send confidential information you expect to remain confidential through this channel.

No third-party dependencies guaranteed. Foundation surfaces rely on third-party infrastructure (hosting, payments, email, calendaring, analytics). The Foundation is not responsible for outages, defects, or changes in those third-party services.

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Illinois. Disputes are resolved in the state or federal courts located in Cook County, Illinois, unless required otherwise by consumer-protection law of your home state or country.

The Foundation may update these Terms as programs, portals, and legal requirements evolve. Material updates are announced in the Change Log and, for account holders, via portal notification. Continued use after an update constitutes acceptance.

For legal notices, service of process, and questions about these Terms, use the Contact page.