Terms of Service

Version 1.0 | Effective April 21, 2026

BenefitsSafe ("BenefitsSafe," "we," "us," or "our") 1969 Harrington Ave, Oakland, CA 94601

Plain-Language Summary (Not Legally Binding)

BenefitsSafe is a platform that helps nonprofits pay for things on behalf of people who receive SSI, SSDI, Medi-Cal, CalFresh, or ABLE benefits — without accidentally disqualifying those people from their benefits. By using the platform, your nonprofit agrees to the rules below.

In short:

You tell us the truth about your nonprofit (you're a real 501(c)(3), you have authority to spend grant money).
You are responsible for deciding who is eligible for benefits programs. We give you tools; we don't make eligibility calls for you.
You don't use BenefitsSafe for fraud, money laundering, prohibited merchant categories, or things that would break sanctions or benefits rules.
You pay your subscription fees on time.
If something goes wrong, our liability is capped at what you paid us in the last 12 months (with specific exceptions). Yours to us is similarly limited.
If there's a dispute, we try to work it out; if we can't, we use arbitration in California.

The full legal terms follow. If there is any conflict between this summary and the legal terms below, the legal terms control.

1. Acceptance of Terms

By clicking "I agree," creating an account, signing a BenefitsSafe order form, or using any part of the platform, you (on behalf of your Nonprofit) enter into a binding contract with BenefitsSafe. If you are agreeing on behalf of an organization, you represent that you have authority to bind that organization.

If you do not agree, do not create an account or use the platform.

These Terms, together with the Privacy Policy and the Data Processing Agreement (collectively, the "Agreement"), form the entire agreement between you and BenefitsSafe regarding the platform.

2. Definitions

BenefitsSafe — the online platform at app.benefitssafe.com, marketing site at benefitssafe.com, and associated services.
Nonprofit or you — the US-based 501(c)(3) organization that subscribed to the platform, together with its authorized staff.
Beneficiary — an individual whom a Nonprofit has enrolled to receive goods or services through grant funds on the platform.
Vendor — a merchant or service provider paid through a BenefitsSafe virtual card.
Virtual Card — a payment card issued through Stripe Issuing in cooperation with Sutton Bank or Evolve Bank & Trust (both FDIC members), accessible through the platform.
Grant — restricted funds a Nonprofit allocates to a Beneficiary or category of expenses.
Compliance Engine — our software that classifies expenses by risk to government-benefit eligibility (LIKELY_SAFE, NEEDS_REVIEW, LIKELY_RISKY, BLOCKED).
Order Form — a written or electronic document specifying your subscription tier, price, and term.

3. Service Description

BenefitsSafe provides software tools for:

Enrolling Beneficiaries and recording their benefit-program participation (SSI, SSDI, Medi-Cal, CalFresh, ABLE, IHSS, etc.).
Creating Grants and budget categories backed by restricted funds.
Issuing Virtual Cards to Beneficiaries via Stripe Issuing (issued by Sutton Bank or Evolve Bank & Trust, Members FDIC).
Authorizing or declining card transactions in real time based on Merchant Category Codes, grant balance, and compliance rules.
Recording an immutable ledger and audit log of every transaction and data change.
Generating reports for funders, auditors, and tax professionals.

What BenefitsSafe is not:

BenefitsSafe is not a bank, a money transmitter, or a financial institution. We do not hold funds as a principal. Funds are held in Treasury Financial Accounts under Stripe and the partner banks named above.
BenefitsSafe is not a benefits counselor, tax advisor, attorney, or government agency. The Compliance Engine provides software-based guidance based on published federal and California rules; it is not legal advice and does not replace a qualified benefits counselor or attorney.
BenefitsSafe does not make eligibility determinations for SSI, SSDI, Medi-Cal, CalFresh, or any other government program. Those determinations are made by the Social Security Administration, state Medicaid agencies, and other competent authorities. Your Nonprofit is solely responsible for confirming each Beneficiary's program enrollment.
BenefitsSafe does not guarantee any particular outcome from the Compliance Engine. A classification of LIKELY_SAFE is a software estimate, not a promise, and does not bind the Social Security Administration or any state agency.

4. Eligibility

To use the platform as a Nonprofit, you must:

Be a US organization recognized as tax-exempt under Internal Revenue Code §501(c)(3), or a fiscally sponsored project of such an organization, or a government entity authorized to disburse charitable benefits.
Have lawful authority to spend the grant funds you intend to disburse on the platform.
Have a US bank account in your legal name, verifiable via Plaid.
Pass Stripe's Know-Your-Business verification for your organization and its ultimate beneficial owners, where applicable.
Not be located in, nor have principals located in, any country subject to US comprehensive sanctions.
Not appear on the OFAC Specially Designated Nationals list or any other applicable sanctions list.

Individual users (Nonprofit staff, CPAs, auditors, Vendors, Beneficiaries) must be at least 18 years old, except that Beneficiaries may be as young as 13 when the enrolling Nonprofit has obtained parent/guardian authorization and the card-issuing bank accepts the cardholder.

5. Account Registration and Security

You agree to:

Provide accurate, current, and complete registration information.
Promptly update your information if it changes.
Keep account credentials confidential and use multi-factor authentication when offered.
Restrict account access to authorized staff and assign the appropriate role (nonprofit_admin, nonprofit_staff, cpa, auditor, attorney, grant_officer, compliance_officer, support_agent, billing_admin, beneficiary, vendor).
Notify us immediately at security@benefitssafe.com if you suspect unauthorized access.

You are responsible for all activity under your account, including by staff you invite. Compromised credentials are your responsibility until you notify us.

6. Acceptable Use

You may use the platform only for lawful purposes consistent with the mission of disbursing restricted grant funds for the benefit of eligible individuals.

You agree to:

Use the Compliance Engine as decision support, combined with human review by qualified staff.
Maintain accurate records of Beneficiary enrollment, benefit programs, and grant allocation.
Respond promptly to OFAC screening flags, duplicate-beneficiary alerts, and compliance risk warnings.
Honor Beneficiary requests for access to, correction of, or deletion of their Personal Data, in coordination with us.
Comply with all applicable laws and regulations, including but not limited to:
- The Internal Revenue Code and regulations governing 501(c)(3) operations and recordkeeping.
- Federal laws governing SSI and SSDI (Social Security Act Title XVI and Title II; 20 CFR Parts 404 and 416).
- Federal and state Medicaid rules applicable to your Beneficiaries.
- State supplementary programs (e.g., California Medi-Cal, CalFresh, IHSS, CAPI).
- The Bank Secrecy Act (31 USC Chapter 53) and OFAC sanctions programs (31 CFR Parts 500-599).
- The Americans with Disabilities Act and applicable anti-discrimination laws.

7. Prohibited Uses

You will not, and will not permit any user of your account to:

Engage in fraud or misrepresentation — including applying for Grants under false pretenses, enrolling Beneficiaries who are not eligible, or submitting false expense documentation.
Facilitate money laundering or structuring — including splitting transactions to avoid reporting thresholds, layering funds through unrelated vendors, or integrating illicit proceeds.
Violate SSI, SSDI, Medi-Cal, or other benefits rules — including knowingly disbursing funds in ways that would cause a Beneficiary to exceed resource or income limits without proper ABLE-account or special-needs-trust structuring.
Use the platform for prohibited merchant categories — including but not limited to: firearms, tobacco, cannabis (except where Medi-Cal expressly covers medical cannabis), adult entertainment, gambling, cryptocurrency exchanges, and any other Merchant Category Code blocked by Stripe Issuing, Sutton Bank, Evolve Bank & Trust, or applicable grant restrictions.
Violate OFAC sanctions — including issuing cards to or making payments involving individuals or entities on the Specially Designated Nationals list or in comprehensively sanctioned jurisdictions.
Discriminate unlawfully — refuse service to or selectively enroll Beneficiaries based on race, color, national origin, religion, sex, gender identity, sexual orientation, disability, age, or any protected class.
Harass or harm users — including staff, Beneficiaries, Vendors, or BenefitsSafe personnel.
Reverse engineer, decompile, scrape, or copy the platform except to the extent expressly permitted by law that cannot be contractually waived.
Resell, sublicense, or white-label the platform without a written reseller agreement signed by BenefitsSafe.
Upload malicious code, launch denial-of-service attacks, or probe for security vulnerabilities outside our responsible-disclosure program.
Use the platform to provide services to individuals in jurisdictions subject to US comprehensive sanctions (currently Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Syria, and the Crimea, Donetsk, and Luhansk regions of Ukraine).
Collect or process data from individuals under 13 in violation of the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act.

Violation of this Section may result in suspension, termination, reporting to law enforcement, and forfeiture of pre-paid fees.

8. User Responsibilities (Allocation of Duties)

This section controls in any dispute about who is responsible for what.

8.1 Your Responsibilities as the Nonprofit

You, not BenefitsSafe, are responsible for:

Confirming each Beneficiary's current enrollment in the benefits programs they claim.
Deciding whether a given expense is appropriate under the restrictions of each Grant and the benefits rules applicable to the Beneficiary.
Obtaining any consents, authorizations, or case-manager approvals required by benefits programs (e.g., representative-payee agreements, special-needs-trust instructions, ABLE-account coordination).
Overriding or escalating Compliance Engine recommendations when your staff's professional judgment, or the Beneficiary's specific circumstances, require a different outcome.
Complying with funder reporting, tax recordkeeping, and state nonprofit regulatory requirements.
Communicating with Beneficiaries about transaction outcomes and privacy rights.

8.2 Our Responsibilities as the Platform

We are responsible for:

Providing the platform with commercially reasonable uptime and security, consistent with Section 10 below.
Accurately applying the rules published in our Compliance Engine, and promptly correcting rule errors we become aware of.
Processing your payments and card transactions through Stripe, Plaid, and the card-issuing banks named in Section 3.
Maintaining confidentiality of your data and honoring data-subject rights in accordance with the Privacy Policy and Data Processing Agreement.
Notifying you of material Breaches within 24 hours of confirmation, per our DPA.

We are not responsible for:

Benefit-eligibility determinations by any government agency.
Decisions made by Nonprofit staff that override the Compliance Engine.
Acts or omissions of Beneficiaries, Vendors, or third-party service providers.
Interruptions caused by force majeure or by upstream services (Stripe, AWS, Plaid) that are outside our reasonable control.

9. Intellectual Property

9.1 Platform IP

BenefitsSafe, all software, trademarks, service marks, logos, documentation, the Compliance Engine's rules and logic, and all derivative improvements are the exclusive property of BenefitsSafe and its licensors. Nothing in this Agreement transfers ownership to you.

We grant you a limited, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable license to access and use the platform during the subscription term solely for your internal operations.

9.2 Your Data

You retain all rights, title, and interest in the data you or your users upload or generate on the platform ("Customer Data"), including Beneficiary enrollment data, Grant configuration, transaction records, and documents.

You grant BenefitsSafe a worldwide, royalty-free license to process Customer Data solely as necessary to provide the platform, comply with law, and as further described in the Privacy Policy and DPA. This license ends when your account is terminated and data deletion is completed, except for data we are legally required to retain.

9.3 Feedback

If you send us feedback, feature requests, or suggestions, you grant us a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free license to use them without obligation. We will not identify you as the source without your consent.

9.4 Aggregated / De-Identified Data

We may use aggregated and de-identified data derived from platform activity for benchmarking, research, product improvement, and industry reporting, provided the data cannot reasonably be re-identified to you, your Beneficiaries, or your Vendors.

10. Platform Availability and Support

We target 99.9% monthly uptime for the core application, excluding scheduled maintenance and upstream-provider outages (Stripe, AWS, Plaid). Current status is available at status.benefitssafe.com.

Technical support channels depend on your subscription tier and are specified in your Order Form or pricing page.

We do not commit to specific response times for custom feature requests.

11. Subscription, Billing, and Refunds

11.1 Plans and Fees

Subscription plans, pricing, and included features are described at benefitssafe.com/pricing and in your Order Form. We offer monthly and annual billing.

11.2 Free Trials

New Nonprofits may receive a free-trial period specified at signup. At the end of the trial, if no paid plan is selected, access is restricted to read-only or terminated, at our discretion.

11.3 Payment Terms

All fees are payable in US dollars in advance. We charge via Stripe using the payment method on file. If a charge fails, we will retry up to three times over 14 days; if all attempts fail, your account will be suspended and, after a further 30 days, terminated.

11.4 Automatic Renewal

Subscriptions automatically renew for successive terms equal to the initial term unless you cancel in your billing settings at least one (1) day before the renewal date.

11.5 Price Changes

We may adjust prices at renewal. We will provide at least 30 days' notice before a price increase takes effect for your next renewal. You may cancel before the increase takes effect to avoid the new price.

11.6 Refunds

Except as required by law, fees are non-refundable. We will, however, refund fees for:

Subscriptions canceled within 7 days of first purchase (a "cooling-off" refund).
Material, unresolved platform outages exceeding 72 continuous hours during a billing period, prorated.
Charges made in error by BenefitsSafe.

Refunds are issued to the original payment method within 30 days.

11.7 Card-Issuance Fees and Interchange

We may charge a per-card or per-transaction fee as specified in your Order Form. We do not share interchange revenue with Nonprofits unless your Order Form expressly provides otherwise.

11.8 Taxes

Fees are exclusive of taxes. You are responsible for any sales, use, or value-added taxes applicable to your use of the platform, except taxes on BenefitsSafe's income.

12. Disclaimers

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

Without limiting the above, we do not warrant that:

The platform will be uninterrupted, error-free, or secure against every possible attack.
Compliance Engine classifications will match every government agency's determination.
Any particular Beneficiary will retain any particular government benefit.
Card transactions will always be approved (they may be declined by the issuing bank, the card network, or the merchant for reasons outside our control).

The Compliance Engine is decision-support software, not legal advice. Consult a qualified benefits attorney or counselor for advice on any particular Beneficiary's situation.

Nothing in this Section limits any warranty that cannot be disclaimed under California Civil Code §1790 et seq. (the Song-Beverly Consumer Warranty Act) or other non-waivable consumer-protection law.

13. Limitation of Liability

13.1 Excluded Damages

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NEITHER PARTY WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, SPECIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST REVENUE, LOST GOODWILL, OR LOSS OF DATA, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT, EVEN IF ADVISED OF THE POSSIBILITY OF SUCH DAMAGES.

13.2 Cap on Direct Damages

EACH PARTY'S TOTAL AGGREGATE LIABILITY ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO THIS AGREEMENT IS LIMITED TO THE GREATER OF (A) THE FEES YOU PAID BENEFITSSAFE IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE EVENT GIVING RISE TO THE CLAIM, OR (B) ONE THOUSAND US DOLLARS ($1,000).

13.3 Carve-outs

The exclusions and caps in 13.1 and 13.2 do not apply to:

A party's indemnification obligations under Section 14.
A party's breach of its confidentiality or data-protection obligations.
BenefitsSafe's breach of its Breach-notification commitments in the DPA.
Fees owed by the Nonprofit for services actually used.
Fraud, willful misconduct, or gross negligence.
Liabilities that cannot be limited under California law (including the Consumers Legal Remedies Act, Civil Code §1750 et seq.).

13.4 Essential Basis

Both parties agree that the limits in this Section are an essential basis of the bargain and allocate risk between two sophisticated commercial parties. The limits apply even if a limited remedy fails of its essential purpose.

14. Indemnification

14.1 By Nonprofit

You will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless BenefitsSafe and its officers, employees, and agents from any third-party claim arising out of:

Your violation of this Agreement, the Privacy Policy, or applicable law.
Your enrollment of Beneficiaries or disbursement of Grant funds, including any claim by a Beneficiary, funder, government agency, or Vendor.
Your failure to confirm Beneficiary benefit eligibility before using the platform.
Content you upload (e.g., documents, Beneficiary notes).
Discrimination, harassment, or other tort claims by your staff, Beneficiaries, or Vendors.

14.2 By BenefitsSafe

We will defend, indemnify, and hold you harmless from any third-party claim alleging that your authorized use of the platform infringes a US patent, copyright, or trademark. If such a claim is made, we may (at our option): (a) procure the right to continue your use; (b) modify the platform to be non-infringing; or (c) terminate the affected subscription and refund fees pre-paid for the remaining term. We have no obligation under this Section for claims arising from your combination of the platform with third-party software we did not supply, your unauthorized modification of the platform, or your use after we notified you to stop.

14.3 Procedure

The indemnified party must (a) promptly notify the indemnifying party in writing of any claim; (b) give the indemnifying party sole control of defense and settlement (except no settlement admitting liability or requiring a payment by the indemnified party is binding without the indemnified party's consent, not to be unreasonably withheld); and (c) provide reasonable cooperation at the indemnifying party's expense.

15. Termination

15.1 Termination for Convenience

By you: You may cancel your subscription at any time through the billing settings. Cancellation takes effect at the end of the current paid term; you remain responsible for fees through that date. You will not receive a refund of pre-paid fees except as set out in Section 11.6.

By us: We may terminate for convenience with at least 30 days' written notice and a pro rata refund of pre-paid fees for the remaining term.

15.2 Termination for Cause

Either party may terminate immediately on written notice if the other materially breaches this Agreement and fails to cure the breach within 30 days of receiving written notice of it (or within 5 days for breaches of Sections 6, 7, 8, 9, or 11.3).

We may also suspend or terminate immediately, without a cure period, if:

You violate Section 7 (Prohibited Uses).
Continued operation would cause us to violate applicable law or a card-network rule.
You become insolvent, cease operations, or file for bankruptcy protection.
OFAC screening identifies you, a principal, or a Beneficiary as a prohibited person.

15.3 Effect of Termination

On termination:

Access to the platform is disabled.
Virtual Cards are closed by the issuing bank.
We will make Customer Data available for export in JSON and CSV formats for 30 days.
After 90 days from termination, we delete Customer Data except (i) records we are required to retain by law (IRS 7-year rule, regulatory investigations), and (ii) routine backups, which age out per our DPA.
Fees accrued through termination remain payable.
Sections 2, 7, 8, 9, 12, 13, 14, 15.3, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20 survive termination.

16. Dispute Resolution and Arbitration

16.1 Informal Resolution

Before starting a formal dispute, you and BenefitsSafe will attempt to resolve it informally by written notice to the other party, followed by a good-faith discussion for at least 30 days. Notices to BenefitsSafe go to legal@benefitssafe.com.

16.2 Binding Arbitration

PLEASE READ THIS SECTION CAREFULLY. IT AFFECTS YOUR RIGHTS.

If informal resolution fails, any dispute, claim, or controversy arising out of or relating to this Agreement or the platform (a "Dispute") will be resolved by final and binding arbitration administered by JAMS under its Streamlined Arbitration Rules (for Disputes under $250,000) or Comprehensive Arbitration Rules (for larger Disputes), before a single arbitrator. The arbitration will take place in Alameda County, California, unless both parties agree to another location or to a telephonic hearing. The arbitrator's decision is final and enforceable in any court of competent jurisdiction.

16.3 Class-Action Waiver

YOU AND BENEFITSSAFE AGREE THAT DISPUTES WILL BE RESOLVED ONLY ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS AND NOT AS A PLAINTIFF OR CLASS MEMBER IN ANY CLASS, COLLECTIVE, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE PROCEEDING. The arbitrator has no authority to hear class or representative claims. If a court determines this class-action waiver is unenforceable as to a particular claim, that claim (and only that claim) will be severed from arbitration and proceed in the courts identified in Section 18.

16.4 Exceptions

Either party may:

Bring a claim in small-claims court in the county of the defendant's principal place of business, if it qualifies.
Seek injunctive or equitable relief in court to protect intellectual property, confidentiality, or prevent unauthorized access to the platform, pending arbitration of the underlying dispute.

16.5 Opt-Out

You may opt out of this arbitration agreement by emailing legal@benefitssafe.com within 30 days of first accepting these Terms, with the subject line "Arbitration Opt-Out" and your organization's name and account email. Opting out does not affect any other provision of this Agreement.

17. Modifications to the Agreement

We may update this Agreement from time to time. For material changes:

We will post the updated Agreement at benefitssafe.com/terms with a new version number and effective date.
We will email the primary contact of every active Nonprofit at least 30 days before the change takes effect.
Your continued use of the platform after the effective date constitutes acceptance. If you do not accept, your sole remedy is to stop using the platform and cancel (with a pro rata refund of pre-paid fees for the unused portion of the current term).

Changes that reduce your rights materially (such as increasing arbitration scope or reducing the liability cap below Section 13.2) will not apply retroactively to claims that arose before the change.

18. Governing Law and Venue

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. The United Nations Convention on Contracts for the International Sale of Goods does not apply.

Subject to Section 16, the exclusive venue for any claim not required to be arbitrated is the state and federal courts located in Alameda County, California, and each party consents to personal jurisdiction there.

19. General

19.1 Assignment

You may not assign this Agreement without our prior written consent, except that you may assign to a successor by merger, reorganization, or sale of substantially all of your assets, provided the successor is not a BenefitsSafe competitor and is not on any sanctions list. We may assign freely. Any non-permitted assignment is void.

19.2 Force Majeure

Neither party is liable for delay or failure to perform (other than payment obligations) caused by events beyond its reasonable control, including natural disasters, pandemic, war, terrorism, labor action, or failure of upstream providers.

19.3 Notices

Notices to you will be sent to the account email on file. Notices to BenefitsSafe must be sent to legal@benefitssafe.com and to BenefitsSafe, Attn: Legal, 1969 Harrington Ave, Oakland, CA 94601. Notices are effective on receipt.

19.4 Independent Contractors

The parties are independent contractors. Nothing in this Agreement creates a partnership, joint venture, agency, or employment relationship.

19.5 No Third-Party Beneficiaries

Except for Beneficiaries' rights under the Privacy Policy and DPA, no provision of this Agreement confers rights on any third party.

19.6 Waiver and Severability

A waiver is effective only if in writing. If any provision of this Agreement is held unenforceable, the remaining provisions remain in full force; the unenforceable provision will be modified to the minimum extent necessary to make it enforceable.

19.7 Entire Agreement

This Agreement (together with the Privacy Policy, DPA, and any Order Form) is the entire agreement between the parties and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous agreements and understandings. In the event of conflict, the order of precedence is: (1) Order Form, (2) DPA, (3) these Terms, (4) Privacy Policy.

19.8 Electronic Signatures and Records

You consent to receive notices, disclosures, and agreements from us electronically. Click-through acceptance and electronic signatures are binding under the US E-SIGN Act (15 USC §7001 et seq.) and the California Uniform Electronic Transactions Act (Cal. Civ. Code §1633.1 et seq.).

19.9 Government Users

If you are a federal, state, or local government entity, any provision that conflicts with applicable law (e.g., unilateral amendment, arbitration, indemnification) is modified to the minimum extent necessary to conform to that law.

20. Contact for Legal Questions

BenefitsSafe Attn: Legal 1969 Harrington Ave, Oakland, CA 94601 Email: legal@benefitssafe.com

For privacy-specific questions, see the Privacy Policy. For data-processing questions, see the Data Processing Agreement.

Version History

Version	Effective Date	Summary
1.0	April 21, 2026	Initial publication.