By accessing, browsing, registering for, enrolling in, submitting work through, reviewing work on, or otherwise using Improve Your State (the “Platform”), you (“User,” “Participant,” or “Volunteer”) agree to these Terms of Service. If you do not agree, do not create an account or use the Platform.
1. Program Overview
Improve Your State provides a technology platform through which participants can locate community-service activities, complete eligible volunteer projects, submit evidence of completed work, participate in peer review when available, and maintain a record of verified volunteer-service activity in an HourLog.
Some official HourLog certification services may be provided through a partner organization, including The People Foundation. Certification, supervisor review, payment, signing, and delivery of an official signed HourLog may therefore occur through a separate partner portal.
2. Eligibility
Users must be at least 13 years old to create an Improve Your State account. Participants under the age of majority remain responsible for using the Platform in accordance with applicable law and any requirements imposed by a parent, guardian, school, court, probation department, employer, agency, or other supervising authority.
You are responsible for determining whether Improve Your State volunteer activities and any resulting HourLog documentation satisfy the requirements of the organization or authority requiring your service.
3. Volunteer Projects and Safety
Participants must follow the instructions, eligibility requirements, time limits, safety rules, evidence requirements, and location restrictions stated for each project. You must not trespass, enter unsafe areas, interfere with traffic, handle hazardous materials, perform unauthorized repairs, or engage in conduct that creates an unreasonable risk to yourself or others.
If a project requires permission from a property owner, business, organization, or other responsible person, you are responsible for obtaining that permission before performing the activity.
4. Accurate Submissions and No Falsification
All submitted information must be truthful and must accurately describe work you personally performed. Prohibited conduct includes, without limitation:
- Submitting work performed by another person as your own.
- Falsifying service time, locations, dates, descriptions, or project results.
- Submitting misleading, staged, unrelated, copied, generated, or manipulated evidence.
- Reusing evidence from another project or another participant.
- Attempting to bypass review, evidence, timing, account, or verification controls.
- Manipulating the Platform, database, HourLog, review system, or account records.
Suspected falsification or manipulation may result in rejection of a submission, removal or correction of HourLog credit, suspension or termination of the account, referral for additional review, and other action permitted by law.
5. Evidence and Image Metadata
Many projects require before-and-after photographs or other supporting evidence. By uploading evidence, you represent that you have the right to provide it and that it does not unlawfully violate another person’s privacy or intellectual-property rights.
Uploaded files may be analyzed for technical information such as file type, size, dimensions, cryptographic hashes, camera information, capture dates, browser file timestamps, GPS metadata when present, and indicators associated with screenshots, editing software, or generation software. Metadata is used as one part of the verification process and is not necessarily conclusive by itself.
6. Peer and Supervisor Review
Submitted projects may be evaluated through independent peer review, authorized supervisor review, automated evidence checks, or a combination of these methods. A submission is not guaranteed to be approved merely because it was uploaded.
Reviewers and supervisors may approve a submission, decline approval, request further review, or flag inconsistencies. Improve Your State may correct a verification decision when later information shows that an earlier decision was inaccurate.
7. Peer Review Responsibilities
Users who participate in peer review must evaluate submissions in good faith and must not approve or reject work for improper reasons. Reviewers may receive limited information needed to evaluate a project but should not attempt to identify, contact, harass, or investigate the submitting participant.
8. HourLog Records
Verified project service and other eligible service credit may be recorded in a participant’s HourLog. An HourLog is a record generated from Platform data; it is not a guarantee that any school, court, probation department, employer, agency, or other recipient will accept the service.
Improve Your State may correct, void, or adjust HourLog entries when necessary to address errors, duplicate credit, invalid submissions, fraud, or later verification findings. Administrative adjustments should be preserved in the audit history rather than silently altering historical records whenever practicable.
9. Official Certification and Partner Services
Enrollment and ordinary participation in Improve Your State may be offered without charge. If you request an official signed or certified HourLog, that process may be completed through The People Foundation or another authorized partner. Any applicable certification fees, payment terms, identity verification, work-supervisor review, and document delivery requirements will be disclosed through the partner portal.
The partner organization may independently determine whether a submitted record is sufficient for certification.
10. No Guarantee of Acceptance
Improve Your State does not guarantee that any project, HourLog, signed HourLog, certificate, or other documentation will be accepted by a particular court, probation department, school, agency, employer, or other organization. Acceptance remains within the discretion of the recipient. Participants should confirm requirements with the supervising authority whenever possible.
11. Account Security
You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials and for activity conducted through your account. You may not share your account, impersonate another person, or use another participant’s credentials.
Notify us promptly if you believe your account has been accessed without authorization.
12. Code of Conduct
Users may not use the Platform to:
- Threaten, harass, intimidate, abuse, or defame staff, supervisors, reviewers, volunteers, or other users.
- Submit unlawful, harmful, deceptive, obscene, or malicious content.
- Attempt unauthorized access to accounts, servers, databases, evidence, or administrative tools.
- Interfere with the availability, security, or normal operation of the Platform.
- Use automated scraping, bots, or similar tools to extract protected Platform data without authorization.
13. User Content
You retain any ownership rights you may have in original content you submit. By submitting content, you grant Improve Your State and its authorized service providers and certification partners a non-exclusive license to store, reproduce, process, display, transmit, and review that content as reasonably necessary to operate the Platform, verify service, maintain records, investigate misuse, and provide requested certification services.
14. Intellectual Property
The Platform’s software, project descriptions, designs, branding, workflows, documentation, text, graphics, and other proprietary materials are owned by or licensed to Improve Your State and may not be copied, republished, sold, reverse engineered, or commercially exploited except as permitted by law or with written authorization.
15. Privacy
Our collection and use of personal information is described in our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated into these Terms by reference.
16. Communications
By creating an account, you agree that we may send service-related communications concerning your account, submissions, reviews, HourLog, security, certification, support requests, and important Platform changes. Promotional communications, if any, will be handled in accordance with applicable law and available opt-out requirements.
17. Suspension and Termination
We may suspend, restrict, or terminate access when we reasonably believe a user has violated these Terms, falsified service, abused another person, created a security risk, misused the Platform, or engaged in unlawful conduct. We may preserve records reasonably necessary for verification, fraud prevention, legal compliance, or dispute resolution.
18. Service Availability
We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free access. Maintenance, technical problems, third-party outages, security events, or circumstances outside our control may temporarily affect availability. Participants should not wait until the last possible moment to complete time-sensitive service requirements.
19. Disclaimer of Warranties
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Platform and related services are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis without warranties of uninterrupted availability, fitness for a particular requirement, or acceptance by any third-party authority.
20. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, Improve Your State and its operators, personnel, contractors, reviewers, partners, and service providers will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from use of the Platform, inability to access the Platform, loss of data, rejection of community service by a third party, or participation in a volunteer activity.
Nothing in these Terms excludes liability that cannot legally be excluded or limited.
21. Indemnification
To the extent permitted by law, you agree to be responsible for claims, losses, or expenses arising from your unlawful conduct, material violation of these Terms, falsification of service, infringement of another person’s rights, or unauthorized use of the Platform.
22. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms periodically. The revised version will be posted on this page with an updated effective date. Where required by law, we will provide additional notice. Continued use after the effective date of revised Terms constitutes acceptance to the extent permitted by law.
23. Electronic Acceptance
Checking the enrollment box acknowledging these Terms and the Privacy Policy, registering an account, or otherwise using the Platform constitutes electronic acceptance of this agreement. If you do not agree, do not enroll or continue using the Platform.
24. Severability
If a provision of these Terms is determined to be invalid or unenforceable, the remaining provisions will remain in effect to the extent permitted by law.
25. Contact
Questions about these Terms may be sent to help@improveyourstate.com.