Terms & Conditions

1. Acceptance of these terms

These Terms & Conditions are a binding agreement between you and Surprise Donations LLC, a New Jersey limited liability company ("Surprise Donations", "we", "us"). By creating an account, browsing the site, or using any feature, you agree to these terms and to our Privacy Policy.

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account or to give or receive anything through the platform. You confirm your age when you register. If you do not agree with these terms, please do not use the site.

2. What Surprise Donations is — and is not

Surprise Donations is an informational website and software platform that hosts member profiles, listings, and links for peer-to-peer direct giving, combined with social media features — a feed, reels and videos, comments, groups, messaging, and audio and video calling — designed to assist people in need.

Our services are advertising and marketplace services: providing space on a website for advertising goods and services; and providing a website featuring an online free marketplace and directory for connecting members for peer-to-peer direct giving and informational exchange.

We connect members; we are not a party to what members give one another. Members arrange giving directly — in person, by mail, or through their own accounts with Stripe, our third-party payment processor. Surprise Donations does not take custody of, hold, pool, or distribute member funds; Stripe processes payments and pays recipients directly under its own agreement with them.

We are an online venue that hosts member profiles and member-to-member interactions. We are not a financial intermediary, and we are not involved in, and take no responsibility for, what members arrange or exchange with each other.

There are two distinct kinds of money on the site. Member donation money belongs to the members: it moves directly from donor to recipient through Stripe, and we never hold, pool, or redistribute it. Tips and advertising revenue belong to Surprise Donations LLC: they are company revenue used to assist, maintain and operate the site, and one of our operations is issuing surprise donations out of a portion of that revenue at our sole discretion.

We are not a charity, a nonprofit, a 501(c)(3) organization, a registered fundraiser, a bank, a lender, an escrow agent, an insurer, a money transmitter, or any other money services business. Surprise Donations LLC is a for-profit New Jersey limited liability company. Gifts between members are personal gifts and are not tax-deductible charitable contributions, and neither are tips to the platform. Nothing on the site is financial, tax, or legal advice.

3. Accounts, profiles, and eligibility for donations

You are responsible for the accuracy of your account information and for keeping your password secure. One account per person. Do not impersonate another person, organization, or business.

To be eligible to receive any type of donation, your member profile must display a real photo of you. This rule protects the community from anonymous or fraudulent requests. Profiles without a photo can still browse and post, but are excluded from donations, item offers, and the Monthly Surprise Winner Giveaway.

We may suspend, restrict, ban, or delete any account at our discretion — including for violating these terms, misusing donation requests, or creating a risk to other members.

4. Account security

Keep your password private and do not let anyone else use your account. You are responsible for activity that happens under your account. If you believe your account has been accessed without your permission, contact Customer Service right away so we can help secure it.

5. One personal account, real identity

Each person may have one personal account, under a name they actually use. Do not create an account for someone else unless you are helping them with their knowledge and permission, such as a family member helping a relative set up a profile. Accounts may not be sold, rented, transferred, or shared.

6. Honesty about need, and how we screen for false claims

Every member is responsible for the truth of what they say about themselves. Stating a need you do not have, exaggerating a need, inventing an emergency, or using another person's story, photos, or documents to attract donations is strictly prohibited and is grounds for immediate removal from the platform.

What we do to reduce false claims: we require a confirmed email address and allow one account per person; we require a real photo on the profile before any donation can be received; we log each sign-up with its time, device, and network details and screen it for automated and machine-generated registrations, rejecting or deleting accounts that fail; we look for duplicate and repeat accounts created by the same person; we screen uploaded photos, videos, and written text automatically and remove or flag what fails; we let any member report a profile, post, listing, or story, including for a false or exaggerated need; our administrators review reported profiles and stories by hand and record the reason for every removal; our request-first model creates a written record of each request and each acceptance; and before any money can reach a bank account, Stripe verifies the recipient's legal identity and bank ownership under its own rules, so a payout cannot be sent to an anonymous person.

What we do not do, and cannot do: we do not collect or verify identity documents ourselves, we do not investigate, confirm, certify, or rate anyone's hardship, medical condition, income, damage, or family circumstances, we do not visit or inspect anyone, and we do not audit how a member uses what they receive. No online platform can verify a stranger's private circumstances, and we do not claim to.

What happens when we find or suspect a false claim: we may pause or remove a profile's eligibility to receive donations, hold or cancel a pending donation before it is paid out, remove the story, listing, or media, suspend or permanently ban the account, keep our record of the matter, notify the donor where appropriate, and report unlawful conduct to Stripe or to law enforcement. We act at our discretion and may act without prior notice.

For donors: giving here is voluntary and at your own risk. A gift you send is a personal gift to another member, and once a donation has been accepted and paid out we generally cannot reverse it. Please read a member's profile and story, use your own judgment, and report anything that looks false before you give rather than after.

7. Content you post

You are responsible for everything you post: feed posts, reels and videos, comments, group posts, classifieds, photos, messages, and profile information.

Reels and videos require a title and a category before they can be published. Classifieds must be free items only — no selling, trading for money, or commercial solicitation.

Do not post content that is illegal, hateful, harassing, threatening, defamatory, sexually explicit, deceptive, or that infringes anyone's rights. Do not post other people's photos or private information without permission. Do not post medical, financial, or fundraising claims you cannot support.

Political and religious expression. Surprise Donations welcomes political and religious expression, including posts, groups, and donation requests for political candidates, campaigns, churches, ministries, and other faith or civic causes. Members who post or receive support for these causes must comply with all applicable laws, including federal, state, and local election and campaign-finance laws (such as contribution limits, donor-disclosure rules, and bans on foreign or corporate contributions where they apply) and laws governing nonprofit and religious organizations. Gifts made through the platform are personal gifts between members, are not tax-deductible charitable contributions, and are not reported to any election authority by us; any required reporting is the responsibility of the candidate, campaign, or organization. We do not endorse any candidate, party, or religion, and the community standards still apply — no hate, harassment, threats, or deliberately false election information.

Our administrators may remove any photo, video, post, listing, or profile image at any time. When we remove media we record the reason and notify the member by message and email. Repeated violations may lead to account termination.

You are solely responsible for any content you post and any action you take through the platform, and for the consequences of that content and those actions.

9. Community standards

To keep the community safe, the following are not allowed anywhere on the platform — in posts, reels, videos, comments, groups, listings, messages, or calls: harassment or bullying; dangerous how-to instructions; hate speech; threats or encouragement of violence; graphic violence; nudity or sexual content; scams, fraud, or misleading requests for money; and taking advantage of people in need.

These standards work together with the Prohibited conduct and Reporting, moderation, and appeals sections below.

10. The free marketplace (classifieds)

Classifieds listings are member-to-member. Every item must be offered free of charge. Surprise Donations is not a party to, agent for, broker of, or guarantor of any exchange between members.

We do not inspect, verify, or warrant the existence, condition, safety, legality, ownership, or fitness for any purpose of any item listed, and we do not verify the identity of the members involved. All arrangements — communication, pickup, delivery, and any dispute — are solely between the members involved, and you release Surprise Donations LLC from any claim arising out of those exchanges.

Meet in a public place, bring someone with you when you can, and never send money for a "free" item. No listing on this site should ever require a payment of any kind.

Do not list anything you may not lawfully give away, including weapons, drugs, alcohol, tobacco, prescription or medical items, recalled or unsafe goods, hazardous materials, live animals, counterfeit goods, or stolen property.

Every item is offered strictly "as is" and "as available", with no warranty of any kind — express or implied — including merchantability, safety, fitness for a particular purpose, or functionality. Surprise Donations makes no such warranty, and neither does the member offering the item unless that member says so in writing.

11. Surprise donations — the request-first model

No money moves until the person receiving it says yes. When a member (or the platform) wants to send you a surprise donation, you receive a message and a notification asking you to confirm and to choose how you would like to receive it: in person, by mail, or directly to your bank account through Stripe.

Only after you confirm can the donor complete a payment. If you decline, do nothing, or the request expires, no payment is taken.

Donations are voluntary gifts. No member is obligated to give, and no member is guaranteed to receive anything. Surprise Donations does not verify a member's identity, financial circumstances, need, or story, and does not guarantee that any donation will be sent, completed, or delivered. Arrangements made in person or by mail are entirely between the members involved — please use common sense and meet safely in public places.

You give at your own risk. We cannot vet individual requests, verify a member's circumstances, or control, enforce, or guarantee how a recipient uses anything they receive. Gifts between members are personal gifts, are not tax-deductible charitable contributions, and each member is responsible for their own tax reporting.

12. Payments, payouts, and chargebacks

All card payments are processed by Stripe. We never see or store your full card number. To receive money directly to a bank account, you must complete Stripe Connect Express onboarding and provide the identity and banking information Stripe requires. Stripe's own terms apply to that relationship.

Once a payment succeeds and funds are transferred, Stripe typically pays out to your bank in about 2–4 business days. First-time payouts can take 7–14 days while Stripe completes verification.

If a donor disputes a charge or a chargeback occurs, we may reverse, withhold, or recover the associated amount. Attempting to obtain donations by deception, or to trigger chargebacks after receiving funds, is fraud, will result in a permanent ban, and may be reported to Stripe and to law enforcement.

Gifts sent between members are final. We cannot force a refund of a completed member-to-member gift.

13. Tips to the platform and how they are used

Tips are entirely voluntary payments to Surprise Donations LLC, a for-profit New Jersey limited liability company. We are not a 501(c)(3), a charity, or a registered fundraiser. Tips are not tax-deductible charitable contributions, and we do not issue donation receipts or tax acknowledgements. Tips are not purchases, are non-refundable, and buy no goods, services, membership level, advantage, or entry into any giveaway.

Tips become revenue of Surprise Donations LLC on receipt. They are used to maintain and operate the site, and one of those operations is issuing surprise donations. All tips are used to assist and help further the release of more frequent surprise donations. Tips do not completely fund surprise donations; advertising revenue is intended to contribute as well.

Any use of that revenue for surprise gifts is entirely discretionary — the amount, the timing, the recipients, and whether any redistribution happens at all are decided by us, pending normal site functionality. No tipper directs where a tip goes, and no member has a claim or entitlement to any portion of tips.

Surprise gifts funded this way are discretionary community rewards — not grants, not prizes with guaranteed value, and not charitable distributions. Recipients are responsible for any taxes that may apply.

Tips are collected through Stripe's hosted checkout. Your card details are entered on Stripe's secure page and are never visible to us or stored on our servers.

No purchase, tip, donation, or payment of any kind is ever required, or accepted as consideration, to receive a surprise gift, and tipping does not improve anyone's chances of receiving one. Recipients are responsible for any taxes that may apply.

14. Monthly Surprise Winner Giveaway

The Monthly Surprise Winner Giveaway is a free member spotlight. No purchase, tip, or donation is necessary to be selected, and giving or tipping does not improve your chances.

Eligible members are real, active accounts that are 18 or older, have a profile photo, and are in good standing. Sample and demonstration profiles are excluded. Selection, the gift chosen, its value, and delivery are at our sole discretion. Gifts have no cash value and are not transferable. The spotlight is separate from ordinary surprise donations. Recipients are responsible for any taxes that may apply.

No entry fee, purchase, tip, or donation of any kind is ever required, or accepted as consideration, for entry or selection. The giveaway is void where prohibited and is subject to all applicable federal, state, and local law. We may change, pause, or end the program at any time. Where the value of a gift requires it, we may ask a recipient for the information needed for tax reporting before the gift is delivered.

15. Ad Feature Pool and advertising

Members may opt in to the Ad Feature Pool. If you opt in, you grant Surprise Donations a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use the photo, video, first name or full name, and story you have specifically permitted, in promotional material on and off the site. You choose which of those you allow, and you can withdraw your consent at any time from your Ad Feature Pool settings; we will stop future use, but material already printed or distributed cannot be recalled.

Advertisers who purchase campaigns must supply lawful, accurate creative. Advertisers are solely responsible for their creative, claims, offers, pricing, and compliance with all advertising, consumer-protection, and industry laws, and agree to indemnify us against claims arising from their campaigns. Advertising on the site is not an endorsement by Surprise Donations of any advertiser, product, or service, and we do not verify advertiser claims.

We make no guarantee of impressions, clicks, placement, audience, or results. We may reject, pause, reposition, or remove any campaign at any time. Campaign budgets are charged in advance and are not refundable once a campaign has started running.

16. Gift cards and redemption codes

Physical gift cards, sleeves, and redemption codes issued by Surprise Donations are promotional gifts. Each code may be redeemed once, is not reloadable, has no cash value, cannot be exchanged for cash, and is not a stored-value or prepaid financial instrument. Lost, stolen, damaged, or shared codes will not be replaced. We may void any code obtained fraudulently.

17. Messaging, audio, and video calling

Direct messages, audio calls, and video calls are provided for member-to-member communication. Do not use them for harassment, solicitation, spam, or any unlawful purpose.

Do not record, screenshot, stream, or redistribute a call or private message without the other participant's consent. Calling features depend on third-party infrastructure and may be limited, throttled, or disabled at any time, including for capacity or abuse reasons. Never send bank, card, Social Security, or password details to another member through messages or calls.

18. Safety and emergencies

Surprise Donations is not an emergency service. If you or someone else is in danger, call 911 or your local emergency number. If we believe someone may be at risk of serious harm, we may contact emergency services or law enforcement and share information needed to help.

19. Featured Topics and relief categories

Featured Topics (such as earthquake, hurricane, wildfire, and flood relief) let members self-identify a category of need so others can find them. Members select these categories themselves. We do not verify individual circumstances, damage, or loss.

Some profiles shown in these sections are clearly labeled sample profiles, created to demonstrate how a real donation request appears. They are not real members and cannot receive donations.

20. Partners and co-branded pages

Churches, food banks, community centers, and other organizations may have a co-branded landing page. A partner page does not mean we endorse, control, audit, or take responsibility for that organization, and it does not mean that organization endorses or controls us.

21. Blog, success stories, and public sharing

If you share your story with us, or your story appears on the feed, you permit us to feature it — including your first name, photo, and the amounts involved — in success stories, blog posts, announcements, and social sharing, unless you tell us otherwise. You may ask us to remove a published story at any time through Customer Service.

22. How the feed and recommendations work

We may order, rank, highlight, or suggest posts, reels, members, groups, and free items based on things like activity, recency, and interaction. Showing or suggesting content or a member is not an endorsement of them, and it does not mean we have verified anything about them.

23. New and test features

We sometimes offer new features as test (beta) versions. They may change, have errors, or be removed at any time, and they are provided as-is.

24. Intellectual property and your license to us

You keep ownership of the content you post. By posting, you grant Surprise Donations a worldwide, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to host, store, reproduce, resize, display, and distribute that content for the purpose of operating and promoting the platform. This license ends for future use when you delete the content or your account.

The Surprise Donations name, logo, gift-box mark, banners, gift card artwork, page designs, and site code are our property and may not be copied or used without written permission.

25. Copyright complaints

We respect intellectual property rights and expect our members to do the same. If you believe content on the site infringes your copyright, send a notice to customerservice@surprisedonations.com.

Your notice should include: your contact information; identification of the copyrighted work you say was infringed; the location on our site of the material you want removed; a statement that you believe in good faith that the use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; a statement that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the owner or authorized to act for the owner; and your physical or electronic signature.

We will remove or disable material that is the subject of a valid notice and will notify the member who posted it. That member may send us a counter-notice with the same contact and signature details and a statement, under penalty of perjury, that the material was removed by mistake or misidentification. We terminate the accounts of repeat infringers.

26. Prohibited conduct

You agree not to: request or accept donations under false pretenses; sell items through the classifieds; run a business, campaign, or paid solicitation without our written permission; spam or bulk-message members; create multiple or fake accounts; scrape, crawl, or bulk-download the site; interfere with, probe, or attempt to bypass our security or rate limits; upload malware; reverse-engineer the platform; harass, stalk, or threaten anyone; or use the site in violation of any law, sanction, or regulation.

27. Reporting, moderation, and appeals

Any member can report a post, comment, listing, reel, or profile. We review reports and may remove content, warn, suspend, or ban accounts. Moderation decisions are made at our discretion and may be made without prior notice. If you believe a decision was wrong, contact Customer Service and we will review it.

28. Third-party services

The platform relies on third-party providers for payments (Stripe), hosting and database services, file and video storage, email delivery, push notifications, translation, and real-time calling. Their availability, terms, and policies are outside our control, and outages or changes on their side may affect the site.

29. Disclaimers

The platform is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.

We do not verify members' identities, backgrounds, statements, needs, photos, or the condition, safety, legality, or ownership of items offered. We do not guarantee that donations will be offered, accepted, paid, delivered, or that the site will be uninterrupted, secure, or error-free. You interact with other members at your own risk.

How To Do-Help Videos and their steps are general information, not professional advice.

30. Limitation of liability and indemnification

To the fullest extent permitted by law, Surprise Donations LLC and its members, managers, employees, contractors, and volunteers will not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, lost data, lost donations, or any harm arising from your interaction with another member, whether online or in person.

Our total liability for any claim relating to the platform will not exceed one hundred U.S. dollars (US$100) or the total amount you paid us in the twelve months before the claim, whichever is greater.

You agree to indemnify and hold us harmless from claims, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of your content, your use of the platform, your dealings with other members, or your violation of these terms or of any law.

31. Termination and account deletion

You may stop using the platform at any time and may request account deletion through Customer Service or your profile settings. We may suspend or terminate your account, with or without notice, for any violation of these terms or any conduct we consider harmful to the community.

After deletion, some records — such as payment and payout records, moderation logs, and administrative audit entries — are retained as required for legal, accounting, and fraud-prevention purposes. Sections of these terms that by their nature should survive (including intellectual property, disclaimers, liability limits, indemnification, and governing law) survive termination.

32. Deceased members

If a member passes away, a family member or legal representative may contact Customer Service to ask that the account be removed or kept as a memorial. We may ask for reasonable proof. Donations that were requested but not yet completed will be cancelled.

33. Changes to these terms

We may update these terms as the platform grows and as legal requirements change. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page always reflects the current version. For material changes we will post a site announcement or send an email notice. Continuing to use the platform after an update means you accept the revised terms.

34. General terms

If any part of these terms is found unenforceable, the rest remains in effect. Our not enforcing a term is not a waiver of it. These terms, together with our Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and us about the platform. We may transfer this agreement as part of a merger, acquisition, or sale of the business; you may not transfer it without our consent. These terms do not give rights to any third party. To the extent permitted by law, any claim relating to the platform must be brought within one year after it arises.

35. Governing law and disputes

These terms are governed by the laws of the State of New Jersey, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. You and Surprise Donations LLC agree that any dispute that is not resolved informally will be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in New Jersey, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.

Before filing anything, please contact Customer Service — nearly every issue we have seen can be resolved directly. Claims must be brought individually and not as part of a class or representative action.

36. Contact

Surprise Donations LLC, New Jersey, United States. Questions about these terms: customerservice@surprisedonations.com, or use the Customer Service & Suggestion Box on the Contact page to send us an in-app message.