Terms of Use

Last Updated: June 15, 2021

These Terms of Use (“Terms”) apply to your access to and use of the Bezos Scholars Program (the “Program”) website (“Site”) provided by the Bezos Family Foundation (the “Foundation,” “we,” “us” or “we”).

These Terms are separated into two parts: Part 1 sets forth terms applicable to students who apply to the Program as Bezos Student Scholars and to principals and educators who are nominated as Bezos Educator Scholars through the Site; and Part 2 sets forth general terms and conditions that are applicable to all users who access or use the Site.

By accessing or using the Site, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree to these Terms, do not access or use the Site.

PART 1: TERMS APPLICABLE TO PROGRAM APPLICANTS AND NOMINEES

1.1 Eligibility
(a) Bezos Student Scholars. To apply to become a Bezos Student Scholar in the Program, you must satisfy the following eligibility criteria: You must be enrolled in and attending a public high school (including charter and magnet schools) in which at least 30 percent of students are eligible for free/reduced lunch program; You must be a public high school junior during the academic year in which you are applying to become a Bezos Student Scholar; You must be a legal U.S. citizen, permanent resident or have received DACA status; Be able to show history of demonstrate leadership in your school and community, while in high school; You must be enrolled in or have taken one or more Honors, Advanced Placement (AP), International Baccalaureate (IB) or college-level courses at the time you apply; You must submit an application to the Program through the Site on or before the deadline specified by us (the “Application Deadline”); and You must be available and able to participate in all program activities and trip dates noted in the Student and Educator Program Commitment. (b) Bezos Educator Scholars. To be nominated as a Bezos Educator Scholar, you must satisfy the following eligibility criteria: You must be a current school staff member OR staff member of a community organization that partners with and offers programming and/or resources to the public high school of the student who is applying to become a Bezos Student Scholar in the Program; You must be nominated by a student who is applying to become a Bezos Student Scholar in the Program; You must submit an Educator Nominee Form, as applicable, on or before the Application Deadline; and You must be available and able to participate in all program activities and trip dates noted in the Student and Educator Program Commitment.

1.2 User Accounts and Account Security
In order to prepare and submit an application or form through the Site, you will need to register for an online account. When you register for an account on the Site, you must provide accurate account information and promptly update this information if it changes. You also must maintain the security of your account and promptly notify us if you discover or suspect that someone has accessed your account without your permission. You are responsible for all activities that occur in connection with your account and accept all risks of unauthorized access.

1.3 Preparing and Submitting Program Applications and Forms
When preparing and submitting an application or other form to the Program, you must follow all instructions applicable to the application or form you wish to submit and provide all requested information in such application or form. If you fail to follow the applicable instructions or do not provide all of the requested information, your application or form may be disqualified from our review and selection process.

When you apply to become a Bezos Student Scholar, you are responsible for: (a) completing and submitting your application to the Program by the Application Deadline; (b) ensuring that all individuals who are providing recommendations for you as part of your application to the Program are able to complete and submit the applicable reference or recommendation forms through the Site by the Application Deadline; and (c) ensuring that the educator you are nominating as part of your application to the Program is able to complete and submit the applicable forms through the Site by the Application Deadline.

Applications for Bezos Student Scholars in the Program that are complete and properly submitted by the Application Deadline will be processed by the Foundation and reviewed by the Program selection committee. Bezos Student Scholars will be selected based on a variety of factors, including their academic achievement, essays and references, demonstrated leadership and community engagement. The Foundation will notify students who are selected as Bezos Student Scholars by the date specified by us.

1.4 Application and Form Information
By submitting an application or other form for the Program, you (a) represent and warrant that all of the information you provide in your application or form (collectively, “Application Information”) is accurate, truthful, current and complete and that all written responses and essays in your Application Information were written by you and are your own work product; and (b) consent to the Foundation’s use and disclosure of your Application Information to the Program selection committee and our Collaborating Organizations (as defined below) for purposes of the review and selection process for the Program and for our administration of the Program.

In the event of any breach of your representation and warranty in Section 1.4(a), we may disqualify your application or form, as applicable, from our review and selection process for the Program. Any such disqualification is in addition to all other remedies available to us at law or in equity, without prejudice to any such other remedies.

1.5 Consent to Use of Data and Mobile Communication; SMS Program Terms
You consent to our communicating with you about the Site and the Program by SMS, text message, email, or other electronic means. If you subscribe to any text programs that the Foundation makes available, you consent to receive periodic updates or alerts by automatic text message. Text STOP to stop. For Help, text HELP or contact us at scholars@bezosfamilyfoundation.org. Message and data rates may apply. Please refer to our Privacy Policy https://bezosscholars.org/privacy-policy/ for more information. Neither the Foundation nor the participating carriers guarantee that messages will be delivered. The Foundation may discontinue the program at any time without notice.

1.6 Additional Terms
The Program and your participation in the Program may be subject to additional terms and conditions. To the extent that any additional terms and conditions to which you assent conflict with these Terms, such additional terms and conditions will govern with respect to those aspects of the Program or your participation therein to which those additional terms and conditions apply. These Terms do not amend or modify the terms or conditions of any other agreement you may have with us or any of our Collaborating Organizations (as defined below).

PART 2: GENERAL TERMS

2.1 Eligibility to Use the Site
You must be at least 13 years of age to access or use the Site. If you are under 18 years of age (or the age of legal majority where you live), you may only access and use our Site under the supervision of a parent or legal guardian who agrees to be bound by these Terms. If you are a parent or legal guardian of a user under the age of 18 (or the age of legal majority), you agree to be fully responsible for the acts or omissions of such user in connection with their access to and use of our Site. If you are accessing or using our Site on behalf of another person or entity, you represent and warrant that you are authorized to accept these Terms on that person’s or entity’s behalf and that such person or entity agrees to be responsible to us if you or the other person or entity violates these Terms.

2.2 Privacy
Please refer to our Privacy Policy https://bezosscholars.org/privacy-policy/ for information about how we collect, use, and disclose information about you.

2.3 Prohibited Conduct and Content
You agree that you will not violate any applicable law, contract, intellectual property or other third-party right or commit a tort, and that you are solely responsible for your conduct while accessing or using our Site. You also agree that you will not:

Engage in any harassing, threatening, intimidating, predatory or stalking conduct;
Use or attempt to use another user’s account without authorization from that user and the Foundation; Use our Site in any manner that could interfere with, disrupt, negatively affect or inhibit other users from fully enjoying our Site or that could damage, disable, overburden or impair the functioning of our Site in any manner; Reverse engineer any aspect of our Site or do anything that might discover source code or bypass or circumvent measures employed to prevent or limit access to any part of our Site; Attempt to circumvent any content-filtering techniques we employ or attempt to access any feature or area of our Site that you are not authorized to access; Develop or use any third-party applications that interact with our Site without our prior written consent, including any scripts designed to scrape or extract data from our Site; Bypass or ignore instructions contained in our robots.txt file that controls automated access to portions of our Site; or Use our Site for any illegal or unauthorized purpose, or engage in, encourage or promote any activity that violates these Terms.
If you would like to report any conduct violating this section, please email us at scholars@bezosfamilyfoundation.org.
 

2.4 Limited License; Copyright and Trademark
Our Site and the text, graphics, images, photographs, videos, illustrations, trademarks, trade names, service marks, logos, slogans and other content contained therein (collectively, the “Foundation Content”) are owned by or licensed to the Foundation and are protected under both United States and foreign laws. Except as explicitly stated in these Terms, the Foundation and our licensors reserve all rights in and to our Site and the Foundation Content. You are hereby granted a limited, nonexclusive, nontransferable, non-sublicensable, revocable license to access and use our Site and the Foundation Content for your own personal use; however, such license is subject to these Terms and does not include any right to (a) sell, resell or commercially use our Site or the Foundation Content; (b) copy, reproduce, distribute, publicly perform or publicly display the Foundation Content, except as expressly permitted by us or our licensors; (c) modify the Foundation Content, remove any proprietary rights notices or markings, or otherwise make any derivative uses of our Site or the Foundation Content; (d) use any data mining, robots or similar data gathering or extraction methods; and (e) use our Site or the Foundation Content other than for their intended purposes. Any use of our Site or the Foundation Content other than as specifically authorized herein, without our prior written permission, is strictly prohibited and will terminate the license granted herein.

2.5 Feedback
Any questions, comments, suggestions, ideas, original or creative materials or other information you submit to us about the Foundation, the Program, your participation in the Program or the Site (collectively, “Feedback”) is non-confidential and will become the sole property of the Foundation. We will own exclusive rights, including, without limitation, all intellectual property rights, in and to Feedback and will be entitled to the unrestricted use and dissemination of Feedback for any purpose, commercial or otherwise, without acknowledgment or compensation to you.

2.6 Copyright Complaints
We have a policy of limiting access to our Site and terminating the accounts of users who infringe the intellectual property rights of others. If you believe that anything on our Site infringes any copyright that you own or control, you may notify the Foundation’s Designated Agent as follows:

Designated Agent: Copyright Agent
Address: 1700 7th Ave, Suite #116/149
Seattle, WA 98101
Telephone Number: 206-275-2048
Fax Number: 206-275-0935
E-Mail Address: copyrightagent@bezosfamilyfoundation.org
Please see 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3) for the requirements of a proper notification. Also, please note that if you knowingly misrepresent that any activity or material on our Site is infringing, you may be liable to the Foundation for certain costs and damages.

2.7 Indemnification
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you will indemnify, defend and hold harmless the Foundation, the Collaborating Organizations and each of our respective officers, directors, agents, partners and employees (individually and collectively, the “Foundation Parties”) from and against any loss, liability, claim, demand, damages, expenses or costs ("Claims") arising out of or related to (a) your access to or use of our Site; (b) your Application Information, if applicable; (c) your Feedback; (d) your violation of these Terms; (e) your violation, misappropriation or infringement of any rights of another (including intellectual property rights or privacy rights); or (f) your conduct in connection with our Site. You agree to cooperate with the Foundation Parties in defending any such Claims and to pay all fees, costs and expenses associated with such Claims (including, but not limited to, reasonable attorneys' fees). You further agree that you will not settle any Claim without the applicable Foundation Parties’ prior written approval, which will not be unreasonably withheld or delayed.
This indemnity is in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other indemnities set forth in a written agreement between you and the Foundation or any of the other Foundation Parties.

2.8 Disclaimers
We do not control, endorse or take responsibility for any third-party content available on or linked to by our Site. Your use of our Site is at your sole risk. Our Site are provided “as is” and “as available” without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, title, and non-infringement. In addition, the Foundation does not represent or warrant that the Site is accurate, complete, reliable, current or error-free. While the Foundation attempts to make your access to and use of our Site safe, we cannot and do not represent or warrant that our Site or servers are free of viruses or other harmful components. You assume the entire risk as to the quality and performance of the Site.

2.9 Limitation of Liability
The Foundation and the other Foundation Parties will not be liable to you under any theory of liability—whether based in contract, tort, negligence, strict liability, warranty or otherwise—for any indirect, consequential, exemplary, incidental, punitive or special damages or lost profits, even if the Foundation or the other Foundation Parties have been advised of the possibility of such damages.

The total liability of the Foundation and the other Foundation Parties, for any claim arising out of or relating to these Terms, the Site or the Program, regardless of the form of the action, is limited to the amount paid, if any, by you to access or use our Site. The limitations set forth in this section will not limit or exclude liability for the gross negligence, fraud or intentional misconduct of the Foundation or the other Foundation Parties or for any other matters in which liability cannot be excluded or limited under applicable law. Additionally, some jurisdictions do not allow the exclusion or limitation of incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitations or exclusions may not apply to you.

2.10 Release
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, you release the Foundation and the other Foundation Parties from responsibility, liability, claims, demands and/or damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown (including, but not limited to, claims of negligence), arising out of or related to disputes between users and the acts or omissions of third parties. You expressly waive any rights you may have under California Civil Code § 1542 as well as any other statute or common law principles that would otherwise limit the coverage of this release to include only those claims which you may know or suspect to exist in your favor at the time of agreeing to this release.

2.11 Transfer and Processing Data
By accessing or using our Site, you consent to the processing, transfer and storage of information about you in and to the United States and other countries, where you may not have the same rights and protections as you do under local law.

2.12 Governing Law and Venue
These Terms and your access to and use of our Site will be governed by and construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the State of Washington, without regard to conflict of law rules or principles (whether of the State of Washington or any other jurisdiction) that would cause the laws of any other jurisdiction to apply. Any dispute between the parties will be resolved in the state or federal courts of the State of Washington and the United States, respectively, sitting in King County, Washington.

2.13 Changes to these Terms
We may make changes to these Terms from time to time. If we make changes, we will post the amended Terms to our Site and update the “Last Updated” date above. We also may attempt to notify you by sending an email notification to the address associated with your online account or providing notice through our Site. Unless we say otherwise in our notice, the amended Terms will be effective immediately and your continued access to and use of our Site after we provide notice will confirm your acceptance of the changes. If you do not agree to the amended Terms, you must stop accessing and using our Site.

2.14 Termination
We reserve the right, without notice and in our sole discretion, to terminate your right to access and use our Site. We are not responsible for any loss or harm related to your inability to access or use our Site.

2.15 Severability
If any provision or part of a provision of these Terms is unlawful, void or unenforceable, that provision or part of the provision is deemed severable from these Terms and does not affect the validity or enforceability of any remaining provisions.

2.16 Miscellaneous
These Terms constitute the entire agreement between you and the Foundation relating to your access to and use of our Site. The failure of the Foundation to exercise or enforce any right or provision of these Terms will not operate as a waiver of such right or provision. The section titles in these Terms are for convenience only and have no legal or contractual effect. Except as otherwise provided herein, these Terms are intended solely for the benefit of the parties and are not intended to confer third party beneficiary rights upon any other person or entity.

2.17 Questions
If you have any questions about these Terms, the Site or the Program, please contact us at scholars@bezosfamilyfoundation.org.