Terms of Use

1. Terms of Use

These terms form an agreement between you and ShineBright Relief Foundation, Inc. ("ShineBright") governing your access to and use of the ShineBright platform. By creating an account, submitting an application or otherwise using the platform, you accept these terms.

You must be at least 18 years old and a resident of the United States to create an account. You are responsible for the accuracy of the information you provide and for keeping your login credentials secure.

2. What ShineBright is and is not

ShineBright is a charitable assistance program funded by donors and partner organizations. ShineBright is not a lender, debt-settlement company, credit-repair organization, collection agency, law firm or financial adviser, and does not provide legal, tax, credit-repair or financial advice.

ShineBright does not represent or guarantee that any creditor will accept, reduce or forgive a balance.

3. Eligibility and applications

Eligibility criteria, qualifying debt types, assistance percentages and program limits are set by ShineBright and may change at any time. Submitting an application does not create an entitlement to assistance.

Applications are reviewed only when complete. ShineBright may request additional information, decline an application, or withdraw assistance if information is found to be inaccurate, incomplete or misleading.

4. Program Agreement

If your application is approved, a Program Agreement sets out the approved assistance amount, how and to whom funds are disbursed, your community-impact commitment, reporting requirements and the circumstances under which assistance may be reduced or withdrawn. Assistance is generally paid directly to the creditor rather than to you.

5. Applicant disclosures

Assistance is not guaranteed and depends on eligibility, verification of the information you provide, available funding and program rules. Receiving assistance may have tax consequences; you are responsible for consulting your own tax adviser. Debt forgiveness or payment by a third party may be reported to credit bureaus by your creditor, and ShineBright does not control creditor reporting.

6. Consent to verify financial information

By submitting an application you authorize ShineBright and its authorized service providers to verify the information and documents you provide, including contacting the creditors you list, solely for reviewing and administering your application. You may withdraw this authorization in writing, in which case your application may be closed.

7. Funding-partner terms

Funding partners contribute to designated funding pools. Contributions are used for program assistance and related charitable purposes as described in the funding-partner agreement. Partners receive aggregated, de-identified reporting; they do not receive applicant identities, documents or debt details without explicit written consent from the applicant. Partners may not use the ShineBright name or marks beyond what the agreement permits.

8. Community-impact participation

Community-impact activities are voluntary and unpaid, and are hosted by approved partner organizations. Participants agree to follow the hosting organization's rules, to log hours honestly and to allow ShineBright to verify completion. ShineBright does not employ participants and is not responsible for the conduct of hosting organizations. Falsified hours may result in removal from the program.

9. Acceptable use

You agree not to submit false or fraudulent information, impersonate another person, upload malicious files, attempt to access other users' data, disrupt the platform, or use it for any unlawful purpose. We may suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms.

10. Intellectual property

The ShineBright name, logo, platform content and software are owned by ShineBright and may not be copied or reused without permission. You retain ownership of the information and documents you submit and grant ShineBright a limited licence to use them to administer the program.

11. Disclaimers and limitation of liability

The platform is provided on an "as is" and "as available" basis without warranties of any kind. To the fullest extent permitted by law, ShineBright is not liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, or for any creditor's decisions, and our total liability arising out of the platform is limited to the amount of assistance actually provided to you, if any.

12. Changes, governing law and contact

We may update these terms; material changes will be posted here with a new effective date, and continued use constitutes acceptance. These terms are governed by the laws of the State of Georgia, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, and disputes are subject to the courts located in Fulton County, Georgia.

ShineBright Relief Foundation, Inc., 1201 Peachtree Street NE, Suite 800, Atlanta, GA 30361, United States. Use the Contact Support button in the site footer to reach our team. Support hours: Monday – Friday, 9:00am – 6:00pm ET.