HiPower Terms of Service

These Terms of Service (the “Terms”) govern your use of hipower.org and any related pages, forms, online stores, virtual sessions and communications that link to these Terms (together, the “Site”), and your participation in HiPower programs, memberships and events (together with the Site, the “Services”).

Please read these Terms carefully. When you submit an application, purchase a membership, register for an event, buy merchandise, or check a box or click a button indicating that you agree, you accept these Terms. If you only browse the Site, these Terms still apply to that use. If you do not agree, please do not use the Services.

Some Services have additional terms, such as program guidelines, event-specific policies, the Community Code of Conduct, and the membership Fee Schedule (together, “Additional Terms”). Additional Terms are part of these Terms when they apply to you. If an Additional Term conflicts with these Terms, the Additional Term controls for that Service.

The Services are provided by HiPower, a California nonprofit corporation (“HiPower,” “we,” “us” or “our”). You can reach us at legal@hipower.org.

The Services are intended for adults. You must be at least 18 years old and able to form a binding contract to use them. Our programs are designed for leaders and their allies in professional roles; admission to selective programs is described in Section 5.

When you apply to a program, create an account, register for an event or make a purchase, you agree to give us accurate, current and complete information and to keep it up to date. You are responsible for activity under any login credentials we or our platform providers issue to you, and you agree to keep those credentials confidential and to tell us promptly if you believe they have been compromised.

Information you provide in an application, including forms responses, essays, references and descriptions of your goals, will be reviewed by HiPower staff, board members and volunteer selection committee members, who are asked to keep it confidential.

5.1 Admission

Admission to the Signature Program, the Founder Fellowship, scholarships and Executive Membership is selective and at HiPower’s discretion. Applying or paying an application fee does not guarantee admission. We may decline an application without giving reasons.

5.2 Membership is personal

Membership and event registrations are personal to the individual named and may not be shared, transferred or resold unless we agree in writing. Membership benefits are described on the Site and may change from year to year.

5.3 Membership tiers and commitment deadlines

Some memberships are offered in tiers, such as In Person and Virtual. The tier you select and pay for by the applicable commitment deadline is fixed for the membership year. You may not switch tiers during the membership year, in either direction. Current tiers, prices and deadlines appear in the Fee Schedule and on the checkout page.

5.4 Changes to programs and events

We plan programs carefully, but we may need to change speakers, faculty, agendas, schedules, venues or formats (including moving a session online). We will tell affected participants about material changes as early as we reasonably can. A change in speaker, agenda or session format alone does not entitle you to a refund.

5.5 Event participation

By attending an in-person event you agree to follow venue rules, the Community Code of Conduct and reasonable instructions from HiPower staff and volunteers. Hotel reservations, travel and incidental expenses are your responsibility unless your registration expressly says otherwise.

6.1 Fees

You agree to pay the fees shown at checkout for any membership, program, event or product you purchase, plus any applicable taxes. Prices are in U.S. dollars. Promotional codes are valid only as stated, may not be combined unless stated, and have no cash value.

6.2 Payment processing

Payments are processed by third-party providers such as Squarespace Commerce, Printful, Stripe and/or PayPal. HiPower does not store full card numbers. Your payment is also subject to the provider’s terms and privacy policy.

6.3 Membership year

Unless the Fee Schedule says otherwise, a membership covers the membership year stated at purchase, which currently runs January 1 through December 31.

6.4 No automatic renewal

Memberships do not renew automatically. Before each membership year we will invite you to renew, and you will be charged only if you choose to renew and complete checkout.

7.1 Why our policy is strict

HiPower operates on a lean budget and does not make money on its signature conference. We sign hotel contracts and pay deposits about a year in advance, sized to the number of members who commit by our deadlines. Late cancellations create a direct budget shortfall that the rest of the community absorbs, and late additions often cannot be accommodated.

7.2 Membership and conference fees

Membership fees, including fees for In Person and Virtual tiers, are non-refundable after the applicable commitment deadline stated in the Fee Schedule. If you cancel before that deadline, we will refund your payment less our current processing fee.

7.3 Other events and programs

Refund, transfer and substitution rules for individual events and programs are stated on the event or registration page. Where a page is silent, registrations are non-refundable, but you may ask us to transfer your registration to another eligible person, which we may approve at our discretion.

7.4 If we cancel

Subject to Section 7.5, if HiPower cancels an event or program and does not reschedule it, we will refund the portion of the fee attributable to the cancelled event, or, if you prefer, apply it as a credit toward a future HiPower program. If an event is rescheduled to a different date, we will offer a credit or other fair remedy if you cannot participate on the new date. Our total responsibility for a cancelled event is limited to the amount you paid for it.

7.5 Events beyond our control

We are not responsible for failures or delays caused by circumstances reasonably beyond our control, such as natural disasters, public-health orders, travel disruptions, labor actions, venue failures, or failures of internet or platform providers. In those cases we will work in good faith to reschedule the event but we are not responsible for offering a credit.

Merchandise is offered while supplies last. Colors and sizes may vary slightly from images on the Site. Shipping costs and estimated delivery times are shown at checkout. If an item arrives damaged or defective, contact us within 30 days of delivery and we will make reasonable efforts to replace it. Other returns are accepted only as stated on the product page.

9.1 Code of Conduct

HiPower is built on trust, generosity and candor. You agree to follow our Community Code of Conduct and to treat other participants, speakers, staff, volunteers, sponsors and venue staff with respect. Harassment, discrimination, intimidation, or unwelcome conduct of any kind will not be tolerated at events, in virtual sessions, or in HiPower communications channels.

9.2 Confidential sessions

Many HiPower sessions, including Ask & Answer Circles, evening social events, peer advisory groups, workshops and breakouts, depend on participants speaking openly. Unless a session is expressly designated as public, you agree that:

(a)     you may use ideas and information shared in the session, but you will not disclose who said it or share details that would identify another participant;

(b)    you will not repeat or publish personal, health, family, financial or employer information that another participant shares; and

(c)     you will not record, transcribe, photograph or livestream a session, or enter its content into a transcription or AI tool, without the permission of HiPower.

Nothing in this Section prevents you from reporting misconduct to HiPower or to authorities, or from disclosing information required by law.

Pages and lists that show members’ names, titles, photos, bios or contact information (including the Executive Members page, cohort pages, attendee lists and any private member directory) are provided so that HiPower members can connect with one another. You may use this information only for one-to-one professional networking that is consistent with the spirit of the community. You may not:

•      compile, export, sell or share member information, or add members to any mailing list, CRM or marketing campaign;

•      use member information for bulk or unsolicited sales, recruiting or fundraising outreach;

•      scrape, copy or use member information, including photos, to train or prompt AI systems or to build profiles of individuals; or

•      share access to member details with anyone who is not a current member.

If you are a member and want to change or remove your listing, contact legal@hipower.org.

HiPower and its contracted photographers may photograph and record HiPower events and public sessions. By attending, you consent to being photographed and recorded and to HiPower’s use of those images and recordings, without payment, to document and promote HiPower programs on the Site, in newsletters, on social media and in materials for members, sponsors and prospective members. If you prefer not to be photographed, please tell HiPower staff at check-in and we will take reasonable steps to honor your request, including removing images on request where practical.

Professional headshots taken at HiPower events are provided for your personal and professional use, including on LinkedIn and employer websites. HiPower may also use your headshot in connection with your HiPower profile and program materials.

Members and attendees may take casual photos at social portions of events but should not record confidential sessions (see Section 9.2) and should respect any participant who asks not to be photographed or posted.

You may provide content to HiPower, such as bios, photos, testimonials, book recommendations, survey responses, talk submissions (“Your Content”). You keep ownership of Your Content. You grant HiPower a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, reproduce, modify, edit for length and format, display and distribute Your Content in connection with operating and promoting HiPower and its programs. For testimonials, we will attribute them as you approve. You may ask us to stop using Your Content, other than or session materials, at any time, and we will stop new uses within a reasonable time, although we cannot recall materials already printed or distributed. Our license to session materials that you provide to us is perpetual and will survive any termination of this Terms.

You confirm that you have the right to provide Your Content, that it is accurate, and that it does not infringe anyone’s rights or disclose anyone else’s confidential information. HiPower will not use Your Content to train artificial intelligence models without your consent.

The Site and HiPower’s program materials, including text, curriculum, workbooks, frameworks, slides, videos, graphics, the HiPower name and logo, and the names of programs such as Ignite, Spring Refresh, JANx Talks and Ask & Answer, are owned by HiPower or its licensors (including faculty and speakers) and are protected by copyright, trademark and other laws.

As a participant, you may use program materials provided to you for your own personal and professional development. You may not reproduce, distribute, sell, publicly perform or create derivative works from them, teach them to others, or use HiPower’s names or logos to suggest an affiliation or endorsement, without our written permission. Members are welcome to state truthfully that they are HiPower members or program graduates.

Except as expressly allowed in this Section, you may not use, or allow others to use, any robot, spider, crawler, scraper, browser extension or other automated means to access, collect, copy, index or mine content from the Site, including member names, bios, photos and attendee lists. You may not use any content from the Site to develop, train, fine-tune, evaluate or improve any machine-learning or artificial-intelligence model or system, or to build datasets for those purposes.

Search engines may index the public pages of the Site for the purpose of displaying search results and links, subject to the instructions in our robots.txt file.

You agree not to:

•      use the Services for any unlawful, fraudulent or harmful purpose;

•      impersonate any person, or misrepresent your affiliation with HiPower or anyone else;

•      post or send content that is defamatory, harassing, hateful, obscene, or that infringes anyone’s rights;

•      interfere with or disrupt the Site, its security, or other users’ access, or attempt to access accounts, pages or systems you are not authorized to use;

•      upload malware or other harmful code; or

•      use the Services to send spam, chain messages or unsolicited commercial communications.

HiPower is grateful for the support of sponsors and partners, whose names and logos appear on the Site and at events. Their support does not mean that HiPower endorses their products or services, or that they endorse HiPower’s views. The Site may link to third-party websites, including sponsor sites, booksellers, venues, hotels and social media. We do not control those sites and are not responsible for their content, policies or practices. If HiPower earns any commission from links on the Site, we will say so near the link.

Our Privacy Policy, available at hipower.org/privacy, explains how we collect, use and share personal information and the choices and rights you may have, including under California law. By using the Services you acknowledge the Privacy Policy.

HiPower’s sponsors help keep membership and event fees affordable. As part of those sponsorships, HiPower may share the names, email addresses and professional titles and company names of members and event attendees with current HiPower sponsors. Sponsors may use this information to introduce themselves, invite you to sponsor-hosted events, and share professional resources and offers they believe may interest you.

HiPower shares this information only with sponsors that have agreed in writing to:

(a) use it only to communicate with you directly, and not sell, rent or pass it to anyone else;
(b) include a working unsubscribe option in every email and honor your request to stop contacting you;
(c) keep the information reasonably secure and delete it when the sponsorship ends or when you ask; and
(d) comply with applicable anti-spam and privacy laws.

You can opt out of sponsor sharing at any time by emailing legal@hipower.org. After you opt out, we will exclude you from future lists shared with sponsors. If a sponsor already has your information, you can unsubscribe from that sponsor’s emails directly, and we will ask the sponsor to delete your information on request.

HiPower wants its Site and events to be welcoming and usable by everyone. If you have difficulty using any part of the Site or need an accommodation to participate in a program or event, please contact legal@hipower.org and we will work with you to provide the information or access you need.

HiPower programs offer leadership development, peer support and community. Content from HiPower, faculty, speakers and other members is shared for general educational purposes and is not legal, financial, tax, medical, mental-health or career advice. You are responsible for decisions you make based on it.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, THE SERVICES ARE PROVIDED “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE,” WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE SITE WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE OR FREE OF HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT ANY PARTICULAR OUTCOME WILL RESULT FROM PARTICIPATING IN OUR PROGRAMS.

In-person events may include travel, optional physical activities (such as morning walks, runs and meditation), food and beverages including alcohol, and evening social activities. You participate voluntarily, are responsible for judging what activities are appropriate for you and assume the ordinary risks of participation. Please tell HiPower staff in advance about any dietary or accessibility needs. Nothing in this Section limits HiPower’s responsibility for its own gross negligence or willful misconduct.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, HIPOWER AND ITS DIRECTORS, OFFICERS, VOLUNTEERS, STAFF, FACULTY AND SPEAKERS WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, LOST OPPORTUNITIES OR LOSS OF DATA, ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THE SERVICES. HIPOWER’S TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM RELATING TO THE SERVICES WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF (A) THE AMOUNTS YOU PAID TO HIPOWER IN THE TWELVE MONTHS BEFORE THE CLAIM AROSE OR (B) ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS.

Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations of liability, so some of these limits may not apply to you. Nothing in these Terms limits liability that cannot be limited by law, including liability for fraud, gross negligence or willful misconduct.

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless HiPower and its directors, officers, volunteers and staff from claims, losses and reasonable expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) brought by third parties to the extent arising from your breach of these Terms, Your Content, or your misuse of other members’ information.

We may suspend or end your access to the Services, or your membership or participation in a program, if you materially breach these Terms or the Community Code of Conduct, or if your conduct puts the safety, trust or reputation of the community at risk. Where practical, we will give you notice and an opportunity to respond before taking action. If we end your membership for a material breach, fees already paid are not refundable. If we end it for any other reason, we will refund the unused portion of your fees. Sections 9 through 14 and 19 through 26 continue to apply after termination.

24.1 Talk to us first

Most concerns can be resolved quickly and informally. Before filing any claim, you and HiPower each agree to send the other a written description of the dispute and the remedy sought (to HiPower at legal@hipower.org) and to try in good faith to resolve it for at least 30 days.

24.2 Governing law and forum

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of California, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Either party may bring an eligible claim in small claims court. Otherwise, any lawsuit relating to the Services must be brought in the state or federal courts located in San Mateo County, California, and you and HiPower consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts. If you are a consumer residing outside California, this Section does not deprive you of any protection that the law of your place of residence provides and that cannot be waived by contract.

We may update these Terms from time to time. If we make a material change, we will post the updated Terms on the Site with a new “Last updated” date and notify current members by email at least 30 days before the change takes effect. Changes will not apply to disputes that arose before the effective date of the change. If you do not agree to a change, you may stop using the Services; if you are a member who objects to a material change, you may cancel your membership before the change takes effect and receive a refund of the unused portion of your fees. Non-material changes, such as clarifications or updated contact details, take effect when posted.

•      Entire agreement. These Terms, together with any Additional Terms and the Privacy Policy, are the entire agreement between you and HiPower about the Services.

•      Electronic communications. You agree that we may send notices, receipts and other communications to you electronically, by email or by posting on the Site, and that these satisfy any requirement that they be in writing.

•      Severability. If any provision is found unenforceable, it will be limited to the minimum extent necessary and the rest of the Terms will remain in effect.

•      No waiver. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver of our right to do so later.

•      Assignment. You may not assign these Terms without our consent. We may assign them to a successor organization in connection with a merger, reorganization or transfer of HiPower’s programs, and will notify members if we do.

•      Headings. Headings are for convenience only.

Questions about these Terms can be sent to legal@hipower.org.