Unless specifically stated, nothing contained in or through a KCS web site (each KCS site referred to this page via a Terms of Use or Privacy link shall be hereafter referred to as a “Site”) other than these legal provisions constitutes, nor is intended to constitute, an offer, inducement, promise, or contract of any kind. Your use of the Site does not guarantee your receipt of or right to apply for a scholarship from KCS.

The content provided on the Site is presented as a courtesy to be used only for informational purposes and is not represented to be error free. KCS makes no representations or warranties of any kind with respect to the Site or its content, such representations and warranties being expressly disclaimed. KCS does not warrant that the functions contained within the Site will be uninterrupted or error-free, that defects will be corrected, or that the Site or the servers that make them available are free of viruses or other harmful components.

Moreover, KCS does not represent or warrant that the content of its Site is accurate, complete or current for any specific or particular purpose or application. The content and information on The Site may be updated by KCS at any time without notice to you. The Site is not intended to provide nor should anyone consider that they provide legal, accounting, tax or other advice. Such advice should only be rendered in reference to the particular facts and circumstances appropriate to each situation. KCS encourages you to contact appropriate professional(s) and consultant(s) to assess your specific needs and circumstances and to render such advice accordingly. In addition, KCS is not endorsing or recommending the use of the means or methods contained on or through this site for any special or particular purpose.

In addition, any links to non-KCS information or references to unaffiliated organizations are provided as a courtesy and convenience to you. Such links and references are not intended to, nor do they constitute, an endorsement of the linked materials or the referenced organizations by KCS. The content and views on such links and of such organizations are solely their own and do not necessarily reflect those of KCS, or the organizations’ officers, directors or associates.

In no event will KCS or any of its officers, trustees or associates be liable for any damages  whether direct, indirect, special, general, consequential, for alleged lost profits, or otherwise -that might result from any use of or reliance on materials or links made available on or through KCS’s Site.

Respecting the privacy of the visitors using our Site is a major priority for KCS. The following statements will help you understand how KCS collects, uses and safeguards the personal information you provide to us on our Site.

Please note that this policy applies only to KCS’s Site and not to any other organizations’ Web Site to which we link. Remember that when you use a link to go from a KCS Site to another Web site, KCS’s Privacy Policy is no longer in effect. Your browsing and interaction on any other Web site, including Web Site KCS links to, is subject to that Web site’s own rules and policies. Please read those rules and policies before proceeding. KCS does not make any representations about the practices and policies of any organization or Web site we link to and disclaims any liability or responsibility for such other Web site’s content, rules, policies or otherwise.

Types of information we collect

The types of information that may be collected on any of KCS’s Site include: (1) personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected on an individual basis (voluntary registration); (2) Site use information collected on an aggregate basis as you and others browse our Site; and (3) Site usage information tied to your personal information.

Voluntary Registration

Visitors to any a Site may knowingly choose to register to participate in a KCS Program (including applying or preparing to apply for a scholarship offered by KCS) or to receive further promotional material from KCS about it and/or its programs. When so registering for events, visitors may be asked to voluntarily provide their name, email address, telephone number, work address and other pertinent information. Visitors may also indicate topics of interest, which will assist us in tailoring our content to your needs. Visitors who supply information will be included in our general contact database which we will use to send emails and other communications consistent with our charitable purpose.

You may have your name removed from any of our emailing lists at any time, by following the unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of every email. If you do not wish to receive publications from KCS, please send an email to info@kcscholars.org or call KCS at 816-581-5700.

Log Files

As is true of most Web Site, we gather certain information automatically and store it in log

files. This information includes internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, on-site bookmarks, onsite subscriptions, clickstream data and site navigation history. We use this information, which does not identify individual users, to analyze trends, to administer the site, to track users’ movements around the site and to gather information about our user base as a whole. KCS may collect this non-personal information even if you are not registered on any of the Site.

We may also link this automatically-collected data to personally identifiable information. This information is tied to personally identifiable information to provide you with feedback about your experiences on the Site and to provide you with information that you may find interesting or informative. KCS may also link this information to a particular individual or combine it with personal information if KCS has determined that it needs to identify a user because of safety or security issues or to comply with legal requirements. We do not share this automatically collected data with third parties except those that provide direct services to us to facilitate the upkeep of and services provided through the Site.

Cookies

To enable us to offer you the best possible experience when you visit KCS’s Site and to offer continually updated information, we assign you a unique identification number stored in a file on your computer called a “cookie.” Cookies by themselves cannot be used to find out the identity of any user. This unique identification number automatically identifies your browser – but not you – to our computers whenever you interact and browse a KCS Site.

The cookies automatically gather certain usage information like the numbers and frequency of visitors to KCS’s Site and areas visited on the Site. We only use such data in the aggregate.  This collective data helps us determine how much our customers use parts of our Site, so we can improve our Site to ensure that they are appealing to as many people as possible.

E-mail Tracking

When you sign up to receive information or mailings from KCS Site, we use clear gifs, web beacons or other such e-mail tracking devices to measure the activity of the e-mail, including your clicking on a link within an e-mail and your forwarding of the e-mail. This information is tied to your e-mail address when stored.

Information Sharing and Disclosure

KCS does not rent, sell, or share any personal information about individual users with any third party except (i) to operate the Site, (ii) to administer KCS’s scholarship program and to provide the products or services you’ve requested, and (iii) to send you information consistent with our charitable purpose. This information may be shared by KCS with institutions of higher education who collaborate with KCS in the administration of its programs or the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which helped to launch the KCS program, but all use by these entities must be consistent with the administration of the KCS program. As registration is voluntary, those who have supplied information may also unsubscribe and remove themselves from any KCS database or mailing lists at any time. You may lodge a request to remove you from any KCS mailing lists by e-mailing info@kcscholars.org or calling KCS at 816-581-5700. The information you provide to KCS is also used to better understand the content needs of registrants to our Site. Our goal in collecting personal information through and monitoring visitor traffic patterns through use of cookies, log files, and e-mail tracking is to provide you with the best available Web experience and to facilitate the transmission of information related to and your participation in KCS’s programs. We occasionally hire other companies to provide limited services on our behalf, including packaging and mailing, answering customer questions about products or services, sending and tracking postal mail, web development, scholarship processing and evaluation, email management and/or processing data. We will only provide those companies the information they need to deliver the service, and they are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose.

KCS reserves the right to disclose your personally identifiable information to respond to a subpoena, court order or other legal process, to defend KCS against legal claims, or if KCS determines it is necessary to investigate or take action in connection with activities that KCS suspects are illegal, threaten the safety of any person or are in violation of these Terms.

Your Consent

By using a KCS Site, you consent to the collection and use of information by KCS as outlined in this Privacy Policy. If we decide to change our privacy policies and procedures, we will post those changes on this page so that you always have the opportunity to be aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we may disclose it.

Registration

To access certain information and functionality, you must register on the Site and open a user account (“Account”). You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of the user name and password associated with your Account and for all activity under your Account, and you may not transfer your Account to another party. You warrant that all information you provide to KCS is accurate and we request that you update your Account as necessary to keep it accurate and complete.

Prohibited Conduct Generally

Without limiting the provisions set forth elsewhere in these Terms of Use, you agree not to transmit, distribute, post, communicate or store information or other material on, to or through the Services that:

• (a) is copyrighted, unless you are the copyright owner or valid licensee to such materials and you have the right to grant KCS the rights it needs to have such information posted on the Site;
• (b) reveals trade secrets, unless you own them, or you are the valid licensee to such materials and you have the right to grant KCS the rights it needs to have such information posted on the Site;
• (c) infringes on any other intellectual property rights of others or on the privacy or publicity rights of others;
• (d) is unlawful, obscene, indecent, sexually explicit, threatening, harmful, defamatory, threatening, harassing, abusive, hateful, slanderous or embarrassing to any other person or entity or refers negatively to people or groups on the basis of their race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, or similar characteristics;
• (e) contains false statements or misrepresentations that could damage you, us or a third party;
• (f) constitutes advertisements or solicitations of business, surveys, contests, chain letters or pyramid schemes; or
• (g) contains viruses, Trojan horses, worms, time bombs, or other computer programming routines or engines that are intended to damage, detrimentally interfere with, surreptitiously intercept or expropriate any system, data or information.

You further agree not to:

• (a) use any incomplete, false or inaccurate biographical information or other information for purposes of registering as a user of the Site or for participating in a KCS program via the Site;
• (b) delete or revise any material or other information of any other user of the Site;
• (c) harvest, collect, or send information about others, including e-mail addresses, without their consent;
• (d) take any action that imposes an unreasonable or disproportionately large load on the infrastructure of a Site;
• (e) use any device, software or routine to interfere or attempt to interfere with the proper working of one or more of the services or any activity being conducted on the Site;
• (f) use or attempt to use any engine, software, tool, agent or other device or mechanism (including, without limitation, browsers, spiders, robots, avatars or intelligent agents) to navigate or search the Site and/or to harvest or otherwise collect information from the Site to be used for any commercial or unlawful purpose;
• (g) allow any other person or entity to use your username or password for posting or viewing comments or sending or receiving materials; or
• (h) attempt to decipher, decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer any of the software comprising or in any way making up a part of the Site

You further agree not to violate or attempt to violate the security of the Site, including, without limitation:

• (a) accessing data not intended for you or logging into a server or account that you are not authorized to access;
• (b) attempting to probe, scan or test the vulnerability of a system or network or to breach security or authentication measures without proper authorization;
• (c) attempting to interfere with service to any user, host or network, including, without limitation, by way of submitting a virus to, or overloading, “flooding”, “spamming”, “mail bombing” or “crashing”, the Services;
• (d) sending unsolicited e-mail, including promotions and/or advertising of products or services to any person using information you have collected from the Site unless you have been granted express permission from KCS; or
• (e) forging any TCP/IP packet header or any part of the header information in any e-mail or posting. Violations of system or network security may result in civil or criminal liability. We may investigate occurrences that may involve violations of the security of the Services or of the law and we may involve, and cooperate with, law enforcement authorities in prosecuting users who are involved in such violations.

Suspension or Termination of Account, Access or Group Activity

KCS reserves the right in its sole discretion to suspend or terminate your Account or to block access to the Site at any time (i) if it suspects that you have not complied with these Terms of Use, (ii) if we receive multiple notices of infringement in accordance with the Digital Millennium Copyright Act relating to your Account(s), or (iii) for other reasons that KCS determines in good faith are necessary or appropriate to KCS’s administration of its programs, including if KCS suspects you are using or attempting to use the Site in any way that violates any applicable laws or regulations. KCS may also suspend or terminate your Account for prolonged inactivity in your Account. KCS may also terminate your access to or administrative rights in any User Input Room (as defined in section IV(i)) for any of the above reasons. You agree that KCS is not and will not be liable to you for any loss or damages that may result from our refusal to provide you access to the Site. You may terminate your Account at any time.

(i) KCS may offer the opportunity for you and others to contribute ideas, comments, questions and other communications to or from the Site (the “User Content”) in message boards, group areas, communities, blogs, e-mail and other features of the Site (“User Input Rooms”) that may be offered from time to time and may be operated by KCS or by a third party. You shall not (nor cause any third party to) use the Site to perform any illegal activities (including defaming, abusing, harassing, stalking, threatening or otherwise violating the legal rights – such as rights of privacy -of others) or immoral activities. You are specifically prohibited from engaging in any activity prohibited by Section III above.

(ii) You should exercise discretion before relying on information contained in User Content. You agree to evaluate, and assume all risks associated with the use of any User Content, including without limitation any risk relating to any reliance on the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of such User Content. KCS assumes no responsibility for the information contained in User Content.

(iii) You agree that KCS, in its sole discretion, may remove any User Content from a User Input Room offered by KCS, at any time and for any or no reason. You agree that KCS shall not be liable to you or any third party for any deletion of any User Content on the Site. You may remove your User Content from the Site at any time.

(iv) You acknowledge and agree that KCS may preserve and disclose User Content if required to do so by law or if KCS believes in good faith that such preservation or disclosure is reasonably necessary to comply with legal process, enforce these Terms, respond to a claim that User Content violates any third party’s rights, or protect the right, property or personal safety of KCS, any users of the Site, and the public. You also acknowledge that the technical processing and transmission of the Site, including without limitation User Content, may involve transmissions over various networks and changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices.

(v) KCS may offer the opportunity for you and others to contribute User Content in User Input Rooms operated by a third party that may be offered from time to time. KCS assumes no responsibility or liability whatsoever for such User Content, or for the use of any User Input Room operated by a third party. Without limitation to the foregoing, KCS shall not be liable for the collection, use or disclosure of any personal information by, in or through a User Input Room operated by a third party. In such circumstances, you must refer to any terms of service and privacy statement of the third party operating the User Input Room.

(vi) Subject to any applicable law and the requirements of KCS’s privacy policy, any communications sent by you via this Site or otherwise to KCS (including without limitation User Content) are on a non-confidential basis, and KCS is under no obligation to refrain from reproducing, publishing or otherwise using them in any way or for any purpose related to the Site or its users. You shall be responsible for the content and information contained in any communication sent by you to the Site or otherwise to KCS, including without limitation for its truthfulness and accuracy.

(vii) KCS does not claim any ownership rights in the User Content you post to the Site. When you post User Content to the Site, you grant to KCS, and you represent and warrant that you have the right to grant to KCS, an irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, transferable, royalty free, worldwide license (with the right to sublicense) to copy, publicly perform, publicly display, reformat, translate, excerpt, distribute, create derivative works from and otherwise use such User Content for any purpose on or in connection with the Site.

(viii) The administrator of any User Input Room determines its membership and may terminate access by any individual user at any time.

KCS respects the intellectual property of others, and requires that our users do the same. KCS will process notices of alleged infringement which it receives and will take appropriate action as required by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) and other applicable intellectual property laws. If you believe that your work has been copied and is accessible on a Site in a way that constitutes copyright infringement, or that your intellectual property rights have been otherwise violated, please provide KCS’s Copyright Agent with the following information in a notice (“Notice”). To be effective, the Notice must be in writing and contain the following information (DMCA, 17 U.S.C. §512(c)(3)):

(i) an electronic or physical signature of the person who is authorized to act on behalf of the copyright owner;

(ii) a description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;

(iii) identification of the copyrighted work you claim is being infringed (and, if possible, a location where an authorized copy of the copyrighted work exists, for example the URL of the website where it is posted or the name of the book in which it has been published);

(iv) identification of the URL or other specific location on the Site where the material that you claim is infringing is located (you must include enough information so that KCS can locate the material);

(v) your address, telephone number, and email address;

(vi) a statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and

(vii) a statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the above information in your Notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf. Send the Notice to KCS’s Copyright Agent for notice of claims of copyright infringement as follows:

Mail:
Attention: KCS Legal Counsel,
4801 Rockhill Road,
Kansas City, MO 64110

Phone: 816.581.5700

Email: info@kcscholars.org

KCS may maintain social media accounts (i.e. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Google Plus, YouTube, etc.) to provide forums for sharing research, ideas, and opinions regarding our philanthropic work and mission.

All statements and materials posted by contributors reflect the views of the individual contributors and do not reflect the views of KCS.

While KCS maintains these pages, the views expressed within these social media accounts do not necessarily reflect KCS’s positions, strategies or opinions.

We encourage users to analyze, comment on and challenge our ideas and strategies and to do so in the spirit of respect, fairness and intellectual inquiry. We reserve the right to remove posts that are offensive, act as advertisements, or attempt to solicit funds from our community. We also remove identical or substantially similar comments that are posted more than once, including those posted for the purpose of monopolizing the discussion.

Community members are expected to abide by the Terms of Use that apply to KCS’s website (found on this page). If you violate our terms of service, you may be removed from our social media communities. Thank you for engaging with us in social media and respecting these policies. We value conversations in our social media communities.

Governing Law

These Terms and the resolution of any dispute related to these Terms or the Site shall be governed and construed in accordance with the laws of the United States and the laws of the State of Missouri applicable to contracts executed and performed within Missouri, without giving any effect to any conflict of laws rules that may result in the application of the laws of any other jurisdiction. These Terms are deemed executed and enforceable in the State of Missouri.

Binding Arbitration

If a dispute arises between you and KCS, each party irrevocably agrees to (i) resolve the dispute through binding arbitration conducted in Kansas City, Missouri in accordance with the rules of the American Arbitration Association (“AAA”), (ii) bring any dispute to enforce arbitration under these Terms or to pursue injunctive relief exclusively in the federal and state courts located in Jackson County, Missouri, United States of America and (iii) submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of those courts and waive any objection to the exclusive jurisdiction of those courts based on forum non conveniens or other grounds. Each party will be responsible for its expenses and an equal share of the arbitrators’ and administrative fees of arbitration. Notwithstanding the foregoing, each party will have the right to seek temporary injunctive relief if it determines it is necessary in order to prevent irreparable harm (including infringement of any intellectual property). You agree that regardless of any statute or law to the contrary, any claim or cause of action arising out of or related to use of the Site or these terms must be filed within one (1) year after such claim or cause of action arose or be forever barred.

Amendment of Terms

KCS reserves the right to amend these Terms of Use at any time by posting an updated version. You should therefore periodically visit this page to review the then-current Agreement. Your use of the Site after our posting of amendments to this Agreement will constitute your acceptance of this Agreement, as modified. If, at any time, you do not wish to accept this Agreement, you may not use the Site.

Assignment

You may not assign these Terms or any of your obligations under them without KCS’s prior written consent and any attempted assignment is null and void. KCS may assign these Terms and any of its obligations under them at any time for any reason.

Electronic Communications; Binding and Entire Agreement

You agree that (i) these Terms constitute an agreement “signed by you” under any applicable law; (ii) any notices or other communication regarding your use of the Site may be provided to you electronically (by posting on the Site, by email, and other electronic formats) and will be considered received upon posting or other distribution. These Terms (including the Privacy Policy) constitute the entire agreement between you and KCS and supersede all other agreements, oral or written, concerning its subject matter. You consent to the use of the English language in these Terms and all documents or notices relating to them and your use of the Site.

Severability

If any of these Terms is determined to be invalid, void or unenforceable for any reason, then the unenforceable provision will be deemed amended in a manner that will most nearly carry out the intent of the provision to the fullest extent permitted by applicable law or deleted if amendment is not possible, and the remaining Terms will be enforceable to the fullest extent permitted by law. 

No Waiver

KCS’s failure to enforce these Terms in every instance in which they might apply is not a waiver of any of KCS’s rights, and KCS reserves its right to take all legal steps available to enforce these Terms.

Site Intended for U.S. Residents

The Site are intended for and directed to residents of the United States and specifically for those who may be eligible to participate in or support the scholarship programs operated by KCS.