1. Agreement and scope
These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are an agreement between you and Gather HQs, operating the Gather HQs platform (“Gather HQs,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). They apply to gatherhqs.com, Gather HQs accounts, subscriber subdomains, dashboards, event and membership tools, communications, payment connections, and related services (collectively, the “Service”).
These Terms incorporate the Privacy Notice, Acceptable Use Policy, Payments, Cancellations & Refunds Policy, Review Guidelines, and any plan or checkout terms displayed when a purchase is made. If you use the Service for an organization, you represent that you have authority to accept these Terms for it.
2. Eligibility and accounts
You must be at least 18 years old and legally able to enter a contract to create or administer a Gather HQs account. The Service is designed for adult-led groups. It is not directed to children under 13, and a child under 13 may not create an account or submit information directly through the Service.
You must provide accurate account information, keep it current, protect credentials and private capability links, and promptly report suspected unauthorized access. You are responsible for actions taken through your account unless applicable law says otherwise. Site managers may operate a site only within authority given by the subscriber administrator.
3. Platform and subscriber roles
Gather HQs is a technology provider—not the organizer, host, venue, employer, insurer, transportation provider, or safety supervisor for subscriber events. Each subscriber independently chooses its events, content, prices, membership benefits, contacts, communications, staff, vendors, and rules.
A subscriber’s event tickets, memberships, programs, and related promises are offered by that subscriber. An attendee’s agreement for an event or membership is with the subscriber, even when registration or payment occurs through a Gather HQs page. Gather HQs does not control whether an event occurs, whether its description is accurate, whether a participant is eligible, or whether the event is safe, lawful, accessible, suitable, or successful.
Subscribers are independent users of the Service. Nothing in these Terms creates an employment, agency, partnership, franchise, fiduciary, or joint-venture relationship between Gather HQs and a subscriber.
4. Trials, platform subscriptions, and billing
Free trial
A new subscriber site receives a 14-day no-card trial as described during signup. The trial does not create a charge by itself. If you do not choose a paid plan, the site may be suspended when the trial ends.
Paid plan and automatic renewal
The current Standard plan is displayed as $20 per month or $220 per year. When you deliberately select a paid plan and complete Stripe Checkout, you authorize Stripe to charge the selected recurring amount and applicable taxes. If trial time remains, the paid subscription begins billing after that remaining trial unless checkout clearly states otherwise.
A paid plan automatically renews for successive monthly or yearly periods until canceled. You can manage or cancel it through the Stripe-hosted billing portal linked from the subscriber dashboard. Cancellation normally takes effect at the end of the paid period; access continues through that date unless the account is suspended for another permitted reason.
Price changes, taxes, and failed payments
We may change plan features or pricing prospectively. Material changes to an existing paid subscription will be disclosed before a later renewal when required by law. Prices do not include taxes unless stated. You are responsible for taxes associated with your platform subscription other than taxes imposed on Gather HQs’s income.
If payment fails, the Service may provide a limited grace period, retry the charge through Stripe, restrict features, or suspend the site. Platform-subscription refunds and cancellation details are in the Payments, Cancellations & Refunds Policy.
5. Event tickets, membership dues, and connected payments
Subscribers may connect their own Stripe account to accept event-ticket payments and recurring membership dues. Card details are entered on Stripe-hosted pages and are not stored by Gather HQs. The subscriber is responsible for completing Stripe onboarding, maintaining its account, and complying with Stripe’s terms.
For paid event tickets, Gather HQs currently deducts a 3.00% application fee from the subscriber’s ticket proceeds. That fee is not added to the attendee’s displayed ticket price. Stripe processing, refund, dispute, and other provider fees may also apply to the subscriber. During the current pilot configuration, Gather HQs does not deduct an application fee from membership dues. Any future fee must be disclosed before it applies.
The subscriber controls event and membership refund decisions, subject to its promises and applicable law. Subscribers must clearly communicate their cancellation and refund terms and promptly handle attendee questions. Gather HQs may provide refund tools but does not decide whether a person is entitled to a subscriber refund.
6. Subscriber and participant responsibilities
Subscribers
A subscriber is responsible for:
- accurate event, membership, price, availability, venue, host, accessibility, age, guest, cancellation, and refund information;
- event operations, staffing, supervision, safety planning, permits, licenses, insurance, waivers, accessibility, emergency procedures, taxes, and legal compliance;
- having authority and a lawful basis to add contacts, upload files, collect form responses, record attendance, and process personal information;
- obtaining any consent needed for email or text messages and promptly honoring opt-outs, suppression records, and do-not-contact requests;
- special safeguards and valid adult or parental authorization when an event involves minors; and
- the actions of its administrators, site managers, volunteers, staff, and contractors.
Attendees, members, and form submitters
You must provide accurate information, use invitation and review links only as intended, and follow lawful event rules. If you register another person or provide a guest’s or minor participant’s information, you represent that you are authorized to do so and to receive related operational communications. Participation is at your own risk subject to rights that cannot lawfully be waived.
7. Content, files, feedback, and data
You retain ownership of content and information you submit (“Your Content”). You give Gather HQs a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free license to host, copy, process, transmit, resize, display, and otherwise use Your Content only as reasonably necessary to operate, secure, support, improve, and provide the Service and comply with law.
You represent that you have the rights and permissions needed for Your Content and that it does not violate law, privacy, publicity, contract, or intellectual-property rights. Do not upload payment credentials, government identification numbers, health records, or other highly sensitive information the Service does not specifically request.
Public pages, event descriptions, blog posts, reviews, and subscriber responses may be visible to others. We may remove or restrict content that violates these Terms or the Acceptable Use Policy. If you send product feedback, you permit us to use it without restriction or compensation, but we will not identify you publicly without permission.
Gather HQs and its licensors own the Service, software, design, branding, and documentation, excluding Your Content and third-party materials. These Terms do not transfer ownership of the Service or permit you to copy, resell, reverse engineer, or create a competing service from protected portions except where law expressly permits it.
8. Operational and marketing communications
We may send account verification, security, billing, service, legal, and support messages needed to operate the Service. Subscribers may use the Service to send event invitations, confirmations, reminders, newsletters, and—only when enabled—text messages. Subscriber communications are initiated and controlled by the subscriber.
Marketing messages require the recorded channel permission that applies to the recipient. Email marketing includes an unsubscribe method. Text recipients may withdraw consent using the method in the message or any other reasonable method. Consent to marketing is not a condition of buying an event ticket or membership. Message and data rates may apply.
9. Acceptable use, reviews, and third-party services
You must follow the Acceptable Use Policy. Reviews must follow the Review Guidelines. We may investigate suspected fraud, abuse, unsafe conduct, security threats, illegal activity, or policy violations and may preserve or disclose information when permitted or required by law.
The Service relies on third parties such as hosting, storage, communications, AI, analytics if later enabled, and payment providers. Third-party services have their own terms and privacy practices. We are not responsible for a third party’s independent service, outage, account decision, or content, but we remain responsible for our own obligations under applicable law.
10. Suspension, cancellation, and termination
You may stop using the Service and may cancel a paid platform subscription through the billing portal. We may restrict or suspend access for nonpayment, a security threat, fraud, abuse, legal risk, material breach, harm to users or third parties, or discontinuation of the Service. When reasonable, we will provide notice and an opportunity to cure.
A suspended subscriber administrator may retain limited recovery access for billing, permitted refunds, and data export. Canceling a subscription does not automatically erase data. Site-deletion requests follow the Data Retention & Deletion Policy, including safeguards against accidental deletion and longer retention for records that must be preserved.
Sections that by their nature should survive—such as ownership, payment obligations, disclaimers, liability limits, indemnification, dispute terms, and record-retention rights—continue after termination.
11. Disclaimers, liability limits, and indemnification
No event or business guarantee
To the maximum extent permitted by law, the Service is provided “as is” and “as available.” We do not guarantee uninterrupted or error-free operation, attendance levels, revenue, deliverability, search placement, regulatory compliance, event outcomes, or the conduct of any subscriber, attendee, venue, vendor, volunteer, or third party. Gather HQs does not provide legal, tax, accounting, insurance, medical, safety, or professional advice.
Limitation of liability
To the maximum extent permitted by law, Gather HQs and its owners, employees, contractors, and suppliers will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, exemplary, or punitive damages, or for lost profits, revenue, goodwill, data, or business interruption. Our aggregate liability arising from the Service will not exceed the greater of $100 or the amount you paid directly to Gather HQs for the affected platform subscription during the 12 months before the event giving rise to the claim.
These exclusions do not apply where prohibited, including to liability that cannot legally be limited. Some jurisdictions provide rights that these Terms cannot waive.
Subscriber indemnification
If you operate a subscriber site, you will defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Gather HQs and its owners, employees, contractors, and suppliers from third-party claims, losses, liabilities, and reasonable costs arising from your events, memberships, content, communications, collection or use of personal information, connected Stripe account, tax obligations, violation of law, or breach of these Terms, except to the extent caused by Gather HQs’s own unlawful conduct. This obligation applies only to the extent permitted by law.
12. General legal terms
Changes to the Service or Terms
We may update the Service and these Terms. If a change materially reduces rights or increases obligations, we will provide reasonable notice through the Service, email, or another appropriate method before the change takes effect when required. The effective date above shows the current version.
Governing law and disputes
These Terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, except where your local law requires otherwise. Before filing a formal claim, you and Gather HQs agree to make a good-faith effort for 30 days to resolve it through the support contact below. Subject to mandatory consumer rights and small-claims jurisdiction, disputes may be brought in the state or federal courts located in Massachusetts.
Other terms
Neither party is liable for delay caused by events beyond reasonable control, except payment obligations. You may not assign these Terms without our written consent; we may assign them in connection with a reorganization, financing, sale, or transfer of the Service. If one provision is unenforceable, the rest remain effective. A failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver. Headings are for convenience. These Terms and incorporated policies are the entire agreement about the Service and supersede earlier statements on the same subject.