Mission Investment Fund of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America’s Website Terms of Use
Last Modified: May 8, 2020
Acceptance of the Terms of Use
Welcome to the website of the Mission Investment Fund of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America®, a Minnesota non-profit corporation headquartered at 8765 W. Higgins Road, Chicago, IL (“MIF,” “we,” “our,” or “us”). These terms of use are entered into by and between You and us. The following terms and conditions, together with any documents they expressly incorporate by reference (collectively, "Terms of Use"), govern your access to and use of www.mif.elca.org, including any content, functionality, and services offered on or through www.mif.elca.org (the "Website"), whether as a guest or a registered user.
Please read the Terms of Use carefully before you start to use the Website. By using the Website, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these Terms of Use and our website Privacy Policy. If you do not want to agree to these Terms of Use or the Privacy Policy, you must not access or use the Website.
This Website is offered and available to users who reside in the United States or any of its territories or possessions. By using this Website, you represent and warrant that you meet all of the foregoing eligibility requirements. If you do not meet all of these requirements, you must not access or use the Website.
Changes to the Terms of Use
We may revise and update these Terms of Use from time to time in our sole discretion. All changes are effective immediately when we post them and apply to all access to and use of the Website thereafter. Your continued use of the Website following the posting of revised Terms of Use means that you accept and agree to the changes. You should check this page each time you use our Website, so you are aware of any changes to the Terms. If you do not want to agree to the new Terms, do not use our Website after the new Terms are posted.
Accessing the Website and Account Security
We reserve the right to withdraw or amend this Website, and any service or material we provide on the Website, in our sole discretion without notice. We will not be liable if for any reason all or any part of the Website is unavailable at any time or for any period. From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of the Website, or the entire Website, to users, including registered users.
You are responsible for both making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to the Website and ensuring that all persons who access the Website through your internet connection are aware of these Terms of Use and comply with them.
To access the Website or some of the resources it offers, you may be asked to provide certain registration details or other information. It is a condition of your use of the Website that all the information you provide on the Website is correct, current, and complete. You agree that all information you provide to register with this Website or otherwise, including, but not limited to, through the use of any interactive features on the Website, is governed by our Privacy Policy, and you consent to all actions we take with respect to your information consistent with our Privacy Policy.
If you choose, or are provided with, a user name, password, or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures, you must treat such information as confidential, and you must not disclose it to any other person or entity. You also acknowledge that your account is personal to you and agree not to provide any other person with access to this Website or portions of it using your user name, password, or other security information. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized access to or use of your username or password or any other breach of security. You also agree to ensure that you exit from your account at the end of each session. You should use particular caution when accessing your account from a public or shared computer so that others are not able to view or record your password or other personal information.
We have the right to terminate, suspend, or disable any account, user name, password, or other identifier, whether chosen by you or provided by us, at any time in our sole discretion for any reason, including if, in our opinion, you have violated any provision of these Terms of Use.
Intellectual Property Rights
The Website and its entire contents, features, and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, video, and audio, and the design, selection, and arrangement thereof) are owned by MIF, its licensors, or other providers of such material and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws.
These Terms of Use permit you to use the Website for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store, or transmit any of the material on our Website, except as follows:
Your computer may temporarily store copies of such materials in RAM incidental to your accessing and viewing those materials.
You may store files that are automatically cached by your Web browser for display enhancement purposes.
You may print or download one copy of a reasonable number of pages of the Website or documents available on our Website for your own personal, non-commercial use and not for further reproduction, publication, or distribution.
If we provide desktop, mobile, or other applications for download, you may download a single copy to your computer or mobile device solely for your own personal, non-commercial use, provided you agree to be bound by our end user license agreement for such applications.
If we provide social media features with certain content, you may take such actions as are enabled by such features.
You must not:
Modify copies of any materials from this site.
Use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences, or any graphics separately from the accompanying text
Delete or alter any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights notices from copies of materials from this site.
Access or use for any commercial purposes any part of the Website or any services or materials available through the Website.
If you wish to make any use of material on the Website other than that set out in this section, please contact us. If you print, copy, modify, download, or otherwise use or provide any other person with access to any part of the Website in breach of the Terms of Use, your right to use the Website will stop immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. No right, title, or interest in or to the Website or any content on the Website is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by MIF. Any use of the Website not expressly permitted by these Terms of Use is a breach of these Terms of Use and may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws. All rights not granted to you by these Terms are reserved by MIF.
Trademarks
The name Mission Investment Fund of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, MIF, ELCA, the MIF and ELCA logos, and all names, logos, product and service names, designs and slogans of MIF and the ELCA, are trademarks of the ELCA, or its affiliates, or licensors. You may not use our trademarks, or those of our affiliates and licensors without our written permission. All other names, logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans on this Website are the trademarks of their respective owners.
Prohibited Uses
You may use the Website only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms of Use. You agree not to use the Website:
In any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local, or international law or regulation (including, without limitation, any laws regarding the export of data or software to and from the US or other countries).
For the purpose of exploiting, harming, or attempting to exploit or harm minors in any way by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personally identifiable information, or otherwise.
To send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use, or re-use any material that does not comply with the Content Standards set out in these Terms of Use.
To transmit, or procure the sending of, any advertising or promotional material without our prior written consent, including any "junk mail," "chain letter," "spam," or any other similar solicitation.
To impersonate or attempt to impersonate MIF, an MIF employee, another user, or any other person or entity (including, without limitation, by using email addresses associated with any of the foregoing).
To engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone's use or enjoyment of the Website, or which, as determined by us, may harm MIF or users of the Website, or expose them to liability.
Additionally, you agree not to:
Use the Website in any manner that could disable, overburden, damage, or impair the site or interfere with any other party's use of the Website, including their ability to engage in real time activities through the Website.
Use any robot, spider, or other automatic device, process, or means to access the Website for any purpose, including monitoring or copying any of the material on the Website.
Use any manual process to monitor or copy any of the material on the Website, or for any other purpose not expressly authorized in these Terms of Use, without our prior written consent.
Use any device, software, or routine that interferes with the proper working of the Website.
Introduce any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful.
Attempt to gain unauthorized access to, interfere with, damage, or disrupt any parts of the Website, the server on which the Website is stored, or any server, computer, or database connected to the Website.
Attack the Website via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack.
Otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Website.
User Contributions
The Website may contain interactive features, such as personal profiles (collectively, "Interactive Services") that allow users to post, submit, publish, display, or transmit to other users or other persons (hereinafter, "post") content or materials (collectively, "User Contributions") on or through the Website. All User Contributions must comply with the Content Standards set out in these Terms of Use.
Any User Contribution you post to the site will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. By providing any User Contribution on the Website, you grant us and our affiliates and service providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors, and assigns the right to use, reproduce, modify, perform, display, distribute, and otherwise disclose to third parties any such material for any purpose in accordance with your account settings.
You represent and warrant that:
You own or control all rights in and to the User Contributions and have the right to grant the license granted above to us and our affiliates and service providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors, and assigns.
All of your User Contributions do and will comply with these Terms of Use.
You understand and acknowledge that you are responsible for any User Contributions you submit or contribute, and you, not MIF, have full responsibility for such content, including its legality, reliability, accuracy, and appropriateness.
We are not responsible or liable to any third party for the content or accuracy of any User Contributions posted by you or any other user of the Website.
Monitoring and Enforcement; Termination
We have the right to:
Remove or refuse to post any User Contributions for any or no reason in our sole discretion.
Take any action with respect to any User Contribution that we deem necessary or appropriate in our sole discretion, including if we believe that such User Contribution violates the Terms of Use, including the Content Standards, infringes any intellectual property right or other right of any person or entity, threatens the personal safety of users of the Website or the public, or could create liability for MIF.
Disclose your identity or other information about you to any third party who claims that material posted by you violates their rights, including their intellectual property rights or their right to privacy.
Take appropriate legal action, including without limitation, referral to law enforcement, for any illegal or unauthorized use of the Website.
Terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Website for any reason, including without limitation, any violation of these Terms of Use.
Without limiting the foregoing, we have the right to cooperate fully with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity or other information of anyone posting any materials on or through the Website. YOU WAIVE AND HOLD HARMLESS MIF AND ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSEES, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS FROM ANY CLAIMS RESULTING FROM ANY ACTION TAKEN BY ANY OF THE FOREGOING PARTIES DURING, OR TAKEN AS A CONSEQUENCE OF, INVESTIGATIONS BY EITHER SUCH PARTIES OR LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES.
We assume no liability for any action or inaction regarding transmissions, communications, or content provided by any user or third party. We have no liability or responsibility to anyone for performance or nonperformance of the activities described in this section.
Content Standards
These content standards apply to any and all User Contributions and use of Interactive Services. User Contributions must in their entirety comply with all applicable federal, state, local, and international laws and regulations. Without limiting the foregoing, User Contributions must not:
Contain any material that is defamatory, obscene, indecent, abusive, offensive, harassing, violent, hateful, inflammatory, or otherwise objectionable.
Promote sexually explicit or pornographic material, violence, or discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age.
Infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other intellectual property or other rights of any other person.
Violate the legal rights (including the rights of publicity and privacy) of others or contain any material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under applicable laws or regulations or that otherwise may be in conflict with these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.
Be likely to deceive any person.
Promote any illegal activity, or advocate, promote, or assist any unlawful act.
Cause annoyance, inconvenience, or needless anxiety or be likely to upset, embarrass, alarm, or annoy any other person.
Impersonate any person, or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person or organization.
Involve commercial activities or sales, such as contests, sweepstakes, and other sales promotions, barter, or advertising.
Give the impression that they emanate from or are endorsed by us or any other person or entity, if this is not the case.
Reliance on Information Posted
The information presented on or through the Website is made available solely for general information purposes. We do not warrant the accuracy, completeness, or usefulness of this information. Any reliance you place on such information is strictly at your own risk. We disclaim all liability and responsibility arising from any reliance placed on such materials by you or any other visitor to the Website, or by anyone who may be informed of any of its contents.
This Website may include content provided by third parties, including materials provided by third-party licensors, syndicators, aggregators, and/or reporting services. All statements and/or opinions expressed in these materials, and all articles and responses to questions and other content, other than the content provided by MIF, are solely the opinions and the responsibility of the person or entity providing those materials. These materials do not necessarily reflect the opinion of MIF. We are not responsible or liable to you or any third party for the content or accuracy of any materials provided by any third parties.
Changes to the Website
We may update the content on this Website from time to time, but its content is not necessarily complete or up-to-date. Any of the material on the Website may be out of date at any given time, and we are under no obligation to update such material.
Information About You and Your Visits to the Website
All information we collect on this Website is subject to our Privacy Policy . By using the Website, you consent to all actions taken by us with respect to your information in compliance with the Privacy Policy.
Linking to the Website and Social Media Features
You may not link to our Website in any way that is unfair, illegal, or damages or takes advantage of our reputation, and you must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval, or endorsement on our part without our prior express written consent.
This Website may provide certain social media features that enable you to send emails or other communications with certain content, or links to certain content, on this Website. You may use these features solely as they are provided by us and solely with respect to the content they are displayed with, and otherwise in accordance with any additional terms and conditions we provide with respect to such features. Subject to the foregoing, you must not:
Establish a link from any website that is not owned by you.
Cause the Website or portions of it to be displayed on, or appear to be displayed by, any other site, for example, framing, deep linking, or in-line linking.
Link to any part of the Website other than the homepage.
Otherwise take any action with respect to the materials on this Website that is inconsistent with any other provision of these Terms of Use. You agree to cooperate with us in causing any unauthorized framing or linking immediately to stop. We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice. We may disable all or any social media features and any links at any time without notice in our discretion.
Links from the Website
If the Website contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your convenience only. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources, and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them. If you decide to access any of the third-party websites linked to this Website, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites.
Geographic restrictions. MIF is located in the United States and our Website was designed for users located in the United States, not other countries. Access to and use of the Website may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access or use our Website from outside the United States, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.
Disclaimer of Warranties
You understand that we cannot and do not guarantee or warrant that files available for downloading from the internet or the Website will be free of viruses or other destructive code. You are responsible for implementing sufficient procedures and checkpoints to satisfy your particular requirements for anti-virus protection and accuracy of data input and output, and for maintaining a means external to our site for any reconstruction of any lost data. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A DISTRIBUTED DENIAL-OF-SERVICE ATTACK, VIRUSES, OR OTHER TECHNOLOGICALLY HARMFUL MATERIAL THAT MAY INFECT YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, DATA, OR OTHER PROPRIETARY MATERIAL DUE TO YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR TO YOUR DOWNLOADING OF ANY MATERIAL POSTED ON IT, OR ON ANY WEBSITE LINKED TO IT.
YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. NEITHER MIF NOR ANY PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH MIF MAKES ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE COMPLETENESS, SECURITY, RELIABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY, OR AVAILABILITY OF THE WEBSITE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, NEITHER MIF NOR ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH MIF REPRESENTS OR WARRANTS THAT THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL BE ACCURATE, RELIABLE, ERROR-FREE, OR UNINTERRUPTED, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, THAT OUR SITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT THE WEBSITE OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL OTHERWISE MEET YOUR NEEDS OR EXPECTATIONS.
TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, MIF HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE.
THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY WARRANTIES THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.
Limitation on Liability
MIF and ITS AFFILIATES AND THEIR RESPECTIVE MEMBERS, MANAGERS, OFFICERS, DIRECTORS, EMPLOYEES, VOLUNTEERS, CONTRACTORS, and LICENSORS (collectively “MIF Persons”), are not LIABLE FOR any DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, related to YOUR USE OR INABILITY TO USE Our WEBSITE, ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO our Website, OR ANY information, goods, or SERVICES OBTAINED THROUGH Our WEBSITE. In addition, the ELCA Persons are not liable for INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, whether these damages are foreseeable or the MIF PERSONS were advised of the possibility of these damages. The limitations in this Section apply, even if Your remedies fail their essential purpose. You acknowledge the limitations on the liability of the ELCA Persons in this Section are reasonable. If applicable law limits the application of this Section, the ELCA person’s liability is to be limited to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law.
Indemnification
You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless MIF, its affiliates, licensors, and service providers, and its and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors, and assigns from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys' fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms of Use or your use of the Website, including, but not limited to, your User Contributions, any use of the Website's content, services, and products other than as expressly authorized in these Terms of Use, or your use of any information obtained from the Website.
Governing Law and Jurisdiction
The U.S. federal laws and the laws of the State of Illinois, excluding the State of Illinois’ choice of law rules, govern these Terms of Use. All actions related to our Website or these Terms of Use must be brought in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, or the Illinois state courts located in Cook County, Illinois. You submit to the exclusive jurisdiction of these courts. You waive any and all objections to the exercise of jurisdiction over you by such courts and to venue in such courts.
Limitations Period. You must bring any action against us related to our Website or these Terms within one (1) year of the action accruing. You waive any right to file an action related to our Website or these Terms under any longer statute of limitations.
Jury trial waiver. You waive, to the extent permitted by applicable law, any right to a trial by jury, in any action between you and us related to this Agreement.
Wavier. Any failure of delay by MIF to exercise any right under these Terms is not a waiver of that right. A waiver must be in writing and signed by MIF. MIF’s waiver of a breach of a provision of these Terms is not a waiver of any subsequent breach of the same provision.
Severability. If a court having jurisdiction over a dispute between you and us, determines any portion of any provision of these Terms is unenforceable under applicable law, the rest of that provision and these Terms remains in effect to the extent permitted by applicable law. In addition, as to any provision determined to be unenforceable as written in these Terms, the provision is not void, but rather it is the desire of you and us that the provision be reformed and enforced by the court to the extent permitted under applicable law, as if originally executed in that form by you and us.
Entire agreement. These Terms are the entire agreement between you and MIF with respect to your access to and use of our Website, and supersedes any prior agreements between you and MIF regarding your access and use of our Website.
Your Questions, comments, or concerns. MIF welcomes your questions, comments and concerns about our Website and these Terms. Please send them to mif@elca.org.