Policies

Policy administration

Responsible administrator

Luke Zaniewski, Founder, acting within applicable law and valid governing authority.

Website

https://madisonamerica.org

Policy and privacy contact

contact@madisonamerica.org

Effective date

First publication of this edition at madisonamerica.org; contractual terms apply upon valid acceptance where required.

Independent review

Request through the policy contact under section 13; the person concerned must not decide their own case.

Review cycle

At least annually and after a material operational, legal, or information-handling change.

How to use this book

Sections 1-6 address participation, conduct, directory use, organizations, recruiting, and political activity. Sections 7-11 address publication, rights, privacy, and branding. Sections 12-15 address leadership, money, complaints, service terms, and policy changes.

These standards apply to the Services and related Center activities within their stated scope. Membership or a title does not create authority to bind the Center, compel another person's cooperation, or reuse private information. The standards bind leaders as well as members.

The Center's conservative educational perspective does not authorize campaign intervention through its resources. A case-specific approval, separate agreement, or software permission cannot waive section 6.

Read this book together with clearly identified feature notices and authorized program agreements. Nonwaivable law controls. Internal governance instruments do not silently expand a user's contractual obligations or privacy permissions. Questions about access, conduct, privacy, permissions, or institutional authority should be raised through the policy contact before acting.

1. Purpose scope and administration

The Madison Center for American Conservatism (Madison or the Center) provides constitutional education, thoughtful publication, civic learning, and a community for mission-related collaboration. Our conservative perspective does not authorize use of the Center to support or oppose candidates for elective public office.

Madison is presently administered by Luke Zaniewski, Founder, with authorized officers and volunteers. Policy administration, privacy requests, rights complaints, and general correspondence use contact@madisonamerica.org. Identify the subject of your request so it can be routed appropriately. Independent-review requests follow section 13.

In this book, Madison, we, and the Center refer to the Madison Center for American Conservatism initiative. These policies cover madisonamerica.org, its accounts, directory, learning tools, Forum, official workspaces, and related Center activities (Services). Where relevant, they also govern misuse of information or authority obtained through the Services. They do not claim control over every aspect of a member's private life. Identification of the Founder as administrator does not itself establish a legal entity, determine ownership, or change who is legally responsible for a particular contract or activity.

Madison does not presently represent through these policies that it has received IRS recognition under section 501(c)(3), and no payment or contribution is represented as tax deductible on the strength of this book. Any statement of incorporation, exemption, deductibility, or grant eligibility must be supported by the applicable records. Organizational names and titles alone do not establish those matters.

Account creation, participation, membership, office, and legal authority are distinct. An organizational title in the software does not by itself create a corporation, a statutory director position, an employment relationship, a partnership, an agency relationship, or a right to corporate voting or assets. Any legal membership or governance rights arise from applicable law and valid governing instruments, not merely from an account label.

The Founder and authorized personnel administer these policies within their actual authority. Applicable law and valid governing instruments control the authority and duties of any legally constituted governing body. Software permissions, seniority, or a title do not override those requirements or the rights of others.

2. Eligibility accounts and acceptance

An account is a free learner account unless separate terms clearly state otherwise. Formal membership requires a separate application, acceptance, and activation. Features also depend on current permissions. A public visitor, learner, applicant, active member, reviewer, organization administrator, and officer may have different access.

Accounts and membership are for people aged 18 or older. Public educational materials may be read without an account. Do not create an account for a child or submit a child's personal information. If we learn of an account below the permitted age, we may restrict it and arrange appropriate deletion or other handling under applicable law. Any future youth program requires separate procedures and review; parental permission alone does not establish one under this policy.

The conduct, access, and administrative standards in this book govern participation from their effective date, subject to fair notice and applicable law. Contractual obligations requiring agreement, including licenses, indemnity, and limitations of liability, apply only upon valid acceptance. Madison must present the relevant terms conspicuously and obtain affirmative acceptance where required. The privacy section explains information handling; separately optional disclosures require separately presented permission. Merely visiting a public page is not blanket consent to unrelated data uses or new contractual obligations. Existing users will receive appropriate notice and, when needed, a request to accept new material obligations for future use.

Provide truthful information and use an account you control. Preferred names are permitted, but impersonation, duplicate accounts used to evade restrictions, fabricated credentials, and false claims of organizational authority are prohibited. Membership considers mission alignment, willingness to contribute responsibly, conduct, and available capacity, subject to applicable law and disclosed chapter requirements. Agreement with every author or officer is not required.

Keep verification codes and authentication credentials confidential. Use the supported Google or email-code sign-in and recovery process. A directory contact change does not itself change your sign-in address. Promptly report suspected compromise. We may verify identity proportionately before recovery, disclosure, or a sensitive change, without requesting unnecessary sensitive documents.

Acceptance does not guarantee publication, office, employment, introductions, funding, academic credit, admissions outcomes, or a response from another person. A suspended or expired role does not retain permission merely because a page remains open or information was previously downloaded. Do not exploit an access error; report it.

3. Conduct and participation

Discuss ideas directly, represent others' arguments fairly, distinguish fact from judgment, and support material factual claims. Strong criticism of ideas, institutions, laws, religious claims, public policies, and public conduct is welcome when relevant and responsibly expressed. Disagreement, offense, or criticism of a leader is not by itself misconduct.

The following conduct is prohibited throughout the Services and in directly related Center interactions:

• Threats, stalking, intimidation, sexual harassment, coercion, encouragement of violence, or targeted degrading abuse of a person.
• Repeated unwanted contact, identity-based personal slurs, retaliation, or using a position to pressure someone into a personal, financial, professional, or political favor.
• Publishing private contact information, home addresses, private schedules, applications, correspondence, or restricted records without a lawful basis and appropriate authority.
• Fraud, impersonation, fabricated evidence, defamatory or unlawfully invasive content, knowingly or recklessly false factual accusations, misleading credentials, deceptive media, plagiarism, or infringement of another person's legal rights.
• Spam, commercial solicitation without authorization, deceptive fundraising, malicious code, artificial engagement, coordinated harassment, or deliberate disruption.
• Sharing accounts, bypassing restrictions, probing nonpublic systems without authorization, scraping member information, misusing administrative tools, or assisting someone to evade a restriction.
• Using the Center's resources for the prohibited electoral activities in section 6.

Context matters. Quoting offensive material for a substantive educational purpose is different from directing abuse at a person. Good-faith factual mistakes should be corrected; a disputed or unsubstantiated report is not automatically dishonest.

Public comments, bylines, and reactions may identify participants and may be copied outside the site. Post only information appropriate for the stated audience. Do not assume a comment, profile edit, or opportunity posting will receive advance review merely because manuscripts do. We may moderate without promising continuous monitoring or advance verification of every contribution.

At events, follow lawful venue requirements and reasonable organizer instructions. Obtain appropriate permission before recording a private session or disclosing participant information. Public recording arrangements must be disclosed in advance. A listing is not a representation that transportation, accommodation, supervision, or insurance is supplied. Official event arrangements require their own accurate notices and, where appropriate, separate agreements.

4. Profiles directory use and contact

The member directory supports educational collaboration, mentorship, writing, research, service, and other mission-related connections. It is a restricted community resource intended for eligible users. Access remains subject to membership eligibility and current permissions; a restricted audience does not make information immune from copying or misuse.

Describe education, work, skills, interests, and affiliations accurately. Distinguish current roles from past roles and completed qualifications from studies in progress. A profile headline or

organization roster title does not create an official Center appointment. Public leadership and author information is separate from the private directory record. A profile photograph may also appear beside a publicly listed leadership appointment, as disclosed in the editor.

The profile editor currently requires a shared contact email and an administrative contact telephone number. The shared contact email is available to eligible active members. The telephone number is shared with those members only when the phone-sharing option is selected; providing it for administration is still required when sharing is disabled. These fields are separate from the sign-in address. Use a contact address suitable for the disclosed member audience. Contact us if a required field presents a safety or accessibility concern.

Use shared details only for relevant, individualized contact consistent with the directory's purpose. Identify yourself, explain the connection, state the request, and make declining easy. Membership is not consent to campaigns, sales, outside fundraising, recurring marketing, or enrollment in another organization. A refusal or request to stop ends the exchange. For an unanswered unsolicited request, allow at least seven calendar days before one courteous follow-up, then stop unless invited to continue. Necessary account or case notices and agreed working relationships follow their disclosed arrangements.

Do not scrape, harvest, bulk copy, export, republish, sell, rent, or transfer directory records; distribute private profile screenshots; build outside contact databases; upload member data to advertising audiences or AI services; or add people to mailing lists without the separate authorization required for that use. Permission to view is not permission to reuse. Neither an available export button nor a person's willingness to participate overrides section 6 or the privacy rules. A specifically requested disclosure to an opportunity provider under section 5 is governed by that section; it does not grant general directory access or export rights. These restrictions do not prevent lawful access to or use of your own information, but do not authorize copying other people's details.

Only specifically authorized administrators may make an operational export for a documented Center purpose using approved controls. They must limit fields and recipients, protect the copy, observe retention rules, and record the purpose. This exception does not permit campaign recruitment, affiliate transfers, personal prospecting, or unrelated fundraising.

Obtain both parties' permission before a private introduction. A person's status, personal connections, appearance at an event, or directory entry creates no obligation to mentor, donate, hire, recommend, or reply. Do not switch channels or enlist others to defeat a contact boundary.

Authorized profile moderation may require correction or remove prohibited material with a recorded reason and appropriate notice. It does not give unrestricted permission to rewrite a person's views, change authentication details, or award official titles. Privacy-sensitive removed values should not be exposed through correction history.

5. Organizations opportunities and recruiting

Organization profiles, rosters, and opportunities belong to the restricted directory unless a particular surface is expressly identified as public. A listing describes a connection or opportunity; it does not certify the organization's tax status, employment practices, legal compliance, solvency, or endorsement by Madison. An employee's membership does not establish a partnership with that employee's institution.

An organization administrator must be authorized to represent the listed organization and must provide accurate information, rights-cleared logos, and reliable contact details. Do not add a person to a roster or attribute an affiliation or title without their agreement; use and retain the acceptance record where the interface provides it. Do not imply that an invitation has already been accepted. Organization administration is distinct from Center-wide permissions. Before access is granted, the organization's authorized representative must affirmatively accept the applicable organization and data-use duties on its behalf.

Permitted opportunities include educational programs, research, publication, mentoring, and service that substantively advance Madison's mission. Each posting must identify the responsible organization, the activity and expected work, eligibility, location or remote status, dates, compensation or unpaid status, material costs, any transportation arrangements, and a contact route. Disclose material conflicts and do not promise outcomes. The actual activity determines suitability; nonprofit status or a familiar name is insufficient.

Each posting and material revision requires documented policy clearance by a designated authorized reviewer before release. An organization administrator may publish only the version covered by that clearance. The software's current ability to save and publish immediately does not itself supply policy clearance. If no authorized reviewer is available, the posting must wait. Madison may decline, restrict, or remove a posting and revoke posting privileges.

Where an interest button redirects to an external application, the destination must be identified and the applicant chooses what to send under that service's terms. Do not send account or directory information to that destination automatically merely because someone follows a link.

Where an interest button collects contacts, the interface must first state the exact fields to be shared, the named recipient organization, the purpose, and whether follow-up will occur. The member must affirmatively request that specific disclosure. Use the minimum information necessary; do not include an unshared administrative phone number or private sign-in address by default. A general expression of interest is not permission for unrelated recruitment, a mailing-list subscription, resale, or campaign outreach. Do not use contact collection until its actual data flow and notice have been verified.

Recipient organizations may use disclosed information only for the opportunity the person requested, restrict access to responsible personnel, protect it, honor stop-contact requests, and delete unnecessary copies. On learning of misuse or unauthorized disclosure, notify

Madison promptly and cooperate in containment. A separate written data agreement is required for recurring or systematic access. Madison may suspend an organization's access for noncompliance. Users retain applicable legal rights against each responsible party.

6. Political activity and future affiliates

Madison adopts these restrictions now to preserve its educational purpose and its intended charitable direction. They apply to funds, staff and volunteer time used for Center duties, software, directory information, mailing lists, publications, branding, chapters, events, and official accounts.

Do not use those resources to endorse or oppose candidates for elective public office; solicit campaign contributions; recruit campaign staff, volunteers, canvassers, or candidate-specific voter-contact workers; coordinate candidate campaign activity; or provide campaigns with lists, services, preferential access, or other support. Requests of that kind may not be routed through an organization profile, opportunity, comment, article, private directory contact, or administrative export.

No case-specific waiver, approval, exception, or side agreement by the Founder, an officer, donor, editor, organization administrator, or member authorizes activity prohibited by this section. Describing activity as personal, charging a fee, obtaining participant consent, using a separate name, or attaching an author's disclaimer does not automatically make a Center-supported electoral activity permissible.

Conservative education, analysis of public policy, historical discussion, and reasoned criticism of government remain within the Center's mission. Discussion of a public official or election is not automatically prohibited. Editors must evaluate context, timing, targeting, content, and actual purpose before publishing election-related material, and obtain qualified review when campaign intervention is a material concern. Nonpartisan candidate forums, voter education, voter registration, and similar programs require separately approved written procedures before operation; this document does not launch them.

Lobbying is distinct from candidate campaigning. Requests to support or oppose specific legislation, calls to contact legislators, ballot-measure advocacy, and related expenditures require advance review and appropriate classification and tracking. No section 501(h) election or expenditure limit is assumed to apply unless actually established. Ordinary policy research does not automatically authorize a lobbying campaign.

Members and leaders may engage independently in lawful political activity on their own time and with their own resources. They must not use restricted Center information, official channels, Center-controlled facilities or resources, or misleading branding to do so. Accurate identification of a personal role must not suggest Center endorsement. A candidate's membership alone neither endorses that candidate nor authorizes campaign recruiting.

Madison membership does not enroll a person in Madison Action or any other advocacy affiliate. This policy grants no right to transfer directory records, share recruitment audiences, or use charitable resources for an affiliate. Any future arrangement requires separate legal and privacy review, appropriate entity and funding arrangements, documented terms and valuation where applicable, and the required disclosures and permissions. Member consent alone does not resolve charitable subsidy or electoral restrictions. Review of a future arrangement does not itself authorize activity prohibited by this section. A future policy change cannot retroactively validate an unauthorized transfer.

7. Forum authorship and editorial review

The Forum publishes work that advances understanding of constitutional government, political thought, history, public policy, and civic responsibility. Submission is available under current permissions; an authorized guest commission does not create broader membership or access.

Provide a complete manuscript, title, proposed byline, appropriate sources, relevant disclosures, and rights information for images or other third-party material. Use an accurate public biography separately from private directory details. Distinguish evidence from inference, identify uncertainty, represent opposing arguments fairly, and verify quotations and factual claims against reliable sources. Serious allegations about identifiable people require specific substantiation and advance editorial attention.

Plagiarism, fabricated research, fictitious citations or interviews, deceptive editing, and false claims of firsthand experience are prohibited. Disclose prior publication, substantial overlap, coauthors, funding, paid relationships, relevant employment or campaign roles, and material personal conflicts. Coauthors must authorize submission and publication. No publication right is promised through membership, donations, status, or personal relationships.

Authors remain accountable for assisted work. Routine spelling or accessibility assistance need not be separately disclosed. Disclose substantial AI generation or rewriting, research synthesis, translation, argument development, or synthetic visuals to editors, identifying the tool and its role. Editors may require a reader-facing disclosure. Do not present predominantly generated prose as your unaided original intellectual work. Verify sources yourself; AI output is not evidence. Academic work must also comply with the originating institution's rules.

Editors and reviewers may not send another person's private manuscript, application, learning work, member data, or confidential review to an external AI service without specific institutional authorization and any necessary disclosure or consent. Automated detection scores alone do not establish misconduct.

Public release requires editorial approval of an identified version and release by an authorized publisher. Review may include initial Forum assessment, revision, and referral for Organization or legal review. Substantive changes to facts, conclusions, allegations, identifying information,

or disclosures require renewed review. Authors must approve substantive edits and the publication version; formatting and minor copyediting may occur without changing meaning.

Editors may decline or defer work for relevance, quality, capacity, duplication, accuracy, rights, safety, or policy compliance. Conflicted reviewers must recuse. A leader's own submission requires an appropriately authorized independent reviewer. Unpublished work and internal deliberations remain restricted to their legitimate review purpose, with the access exceptions explained in section 10.

Publication and guest participation do not by themselves establish an official Center position. This distinction does not excuse prohibited campaign intervention, unlawful content, or careless editorial conduct. Only an expressly authorized institutional statement speaks for Madison.

8. Content rights and corrections

You retain the rights you own in your work. You must have the necessary rights or lawful basis for text, images, recordings, logos, likenesses, and other material you provide. A citation, a credit line, or an image found online does not establish permission. Identify licenses, restrictions, and any claimed legal exception for review.

Private submissions grant a limited, nonexclusive, royalty-free permission to host, reproduce, process, and transmit the material only as necessary to provide the requested account, application, learning, support, or review function. This permission reaches authorized personnel and service providers performing that function. It does not authorize public promotion of private drafts, applications, private contact details, or learning records.

For a directory profile or organization posting, you grant the corresponding permission to display the content to its disclosed audience. For material you intentionally publish or expressly approve for public publication, you grant a nonexclusive, worldwide, royalty-free permission to reproduce, format accessibly, display, distribute, and maintain the approved material in Madison's publication archive, and to use attributed excerpts to promote that work through Center channels. This is permission to operate and present the contribution, not a transfer of ownership or permission for unrelated commercial licensing or AI model training.

The public-publication permission includes the approved byline, public biography, and authorized image for the stated publication purpose. Substantial adaptations, new translations, unrelated advertising, or uses outside the permission require separate agreement. No exclusivity or payment is promised without a separate authorized written agreement. Madison-owned institutional materials and third-party licensed materials retain their respective ownership and restrictions.

Withdrawal before publication ends permission to release the manuscript but does not require destruction of necessary review, security, or dispute records. Removing a profile or closing an account ends future routine display subject to reasonable processing and lawful retention.

Publicly published work may remain in a publication archive after departure, subject to rights, privacy, safety, correction, and applicable law. That permission does not authorize depicting a former member or officer as current, or keeping a withdrawn directory profile available as an active profile. No perpetual public license applies indiscriminately to private records.

Report errors with the URL, disputed passage, supporting evidence, and requested correction. Minor typographical changes may be made without a notice. Material corrections should carry a dated explanation. Serious concerns may require temporary restriction, removal, retraction, or a proportionate public note. Authors may request withdrawal or anonymization; decisions weigh the public record, accuracy, rights, and individual safety. We cannot guarantee removal of copies independently held by others.

9. Copyright and other rights complaints

Send copyright, privacy, impersonation, or other rights concerns to contact@madisonamerica.org with the relevant location and a clear explanation. Do not include passwords or unnecessary sensitive records. Privacy and safety reports do not require the reporter to own copyright.

For a copyright complaint, identify the protected work and the disputed material sufficiently for us to locate it; provide your contact details, your authority to raise the concern, and why you believe the use is unauthorized. Include relevant ownership or licensing information and a signature where appropriate. Consider licenses and lawful exceptions before making a claim. Do not knowingly misrepresent your rights or another person's use.

We will review substantiated rights complaints promptly and may restrict or remove disputed material while reviewing the concern. We may notify the contributor and request information about a license, lawful exception, mistake, or misidentification. Information necessary for a fair review may be shared with the other party or legal advisers; do not assume a complaint is anonymous. We will explain a material decision where appropriate and consider a supported request for review under section 13.

We terminate accounts of repeat infringers in appropriate circumstances and reasonably implement that rule. A separate, independently applicable conduct, privacy, or safety concern may justify keeping material restricted even if a copyright concern is resolved. We will distinguish those grounds where appropriate and comply with applicable legal requirements.

This is Madison's general rights-complaint process. Listing this email does not represent that it is a registered DMCA agent or that Madison qualifies for a statutory safe harbor. Any separately established statutory notice-and-counter-notice process must identify its applicable contact and requirements; this general process does not replace a legally required procedure or restrict anyone's legal rights.

10. Privacy and information boundaries

This section explains the information involved in the Services, its permitted audiences and uses, and the choices and requests available to you. It also imposes duties on Madison personnel and recipient organizations. Contact contact@madisonamerica.org for privacy questions or requests. A feature-specific disclosure may explain additional processing, but it cannot silently override these limits or supply permission that requires a separate choice.

Information you provide includes account and contact information, membership or leadership applications, profile backgrounds and affiliations, organization information, manuscripts and uploaded media, comments and reactions, saved learning work, feedback requests, and communications with us. We also maintain decisions, permissions, relevant moderation records, and operational account activity. Submit only information relevant to the feature; do not upload government identifiers, financial-account details, health records, or other unnecessary sensitive information.

When you use the website, your browser sends technical information needed to request pages, deliver the service, and maintain a signed-in session. Hosting, authentication, and communication providers process information needed for those functions. When you choose Google sign-in, that process also involves Google and the permissions presented during sign-in. Email-code sign-in uses the address you submit for that authentication process. These sign-in functions are separate from the email address you choose to share in the directory.

Madison personnel must limit technical collection to a documented purpose, restrict access, and review the providers involved. Nonessential cookies, analytics, advertising pixels, cross-site tracking, and external AI processing require an accurate disclosure and any legally required choice before use. This book does not itself authorize those activities or serve as a blanket cookie or tracking consent. Browser controls can affect cookies and local storage, and disabling information necessary for a session can prevent sign-in or other features from working. Ask the privacy contact about a particular technology or provider rather than assuming a feature uses one.

Who receives different information

Authorized access means a current need connected to the stated purpose. A senior title alone does not authorize curiosity-driven access. Operational administrators and providers may need limited access for hosting, troubleshooting, security, preservation, and lawful administration; this is distinct from ordinary reviewer access. Confidentiality cannot be guaranteed absolutely, including when fair review or legal process requires disclosure.

We use information to provide requested services, evaluate applications, manage membership and permissions, support learning and publication, administer opportunities, communicate decisions, enforce policies, protect the service, and meet lawful obligations. We do not authorize sale or rental of private member information, unrelated marketing, advertising-audience uploads, or independent campaign or affiliate outreach. Do not infer consent from membership, directory visibility, a donation, or use of a learning tool.

Service providers may process information needed for their assigned functions under appropriate arrangements. Lawful disclosures may be necessary for legal process, security incidents, protection of rights or safety, or authorized professional advice. Limit disclosure to what the purpose requires. Transfers to any successor operator require legal review, compatible privacy obligations, and required notice or consent; this is not an unrestricted sale or transfer permission.

People may voluntarily disclose political or religious views, educational background, interests, and affiliations in their profiles or writing. Avoid placing unnecessary sensitive information in optional fields. Directory access does not authorize inference-based profiling, unlawfully discriminatory use, or repurposing those details into electoral or commercial targeting records.

Retention depends on the record's purpose, account relationship, applicable legal obligations, dispute needs, and a documented schedule. Madison personnel must review retention at least annually, remove unnecessary private data, and limit a legal hold to relevant records. Records must not be retained indefinitely merely because storage is available.

A verified account-closure request ends ordinary directory participation and triggers a review of the records still needed. Public contributions may remain in the publication archive under section 8. Financial, governance, legal, and substantiated security records may require further retention. Deletion from active features does not necessarily remove every backup immediately. Retained backup data must remain restricted and must not be restored to ordinary use in a way that defeats an approved deletion. When responding to a request, we will explain material retention reasons and relevant deletion limits where legally appropriate. This policy does not extend a shorter deadline imposed by law.

Request access, correction, an optional-field change, account closure, deletion, or a privacy explanation at contact@madisonamerica.org. We may proportionately verify your identity and requested authority. We aim to acknowledge within ten business days and explain next steps; this target does not extend any statutory deadline. Applicable rights to appeal, opt out, withdraw consent, use an authorized representative, or seek regulatory review remain available where the law provides them. We will supply a legally required procedure and explain any lawful refusal or limitation. You may request independent review under section 13 without surrendering any shorter or different legal remedy.

Profile and account settings control the choices they actually offer. Routine notification preferences are separate from essential account, security, and decision notices. Sharing a phone number does not consent to automated promotional texts or calls. Do not describe a promotional message as essential merely to bypass a preference.

We require reasonable safeguards and limited access, but no system can promise perfect security. Report suspected exposure promptly. This limitation does not waive our express privacy commitments or legal responsibilities. We will assess incidents and provide legally required notifications. External websites and recipient organizations may have their own privacy practices; disclose those destinations before inviting a transfer.

11. Branding and institutional identity

The asset catalog supplies official logos, marks, editable graphics, documents, presentations, business cards, signatures, and reference files for authorized Center work. Access to a download does not confer membership, office, employment, agency, partnership, endorsement, or authority to bind Madison.

Authorized users may customize editable template text, layout, and non-logo colors for approved work while preserving official logo proportions and the white-background use specified in the catalog. Use supplied official marks without alteration except proportional resizing or a separately approved variant. Use current approved marks and accurate names and titles. Do not distort a mark, create a misleading variant, remove required attribution, or imply that a personal project is an official Center activity.

Letterhead, officer signatures, business cards, chapter identities, official accounts, and organization briefs may be used only within the holder's actual authority. External or co-branded uses, merchandise, sublicensing, domain or account registration using Madison's identity, and fundraising uses require specific written permission. Campaign uses remain prohibited under section 6, including where someone otherwise has permission to use the brand.

Brand permission is limited, nonexclusive, and revocable for future use where the use exceeds the authorization or violates these policies. End misleading claims of current office when an appointment ends. Accurate historical descriptions and uses protected by law remain permitted. These provisions do not claim ownership of third-party work or restrict lawful criticism, reporting, or reference to Madison.

Fonts and other third-party assets remain governed by their own licenses, including the Manrope Open Font License where supplied. Users must obtain separate rights for outside photographs, music, quotations, and logos when required. Madison's permission cannot grant rights it does not hold.

12. Leadership money and conflicts

Creating an account, receiving membership, writing an article, appearing on a roster, using a template, or holding a title does not by itself authorize contracts, purchases, fundraising, hiring, sponsorship, partnerships, or official statements. Authority requires an express grant by the person or body legally empowered to give it, with its scope and limits recorded. No oral reassurance may override a restriction imposed by law or a valid governing instrument.

Official commitments must identify the actual contracting party and authorized signer. Do not sign as an officer of an entity that does not yet exist or misstate tax status. An unapproved expense is not a promised reimbursement. No person may collect Center funds into a personal account, issue a charitable receipt, promise deductibility, bind a future entity, or make grant representations without a lawful and specifically authorized process.

Chapters and partner organizations must follow written authorization, applicable institutional rules, and any separate agreement describing their legal relationship to Madison. Recognition or branding alone does not establish that a chapter is a separate corporation, an insured party, or an agent. Local leaders may not waive national policies, expand data access, or promise national financial support. Contracts, events, money handling, and public representations require review appropriate to their actual relationship.

Disclose material financial, family, employment, campaign, and personal conflicts before participating in a decision. Recuse from decisions about your own compensation, contract, submission, application, complaint, or other material personal interest; refer the matter to a disinterested authorized reviewer. Document approval, scope, and the reason. No insider may divert Center resources for improper private benefit or grant favorable treatment in exchange for donations, access, favors, or silence. This does not prohibit reasonable compensation or substantiated expense reimbursement approved through a lawful, disinterested process.

Protected reporting, truthful cooperation with authorities, and legally protected rights are not prohibited disclosures. Confidentiality rules protect legitimate private information; they must not be used to conceal unlawful conduct or prevent legal advice. No founder, donor, or senior officer is exempt from these standards.

13. Reporting moderation and review

Report conduct, directory misuse, improper recruiting, unauthorized representation, privacy issues, or publication concerns to contact@madisonamerica.org or an available in-product reporting control. Include the relevant location, approximate date, description, and necessary evidence. A person need not be a member to report. Anonymous reports may be considered. Contact emergency services for an immediate danger; the website is not an emergency response service.

Limit access to people handling the matter. We cannot promise complete anonymity or secrecy; a fair response may require sharing relevant allegations or evidence. Do not circulate private case material or retaliate. Knowingly false reports are prohibited, but an unsuccessful good-faith report is not misconduct.

The reviewer must have authority and no material conflict. We may promptly hide content, suspend an invitation or posting, restrict contact, remove access, or preserve relevant evidence to address a credible risk. An interim measure is not a final finding and does not require advance warning in every case. When reasonably safe and lawful, provide the affected person sufficient substance and a reasonable opportunity to respond before a final adverse finding.

Decisions may include guidance, correction, warning, content removal, a contact limit, restricted features, removal from an appointment, suspension, or termination. Consider the available evidence, severity, repetition, impact, relevant history, and mitigation. An internal

determination generally asks whether a violation is more likely than not; it does not decide criminal liability. The decision notice should give the principal reasons, consequence, and review route without unnecessarily exposing other people.

We aim to acknowledge reports within five business days. A request for review should be submitted within fourteen calendar days of the decision, identifying material error, new evidence, conflict, procedural defect, or disproportionate action. Reasonable extensions may be granted. Review goes to an authorized person who did not make the original decision; an appeal does not automatically restore access. We aim to respond within twenty business days or explain a delay. These are service targets, not extensions of legal deadlines.

To request independent review of a matter involving the Founder or the person ordinarily handling complaints, email contact@madisonamerica.org with the subject Independent review request. A report may also be raised with an uninvolved authorized officer. The person whose conduct is at issue must not decide the matter or select a reviewer with a material conflict. Madison must arrange review by an uninvolved, appropriately authorized person before final adjudication; necessary interim protection may remain in place. The general inbox is an intake route and is not represented as a separate confidential channel inaccessible to the Founder. No process here prevents contacting counsel, authorities, or a court or exercising a nonwaivable right.

14. Service terms and allocation of responsibility

The Services provide education, community features, and information. They are not personalized legal, tax, financial, medical, or other licensed professional advice. A profile, appointment, publication, certificate, or listing is not an accreditation, background check, employment guarantee, or verification of every claim unless an expressly described verification process states otherwise.

Evaluate third-party opportunities and arrangements before participating. Third parties remain responsible for their own offerings, representations, contracts, and conduct. This allocation does not excuse Madison's own legal duties. Do not send money, identity documents, or sensitive information solely because a request appears in the directory.

Protected Parties means Madison and the persons or entities lawfully operating the Services, together with Luke Zaniewski in his capacity as Founder and their other directors, officers, employees, and authorized volunteers, to the extent acting in their Madison capacities in connection with the Services. The following provisions are intended for their benefit as intended third-party beneficiaries, subject to applicable law and valid acceptance. Naming a protected person does not create a corporation, employment relationship, or agency authority. These provisions do not immunize unrelated personal conduct or bind a person who has not validly agreed where agreement is required.

To the extent permitted by law, the Services are provided as is and as available, without implied warranties of uninterrupted availability, error-free operation, merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or noninfringement. We may change or discontinue a feature, subject to applicable law and any separate commitments. This provision does not override express privacy promises, a specific written undertaking, or a warranty or right that cannot lawfully be excluded.

To the extent permitted by applicable law, the Protected Parties will not be liable for indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from use of the Services, including lost profits or lost opportunities. Nothing excludes or limits liability for fraud, willful misconduct, gross negligence, or any liability or remedy that applicable law does not permit to be excluded or limited. There is no purported blanket release of all claims or guarantee of immunity.

To the extent permitted by law, you agree to indemnify the Protected Parties for damages, reasonable legal expenses, and settlement amounts arising from a third-party claim, but only to the extent caused by content you submit that infringes intellectual-property, privacy, or other legal rights; your fraud or unlawful misuse of the Services; or your unauthorized representation that you may act for or bind Madison. This obligation does not cover losses caused by a Protected Party's own negligence, gross negligence, fraud, willful misconduct, or violation of law.

We must promptly notify you of a claim for which indemnification is sought and provide reasonable cooperation. A failure to notify reduces the obligation to the extent it materially prejudices you. Reasonable defense control, counsel, and any allocation of expense must be agreed or determined under applicable law; this clause does not impose an unlimited advance-payment duty. No settlement may impose an admission or nonmonetary obligation on you without your written consent. A settlement amount is recoverable under this indemnity only if you approved the monetary settlement in writing, which approval may not be unreasonably withheld, or your responsibility for that amount is otherwise determined by a court with jurisdiction. Nonwaivable rights remain intact.

Disputes are subject to applicable law and courts with jurisdiction. Informal contact is encouraged but is not required before seeking urgent relief or exercising a nonwaivable right.

If a provision is unenforceable, it will be limited or severed only as applicable law permits, leaving the rest effective where possible. Failure to enforce once is not a permanent waiver. These terms, the privacy provisions in section 10, and applicable authorized feature terms govern the Services. Nonwaivable law controls. Valid governing instruments determine internal governance and any legally constituted membership rights; they do not silently expand a user's contractual obligations or privacy permissions. A separate signed agreement controls its specific subject only to the extent lawful and does not authorize an exception to section 6. Ownership, lawful publication permissions, confidentiality for retained records, accrued obligations, and applicable responsibility provisions survive account closure as their purpose requires.

15. Effective date changes and ongoing review

Version 2.1 takes effect as Madison's published policy when this edition is first published at madisonamerica.org. Its issue date identifies the edition and does not backdate its effect. Contractual obligations requiring agreement apply only when validly accepted. This edition supersedes earlier proposed editions for future administration; no new term retroactively releases accrued claims, validates prior conduct, or authorizes expanded uses of information collected earlier.

Material revisions require authorization, a new version and effective date, and clear notice to affected users. Ordinarily provide at least fourteen calendar days' notice; urgent legal or protective changes may require an earlier date with an explanation. Obtain fresh agreement or separate permission where required. Continuing to browse a public page is not blanket acceptance of expanded data sharing.

Maintain prior versions and acceptance records. Apply the rules in effect at the relevant time when assessing past conduct, while allowing current protective measures for continuing risks. Keep the policy page, registration disclosures, brand catalog, publication permissions, and opportunity notices consistent. Review at least annually and when the service, legal operator, data practices, or legal obligations materially change.