Terms & Conditions

Welcome to HelpBank.in. HelpBank.in is a crowdfunding and social-support platform operated as a programme of Mahananda Social Welfare Foundation, a non-profit organization established and registered under the laws of the Republic of India.

These Terms & Conditions (“Terms”, “Agreement”) govern your access to and utilization of the website, mobile services, software applications, APIs, and associated digital products (collectively, the “Platform” or “Services”) provided by Mahananda Social Welfare Foundation (“HelpBank”, “Foundation”, “we”, “us”, or “our”).

By visiting, registering, initiating a fundraising campaign, or contributing donations on HelpBank.in, you (“User”, “Donor”, “Fundraiser”, or “Beneficiary”) acknowledge that you have read, understood, and unconditionally agreed to be legally bound by these Terms, along with our Privacy Policy, Refund Policy, and Cancellation Policy.

1. About HelpBank.in & Eligible Causes

HelpBank.in serves as a technology-enabled social welfare crowdfunding platform designed to bridge compassionate donors with individuals, families, charitable trusts, and community initiatives in urgent need of financial aid. The platform enables verified campaigns across an extensive array of lawful social, humanitarian, and community development categories:

• Food & Nutrition: Hunger relief, community kitchens, food distribution, and emergency ration drives.
• Health & Medical: Critical illness treatments, surgeries, organ transplants, cancer therapies, ICU care, and medical equipment.
• Education & Literacy: School and college fees, scholarship programs, educational supplies, and digital learning support.
• Women Empowerment: Vocational skill development, self-help groups (SHGs), safety initiatives, and women-led entrepreneurship.
• Farmer & Agritech Support: Agricultural relief, debt rehabilitation, drip irrigation, seeds, tools, and rural farming distress aid.
• Startups & Micro-Ventures: Early-stage grassroots innovation, social impact tech, and micro-enterprise development.
• Business Restructuring: Small business revival, pandemic disruption recovery, and micro-trade working capital assistance.
• Founder & Livelihood Rehabilitation: Artisans, daily-wage laborers, migrant workers, and self-employed micro-entrepreneurs.
• Matrimonial & Family Emergency: Support for impoverished families in solemnizing marriages, bereavement aid, and family crises.
• Senior Citizen Care: Old-age home maintenance, geriatric medical expenses, medicines, and elderly comfort amenities.
• School & College Institutional Aid: Classroom infrastructure, drinking water facilities, libraries, and lab equipment for rural schools.
• Religious & Cultural Heritage: Temple restoration, cultural preservation, pilgrimage assistance for the destitute, and heritage trusts.
• Social Welfare & Public Good: Destitute rehabilitation, disability aids, wheelchair distribution, and community safety.
• NGO & Welfare Organizations: Institutional capacity building, non-profit operational support, and programmatic welfare drives.
• Animal Care & Wildlife Protection: Stray animal rescue, animal shelters, veterinary treatment, rabies vaccination, and bird sanctuaries.
• Environmental Protection: Afforestation drives, urban forestry, water conservation, waste recycling, and solar adoption.
• Child Welfare & Protection: Orphanage support, nutrition for malnourished children, anti-trafficking, and shelter homes.
• Community Development: Village roads, community borewells, sanitation facilities, and public lighting.
• Social Events & Cultural Gatherings: Community festivals, youth leadership forums, and peace-building civic gatherings.
• COVID-19 & Epidemic Recovery: Post-pandemic economic revival, healthcare readiness, and epidemic contingency funds.
• Election & Civic Awareness Campaigns: Lawful voter awareness drives and democratic civic participation (strictly adhering to ECI guidelines).
• Other Lawful Causes: Any legitimate, non-violent, constructive cause consistent with the public interest and Indian law.

2. Acceptance of Terms

By creating an account, browsing the website, creating a campaign, or contributing funds, you explicitly confirm and warrant the following five fundamental covenants:

• You have read, fully understood, and irrevocably consented to be governed by these Terms and Conditions in their entirety.
• You possess full legal capacity, mental competence, and age to enter into this legally enforceable contract under the Indian Contract Act, 1872.
• All registration details, banking information, identity documents, and campaign declarations furnished by you are authentic, true, accurate, and up to date.
• You shall not employ the platform for money laundering, hawala transactions, terror financing, tax evasion, fraudulent solicitation, or any illegal enterprise.
• Your continued access to the platform following any modifications or updates to these Terms shall be deemed your unconditional acceptance of the revised Terms.

3. Eligibility & Account Verification

The Services are available solely to individuals who are at least 18 years of age and legally capable of forming binding contracts under Indian law. Minors may only benefit through campaigns created and managed by their lawful parents or court-appointed legal guardians.

HelpBank reserves the absolute discretion to mandate identity verification (“Know Your Customer” or KYC) for all fundraisers and campaign creators prior to publishing campaigns or disbursing collected funds. Failure to provide satisfactory government-issued identification, address proof, or bank verification documents will result in campaign suspension or account termination.

4. Fundraisers’ Responsibilities & Obligations

Any user who publishes, manages, or represents a fundraising campaign on HelpBank.in agrees to adhere strictly to the following 8 fundamental obligations:

• Maintain absolute truthfulness, transparency, and factual correctness in all campaign titles, descriptions, photographs, videos, and financial estimates.
• Furnish valid, un-altered, and authentic supporting documentation regarding the beneficiary’s identity, condition, quotation, and expenses upon request.
• Apply all disbursed funds strictly and exclusively toward the stated, verified purpose outlined in the approved campaign narrative.
• Provide periodic, accurate progress updates, photos, and medical/milestone reports to donors and platform moderators on HelpBank.in.
• Comply with all applicable local, municipal, state, and central statutory requirements, including taxation laws, Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), and NGO governance norms.
• Preserve and maintain all physical and digital invoices, receipts, payment vouchers, and hospital bills for a mandatory minimum period of 3 years following campaign closure.
• Promptly inform HelpBank in writing within 24 hours of any material change in circumstances, such as full recovery, alternate insurance coverage, project cancellation, or the unfortunate demise of a beneficiary.
• Cooperate fully with HelpBank compliance teams, anti-fraud investigators, third-party auditors, and law enforcement agencies during any post-disbursement audit or grievance inquiry.

5. Campaign Approval & Verification Documentation

HelpBank conducts thorough due diligence on all campaign submissions. To ensure donor trust and regulatory compliance, HelpBank may request, verify, and cross-examine any of the following 12 types of official documentation:

• Government Photo Identity Proof: Aadhaar Card, Passport, Voter ID, or Driving License of the fundraiser and beneficiary.
• Tax Identification: Permanent Account Number (PAN) Card of the campaign creator, patient/beneficiary, or managing entity.
• Proof of Address: Recent utility bill, bank account statement, municipal property tax receipt, or registered rent agreement.
• Beneficiary Banking Records: Cancelled bank cheque, passbook copy, or certified bank statement confirming IFSC and active account status.
• Medical & Clinical Records: Doctor prescription, hospital cost estimate certificate, discharge summary, pathology reports, and diagnostic scans.
• Educational Proof: Institutional bonafide certificate, admission acceptance letter, official fee structure, and student identity card.
• NGO & Society Legal Deeds: Trust Deed, Society Registration Certificate, or Section 8 Company Memorandum & Articles of Association.
• Tax Exemption Certifications: Valid 12A registration, 80G approval certificate, Form 10BE filing proofs, and MCA CSR-1 registration.
• Enterprise & Livelihood Records: Udyam MSME certificate, GST registration certificate, Shop & Establishment license, or trade permits.
• Commercial Quotations: Itemized pro-forma invoices, vendor quotations, contractor estimates, or machinery purchase agreements.
• Proof of Relationship & Authorization: Birth certificate, legal guardianship certificate, family ration card, or formal power of attorney.
• Corporate / Institutional Resolutions: Board resolution or authorized signatory letter on official letterhead sanctioning the campaign.

6. Donations & Disclaimers of Guarantees

HelpBank is a technology and communication intermediary. Contributions made on the platform are voluntary philanthropic donations and do not constitute investments, loans, commercial purchases, securities, or equity.

HelpBank expressly makes no guarantees, representations, or warranties regarding:

• Whether any campaign will achieve its financial target, goal, or minimum funding threshold.
• The final net sum disbursed after statutory deductions, banking gateway charges, or applicable processing fees.
• The ultimate outcome, medical cure, academic success, business profitability, or longevity of any beneficiary project.

Donors assume full independent responsibility to exercise discretion, judgment, and due consideration prior to donating.

7. Donation Amounts & Payment Processing

All donations made on HelpBank.in are processed in Indian Rupees (INR) through licensed, RBI-authorized third-party payment aggregators and payment gateways (such as Razorpay, Cashfree, UPI networks, and direct bank nodal integrations).

HelpBank maintains a transparent operational model. While HelpBank charges 0% platform listing fees, third-party payment gateway transaction fees (Merchant Discount Rate / MDR of approximately 1.5% to 3% plus applicable GST) are charged directly by the gateway partners and deducted from gross collections before fund disbursement to beneficiaries.

HelpBank complies with PCI-DSS data security standards. HelpBank does not store sensitive payment credentials, debit/credit card numbers, CVVs, or netbanking passwords on its servers.

8. Use of Funds & Prohibited Fundraiser Actions

Disbursed funds must be utilized with uncompromising integrity. Fundraisers, campaign organizers, and beneficiaries are strictly prohibited from engaging in any of the following 6 actions:

• Diverting, siphoning, or reallocating raised funds toward personal luxuries, unlisted private debts, speculative trading, or unstated expenses.
• Transferring or attempting to withdraw funds to unauthorized, unverified third-party or overseas bank accounts.
• Withholding, delaying, or hoarding disbursements from the intended hospital, vendor, or beneficiary without documented platform approval.
• Inflating, fabricating, or artificially misrepresenting bills to retain surplus collected funds.
• Using raised capital for political bribes, illegal contraband, illicit trade, gambling, or hazardous undertakings.
• Refusing or neglecting to submit authentic itemized receipts, discharge summaries, or utilization proofs upon HelpBank’s request.

9. Refunds & Cancellations

Because donations on HelpBank are frequently disbursed immediately or on an emergency schedule directly to hospitals, medical suppliers, and verified beneficiaries, contributions are generally non-refundable once disbursed.

Donors who experience accidental double-billing, unauthorized transactions, or clerical amount errors may request a refund within 7 business days of the transaction date, provided the funds have not yet been disbursed to the beneficiary. For comprehensive details on terms, timelines, and 80G tax receipt cancellations, please review our official Refund Policy and Cancellation Policy.

10. Prohibited Fundraising Activities

To safeguard public trust and comply with Indian law, HelpBank strictly prohibits campaigns, activities, or solicitations associated with any of the following 19 categories:

• Deceptive, fraudulent, fabricated, or intentionally misleading fundraising campaigns.
• Hate speech, incitement to violence, religious disharmony, communal agitation, or extremist propaganda.
• Legal defense funds, bail, or legal penalties for individuals charged with violent crimes, terror acts, or treason.
• Ponzi schemes, multi-level marketing (MLM), pyramid structures, get-rich-quick schemes, or speculative crypto assets.
• Gambling, sports betting, lottery operations, casino ventures, or speculative card games.
• Procurement, manufacture, or distribution of firearms, ammunition, military weaponry, or explosive devices.
• Illicit narcotics, scheduled drugs without valid prescription, psychotropic substances, or banned tobacco items.
• Pornography, sexually explicit materials, escort services, or commercial sexual exploitation.
• Human trafficking, illegal adoption, commercial organ trade, or forced/bonded labor.
• Copyright infringement, pirated software, counterfeit goods, or unauthorized intellectual property sales.
• Hacking utilities, malicious software, unauthorized cyber surveillance tools, or digital extortion schemes.
• Personal vanity, speculative stock market day-trading, private luxury vacations, or undisclosed personal enrichment.
• Animal cruelty, organized animal fighting, endangered wildlife trade, or prohibited wildlife derivatives.
• Seditious actions, secessionist campaigns, or activities undermining the territorial integrity and sovereignty of India.
• Fabricated, doctored, or forged hospital bills, university fee slips, or vendor invoices.
• Unlawful foreign capital transfers violating the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) or FCRA norms.
• Blackmail, cyber-extortion, doxxing, harassment, or defamatory smear campaigns against any citizen or entity.
• Duplicate campaigns soliciting multi-platform double recovery for identical non-disclosed expenses.
• Any enterprise, transaction, or cause that violates central, state, or international laws and public morality.

11. Medical & Health Campaigns Disclaimer

HelpBank is not a healthcare provider, hospital, pharmacy, or diagnostic laboratory. All medical campaign narratives, treatment prognoses, and cost projections are provided directly by fundraisers and validated against independent hospital documentation.

Where feasible, HelpBank reserves the right to disburse funds directly to the billing department of the treating hospital, diagnostic facility, or medical vendor rather than personal accounts. In the tragic event of a patient’s demise, treatment cessation, or significant reduction in hospital bills, unutilized funds will be reallocated to other verified emergency medical campaigns or refunded at the Foundation’s discretion with full public transparency.

12. Education, Women Empowerment, Farmer & Livelihood Campaigns

Campaigns hosted under education, women empowerment, farmer distress, or livelihood rehabilitation require authentic documentary substantiation, including enrollment certificates, institutional bank coordinates, land revenue records (7/12 extract / Patta), self-help group registrations, or artisan trade credentials.

HelpBank may disburse educational aid in phased tranches directly to schools, colleges, or vocational centers, and may require proof of equipment purchase (such as agricultural machinery, sewing units, or inventory invoices) before subsequent tranches are released.

13. Religious, Political & Election-Related Campaigns

Campaigns involving religious institutions, cultural trusts, or civic/political awareness must strictly adhere to the Representation of the People Act, 1951, guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India (ECI), and respective State Public Trust / Charity Commissioner directives.

Such campaigns must demonstrate strict non-discrimination, maintain verified domestic bank accounts, completely eschew hate speech or communal discord, and strictly disallow foreign funding.

14. Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) & Welfare Entities

Non-profit entities hosting campaigns on HelpBank must maintain active legal registrations (Trust Deed, Society Registration, or Section 8 Incorporation) and provide valid documentation of their 12A, 80G, and MCA CSR-1 certifications where applicable.

Participating NGOs agree to provide certified utilization certificates (UC), audited financial balance sheets, and project completion reports upon request by HelpBank or statutory auditors.

15. Foreign Contributions & FCRA Regulations

HelpBank operates under the statutory framework of the Republic of India. In strict compliance with the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, 2010 (FCRA) and the Foreign Exchange Management Act, 1999 (FEMA), the platform does not process foreign currency contributions for individual personal campaigns or non-FCRA registered entities.

International donors and foreign passport holders may only contribute to specifically designated campaigns managed by organizations holding a valid, active FCRA registration with the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), Government of India, through designated SBI New Delhi Main Branch FCRA accounts.

16. Tax Exemptions & 80G Donation Receipts

Donations made to eligible programmes of Mahananda Social Welfare Foundation or participating registered NGOs may qualify for income tax deductions under Section 80G of the Income Tax Act, 1961, subject to prevailing government regulations.

To obtain a valid Form 10BE tax exemption certificate, donors must furnish their valid Permanent Account Number (PAN) and complete mailing address during the donation checkout. Tax exemptions are not available for personal medical campaigns, livelihood micro-grants, or individual beneficiary fundraisers.

17. User Content & Intellectual Property License

Users retain legal ownership of any text, photographs, video clips, reports, or testimonials (“User Content”) uploaded to HelpBank.in. However, by submitting User Content, you grant Mahananda Social Welfare Foundation a worldwide, perpetual, royalty-free, irrevocable, non-exclusive, sublicensable license to use, display, reproduce, adapt, publish, translate, and distribute such content across digital, print, and social media channels for platform promotion, transparency reporting, and social impact storytelling.

You warrant that you possess all necessary copyrights, model releases, and privacy permissions for any individual or minor depicted in your uploaded content.

18. Privacy & Data Protection

Your privacy is paramount. HelpBank collects, stores, and processes user information in accordance with the Information Technology Act, 2000, the Information Technology (Reasonable Security Practices and Procedures and Sensitive Personal Data or Information) Rules, 2011, and the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, 2023.

We never sell, rent, or trade your personal data. For detailed information regarding data handling, cookies, analytics, and donor anonymity settings, please inspect our Privacy Policy.

19. Intellectual Property Rights

All trademarks, brand names, platform logos, domain names, UI designs, graphics, source code, database architectures, and editorial content on HelpBank.in are the exclusive proprietary property of Mahananda Social Welfare Foundation.

No user may copy, reproduce, scrape, decompile, reverse-engineer, frame, distribute, or create derivative works from the platform without explicit prior written authorization from our board of trustees.

20. Third-Party Services & Infrastructure

HelpBank integrates and collaborates with essential third-party service providers to deliver smooth digital fundraising experiences. These include the following 7 categories of external infrastructure partners:

• Payment Gateways & Banking Aggregators: Razorpay, Cashfree, UPI networks, IMPS/NEFT clearinghouses, and bank nodal accounts.
• Cloud Hosting & Server Infrastructure: Amazon Web Services (AWS), Vercel, Supabase, Cloudflare, and distributed content delivery networks (CDNs).
• SMS, WhatsApp & Mobile Messaging Gateways: Fast2SMS, Gupshup, Twilio, and automated OTP delivery services.
• Email Delivery & Notification Platforms: Resend, SendGrid, Amazon SES, and automated receipt dispatch engines.
• KYC & Identity Verification APIs: DigiLocker, Aadhaar verification bridge partners, and PAN validation databases.
• Direct Hospital & Vendor Settlement Channels: Verified institutional bank accounts, vendor nodal clearance, and pharmaceutical escrow channels.
• Security, Monitoring & Anti-Fraud Services: Google reCAPTCHA, Cloudflare Turnstile, Sentry crash analytics, and automated bot mitigation systems.

21. No Guarantee of Fundraising Success

Publishing a campaign on HelpBank.in does not guarantee that donations will be received or that the requested target amount will be reached. Campaign outreach, social sharing, community mobilization, and donor engagement remain the joint initiative of the campaign organizer and the wider public.

HelpBank acts as a neutral facilitation intermediary and does not underwrite, sponsor, or guarantee financial contributions.

22. Platform Availability & Downtime

While HelpBank strives for 99.9% uptime, access to the platform may occasionally be suspended, restricted, or delayed due to any of the following 7 factors:

• Scheduled server maintenance, database upgrades, and routine system enhancements.
• Emergency cybersecurity patches, urgent bug resolutions, and system diagnostics.
• Telecommunications carrier failures, underwater cable disruptions, or regional Internet Service Provider (ISP) routing outages.
• Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) cyberattacks, malicious traffic spikes, or unexpected server load.
• Payment gateway maintenance windows, banking clearing downtime, or National Payments Corporation of India (NPCI) UPI server lags.
• Acts of God, natural catastrophes, earthquakes, fires, floods, pandemics, or civil disturbances.
• Government-mandated digital shutdowns, statutory emergency orders, or regulatory internet service suspensions.

23. Account Suspension & Campaign Termination

HelpBank reserves the absolute right to suspend, freeze, or permanently terminate any user account or campaign without prior notice for any of the following 7 reasons:

• Submission of forged, fabricated, misleading, stolen, or expired identification or medical documentation.
• Suspected financial fraud, money laundering, cyber extortion, or abusive payment dispute chargebacks.
• Material breach of these Terms & Conditions, Privacy Policy, or any applicable Indian statutory code.
• Unauthorized diversion, siphoning, or failure to account for disbursed campaign donations.
• Hostile, abusive, threatening, or defamatory behavior toward donors, beneficiaries, or HelpBank support representatives.
• Direct written orders from court registries, cybercrime police units, or statutory regulatory bodies.
• Prolonged campaign inactivity, failure to respond to compliance verification requests within 7 business days, or project abandonment.

24. Fraud Prevention & Legal Enforcement

HelpBank maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward fraud, deception, and misappropriation. We deploy machine-learning screening algorithms, randomized manual document audits, doctor tele-verification, and hospital direct-billing workflows to prevent malpractice.

In the event of suspected fraud, HelpBank will freeze all associated funds immediately, initiate recovery proceedings, cancel pending payouts, and lodge formal criminal complaints under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023 (formerly Indian Penal Code) and the Information Technology Act, 2000 with competent cybercrime and police authorities.

25. Limitation of Liability

To the maximum extent permitted under applicable law, Mahananda Social Welfare Foundation, its trustees, officers, employees, volunteers, and technological partners shall not be held liable for any of the following 8 categories of losses:

• Loss of expected donations, unrealized target goals, or lost commercial and philanthropic opportunities.
• Indirect, incidental, punitive, special, or consequential damages of any kind.
• Loss of data, corrupted files, transmission errors, or unauthorized digital server interception.
• Losses arising from third-party fraudulent campaigns, account impersonation, or phishing attacks.
• Medical treatment failure, surgical complications, diagnostic delays, or the unfortunate mortality of any beneficiary.
• Delays, deductions, chargebacks, or failures originating from third-party banking gateways or UPI systems.
• Loss of social reputation, public embarrassment, emotional distress, or commercial goodwill.
• Statutory freezes, regulatory embargoes, or force majeure events beyond our direct control.

26. No Professional Advice Disclaimer

HelpBank operates exclusively as an online fundraising facilitation platform. No communication, feature, or content published on the platform shall be construed as:

• Professional Medical, Clinical, or Diagnostic Healthcare Advice.
• Formal Legal Counsel, Statutory Litigation, or Regulatory Advisory.
• Chartered Accountancy, Tax Structuring, or Personal Tax Planning Advisory.
• Professional Financial, Investment, Wealth Management, or Securities Advice.
• Architectural, Structural Engineering, or Construction Safety Advisory.
• Political Campaigning, Electoral Strategy, or Lobbying Advisory.
• Professional Psychiatric, Psychological, or Clinical Suicide Crisis Counseling.

27. Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless Mahananda Social Welfare Foundation, its trustees, directors, employees, volunteers, and agents from and against all legal claims, liabilities, damages, losses, costs, penalties, and expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from the following 7 claims:

• Your breach or non-compliance with any provision of these Terms & Conditions or statutory guidelines.
• Any false, misleading, fabricated, or defamatory information or campaign data provided by you.
• Any infringement or violation of third-party copyrights, trademarks, privacy rights, or intellectual property.
• Any misappropriation, misuse, or unaccounted diversion of raised campaign funds.
• Any civil or legal dispute arising between you, your beneficiaries, donors, hospitals, or vendors.
• Any tax liability, penalty, or government assessment triggered by your failure to report income or donations.
• Any unauthorized account access or data breach resulting from your failure to safeguard login credentials.

28. Modifications & Amendments to Terms

HelpBank reserves the right to revise, modify, or update these Terms & Conditions at any time to reflect operational, legal, technological, or regulatory developments. The “Last Updated” timestamp at the top of this page will indicate the date of the latest revisions.

Your continued use of the platform after the publication of amended terms constitutes your definitive and legally binding acceptance of such modifications.

29. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

These Terms & Conditions, and any claim, controversy, or dispute arising out of or related to your use of HelpBank.in, shall be governed by and construed strictly in accordance with the laws of the Republic of India, without regard to its conflict of law principles.

In the event of any dispute, the parties shall first attempt to resolve the issue amicably through good-faith mutual negotiations. If unresolved within 30 business days, the dispute shall be submitted to the exclusive jurisdiction of the competent courts situated in Pune, Maharashtra, India.

30. Official Contact & Grievance Redressal

For general questions, campaign inquiries, compliance audits, or formal notices regarding these Terms, please reach out to our official compliance desk: