Terms and Conditions

KB Tenacious Emergency Support Foundation (KBT-ESF)
kbt-esf.org · KBT-ESF Community Disaster Awareness app (iOS, Android and app.kbt-esf.org)
Version 3.0 · Effective September 8, 2026 · EIN 41-3071623

Please read these Terms and Conditions ("Terms") carefully before using the KB Tenacious Emergency Support Foundation website at kbt-esf.org or our Community Disaster Awareness app on iOS, Android or at app.kbt-esf.org (together, the "Platforms"). By using the Platforms you agree to these Terms and to our Online Privacy Policy. If you do not agree, do not use the Platforms.

1. About KBT-ESF

KB Tenacious Emergency Support Foundation ("KBT-ESF," "we," "our," or "us") is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered at 5061 Jackson Highway, Toledo, WA 98591. We provide community emergency support services in Washington, Oregon and Idaho.

2. Not an Emergency Service

IMPORTANT — READ BEFORE USING THE PLATFORMS

KBT-ESF is NOT a provider of emergency medical services, fire suppression, law enforcement or search and rescue. Nothing on the Platforms replaces professional emergency response.

For any immediate emergency - medical, fire, law enforcement or safety - CALL 911.

Information on the Platforms does not constitute medical, legal or professional advice. Welfare checks and support requests submitted through the Platforms are community support inquiries handled by volunteers as they are available - they are not emergency dispatch. If someone may be in immediate danger, call 911 first.

3. Eligibility and Accounts

You must be 18 or older to create an account, submit a request for help, or volunteer. Anyone may view the public map and alerts.
Guest use. You may use the app without an account. Guests may submit up to three hazard reports per week and cannot upload photos or submit requests for help.
Community accounts are free and are created with your email address and a one-time sign-in code. Keep your email account secure; you are responsible for activity under your account. Tell us promptly at support@kbt-esf.org if you believe someone else has used it.
Volunteer accounts are granted by KBT-ESF after an application at kbt-esf.org/join-us and our vetting process. Volunteers agree to the additional expectations in Section 9.
Agency accounts are issued by KBT-ESF to law enforcement, fire, emergency-management and other official agencies and are linked to specific counties. Agency access is governed by Section 9 and any written agreement between KBT-ESF and the agency.
Administrator accounts are held by KBT-ESF staff and designated leads.
KBT-ESF may change an account's role, suspend or close an account, or refuse service, at any time and for any reason consistent with law, including violations of these Terms.

4. Permitted Use

You may use the Platforms for lawful, personal, non-commercial purposes consistent with our mission, including:

Viewing hazard reports, official alerts, resources and preparedness information;
Submitting truthful hazard reports about conditions you have observed;
Submitting welfare check, KBT-ESF support or disaster notary requests for yourself or someone you are genuinely concerned about;
Voting on whether a reported hazard is still present or resolved;
Donating, registering for events and training, purchasing from our store, and subscribing to updates;
For agency users, posting official area closures and resource locations and verifying community reports within your jurisdiction.

5. Prohibited Use

You may not use the Platforms to:

Violate any federal, state or local law;
Submit false, exaggerated, prank or misleading hazard reports or requests for help, or vote dishonestly;
Post personal information about another person without their consent (except as described in Section 7 for Missing Person reports), or post photos in which people are identifiable without their consent;
Harass, threaten, intimidate or abuse other users, volunteers, staff or agency personnel;
Post content that is obscene, hateful, discriminatory, violent, or that promotes illegal activity;
Use the map or reports to locate, monitor or target any individual or property;
Impersonate any person, agency or organization, or claim an official role you do not hold;
Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of our systems, or interfere with their operation;
Introduce malware or harmful code, or use automated tools to scrape, crawl or extract content without written permission;
Circumvent the guest report limit, a suspension or a ban, including by creating multiple accounts or devices;
Use the Platforms for commercial solicitation or advertising.

6. Community Reports, Photos and Other User Content

Your responsibility. You are responsible for everything you submit — reports, descriptions, photos, votes, flags and requests ("User Content"). Submit only content that is truthful, that you have the right to share, and that complies with Section 5.

Licence. You keep ownership of your User Content. By submitting it you grant KBT-ESF a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free licence to store, reproduce, display, adapt (for example to remove metadata or resize a photo) and share it through the Platforms and with partner agencies, for community safety, program operations and after-action review, for as long as we retain it under our Privacy Policy.

Public display. Hazard reports, votes, area closures and approved resources are public to all users of the app, including guests, and may be viewed by partner agencies. Requests for help are not public (see Privacy Policy, Section 6).

Community standards and moderation. KBT-ESF does not tolerate objectionable content or abusive users. Reports are automatically screened for spam, duplicates and harmful content, and KBT-ESF staff review anything flagged. We may edit, hide or remove any User Content, and warn, suspend or permanently ban any user, at our sole discretion and without notice.

Reporting and blocking. Any user can flag a report as inappropriate ("Report post") and block another user ("Hide & block user") from within the app. Blocking hides that user's content on your device immediately. We review flagged content within 24 hours and remove content or users that violate these Terms.

Expiry. Hazard reports leave the public map 72 hours after submission unless renewed by community votes or closed earlier by an agency or KBT-ESF. Reports may be retained afterward in anonymized form as described in our Privacy Policy.

7. Missing Person Reports

Missing Person reports are for active disaster situations only and are not a substitute for a police report - contact law enforcement first. Any contact details you place in the description are published publicly so community members can respond. By submitting a Missing Person report you confirm that you are entitled to share the information it contains, that the person is genuinely missing in connection with a disaster, and that you will ask us to remove the report when the person is located.

8. Requests for Help

When you submit a welfare check, KBT-ESF support or disaster notary request, you acknowledge that:

KBT-ESF provides community support only - we are not EMS, law enforcement or Search and Rescue. For immediate emergencies you must call 911; submitting a request is not a substitute.
Requests are handled by vetted volunteers, not licensed medical, legal or emergency professionals. Notary assistance is provided by commissioned notaries acting within their commission.
Response depends on volunteer availability and is not guaranteed. If no volunteer acknowledges a request within about two hours it is escalated to KBT-ESF administrators; if it remains unacknowledged after about four hours you will be notified and reminded to call 911 for emergencies.
Your request is visible to KBT-ESF administrators and to volunteers and partner agencies for that county, and we may contact the person you asked us to check on using the details you provided.
KBT-ESF may decline or close a request that is outside our capabilities, outside our service area, abusive, or duplicative.

9. Volunteers and Partner Agencies

Volunteers act as community members, not as employees or emergency responders, and only within the scope KBT-ESF authorizes. Volunteers agree to keep request information confidential, to use it only to respond to the request, to communicate with requesters respectfully and only through approved channels, to report any STOP or opt-out request to KBT-ESF within 24 hours, and to delete request details from personal devices once a request is closed.

Partner agencies agree that area closures, verifications and resource pins they post are accurate official information within their jurisdiction; that they will keep information from requests for help confidential and subject to their own public-records obligations; and that agency access is for official use only. Agency subscriptions are invoiced by KBT-ESF outside the app (kbt-esf.org/agency-partners). Nothing in the app is sold through in-app purchase.

10. Information Accuracy and Third-Party Data

KBT-ESF provides information in good faith but:

All content is provided "as is" without warranties of any kind, express or implied.
Community reports are submitted by members of the public and are not verified by KBT-ESF unless marked "verified" by an agency.
Weather, fire, earthquake, river, air-quality, road and shelter data shown in the app come from government and scientific sources (including the National Weather Service, NASA, USGS, EPA, WSDOT, FEMA and the U.S. Drought Monitor). It is displayed as received, may be delayed, incomplete or unavailable, and is not verified by KBT-ESF.
Preparedness information is general and may not apply to your situation.

Always follow guidance from official emergency-management agencies, law enforcement and medical professionals. KBT-ESF information supplements but never replaces official emergency communications.

11. Location, Offline and Device Features

Some features use your device's location, camera, photo library, motion sensors (shake-to-report), flashlight and notifications. Each is optional and controlled by your device permissions. Offline mode stores street-map tiles for the states you follow on your device and is automatically turned off after 48 hours; live data is not available offline. The compass and other tools are aids only — do not rely on them for navigation in an emergency.

12. Notifications and Text Messages

Push notifications are optional and can be managed in the app or your device settings. Life-safety emergency bulletins from KBT-ESF may be sent regardless of your preferences.

Text messages. If you consent to receive texts from KBT-ESF - by checking the consent box on a form, replying to a message from us, or agreeing to text communication as a volunteer - we may text you about your request or inquiry and, for volunteers, about coordination, scheduling and training.

Consent is not a condition of receiving any service. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. Reply STOP to cancel at any time; reply HELP for help or contact support@kbt-esf.org or (360) 937-4921. We do not send marketing texts, and we never share your mobile number or opt-in information with third parties for their marketing. See our Privacy Policy, Section 8.

13. Donations

Donations are voluntary and non-refundable except as required by law.
KBT-ESF is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit (EIN 41-3071623). Donations may be tax-deductible subject to IRS rules and your individual situation; KBT-ESF does not provide tax advice.
Donations are processed by Donorbox and Stripe under their own terms of service.
Restricted gifts are used according to donor intent as stated at the time of donation.

14. Store and Event Purchases

Purchases from the KBT-ESF store and paid event or training registrations are subject to the prices, shipping, refund and cancellation terms shown at checkout on kbt-esf.org. Payment is processed by the payment provider shown at checkout; KBT-ESF does not store card numbers. Store proceeds support KBT-ESF programs.

15. Intellectual Property

All original content on the Platforms - text, graphics, logos, images, software and organizational materials - belongs to KB Tenacious Emergency Support Foundation or its licensors and is protected by copyright and other laws. You may link to our content and reference publicly available information with attribution. You may not reproduce, distribute, modify or create derivative works without prior written permission, and you may not use KBT-ESF's name, logo or branding to imply endorsement or affiliation. Map data is provided by Mapbox and OpenStreetMap contributors under their terms.

16. Third-Party Services and App Stores

The Platforms use and link to third-party services (including Mapbox, Supabase, OneSignal, Donorbox, Stripe, Wix, and government data sources). KBT-ESF does not control and is not responsible for third-party sites, services or content; your use of them is governed by their own terms and privacy policies. Links to community resources are provided for convenience and are not a recommendation or guarantee.

If you downloaded the app from the Apple App Store or Google Play, you also agree to their terms. Apple and Google are not parties to these Terms, have no obligation to provide maintenance or support for the app, and are not responsible for any claims relating to it; Apple and its subsidiaries are third-party beneficiaries of these Terms and may enforce them against you.

17. Privacy

Our Online Privacy Policy, posted at kbt-esf.org/privacy-policy, explains what we collect and how we use it, and is part of these Terms.

18. Suspension and Termination

You may stop using the Platforms at any time and may delete your account in the app (More → Settings → Delete My Account). KBT-ESF may suspend or terminate your access, remove your User Content, and refuse future access if you violate these Terms, create risk or legal exposure for KBT-ESF or others, or if we discontinue a service. Sections 6 (licence), 10, 15, 19, 20, 21 and 22 survive termination.

19. Disclaimer of Warranties

The Platforms are provided "as is" and "as available" without warranties of any kind, express or implied, including warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy and non-infringement. KBT-ESF does not warrant that the Platforms will be uninterrupted, timely, secure or error-free, or that any report, alert or request will be seen or acted on.

20. Limitation of Liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, KB Tenacious Emergency Support Foundation and its directors, officers, employees, volunteers and partner agencies are not liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential or punitive damages, or for any loss, injury or damage arising from your use of or inability to use the Platforms, reliance on any information on them, any User Content, any delay or failure in responding to a request for help, or any act or omission of a volunteer acting within their authorized scope. Where liability cannot be excluded, it is limited to the greater of $100 or the amount you paid KBT-ESF in the twelve months before the claim. Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so some of the above may not apply to you.

21. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify and hold harmless KB Tenacious Emergency Support Foundation, its directors, officers, employees and volunteers from any claims, losses, damages, costs or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from your User Content, your use of the Platforms, your violation of these Terms, or your violation of any law or the rights of any third party.

22. Governing Law and Disputes

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Washington, without regard to conflict-of-law rules, except where the consumer-protection laws of your state of residence apply and cannot be waived. Before filing any claim, you agree to contact us at support@kbt-esf.org and attempt in good faith to resolve the dispute for at least 30 days. Any dispute that is not resolved will be brought in the state or federal courts serving Lewis County, Washington, and you consent to their jurisdiction.

23. Changes to These Terms

We may update these Terms at any time. The current version is always posted at kbt-esf.org/terms with its effective date, and the app links to it. For material changes we will post a notice on our website or in the app. Continued use after an update means you accept the revised Terms.

24. Contact

Email: support@kbt-esf.org
Phone: (360) 937-4921
Mail: KB Tenacious Emergency Support Foundation, 5061 Jackson Highway, Toledo, WA 98591
Website: kbt-esf.org

KB Tenacious Emergency Support Foundation · EIN 41-3071623 · 501(c)(3) nonprofit