The agreement, in plain words.

Two short documents. The first is signed by anyone who asks for a sponsor. The second is accepted by anyone who sponsors. Both exist so that the money given in good faith is never taken in bad faith.

vowbabyWOW is a giving initiative of vowbaby, a brand of EverAfter Paper LLC. It is not a registered charity or nonprofit; sponsorships are not donations and are not tax-deductible. This page is a summary in plain language and a binding agreement; it will be reviewed by counsel before sponsorship opens, and the version you agreed to is recorded with your request.

Sponsor Request Agreement

If you ask for a sponsor.

1 · TruthEverything you tell us, in the request and in verification, is true, complete in what matters, and not embellished. You will tell us at once if anything changes.
2 · VerificationWe may ask for documents, speak with people you name and check what can be checked. We may decline, delay or remove a request at our sole discretion and need not say why. Listing is not guaranteed.
3 · The public storyYou give us permission to publish the story, the ask and the goal, edited for privacy and length. No diagnoses, addresses, money figures or minors' full names appear publicly. You may withdraw at any time before the gift is made.
4 · What sponsors fundSponsorships fund the making of a specific gift by vowbaby (paper, song, book) toward the goal you state. Nothing is paid to you in cash, ever. If more is raised than the gift costs, the surplus funds other vowbabyWOW gifts.
4a · The needed-by dateYour request carries a needed-by date and your standing choice for a shortfall. Sponsors see both. On that date the story closes. If the goal was met, the gift is made in full. If it was not, your choice applies: either the studio makes a partial gift scaled to what was raised, or everything raised moves to the vowbabyWOW fund — a company-advised fund that vowbaby applies to other listed stories and gifts as it sees best fit. The choice is made when you request and cannot be changed after the first sponsorship arrives.
5 · If it was not trueIf any material part of the request is proven untrue or embellished, at any time: the listing is removed; you are responsible to EverAfter Paper LLC for the full value of whatever was made or spent on the request, which we may recover by any lawful means, including any payment method you provided for that purpose; your sponsors are told the story was found untrue and are offered a refund or a move to another story; and you may not request again.
6 · No guarantee of makingEven when funded, what is made depends on what the studio can make well at the time; song and book depend on rights and production being confirmed. The studio decides the final scope and tells you plainly.
7 · Privacy and consentPrivate details go only to the review team. Nothing about a recipient other than yourself is published without that person's, or their guardian's, own consent. You confirm you have the right to share what you share, including any photograph: you took it or have the subject's permission, and it appears on the listing only if you and the studio both agree.
7a · Recipients under 18A request for anyone under 18 may be made only by a parent, legal guardian, grandparent, adult sibling, aunt or uncle, or foster parent, who states how they are related. No photograph is required and no photograph of a minor is ever published, whatever is uploaded. The listing shows only the first three digits of the ZIP code and never a minor's full name, school or street. The studio edits the story to the same standard. We may ask the responsible adult to confirm the relationship before listing, and sponsors' messages to a minor are read by the adult first.
7b · PlacesSo that every story gets real attention we keep at most one hundred open requests from people and families and ten from organisations at a time. When the places are full, requests wait and you may ask to be told when they reopen; places are not reserved and listing remains at our discretion.
8 · The usualTexas law governs. We may update these terms; the version you agreed to stays with your request. If a clause is unenforceable the rest stands.

Sponsor Terms

If you sponsor.

1 · What it isA sponsorship is a payment to EverAfter Paper LLC to fund the making of a specific gift for a listed story. It is not a donation to a charity, not a gift to the requester, and not tax-deductible. No goods or services are provided to you.
2 · Held, not spentYour payment is held against the story until the gift is made. If the story is withdrawn, declined or proven untrue before the gift is made, you are told and you choose a full refund or to move your sponsorship to another listed story. Unclaimed choices after 60 days are moved to the vowbabyWOW fund.
2a · The needed-by dateEach story shows a needed-by date and the requester's standing choice if the goal is not met by then. When the date passes short of the goal, that choice applies and you are told: either a partial gift is made from what was raised, or your sponsorship moves to the vowbabyWOW fund, a company-advised fund applied as vowbaby sees best fit. Where it moves to the fund you may ask for a refund within 30 days of being told.
3 · If the gift was already madeWhere a story is proven untrue after the gift was made, we tell you, we recover the value from the requester under their agreement, and your refund or move is issued from what is recovered, in the order sponsorships were received.
4 · What you receiveA receipt, word when the gift is delivered, and any story the recipient chooses to share. Your first name and last initial are shown on the listing unless you tick "keep my name private", in which case you are counted as an anonymous sponsor. We do not sell or share your details.
5 · Our discretionThe studio decides what is made and when, within the listed ask. Surplus beyond the gift's cost funds other vowbabyWOW gifts.
6 · The usualTexas law governs. Payments are processed by our payment provider under its own terms. Write to the studio about anything here; a person answers.