Terms of Use

The platform is operated by Local Enterprise Assistance Fund, Inc., a Massachusetts nonprofit corporation and certified Community Development Financial Institution (“LEAF”, “we”, “us”). Businesses use it to apply for financing, share documents, sign forms, connect bank accounts and manage their facilities. Capital providers and LEAF staff use it to review and service that financing.

By creating an account or using the platform, you agree to these terms on your own behalf and on behalf of the business you represent (the “client”). You confirm that you have authority to bind that business. If you do not agree, do not use the platform.

Your financing agreements come first. Applying through the platform does not guarantee approval. Rates, fees, advance amounts and repayment terms are set only by the signed agreement for each facility.

• The platform is for businesses located in the United States and for their authorized representatives, who must be at least 18. Accounts are created by invitation only.
• Each person uses their own login. Do not share credentials. The client is responsible for everything done through the accounts it authorizes, and for asking us to remove anyone who should no longer have access.
• We may require two-step login. Keep your password and second-step device secure.
• Tell us immediately at mpires@leaffund.org if you think your account has been used without your permission.

You may use the platform only for the client’s legitimate business financing with LEAF. You must not:

• submit false, altered or misleading information or documents, including invoices, purchase orders or proof of delivery;
• try to access another client’s data, or any part of the platform you have not been given access to;
• probe, scan or test the platform’s security without our written permission;
• upload malware, or interfere with the platform’s operation;
• copy, scrape, resell or reverse-engineer the platform; or
• use it in a way that breaks any law, including sanctions and anti-money-laundering laws.

• You confirm that the information and documents you submit are accurate and complete. You will update them promptly if they change.
• You authorize LEAF to verify that information. This may include checking business registries and public records, government lending databases, identity and sanctions lists, and business and personal credit reports, with the consent of each owner or guarantor.
• Bank connections. If you link a bank account, LEAF uses Plaid Inc. to connect to it. By linking, you authorize Plaid to retrieve account, balance, identity and transaction information from your bank and share it with LEAF. Plaid handles that information under the Plaid End User Privacy Policy. You can disconnect an account at any time by contacting us at mpires@leaffund.org.
• Bank account changes. For your protection, LEAF confirms any change to the account that receives or pays funds before using it. We may do this by phone, using a number already on file.

You agree to receive notices, statements, disclosures and other communications from LEAF electronically, through the platform or by email. They count as delivered in writing.

You agree that documents you sign electronically on the platform, directly or through our e-signature provider, are as binding as signatures on paper. To use the platform you need a current web browser, an email address, and the ability to view and save PDF files. You can ask for a paper copy of any document, or withdraw this consent, by contacting us at mpires@leaffund.org or 617-232-1551. If you withdraw it, we may be unable to continue providing the platform to you.

Some features are provided by other companies. These include bank connections (Plaid), electronic signatures (DocuSign), email delivery, and cloud hosting. Your use of those features may also be subject to their terms. LEAF is not responsible for outages or errors caused by those services, though we choose providers carefully and review their security.

• LEAF owns the platform, including its software, design and content. You get a limited, revocable, non-transferable right to use it for the purposes in section 3.
• The client keeps ownership of the data and documents it submits. It grants LEAF a license to use them to evaluate, provide, service and report on its financing, as described in our Privacy Policy and its financing agreements.
• Information about other clients, buyers or LEAF that you see through the platform is confidential. Do not use or share it except to work with LEAF.
• If you send us feedback or suggestions, we may use them freely.

• As-is service. The platform is provided “as is” and “as available”. To the extent the law allows, LEAF makes no warranties beyond those in these terms, including any warranty that the platform will be uninterrupted or error-free. Balances, statements and calculations shown on the platform are for information. If they differ from LEAF’s official loan records, the records control.
• Limit on liability. To the extent the law allows, LEAF is not liable for indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, or for lost profits. LEAF’s total liability arising from use of the platform is limited to $1,000. This section does not limit either party’s obligations under a financing agreement.
• Indemnity. The client will compensate LEAF for losses, claims and reasonable legal costs caused by false information it submits or by its breach of these terms.

LEAF may suspend or end a user’s access to protect the security of the platform or of client data, to prevent fraud, or if these terms are broken. We will give notice when we reasonably can. Ending platform access does not end any financing agreement. Amounts owed under those agreements remain due, and LEAF keeps records as the law and those agreements require. The client may close its platform users at any time by contacting us.

• Changes. We may update these terms. We will notify you through the platform or by email at least 30 days before a material change takes effect. If you keep using the platform after that, you accept the update.
• Governing law. These terms are governed by the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Disputes go to the state or federal courts in Suffolk County, Massachusetts, unless a financing agreement says otherwise.
• Other terms. If any part of these terms is unenforceable, the rest still applies. Not enforcing a term is not a waiver of it. You may not transfer your rights under these terms.
• Contact. Local Enterprise Assistance Fund, Inc., 386 Western Avenue, Boston, MA 02135, mpires@leaffund.org, 617-232-1551.