CrownCause
Terms and Conditions
Effective September 11, 2026. Florida law.
1. Agreement
These Terms are a contract between you and the company that operates CrownCause (“we,” “us”). By creating an account, clicking agree, using the site, or paying, you agree to these Terms. If you do not agree, do not use CrownCause.
2. Who we are — we do not handle charity funds
CrownCause is a technology platform. Directors run pageant years. Queens raise money and list wardrobe. Supporters vote, donate, bid, and buy. We are not a pageant, not a 501(c)(3) charity, not a bank, not a trustee, and not the seller of a gown a queen lists. We do not grant titles. We do not guarantee any amount raised.
We do not handle charity funds. Direct donations are made on the charity’s own website. CrownCause does not collect, hold, escrow, transmit, or receipt those gifts. We may record the amount you say you gave and mark it verified after a screenshot, but that record is not the donation itself.
3. Eligibility
You must be 18 or older to create a paying account, receive payouts, list items, Vote, donate, bid on wardrobe or a silent auction, or request a booking. Guests may buy event tickets without an account. Bidding on Auction House or a silent auction, and Request a booking, require a logged-in account. The service is offered for the United States. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. One person, one account unless we approve otherwise.
4. Accounts — required information and approval
To create an account you must give a working phone number, email, state, and pageant, and you must agree to these Terms. Keep that information true and current. You are responsible for your password.
Queens, directors, and charities stay hidden from the public until an admin approves them. Approval is a permission to appear, not a guarantee we will keep you listed. Sponsors, judges, and supporters may use their desks after signup; queens and directors may prepare a dashboard while they wait, but they will not appear on Queens, People’s Choice, or Auction House until approved.
5. Votes on a queen’s page are fundraising — not a contest
A Vote on the Queens directory or a queen’s public page is a paid support purchase directed to a named queen. There is no Queen of the Month and no prize pool from those Votes. Paying to Vote does not buy a chance to win anything from us. Do not market those Votes as a lottery, raffle, sweepstakes, or “vote to win.”
The queen may set the lowest and highest Vote amount shown on her page. Checkout still uses the split below. Each of those Vote dollars, after any separately disclosed processor fee, is split: 77% queen, 11% pageant, 11% CrownCause, 1% nationals. The queen cannot withdraw the pageant or nationals portions. A Vote is not a charitable contribution to CrownCause and is generally not tax-deductible. No share of a Vote is paid to charity. Charity support is only through Direct Donation on the charity’s own website.
The 11% pageant share is paid to the pageant only when a director has a CrownCause account for that pageant. If no director has created an account, that 11% is split evenly: 5.5% more to the queen and 5.5% to CrownCause (half of the pageant slice each). Directors must create an account to receive the pageant share.
The 1% nationals share is paid to the national organization only when a national director has a CrownCause account. If no national director has created an account, that 1% is split evenly: 0.5% more to the queen and 0.5% to CrownCause (half of the nationals slice each).
People’s Choice votes are different. They are described in Section 6 and do not use this split.
6. People’s Choice — run for the pageant
People’s Choice is a paid popularity vote a director runs so supporters can vote for a queen to win People’s Choice for that pageant. Directors add approved queens. Directors set the dates each pageant’s People’s Choice is open. The Queens directory is separate and uses the Vote split in Section 5.
There is no cash prize and no payout to the queens from People’s Choice funds. After any separately disclosed processor fee, 90% is paid to the pageant and 10% is CrownCause’s platform fee. Queens cannot withdraw People’s Choice money.
The 90% pageant share is paid only when a director has a CrownCause account for that pageant. If no director has created an account, People’s Choice funds are not paid to queens; the pageant share is held until a director can receive it, or refunded if the law or the processor requires.
A People’s Choice vote is not a charitable contribution to CrownCause and is generally not tax-deductible. Do not market People’s Choice as a lottery, raffle, sweepstakes, or “pay to win a prize.” Any title or recognition the pageant announces is the pageant’s, not a cash prize from CrownCause.
7. Direct donations — we do not handle the money
A queen may list several charities and mark more than one as receiving. When you click Donate, a checkout modal lets you choose among the charities she has turned on (after admin approval). We then open that charity’s own website so you can give there. Upload a screenshot from the bell so admin can mark the gift verified. Unverified amounts show as pending and are not treated as raised.
CrownCause is not the charity, not the donor, and not the middleman for those funds. Deductibility, if any, depends on the charity’s receipt and IRS rules. We do not promise that any payment is deductible.
8. Charity rules and promised shares
Name the legal charity and EIN. We may check IRS listings. Do not claim that Votes go to charity. Direct donations are made on the charity’s website. Do not use a personal wallet as the charity. Advertising a charity percentage on auctions while keeping a fee may require Florida Chapter 496 (or similar) registration. You are responsible for those filings.
We are not responsible if a queen does not donate a promised amount. A charity percentage on a wardrobe listing, a silent-auction item, or any other pledge she publishes is her promise, not ours. We do not collect, hold, escrow, or pay that share to the charity unless a future product expressly says we will. If she fails to give the amount she advertised, that dispute is between her, the buyer or donor, and the charity. CrownCause is not the charity, not her agent for that gift, and not liable for the shortfall.
9. Legal rules you must follow
These rules exist because of law. Breaking them is grounds for immediate removal.
1. You must be 18 or older. Do not create an account for a child. We do not collect information from children under 13.
2. Name, phone, email, state, pageant, title, charity name, and EIN must be true.
3. List only real U.S. 501(c)(3) organizations. No personal PayPal, Venmo, Cash App, or “me” as the charity.
4. Do not tell anyone CrownCause is the charity or that we issue a charitable receipt.
5. Do not tell voters a Vote is a tax-deductible gift.
6. Do not run or advertise a lottery, raffle, sweepstakes, or “pay to win.”
7. If you solicit gifts under your own name or pageant, you handle Florida Chapter 496 and any other state charitable-solicitation or commercial co-venturer filings.
8. Queen payouts and auction proceeds are generally taxable income. Before we pay you, you must provide a completed Form W-9, or the same facts: legal name, mailing address, and Social Security number or EIN, if we do not already have that on file.
9. You must own or have the right to sell every item you list. No stolen, counterfeit, or infringing goods.
10. No fraud, stolen cards, fake screenshots, money laundering, or sanctions evasion.
11. Upload only content you have the right to use. No photos of minors without required consent.
12. No harassment, hate, defamation, or illegal content.
13. Titles, charity percentages, and “winner” claims must be truthful under advertising and consumer-protection law.
10. Platform rules you must follow
These are how CrownCause works. We may remove you for breaking them even if no statute names the act.
1. Queens, directors, and charities stay off public pages until an admin approves them.
2. One person, one account. Keep phone, email, state, and pageant current.
3. A queen may receive for more than one approved charity. Donors pick which one in the Donate modal. Donate is offered only after at least one charity is approved and has a working website link.
4. Direct-donation screenshots go to support@crowncause.com. Admin verifies. Do not inflate totals.
5. No duplicate accounts, bots, or vote farms.
6. Directors add only approved queens to People’s Choice. People’s Choice is run for the pageant. Queens receive no cash prize or payout from those votes.
7. Winner’s Piece is director-sealed. Queens cannot self-award it.
8. Her Bio is public, 300 characters, and must be truthful. Do not put phone, email, or form answers in Bio.
9. Treat other queens, directors, donors, and staff with respect.
10. Listings must show the actual item (size, condition, photo).
11. If you leave a pageant or stop representing a charity, tell us and stop using that name.
12. Do not scrape, attack, or automate the service.
13. If you add a sponsor, you must have that business’s permission. You — not CrownCause — are responsible for that listing.
10.5 Sponsors you add
CrownCause is not responsible for sponsors that users add. Directors, queens, national directors, and any other user who adds a sponsor is solely responsible for who they list. You must have the sponsor’s agreement to add them to this platform. If you add a business that did not agree to be listed, you — not CrownCause — are responsible for any legal issues, claims, or disputes that follow, including publicity, privacy, trademark, or consumer-protection claims. We may remove a listing added without consent, and we may suspend the account that added it.
The “I have permission to list this sponsor” checkbox is your confirmation of that duty. Checking it does not make CrownCause the sponsor, the agent of the sponsor, or a party to your agreement with them.
11. Our right to remove queens, directors, and charities
We may refuse, hide, suspend, or permanently remove any queen, director, charity, listing, Vote, donation record, or account that does not follow these Terms, the law, or our platform rules — or that we reasonably believe harms users, a pageant, a charity, or CrownCause. We may do this with or without prior notice.
Removal can include taking you off Queens and People’s Choice, turning off Vote and Donate, taking down auctions, and stopping payouts. We are not required to keep a public page live while we review a report. Votes already processed are refunded only if the law or the processor requires it. Direct donations already given on a charity website are between you and that charity; we cannot reverse them.
12. Wardrobe auctions (Auction House)
The sale is between the listing queen and the buyer. You must have a CrownCause account to bid or Buy It Now. We and our processor collect payment and may collect sales tax as a marketplace facilitator. Seller warrants she owns the item. Winner’s Piece is director-sealed only. Bids are binding. Apparel is as-is unless the listing says otherwise. Designer names describe the item; they are not an affiliation with the brand. A charity share shown on a listing is the queen’s pledge; see Section 8. Opening Bid on her gown from her Fundraising Page opens her auction in a new page; it does not navigate you away from her page. After any disclosed processor fee, CrownCause takes 11% of the winning bid or Buy It Now price — less than eBay’s typical seller fee — and the remainder is paid to the listing queen after a completed Form W-9 (or the same facts) is on file.
13. Event tickets
Directors, national directors, sponsors, queens, supporters, and judges may publish tickets for a night or gathering. Anyone may buy — no account required. CrownCause keeps 5% + $0.75 per ticket; the rest goes to the host after any disclosed processor fee. Printed tickets and door scan are tools for the host. A ticket is admission to that event, not a charitable contribution to CrownCause. Refunds, door policy, and whether the show goes on are the host’s, except where the law or the processor requires us to reverse a charge.
14. Silent auctions
Directors, national directors, sponsors, supporters, and judges may create a silent auction, add items, and share a link. Anyone with the link can view the page. Bidding requires a logged-in CrownCause account and you must be 18 or older. Bids are binding. You may not bid on an auction you host. When the clock hits the close time, bidding stops — the high bid wins that item. Winners pick up items at the event.
If you win, you pay the winning bid plus the card processor fee (about 2.9% + $0.30, shown at bid). On a director-hosted or national-director-hosted auction, after any disclosed processor fee, CrownCause takes 11% of the winning bid — less than eBay’s typical seller fee — 1% goes to nationals, and 88% is paid to the host after we have a completed Form W-9 (or the same facts) on file. On a sponsor-, supporter-, or judge-hosted auction, after any disclosed processor fee, CrownCause takes 11% of the winning bid — less than eBay’s typical seller fee — and the remainder is paid to the host after we have a completed Form W-9 (or the same facts) on file. Processor fees are extra and are not part of that split. Host proceeds are generally taxable income, not a gift. A charity note on an item is information from the host, not a payment we make and not a charitable deduction unless that charity’s own receipt says so. We do not collect silent-auction bids as charitable gifts. Starting an auction “now” sets the open time to the moment the host confirms. Close time stays as the host set it.
15. Booking a queen
Request a booking is only for logged-in users. A queen chooses which categories she will accept and the rate she shows, including “by arrangement.” You send a request. She accepts or declines.
If she accepts, CrownCause opens an invoice for you automatically. Admin is notified and the booking appears on Approvals. Admin does not send the bill. Until you pay, she and you see Accepted · unpaid.
If you pay here, you pay her listed rate plus 5% to CrownCause plus the card processor fee — all paid by you. She receives her full listed rate. If you settle off-site, mark Pay elsewhere. A $0 / by-arrangement booking has no platform 5% until there is a listed rate.
Whether she accepts, her travel, and her performance are between you and her. CrownCause is not her booking agent and is not liable if she cancels, no-shows, or changes her rate. Admin may void a request that has not been paid.
16. Payments and refunds
A third-party processor handles Vote, People’s Choice, wardrobe-auction cards, event tickets, pageant entry fees, booking invoices when you choose to pay on CrownCause, and paid storage plans. We do not store full card numbers. Direct donations are not charged on CrownCause. Payouts go to connected accounts on a published schedule and may be held for chargebacks. Queen-page Votes, People’s Choice votes, completed auction buys, ticket purchases, entry fees, and paid booking invoices are generally final except where the law or the processor requires a reversal. People’s Choice funds are paid to the pageant (90%) after our 10% fee; they are not paid to queens. Pageant entry fees: after any separately disclosed processor fee paid by the buyer, CrownCause keeps 3% and the pageant receives 97% of the listed fee. Queen+ and Director+ are $11 per month for 1 GB of photos and documents. Royal is $49 per month for 3 GB. Videos are not accepted. A public Talent listing is free. Subscriptions, when offered, are billed as shown at checkout.
16.1 Changes to percentages, fees, and subscription prices
The splits, platform percentages, per-item fees, and subscription prices stated in these Terms or shown in the product are the amounts in effect when you complete a charge. We may change them. For a material increase that will apply to a future charge, we will give notice in the product or by email a reasonable time before the new amount is billed. Posted rates apply only to charges made after the change takes effect. They do not change a charge already processed, unless the law or the processor requires a reversal. If you do not agree to a new percentage, fee, or subscription price, you may stop using the paid feature or cancel the subscription before the next bill. Continued use or a later payment after notice is acceptance of the new amount for that charge.
17. Taxes
You are responsible for your taxes. Queen payouts (77% of Votes on her page and auction proceeds after fees) and silent-auction host proceeds (88% of each winning bid on a director auction; 89% of each winning bid on a sponsor auction) are generally taxable income, not gifts. The 1% nationals share from a director silent auction is a pageant-year expense, not a charitable deduction for the bidder. People’s Choice funds are paid to the pageant, not to queens. Before we pay a queen, a director, or a sponsor, you agree to provide a completed Form W-9, or the same facts: legal name, mailing address, and Social Security number or EIN, if we do not already have that on file. We may hold a payout until we have it. A Vote, People’s Choice payment, or silent-auction bid is generally not deductible. A Direct Donation you make on a charity’s website is deductible only as the IRS and that charity’s receipt allow.
18. Your content
You keep ownership of photos, your story, and other page copy you edit (intro, cover, booking rates, vote range). You grant us a license to host and display them on CrownCause and in reasonable marketing of the platform. We may remove content that violates these Terms.
19. Prohibited conduct
No fake titles, fake charities, stolen cards, bots, vote farms, listings you cannot sell, harassment, or calling Votes or People’s Choice a lottery, raffle, or cash prize.
20. Our IP; DMCA
The CrownCause name and software are ours. Copyright complaints: send a DMCA notice to the agent listed on the site once registered with the U.S. Copyright Office.
21. Disclaimers and liability
The service is provided “as is.” To the maximum extent the law allows, we disclaim implied warranties. We are not liable for indirect or consequential damages; for any gift made on a third-party charity website; for a queen’s failure to donate a promised charity share; for a booking she does not honor; for a ticketed event the host cancels; or for a sponsor listing a user adds, including a sponsor who did not agree to be added. Our total liability is limited to the greater of fees you paid us in the prior twelve months or $100, except where the law forbids that limit.
22. Indemnity
You will defend and indemnify CrownCause against claims from your content, listings, tax or charity statements, booking requests, silent-auction items, tickets you host, sponsors you add (including sponsors who did not agree to be listed), or your breach of these Terms, except to the extent caused by our willful misconduct.
23. Termination
You may close your account. We may suspend or terminate access as the law allows, including for breach or under Section 11. Payment, tax, indemnity, removal, and liability sections survive.
24. Florida law
Florida law governs, without conflict-of-law rules. Courts in Florida have exclusive jurisdiction, except either party may seek injunctive relief elsewhere for IP or unauthorized access. Jury trial is waived to the extent the law allows. Consumer rights that Florida or federal law makes non-waivable still apply.
25. Changes
We may post updated Terms and change the effective date. Material changes to fees or the Split will be noticed in the product or by email. Continued use is acceptance. If you do not agree, stop using the service.
26. Contact
Support and legal notices: support@crowncause.com.
