Terms and Privacy
This section contains all legal policies, terms of service, and compliance documentation for Open Navigator. Please review these documents carefully before using the Service.
📋 Required Reading
All users must comply with the following documents:
Terms of Service
The main legal agreement governing your use of Open Navigator. This document incorporates all third-party data provider terms and establishes your rights and responsibilities.
Key Topics:
- Acceptable use policies
- Attribution requirements
- Prohibited uses (especially FEC donor solicitation restrictions)
- Intellectual property rights
- Limitation of liability
⚠️ CRITICAL: By using this Service, you agree to comply with ALL third-party provider terms, including Charity Navigator's strict attribution requirements and rate limits.
Data Provider Terms of Service
Comprehensive documentation of all third-party data provider terms, usage policies, rate limits, and attribution requirements.
Covers:
- U.S. Government sources (IRS, Census, NCES, FEC, Grants.gov)
- Google services (BigQuery, Civic API, Data Commons)
- Nonprofit data (Charity Navigator, ProPublica, Every.org)
- Civic APIs (Open States, Wikidata, DBpedia)
- Academic datasets (MeetingBank, LocalView, CDP)
- Election data (MIT Election Lab, OpenElections)
Must Read If:
- You plan to redistribute data from this Service
- You're building applications using our data
- You need to understand rate limits and quotas
- You want to know specific attribution requirements
Privacy Policy
How we collect, use, and protect your information. Includes your rights under CCPA (California) and GDPR (Europe).
Key Points:
- We only aggregate publicly available data
- We don't sell your information
- You can request deletion of your account
- Public records exceptions apply
- Your privacy rights and how to exercise them
Legal Compliance & Data Use Policies
Technical compliance documentation showing our adherence to all data source terms of service, API policies, and legal requirements.
Includes:
- Compliance status for each data source
- Implementation details for rate limiting
- User-Agent requirements
- Attribution implementations
- Data provenance tracking
🚨 Critical Compliance Requirements
Charity Navigator
MANDATORY on ALL pages using their data:
- ✅ Display "Powered by Charity Navigator"
- ✅ Link charity names to their CN profiles
- ✅ Include trademark notice
- ❌ Maximum 1,000 API calls per day
- ❌ NO redistribution of CN data
- ❌ NO competing rating systems
Violation consequences: API access termination, potential legal action
Google Services
MANDATORY:
- ✅ Display "Data provided by Google" where applicable
- ❌ Civic API data CANNOT be cached beyond 30 days
- ❌ Must comply with Google Cloud Terms of Service
- ❌ Subject to API quotas
ProPublica APIs
MANDATORY:
- ✅ Provide attribution to ProPublica
- ✅ Include API key in headers (
X-API-Key) - ❌ CRITICAL: FEC Campaign Finance data CANNOT be used for commercial solicitation or fundraising
- ❌ Rate limits: 5,000 requests/day
Open States
MANDATORY:
- ✅ Display "Powered by Open States"
- ✅ API key required (free registration)
- ❌ 50,000 requests/month free tier
- ❌ Data licenses vary by state
DBpedia
MANDATORY:
- ✅ Attribute to DBpedia and Wikipedia
- ✅ CC BY-SA 3.0 license (share-alike applies)
- ❌ Derivative works must use compatible license
⚖️ Your Responsibilities
When using Open Navigator, you agree to:
-
Respect Rate Limits
- Implement caching where permitted
- Add delays between requests
- Monitor your usage against quotas
-
Provide Attribution
- Include all required credits
- Link to data provider profiles where required
- Display trademark notices
-
Prohibited Uses
- ❌ NO use of FEC donor data for commercial solicitation
- ❌ NO redistribution of Charity Navigator data
- ❌ NO circumvention of rate limits
- ❌ NO removal of attribution notices
-
Data Accuracy
- Verify critical information with original sources
- Report errors or inaccuracies to us
- Don't misrepresent data provenance
🔒 Privacy & Security
What We Collect
- Public data only: Government records, tax filings, public meetings
- Optional account data: Email address (if you create an account)
- Technical data: IP address, browser info (for security)
What We DON'T Collect
- ❌ Private financial information
- ❌ Health information
- ❌ Social Security numbers
- ❌ Any data requiring authentication to access
Your Rights
- ✅ Request removal of public records data (case-by-case)
- ✅ Delete your account anytime
- ✅ Access and download your data
- ✅ Opt out of analytics
See Privacy Policy for complete details.
📊 Data Sources Quick Reference
🏛️ Government Data Sources (1-6)
| # | Abbrev | Source | Public Domain? | API Key? | Rate Limit | Attribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | IRSB | IRS EO-BMF | Yes | No | None | Recommended |
| 2 | CENS | Census Bureau | Yes | No* | 500 req/IP/day* | Recommended |
| 3 | NCES | NCES (Schools) | Yes | No | None | Recommended |
| 4 | FECP | FEC / OpenFEC | Yes | Yes | 1,000 req/hour | REQUIRED |
| 5 | GRNT | Grants.gov | Yes | No | None | Recommended |
| 6 | GSAD | GSA Domains | Yes | No | None | No |
🎬 Media & Social Platforms (7)
| # | Abbrev | Source | Public Domain? | API Key? | Rate Limit | Attribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 7 | YOUT | YouTube Data API | No | Yes | 10,000 units/day | REQUIRED |
💼 Google Services (8-10)
| # | Abbrev | Source | Public Domain? | API Key? | Rate Limit | Attribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 8 | GBQR | Google BigQuery | Mixed | Yes | 1 TB/month free | REQUIRED |
| 9 | GCIV | Google Civic API | No | Yes | 25,000 req/day | REQUIRED |
| 10 | GDCM | Google Data Commons | Yes | No | None | REQUIRED |
🏢 Nonprofit Data Providers (11-18)
| # | Abbrev | Source | Public Domain? | API Key? | Rate Limit | Attribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | CHNV | Charity Navigator | No | Yes | 1,000 req/day | REQUIRED (strict) |
| 12 | PPNP | ProPublica Nonprofit | Mixed | No | None | REQUIRED |
| 13 | PPCG | ProPublica Congress | Mixed | Yes | 5,000 req/day | REQUIRED |
| 14 | PPCF | ProPublica Campaign $ | Mixed | Yes | 5,000 req/day | REQUIRED |
| 15 | PPVS | ProPublica Vital Signs | Mixed | Yes | 5,000 req/day | REQUIRED |
| 16 | EVRY | Every.org | No | Yes | Custom | REQUIRED |
| 17 | LOGO | Logo.dev | No | Yes | 1,000 req/month | Recommended |
| 18 | GT90 | GivingTuesday 990 | Yes | No | AWS egress | REQUIRED |
🗳️ Civic & Open Data (19-21)
| # | Abbrev | Source | Public Domain? | API Key? | Rate Limit | Attribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 19 | OPST | Open States | No | Yes | 50,000 req/month | REQUIRED |
| 20 | WKDT | Wikidata | Yes (CC0) | No | ~1 req/sec | No |
| 21 | DBPD | DBpedia | CC BY-SA | No | ~1-2 req/sec | REQUIRED |
🎓 Academic & Research (22-26)
| # | Abbrev | Source | Public Domain? | API Key? | Rate Limit | Attribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | MTBK | MeetingBank | Academic | No | None | REQUIRED (citation) |
| 23 | LCLV | LocalView (Dataverse) | Academic | Yes | Varies | REQUIRED |
| 24 | CDPR | Council Data Project | MIT License | No | None | REQUIRED |
| 25 | CTSC | City Scrapers / Documenters | MIT License | No | None | REQUIRED |
| 26 | ROPR | Roper Center (iPoll) | Academic | No** | N/A | REQUIRED |
🗳️ Election Data (27-28)
| # | Abbrev | Source | Public Domain? | API Key? | Rate Limit | Attribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 27 | MITE | MIT Election Lab | Open Data | No | None | REQUIRED |
| 28 | OPEL | OpenElections | Varies | No | None | REQUIRED |
💰 Paid Services - NOT USED (29)
| # | Abbrev | Source | Public Domain? | API Key? | Rate Limit | Attribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 29 | BLTP | Ballotpedia | No | Yes | PAID | REQUIRED |
🌐 Scraped Meeting Platforms (30-34)
These platforms are accessed via web scraping (no API):
| # | Abbrev | Platform | Jurisdictions | Public Data? | robots.txt | Attribution |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 30 | LEGI | Legistar | 3,000+ cities | Yes | Check each | Jurisdiction |
| 31 | GRAN | Granicus | 2,500+ cities | Yes | Check each | Jurisdiction |
| 32 | CVPL | CivicPlus | 2,000+ cities | Yes | Check each | Jurisdiction |
| 33 | MUNI | Municode | 1,500+ cities | Yes | Check each | Jurisdiction |
| 34 | YTMT | YouTube (Meetings) | Varies | Yes | API only | REQUIRED |
Notes:
- *Census: Without API key = 500 requests/IP/day. With free API key = much higher limits
- **Roper: Full data requires institutional membership; metadata is free
📖 Full Terms: Data Provider Terms
📞 Provider Contacts: Contact Information
🆘 Compliance Support
How to Stay Compliant
-
Read the Terms
- Review Terms of Service
- Study Data Provider Terms for sources you use
- Understand rate limits and quotas
-
Implement Required Attributions
- Use attribution templates from Data Provider Terms
- Include all mandatory credits
- Link to provider profiles where required
-
Monitor Your Usage
- Track API calls against rate limits
- Implement caching to reduce requests
- Set up alerts for quota thresholds
-
Document Your Compliance
- Keep records of attribution implementations
- Log API usage and rate limiting
- Maintain audit trail for data sources
Need Help?
For compliance questions:
- Email: [contact email to be added]
- GitHub Issues: Report compliance issues
For provider-specific questions:
- Contact the data provider directly (see Data Provider Terms for contact info)
📅 Updates & Maintenance
How We Keep These Documents Current
- Regular Review: Quarterly review of all provider terms
- Automated Monitoring: Track provider ToS changes
- Community Reports: Users can report outdated information
- Version Control: All changes tracked on GitHub
How You Stay Informed
Subscribe to updates:
- Watch our GitHub repository
- Enable notifications for legal document updates
- Check this page periodically
Material changes:
- Prominent notice on the Service
- Email notification (if you have an account)
- 30-day notice period before taking effect
📜 Software License
Open Navigator is open-source software licensed under the MIT License.
Key Points:
- ✅ Free for commercial and non-commercial use
- ✅ Modification and redistribution allowed
- ✅ Must include MIT License notice in distributions
- ✅ No warranty or liability
Full License: GitHub Repository
Important: The MIT License applies to our software code, not to the third-party data we aggregate. Each data source has its own license (see Data Provider Terms).
⚠️ Disclaimers
No Government Endorsement
This Service is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by:
- U.S. Internal Revenue Service
- U.S. Census Bureau
- Any state or local government
- Any data source provider
- Charity Navigator, Inc.
- ProPublica, Inc.
- Google LLC
No Professional Advice
This Service provides information only. It does NOT provide:
- Legal advice
- Medical or health advice
- Financial advice
- Tax advice
- Professional consultation services
For specific advice, consult qualified professionals in the relevant field.
Data Accuracy
While we strive for accuracy:
- Data is sourced from authoritative public sources
- Data is provided "as is" without warranties
- Errors in source data may appear in our datasets
- Users should verify critical information with original sources
📞 Contact Information
General Inquiries:
- Email: [contact email to be added]
- GitHub: Issues
Privacy Requests:
- Subject: "Privacy Request" or "CCPA Request" or "GDPR Request"
- We respond within 30 days
Compliance Questions:
- Subject: "Compliance Question"
- Include specific data source and question
Data Removal Requests:
- Subject: "Data Removal Request"
- Include: Name, data to remove, reason, proof of identity
- Evaluated case-by-case
🔗 Related Documentation
- Citations & Data Sources - Academic citations and BibTeX
- Data Model & ERD - Database schema
- HuggingFace Datasets - Published datasets
- Development Documentation - Technical implementation
Before redistributing data from this Service:
- Read Terms of Service
- Review Data Provider Terms for sources you'll use
- Implement required attributions (especially Charity Navigator)
- Respect rate limits and quotas
- Set up caching where permitted
- Monitor compliance continuously
- Document your attribution and compliance measures
When in doubt: Provide attribution and contact the provider for clarification.
Last Updated: April 28, 2026
Version: 1.0