Definitions

We/Our: The Key UK, trading as The Key, a company registered in England and Wales under number 03339120 and a registered charity based at Maybrook House, Grainger Street, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 5JE.

You/Your: The organisation or consortium registered with us and paying the membership fee, also referred to as a Partner.

Facilitator: A person you authorise to run KEY+ projects for young people under our programme rules.

General
These terms form the agreement between us and you. Registering for membership and paying the membership fee confirms your acceptance.

Membership
We offer different membership levels. Your chosen level determines the fees, benefits and any usage limits. Full details are available on our website and in our membership information booklet.

Membership starts once a member of your team has completed Key Facilitator training. We will then issue an invoice payable within 30 days. Benefits begin from that date.

You may use our services while your membership is current and fully paid. You must provide accurate information and promptly tell us about any changes to your contact or organisational details.

Membership benefits may change. We will communicate changes in good time, and significant changes will normally take effect at renewal. We may refuse membership requests for any reason.

Facilitators
Facilitators must complete our training before running KEY+ projects. If they do not run a project for 12 months, we may require refresher training. You are responsible for arranging training.

Facilitators must follow our guidelines. We will support best practice through support channels, resources and refresher training.

If required project documentation is missing, we may prevent facilitators from registering new projects until receipts and reports are received. We will provide support to help them comply.

We may ask you to remove a facilitator if they do not meet our standards and do not respond to improvement requests.

You are responsible for ensuring facilitators have DBS clearance, up-to-date safeguarding training and comply with your policies for working with young people.

Authorised facilitators with access to the KEY+ software platform are active facilitators. Your membership level may limit the number of active facilitators. You decide who to deactivate and should tell them. We can provide facilitator lists on request.

Deactivated facilitators lose platform access, but their records remain linked to your organisation for reporting. They can be reactivated later and regain access to previous records.

KEY+ Projects
Each project credit covers one project for three to seven young people. A further credit is required for each additional stage the group progresses through.

A credit is used when we validate a KEY+ project idea and it moves from Think to Plan.

Projects that have reached Plan or later by the end of your membership period will be ring-fenced and may continue if you renew. If a project is cancelled in the same membership period before panel and before a micro grant is issued, we will refund the credit. Credits are not refunded once the group has been to panel or a micro grant has been issued.

Credits are valid for one year from purchase. Unused credits cannot usually be carried into a new membership period, and credits from cancelled projects in a previous period will not be added to the new allowance.

If a project is delayed, tell us promptly so we can update our records and release any reserved micro grant.

You must complete and submit required documentation at each stage, including evaluations, monitoring data and receipts.

Your organisation must risk assess project activities to protect young people, staff and the public. We may randomly sample risk assessments and require further measures where needed.

Panels
We ask you to support KEY+ by providing panel members for other partners’ Pitch steps. These may be facilitators or others linked to your organisation. There is no minimum or maximum participation, but external panel members are important to programme quality.

Where panel members are not trained facilitators, we will train them and complete DBS checks and two character references before authorising them, in line with our Volunteer and Safeguarding policies.

When your facilitators arrange panels, they must follow your policies for visiting panel members and uphold safeguarding standards at all times, for instance not leaving individual visiting panel members alone with the group.

Micro Grants
We source funding to provide micro grants to young people through you, enabling them to deliver their projects.

Funding may come from statutory funders, trusts, foundations, charities, corporate partners and community fundraising. We must monitor, evaluate and report on this funding, including expenditure.

A micro grant is reserved when a project enters Think, but it is not available until the project is granted at Pitch and approved by us. No Do step activity or spending may start before we confirm approval.

Micro grants may only be used for the agreed project purpose. Any restrictions will be shared before approval. Receipts must match the agreed budget and be submitted for our records.

Micro grants are usually released once we receive project receipts and completion reports.

If project plans or costs change after a micro grant is committed, tell us before activities happen or spending is incurred. Significant changes must be agreed in advance.

We may withhold or recover micro grants if funds are misused or not used for the agreed purpose.

Payments in Advance
If you cannot complete the Do step before receiving the micro grant, contact us. We may release the grant before activities or spending take place.

If a micro grant is paid in advance, any unspent funds must be returned within 30 days of project completion.

If a project is cancelled after a micro grant is released, you must return the funds within 30 days. If spending has already occurred, contact us for advice.

We may require repayment if you cease trading, become insolvent or enter administration, receivership or liquidation before completing the project.

Membership Fees
We will invoice the membership fee. Payment can be made by BACS, cheque, Stripe or GoCardless-Instant Bank Pay. Benefits will be suspended while fees remain unpaid.

Renewals
Your membership runs until all project credits are used or expire. Credits are valid for 12 months from purchase. Membership does not renew automatically, we will contact you ahead of time to confirm your renewal.

If you renew, projects registered in the previous period may continue until completed or cancelled and will count against the previous period’s project credits.

Unused credits cannot usually carry over, and credits from cancelled projects in a previous period will not be added to the new allowance. Projects registered after renewal use the new allowance. We may refuse renewal requests for any reason.

Cancelled and Lapsed Membership
If you choose not to renew or want to cancel membership, notify us in writing and, where possible, give your reasons. Refunds are not given for cancelled memberships.

Membership will lapse if you do not respond to our renewals requests and do not pay a membership invoice within 30 days of expiry.

If membership is cancelled or lapsed, projects at the Do stage have 90 days to complete and submit receipts and reports. After this, committed micro grants may be withdrawn and advance payments must be returned.

Platform access will be withdrawn immediately unless agreed to complete outstanding projects.

Terminating Membership
We may terminate membership or refuse renewal if you misrepresent us, bring us into disrepute, misuse benefits or fail to follow KEY+ rules. Fees already paid will not be refunded.

Publicity, Promotion and Branding
We encourage you to publicise KEY+ projects and their impact. You may ask us to share your publicity. If you have already published the material, we will assume you have the necessary consent and will not be liable for data protection breaches.

You agree to acknowledge us correctly in KEY+ project materials and publicity. Our trading name is The Key, and the programme name is KEY+. Contact us for permission before using our name or logos on your organisational materials; we can provide approved logo files on request.

We may ask you to promote us to support fundraising or encourage other partner's.

We may request stories from young people about projects and their impact. We will seek permission before publishing personally identifiable information, including parent or guardian consent where the young person is under 16.

Software and Data Security
Membership includes access to the KEY+ software platform. It works through a browser on phones, laptops and desktops, with nothing installed on the device.

You control facilitator and young person access. Young people can complete KEY+ without direct software access, using downloadable paper skills assessments and evaluations instead.

You should follow good data security practice, including keeping login details confidential and not sharing IDs.

Facilitator-level users may see all project and young person data for your organisation. Young person-level users can see only their own data and projects. Panel members can see limited information about the projects they are invited to review and first names of group members.

We access data to support projects, manage membership and produce anonymised reports for funders. If you have concerns about data use, you can request a demonstration and ask questions.

Our privacy policy can be found at Privacy Policy | The Key

Disputes
If a dispute arises, this Agreement will be governed by the laws of England and Wales.

If a dispute cannot be resolved by negotiation within 90 days of notice being given, it will be submitted to arbitration under our Complaints, Compliments, Comments Policy and Procedure, available on request.

Variation of Terms and Conditions
We may revise these terms from time to time. If we do, we will email the revised version to you. You are responsible for keeping up to date, and continued membership will be treated as acceptance of the revised terms.