⚠️ Draft for attorney review. This document is a working draft and not legal advice. Have licensed counsel review before publishing — paying particular attention to the Franchise provisions (which may implicate the FTC Franchise Rule and state franchise registration/disclosure laws) and the enforceability of the Confidentiality / Non-Disclosure provisions as applied to ordinary members. Bracketed items [ ] are placeholders to confirm with counsel.

0. The Member Pledge

NewTek-Connections is not a public bulletin board. It is the forward-facing gateway into a curated ecosystem of professional knowledge, community, and opportunity. Access is earned by pledge, not by mere browsing.

By clicking "I Pledge" / "I Agree," creating an account, or accessing the Platform, you take the Member Pledge and agree to be bound by these Terms — including the Confidentiality and Non-Disclosure obligations in Section 5. Upon completing your pledge, you are granted access to the Library and the knowledge that awaits within it. The pledge is the key; the Library is the reward; the obligations below are the price of the key.

If you do not agree to all of these Terms, do not pledge, and do not access or use the Platform.

1. Who We Are; The License Structure

• "NewtekNation" means NewTekNations LLC and/or the NewTekNation.org Trust, the licensor and operator of the ecosystem.

• "NewTek-Connections," "the Platform," "the Service" means the member-facing professional-connections and knowledge service, operated under license from NewtekNation within the CrackerJackIdea (CJI) ecosystem and trust.

• "CJI" means CrackerJackIdea.org and the underlying ecosystem, trust, and intellectual-property architecture from which the Platform and its verticals derive.

• "we," "us," "our" means NewTek-Connections and NewtekNation, collectively.

• "you," "Member," "Pledged Member" means the individual who has taken the Pledge.

NewTek-Connections is the face. NewtekNation is the licensor. CJI is the underlying. All rights flow from CJI to NewtekNation to the Platform; your rights as a Member flow only from this Agreement and are limited to those expressly granted here.

2. Description of Services

The Platform provides, without limitation:

• Professional connection, recruitment, and community among Members and partner verticals;

• Access to the Library — including educational, advisory, and proprietary "Academia" knowledge, strategies, playbooks, and the curated archives made available to Pledged Members;

• Participation in series, programs, communities, events, and other offerings published within the NewtekNation ecosystem;

• Member profiles, messaging, content sharing, and group coordination;

• Where offered, ecosystem transaction features (including ecosystem tokens, credits, listings, scheduling, or bidding tools).

We reserve the right to modify, suspend, gate, or discontinue any aspect of the Platform at any time, with or without notice.

3. Eligibility

You must be at least 18 years of age and have the legal capacity to enter into this Agreement. By pledging, you represent and warrant that you meet these requirements. The Platform is not intended for and may not be used by anyone under 18.

4. Account Registration & Pledge Integrity

To take the Pledge you must create an account. You agree to:

• Provide accurate, current, and complete information;

• Maintain and promptly update that information;

• Keep your credentials confidential and secure;

• Accept responsibility for all activity under your account;

• Notify us immediately of any unauthorized use.

One Member, one identity. Creating multiple or deceptive accounts, sharing a single account to extend Library access to non-pledged persons, or transferring your account is a breach of the Pledge. We may suspend or terminate any account that violates these Terms.

5. Confidentiality & Non-Disclosure (the Heart of the Pledge)

5.1 Confidential Information

As a Pledged Member you will be exposed to proprietary and confidential information belonging to NewTek-Connections, NewtekNation, CJI, partner verticals, and/or other Members, including but not limited to:

• The contents of the Library and the Academia knowledge base — methods, strategies, "secrets," playbooks, tips, instructional materials, and the sequence and structure in which they are revealed;

• Platform algorithms, architecture, proprietary features, token and ecosystem mechanics, and unreleased or beta functionality;

• Business strategies, pricing, franchise models, series concepts, and the ideas and concepts underlying any of the foregoing;

• Other Members’ data, profiles, contributions, and activity;

• Anything marked confidential or that a reasonable person would understand to be confidential.

5.2 Your Obligations

You agree that you will not:

• Disclose, publish, teach, repackage, resell, stream, screenshot, transcribe, or disseminate any Confidential Information — including the Library/Academia knowledge, tips, methods, or "secrets" — to any non-pledged person or third party, without our prior written consent;

• Use Confidential Information for any purpose other than your own authorized, personal use within the ecosystem;

• Use Confidential Information, the Library, or any ecosystem knowledge to gain an unfair advantage, to circumvent rules of any program, competition, auction, or community, or to "cheat" any feature, ranking, reward, or other Member;

• Reverse engineer, decompile, disassemble, or attempt to derive the source, structure, or underlying ideas of any part of the Platform;

• Scrape, harvest, crawl, or collect data from the Platform by automated means;

• Take, adopt, or build upon the ideas or concepts disclosed within the ecosystem to create a competing or derivative product, service, series, or platform.

You agree to protect Confidential Information with at least the same degree of care you use for your own confidential information, and no less than reasonable care.

5.3 Exceptions

These obligations do not apply to information that: (a) is or becomes public through no fault of yours; (b) was lawfully known to you before disclosure by us; (c) is independently developed by you without use of Confidential Information; or (d) is required to be disclosed by law or court order (with prompt notice to us where legally permitted).

5.4 Survival

Your confidentiality and non-disclosure obligations survive termination of your account and remain in effect for two (2) years following your last use of the Platform, or for as long as the information remains confidential, whichever is longer.

6. Integrity of the Ecosystem (No Cheating)

The value of the ecosystem depends on fair play and trust. You agree not to manipulate, exploit, or game any auction, bidding, ranking, reward, token, certification, or program; not to misrepresent your achievements or credentials; not to collude to defeat the rules; and not to use bots, scripts, or undisclosed automation to gain advantage. Violations may result in forfeiture of access, credits, certifications, or tokens, and termination of the Pledge.

7. Intellectual Property, Franchise & Likeness

7.1 Ownership

All content, features, marks, designs, the Library, the Academia knowledge base, the series and franchise concepts, and the overall arrangement of the Platform are the exclusive property of NewtekNation / CJI or their licensors, protected by copyright, trademark, trade secret, and other laws. Except for the limited access rights expressly granted in this Agreement, you receive no right, title, or interest in any of it.

7.2 Limited License to You

We grant you a personal, non-exclusive, non-transferable, revocable, limited license to access the Platform and the Library solely for your own non-commercial use as a Pledged Member. You may not sell, rent, sublicense, host, mirror, or commercially exploit the Platform or its contents.

7.3 Franchise Rights — Reserved

The series, programs, business methods, and replicable models offered within the ecosystem (the "Franchise Concepts") are proprietary to NewtekNation / CJI. Your Pledge grants you no franchise, no territory, no license to replicate, operate, sublicense, or franchise any Franchise Concept. Any franchise, license, or business-development relationship exists only under a separate, signed written agreement with NewtekNation, and only where permitted by applicable franchise law. You agree not to replicate, "clone," or hold out any offering as affiliated with, sponsored by, or franchised from the ecosystem without that separate written authorization.

Counsel note: offering or describing "franchises" may trigger the FTC Franchise Rule (16 CFR Part 436) and state franchise statutes requiring a Franchise Disclosure Document and, in some states, registration. Confirm structure before any public franchise offering.

7.4 Likeness & Right of Publicity

• Your likeness. Where you choose to contribute as a participant, character, contributor, or featured Member (for example, within a series, program, or recruitment feature), you grant NewtekNation / CJI a non-exclusive, royalty-free, worldwide license to use, display, reproduce, and adapt your name, voice, image, likeness, and contributions within the ecosystem and its series/franchise materials, subject to your privacy settings and any separate written participation agreement. You may withdraw this license prospectively as to future uses by written notice, except where it has been separately committed by a signed agreement or already embedded in published works.

• Others’ likenesses. You will not use, post, or exploit the name, image, likeness, voice, or persona of any other Member, real person, or public figure without lawful right or consent, and you will not use the marks, characters, or trade dress of the ecosystem to imply endorsement you do not have.

7.5 Feedback

Any feedback or suggestions you provide are non-confidential, and you assign to NewtekNation all rights in such feedback, which we may use without restriction or compensation.

8. User Content

You retain ownership of content you create and post. By posting, you grant us a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, transferable, sublicensable license to host, use, display, reproduce, distribute, and adapt your content in connection with operating and promoting the Platform and ecosystem. You are solely responsible for your content, represent that you have the rights to post it, and bear all risk associated with it. We may remove content that violates these Terms at our discretion. We are not obligated to back up content; keep your own copies.

9. Acceptable Use

You agree not to use the Platform to: violate any law; harass, threaten, defame, or harm others; post unlawful, infringing, obscene, or hateful content; post content harmful to minors; impersonate anyone; transmit malware; send spam or unsolicited commercial messages; harvest others’ data without consent; interfere with or overburden our infrastructure; or attempt unauthorized access to accounts or systems. We may review content and take action — including removal, suspension, termination, and referral to authorities — at our discretion.

10. Transactions, Tokens & Listings

Where the Platform offers transaction, token, credit, scheduling, listing, or bidding features, any such activity is binding to the extent stated at the time, and you agree to honor your commitments. We act as facilitator and do not warrant the availability, accuracy, or quality of items, listings, or counterparties, and are not a party to transactions between Members. Ecosystem tokens and credits are subject to their own published terms.

11. Disclaimer of Warranties

THE PLATFORM AND THE LIBRARY ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE," WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE, TITLE, AND NON-INFRINGEMENT. WE DO NOT WARRANT THAT THE PLATFORM WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED, ERROR-FREE, OR SECURE, OR THAT ANY KNOWLEDGE OR STRATEGY WILL PRODUCE ANY PARTICULAR RESULT.

12. Limitation of Liability

TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT PERMITTED BY LAW, NEITHER NEWTEK-CONNECTIONS, NEWTEKNATION, CJI, NOR THEIR OFFICERS, TRUSTEES, EMPLOYEES, OR AGENTS WILL BE LIABLE FOR ANY INDIRECT, INCIDENTAL, SPECIAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, EXEMPLARY, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, OR FOR LOST PROFITS, DATA, OR GOODWILL. OUR TOTAL LIABILITY FOR ANY CLAIM WILL NOT EXCEED THE GREATER OF THE AMOUNT YOU PAID US IN THE TWELVE (12) MONTHS PRECEDING THE CLAIM OR ONE HUNDRED U.S. DOLLARS (US $100). Some jurisdictions do not allow certain limitations, so parts of this section may not apply to you.

13. Indemnification

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless NewTek-Connections, NewtekNation, CJI, and their officers, trustees, employees, and agents from any claims, liabilities, damages, losses, and expenses (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising from your use of the Platform, your content, your breach of these Terms (including the Confidentiality and Franchise provisions), or your violation of any law or third-party right.

14. Term & Termination

These Terms remain in effect while you use the Platform. We may suspend or terminate your access at any time, with or without cause or notice, including for any breach. Upon termination, your right to access the Platform and the Library ends immediately, and your content may be deleted from live systems. The following survive termination: Sections 5 (Confidentiality), 6 (Integrity), 7 (IP/Franchise/Likeness), 8 (the content license), and 11–16.

15. Governing Law & Dispute Resolution

This Agreement is governed by the laws of the State of [New Jersey], without regard to conflict-of-law principles. [Counsel to confirm governing jurisdiction based on entity domicile (e.g., Wyoming LLC / trust situs).]

Mandatory binding arbitration; class-action waiver. Except for (a) small-claims matters, (b) requests for emergency or injunctive relief, and (c) claims of defamation, violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, or infringement/misappropriation of intellectual property or trade secrets — all disputes will be resolved by binding individual arbitration administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Consumer Arbitration Rules, conducted in [New Jersey] (or by telephone/written submission where elected). Before arbitrating, the initiating party must send a written Notice of Dispute and allow thirty (30) days for informal resolution. You and we waive any right to a jury trial and to participate in a class or consolidated action. Any judgment on the award may be entered in a court of competent jurisdiction. This arbitration agreement survives termination.

16. General

• Modifications. We may update these Terms; changes are effective on posting (or, for material changes, on the earlier of notice by email or thirty (30) days after posting). Continued use after changes constitutes acceptance.

• Severability. If any provision is unenforceable, it is limited or severed and the rest remains in effect.

• Entire Agreement. These Terms (plus any separate signed agreements, e.g., franchise or participation agreements) are the entire agreement between you and us regarding the Platform.

• Assignment. You may not assign these Terms; we may assign them freely (including to NewtekNation, CJI, or a successor).

• No waiver. Our failure to enforce a provision is not a waiver.

• Independent relationship. Nothing here creates a partnership, agency, employment, or franchise relationship except as separately agreed in writing.

17. Contact

NewTek-Connections (operated under license from NewtekNation)

Email: [support@newtek-connections.com] · Web: [www.newtek-connections.com]

BY CLICKING "I PLEDGE" / "I AGREE," OR BY ACCESSING OR USING THE PLATFORM, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS AGREEMENT, THAT YOU ARE AT LEAST 18, AND THAT YOU AGREE TO BE BOUND BY IT — INCLUDING THE CONFIDENTIALITY, NON-DISCLOSURE, INTEGRITY, FRANCHISE, AND LIKENESS OBLIGATIONS. UPON YOUR PLEDGE, THE LIBRARY OPENS.