Terms of Use

About the publisher

This site is published by the Institute of FAME, Inc. (“FAME,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), a Georgia nonprofit corporation classified as a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 81-4374785).

Purpose of the site

We publish information about the institute, our research portfolio, our governance, and ways to support the work. The site exists to inform potential donors, researchers, foundation officers, educators, regulators, and the general public about FAME's mission and outputs. It does not solicit, invite, or accept any relationship of professional advice between FAME and any visitor.

No investment, legal, tax, or financial advice

Nothing on this site constitutes investment advice, tax advice, legal advice, financial planning, or a recommendation to buy, sell, or hold any security or financial product. Research findings published or summarized here describe academic research; they are not personalized recommendations. For decisions about your own financial situation, please consult a licensed professional. FAME and its directors, officers, employees, and contributors disclaim any liability for actions taken or not taken in reliance on the material on this site.

Intellectual property

Original text, layouts, photographs, and graphics on this site are either authored by FAME or used by FAME under license from their owners. Except where noted, all such material is © 2026 Institute of FAME, Inc. and is offered here for personal, scholarly, and journalistic reading only. You may quote excerpts under the fair-use principles applicable to scholarly and journalistic work, with attribution. Wholesale reproduction, redistribution, or commercial use requires our written permission.

Peer-reviewed papers linked or hosted on this site remain subject to the copyright terms of their respective publishers. Author preprints and open-access PDFs are reproduced under the licenses their publishers attach (for example, Creative Commons CC-BY for most MDPI papers). Where a paper is hosted as a publisher PDF, the publisher's license governs reuse. Always check the publisher's landing page or the file's title page for the governing license.

FAME-owned research instruments — including the Maturity Type Indicator (MTI) and the Contract Value Index (CVI) methodology — are licensed separately. Information about academic and commercial licensing is available from chair@institutefame.org.

Third-party links

This site links to journal-publisher pages, DOI resolvers, and other external resources. We do not control those sites and we are not responsible for their content, their privacy practices, or any transactions you conduct through them.

Donations

Online donations are processed by Stripe under Stripe's terms of service. FAME is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 81-4374785, IRS classification 170(b)(1)(A)(vi)); contributions are tax-deductible in the United States to the fullest extent permitted by law. No goods or services are provided in exchange for monetary contributions unless explicitly stated. Donor receipts are issued promptly after each donation by email. For questions about your donation, email donate@institutefame.org.

Acceptable use

You agree not to use this site to: (a) transmit unlawful, harmful, or infringing material; (b) attempt to gain unauthorized access to our systems; (c) interfere with the operation of the site for other users; or (d) collect personal information about other visitors without their consent.

Disclaimer of warranties

The site and its content are provided “as is” and “as available” without warranty of any kind, whether express or implied, including without limitation any warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, or non-infringement. We do not warrant that the site will be uninterrupted, error-free, secure, or free of viruses or other harmful components.

Limitation of liability

To the maximum extent permitted by law, FAME and its directors, officers, employees, and contributors shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages, or any loss of profits or revenues, arising out of or related to your use of the site or the materials on it. Our total cumulative liability for any claim arising under or related to these Terms shall not exceed one hundred U.S. dollars ($100).

Governing law and venue

These Terms are governed by the laws of the State of Georgia, United States, without regard to its conflict-of-laws rules. Any dispute arising from these Terms or your use of the site shall be brought exclusively in the state or federal courts located in Fulton County, Georgia, and you consent to the jurisdiction and venue of those courts.

Changes

We may update these Terms from time to time. When we do, we will revise the effective date above. Your continued use of the site after a change constitutes acceptance of the revised Terms.

Contact

Questions about these Terms can be sent to:

Institute of FAME, Inc.
541 10th Street NW, Suite 177
Atlanta, GA 30318
info@institutefame.org