Privacy
Privacy Policy
Charity Navigator (the “Organization”) understands the importance of protecting the privacy of its users and registered users of this website (the “Site”) as well as the registered representatives of charities identified on the Site. This Privacy Policy discloses the Organization’s practices relating to collection, use and disclosure of information that you may provide to the Organization, including through this Site. Before you submit any personal information to the Organization through this Site or otherwise, please thoroughly review this Privacy Policy, and contact us if you have any questions.
Your Consent
By using this Site, you agree with and accept the terms of this Privacy Policy. Whenever you submit personal information to the Organization through this Site or in some other fashion, you consent to the collection, disclosure, use and retention of that information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Collection of Information About You
The Organization collects personal information from its users and registered users of the Site and from the registered representatives of charities identified on the Site primarily to assist in providing a rewarding experience during use of the Site and to assist donors in identifying charities worthy of their donations. We collect such information directly through this Site, in responses to our specific requests and via e-mail, web input screens and forms, and other interactive online activities. The types of personal information we collect include your name, job title, company, address, business telephone number, mobile telephone number and e-mail address.
Automatic Collection of Information
As you navigate this Site, certain limited information can and may be collected automatically from you without your active involvement, using methods known as cookies and navigational data collection. Some of the information (e.g., type of web browser) does not identify who you are. Other information, such as your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address or originating domain, may identify you indirectly, when supplemented with other commercially available sources of information.
When you visit this Site, we send to your computer one or more cookies, which are small text files containing a string of characters that store information about a visitor when he or she navigates from one Web page to another. The Site’s cookies hold users' unique session identifiers, allowing our server to return correct information back to the user during navigation of the Site. These cookies uniquely identify your computer to the Site, but do not facilitate the gathering of personal information. We use cookies to improve the quality of our service by storing user preferences and tracking user trends. Most web browsers are set up to accept cookies, but you can reset your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent. However, some features of this Site will not function properly if your cookies are disabled.
The Organization also uses tracking technologies to gather anonymous information about your browsing habits. Links in our e-mail communications to recipients are tracked via Web beacons once you visit the Site. Web beacons appear on the Site as 1x1 transparent images that transmit information such as your operating system, browser, resolution, geographical location, products ordered, and order total. This information is used to help us understand the behavior of visitors to the Site and the effectiveness of online and e-mail messages. Your information is submitted anonymously, and no sensitive or personally identifiable information is transmitted.
Furthermore, our computer servers automatically record information that your browser sends whenever you visit a website. These server logs may include information such as the date and time of your access to the Site, the length of time of your visit, the portions of the Site accessed, the number of times you visit and navigate the Site, the IP address assigned to your computer, the type of browser used by your computer, the domain from which your connection to the Site originates, and one or more cookies that may uniquely identify your computer.
We assign you a unique internal identifier to help keep track of your future visits. We use this information to gather aggregate demographic information about our visitors, and we use it to personalize the information you see on the Site and the e-mails you receive from us (should you grant us permission to send e-mails to you). We keep this information for our internal use; we do not share it with others. This information is in no way tied to your personal information, including your e-mail address.
Collection, Disclosure, Use and Retention of Information Other Than Employee Data
Except as otherwise stated at the point of collection, we may use your information for improving the content of the Site, customizing this Site to your preferences, communicating information to you and subsequently updating such information, internal marketing and research purposes, and as further specified in this Privacy Policy. We may combine such information with other passively or actively collected information unless we specify otherwise at the point of collection.
The Organization may transfer your information, including personally identifiable information, to third parties, including contractors we use to support our business (e.g., marketing services, fulfillment services, technical support, delivery services, credit card companies, payment processing services, and financial institutions), in which case we will require such third parties to agree to treat your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy or as you may otherwise have previously consented. In the event that you choose to place an order with one of our third party partners, we will, in some cases, share certain information, including your e-mail address with the third party partner in order to facilitate your transaction. We always will ask for your consent prior to sharing your information with any of our third party partners. We do share personal information of registered representatives of charities -- but not the personal information of users or registered users -- with third parties for their direct marketing purposes.
The Organization also may transfer your information (i) to our affiliated organizations; (ii) in connection with the sale, assignment or other transfer of the business function of the Organization to which the information relates, in which case we will request any such buyer, assignee or transferee to agree to treat it in accordance with this Privacy Policy; (iii) to protect the rights, property or safety of the Organization, its employees or visitors to this Site; or (iv) in compliance with subpoenas or other valid court orders, in response to inquiries and requests from regulatory authorities, in connection with the prevention or detection of fraud, or as otherwise permitted or required by law. In addition, we will make full use of all information acquired through this Site or otherwise that is not identifiable to you.
Collection, Disclosure, Use and Retention of Employee Data
This Site collects personal information from prospective employees for human resources purposes. The Organization also collects personal information for human resources purposes from current, prospective and past employees through internal sources that are unrelated to this Site. All such information, regardless of the source, is collectively referred to in this Privacy Policy as “Employee Data.” Employee Data is collected, disclosed and used to:
- Design, evaluate, implement and provide human resources programs and services to fulfill the employment agreement and otherwise administer employment arrangements, which include but are not limited to staffing, compensation and payroll, benefits, employee education, employee diversity, and organizational development.
- Support employee performance and development assessment programs.
- Fulfill legal, contractual and compliance-related commitments, such as subpoenas, garnishments, ethics investigations, disciplinary investigations, security investigations and compliance with lawful requests for information from government agencies.
- Supply our external service providers and partners with information so that they can administer programs on our behalf, such as health and welfare, savings plans, pension plans, stock plans, performance incentives, stock awards, life insurance, employment verification, unions and bank direct deposits.
- Supply internal service providers, such as our legal, medical, security, corporate electronic directory and information systems management, among others, with information so they can manage their processes and programs.
The Organization will not use Employee Data for any other purposes and will not disclose it to any person except for these stated purposes, unless authorized or permitted by applicable law.
Choices for Disclosure and Use of Personal Information
You may choose to prevent the Organization from disclosing or using your personal information under certain circumstances (“opt out”). You may opt out of any disclosure or use of your personal information for purposes that are incompatible with the purpose(s) for which it was originally collected or for which you subsequently gave authorization. Furthermore, even where your personal information is to be disclosed and used in accordance with the stated purposes in this Privacy Policy, you may elect to opt out of such disclosure to and use by a third party that is not acting as an agent of the Organization. On the other hand, the Organization may disclose your personal information to a third party acting as its agent where this third party agrees in writing to provide at least the same level of privacy protection as is required by this Privacy Policy. Opting out of the disclosure and use of your personal information may prevent you from being hired as an employee by the Organization or participating in certain employee benefit programs.
In the event that the Organization collects sensitive information (i.e., personal information specifying medical or health conditions, racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religious or philosophical beliefs, trade union membership or information specifying the sexual orientation or activities of the individual), such information will not be disclosed or used by the Organization for purposes that are incompatible with the purpose(s) for which it was originally collected or for which you subsequently gave authorization unless you affirmatively consent to such disclosure and use.
Access and Correction
To access your personal information in the possession of the Organization and correct inaccuracies of that information in our records, please contact us in the manner specified in the “How to Contact Us” section below. We ask individuals to identify themselves and the information requested to be accessed and amended before processing such requests, and we may decline to process requests in limited circumstances as permitted by applicable privacy legislation.
Security
The Organization takes reasonable measures to safeguard your personal information against unauthorized access, disclosure, copying, use or modification, whether or not in electronic format. We use industry-standard technological precautions, such as Secure Socket Layer technology and encryption in an effort to protect your personal information as you transmit it electronically from your computer to this Site and, furthermore, to protect it from loss, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration or destruction. Furthermore, the Organization requires that employees and third-party administrators/processors access your personal information only on a “need-to-know” basis.
You should keep in mind that no combination of security measures can ever provide guaranteed protection all the time. We caution you that e-mail may be particularly vulnerable to unauthorized interception, eavesdropping, modification and spoofing, and, therefore, you should take special care in deciding what information you send to us via e-mail. Moreover, where you use passwords, ID numbers or other special access features on this Site, it is your responsibility to safeguard them.
Enforcement
Any questions, concerns or complaints regarding this Privacy Policy or the Organization’s treatment of personal information may be communicated by contacting us through this Site, sending an e-mail message to us at privacy@charitynavigator.org or by writing to us at Privacy Officer, Charity Navigator, 139 Harristown Road, Suite 201, Glen Rock, NJ 07452. When we receive a formal written complaint, our Privacy Officer will contact the author within a reasonable period of time regarding his or her concerns and attempt to resolve these concerns directly with this individual.
Links to Other Websites
This Site may contain links or references to third-party advertisements or websites that are not affiliated with the Organization. The inclusion of any link does not imply the Organization’s endorsement of any other organization or company, its websites, or its products and/or services. Any such linked websites have separate and independent privacy policies which we encourage you to read carefully. Please be aware that the Organization has no control over linked third-party websites and, therefore, no responsibility or liability for the manner in which the organizations that operate such websites may collect, disclose, use or otherwise treat your personal information.
Other Terms
Your use of this Site is subject to our Terms and Conditions of Use.
How to Contact Us
To correct or update any personal information previously collected by us, please follow instructions at the original point of collection on this Site, send an e-mail message to us at privacy@charitynavigator.org or write to us at Privacy Officer, Charity Navigator, 139 Harristown Road, Suite 201, Glen Rock, NJ 07452.
Changes to This Privacy Policy
If this Privacy Policy changes, the revised policy will be posted on this Site. Please check back periodically and especially before you provide any personal information to the Organization. This Privacy Policy was last updated on October 14, 2011.
