Welcome to the Adopt Our Heroes website (the “Site”) which is owned and operated by Adopt History, Inc., a California non-profit corporation (the “Foundation” or “we”). The purpose of this Privacy Policy is to inform you as to what information we may collect from or about you on the Site, how we use such information, and your rights and choices regarding our use of your information. Your use of the Site is governed by this Privacy Policy which, together with our Terms of Use, constitutes the legal contract between you and the Foundation regarding your use of the Site.
Please read this privacy policy carefully before using the site. By using the Site, you accept and agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy.
notice to california residents – your california privacy rights
Effective January 1, 2005, under California Civil Code Section 1798.83 (known as the “Shine the Light” law), if an individual who is a California resident has provided personal information to a business in connection with a business relationship that is primarily for personal, family, or household purposes, and if that business has within the immediately preceding calendar year disclosed such individual’s personal information to a third party, knowing or having reason to know that such third party used the information for its direct marketing purposes, then that business is obligated to disclose in writing to such individual upon request, what personal information was shared and with whom it was shared. A business may comply with this law by: (1) having EITHER a published privacy policy of not sharing a customer’s personal information for third-parties’ direct marketing use unless the customer has first affirmatively opted in to such sharing OR a published privacy policy of not sharing a customer’s personal information for third-parties’ direct marketing use if the customer has opted out to prevent his/her personal information from being shared for direct marketing use; AND (2) notifying the customer of his/her right to opt out and providing a cost-free means for the customer to exercise that right.
As a nonprofit, the Foundation does NOT knowingly sell, rent or share your personal information with third parties for their direct marketing uses. For information on how to contact us regarding our data privacy practices, see the Contact Us section at the end of this Privacy Policy.
protecting children
The Site is not designed or intended for children under the age of 13, and the Foundation does not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. We urge parents and guardians to spend time online with their children and to participate in and monitor the online activities of their children.
changes and updates
We reserve the right to change and update this Privacy Policy at any time in our sole discretion. For example, we may amend this Privacy Policy to incorporate additional rules and policies as may be established by the Foundation from time to time, and/or to comply with or adopt any changes in law or industry practices. If we make changes and updates to this Privacy Policy, we will announce and post such changes and updates on the Site for the general public. If you have provided your email address to the Foundation, we may also notify you of such changes and updates via email. By continuing to use the Site after such notice, you signify your affirmative consent and agreement to all changes and updates of which you have been given notice.
collection and use of information about you
1. Personal Information. This refers to a user’s personally identifiable information, such as first and last name, telephone number, email address, mailing address, birth date, and credit card information. Although you may use and access most areas on the Site without having to disclose any personal information, in limited circumstances (described below) we do ask you to provide your personal information. To the extent you disclose your personal information to us, we will only use such information for the purposes for which it was disclosed by you.
(1) Online Donation: If you wish to make a donation to the Foundation on the Site, you will be asked to disclose your full name, , mailing address, email address, and credit card information, and we will use such information to process your donation and communicate with you regarding your donation (e.g., sending you confirmation and receipt via mail or email, informing you via mail or email about projects and programs funded with your donation, etc.). By making a donation on the Site, you authorize us to store and maintain your personal information as disclosed by you (except for your credit card information which will not be retained after the processing of the transaction is complete) as part of our donor records. By making a donation you will not be automatically added to our electronic mailing list, you will need to separately opt-in to be added to that list.
(2) Electronic Mailing Lists: If you wish to join our electronic mailing lists, you will be asked to provide your email address, and we will use such email to send you electronic newsletters, publications, announcements, notices, and other communications from the Foundation (subject to your right to opt out as described below).
(3) Email Contacts: If you make an inquiry or request to us via email, we will collect and use your email address to communicate with you regarding your inquiry or request. Also, by contacting us via email, you will automatically be entered onto our electronic mailing lists (subject to your right to opt out as described below).
2. Log File Data and Cookie Session Information. Our web server automatically generates log files that may contain data linked to individual users, such as IP addresses, ISP domain names, browser types, operating systems, referring/exit pages, date/time stamps, clickstream data, etc. Also, to the extent a visitor has enabled “cookies” in his/her browser, we may use “cookies” to collect session information about users’ visits to the Site, including tracking their path through the Site and where they came from (for example, if they arrive via a search engine). We use log file data and cookie session information internally for the operation of the Site as well as to generate and analyze aggregate data about our users as a group. If we report information about the Site to third parties, we only report aggregate data (see the next paragraph) and do not knowingly report log file data or cookie session information that is linked to individual users.
Third Party Tools: We use third party analytics tools to help understand the use of the Site. Many of these tools collect the information sent by your browser as part of interactions with the Site, including cookies and your IP address. These analytics tools also receive this information and their use of it is governed by their privacy policy. One type of cookie/tool we may use is called “Google Analytics, Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visit this Site, what pages they visit when they do so, and what other sites they used prior to coming to this Site. We use the information we get from Google Analytics only to improve this Site and our other web sites. Google Analytics collects only the IP address assigned to you on the date you visit this Site, rather than your name or other identifying information. We do not combine the information collected through the use of Google Analytics with personally identifiable information. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to this site is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Useand the Google Privacy Policy. You can prevent Google Analytics from recognizing you on return visits to this site by disabling cookies on your browser.
3. Aggregate Data. This is any information collected or compiled in aggregate form, without identifying any user individually. For example, we may collect aggregate tracking information derived mainly from tallying page views throughout the Site. Also, we may gather or compile demographic and/or other aggregate data about our users as a group. We use aggregate data to administer and monitor the Site, to analyze Site traffic and usage patterns and trends, to improve the functionality of the Site, and to enable us to personalize and better user experience on the Site. We may report aggregate data about the Site to our partners, sponsors and service vendors.
sharing of information about you with third parties
As a general matter, we do not sell, rent or share your personal information with others, except in the following limited circumstances.
(1) We may employ outside contractors, vendors and service providers to perform services for us or for the Site, and may share your personal information with such contractors, vendors and service providers to the extent necessary for them to perform such services. For example, if you make a donation to us using your credit card, our credit card processing vendors will be given access to your credit card and other personal information for purposes of processing your donation. As another example, our IT service providers may be given access to your personal information as necessary to perform support or maintenance for the operation of the Site, such as data backup and storage. We require that our contractors, vendors and service providers limit their use of our users’ personal information solely to the purposes for which it was disclosed by us, and that they maintain the confidentiality, security and integrity of such information and not make any further disclosure to others.
(2) We may disclose your personal information to third parties if doing so is required by law or in response to a court or government order or subpoena or, in our good faith belief, is reasonably necessary to: (i) comply with legal process; (ii) enforce this Privacy Policy and/or our Terms of Use; (iii) respond to third-party infringement claims relating to any information or material you furnish to us; (iv) respond to an emergency; or (v) protect the rights, property or safety of the Foundation, the Site, and/or the public.
(3) If the Foundation is acquired by or merged with or into another entity, or if the Foundation’s assets are transferred to another entity, your personal information may be transferred to such entity as part of the transaction, and that entity and its affiliates may use your personal information under the terms of their own privacy policies which may differ from this Privacy Policy. In the event of such a transfer of your personal information we (or the potential transferee) will provide you with notice and an opportunity to opt out of any such transfer.
user choices and opt-out
1. Donor Information. If you have made a donation to the Foundation, you may contact us to request to access, update, correct or delete your personal information from our donor records. For information on how to contact us, see the Contact Us section at the end of this Privacy Policy. For your safety, we reserve the right to verify, prior to processing your request, that you are indeed the donor on file. Even if you seek to delete your personal information, we may have the obligation to retain certain information about you to comply with applicable law.
2. Electronic Mailings. If you are on our electronic mailing lists, you may opt out of such lists at any time by emailing us at: contact@adopthistory.org, or by using the “opt out” or “unsubscribe” means provided in the electronic mailings you receive from us. We will endeavor to process your request as soon as practicable after our receipt thereof. Once you opt out, we will not reuse your email address unless you rejoin our mailing lists or otherwise opt in to receive electronic communications from us.
cookies
The Site may use cookies, which is a small encrypted data string stored on your computer or device. Cookies help us deliver content specific to your interests and permit our servers to recall information from your previous visits to the Site. We may use internally for the operation of the Site information collected from cookies together with personal information disclosed by you. We do not, however, use cookies to access information on your computer or device. Most Internet browsers allow you to adjust the settings to prevent cookies from being stored on your computer or device.
information collected off line
The Foundation treats information collected off line in accordance with this Privacy Policy. The Foundation may combine information collected through this Site with information collected off line to create and manage one profile for each donor.
links to third party websites
The Site may contain links to third-party websites. The Foundation does not own, control, operate or maintain such linked sites, and is not responsible for the privacy policies or practices of such linked sites. Privacy policies and practices of such linked sites may differ from our policies and practices. You access and use such linked sites entirely and solely at your own risk. We urge you to read the privacy policies of such linked sites before disclosing your personal information on such sites.
security
We at the Foundation understand the importance of protecting the security and integrity of personal information that our users have shared with us. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the Internet and no data storage can be 100% secure. Consequently, while we will endeavor to reasonably safeguard your personal information against unauthorized access and disclosure, we do not warrant or guarantee the security of any information you transmit to, from or on the Site. All credit card information provided by you in connection with a donation or purchase made on the Site will be protected by encryption using the industry-standard Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) protocol, and we do NOT retain your credit card information after the processing of your donation/purchase is complete.
Information received by us through the Site is stored and processed on secured servers and computers we control in the U.S. We use (and our service providers use) reasonable technical and administrative security measures designed to reduce the risks of loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure and alteration. Some of the safeguards we use are firewalls, data encryption, physical access controls to data centers, and information access authorization controls.
While we have implemented reasonable security measures please keep in mind that “perfect security” does not exist, and no transmission of information is guaranteed to be completely secure. Unauthorized entry or use, hardware or software failure, and other factors may compromise data security. You acknowledge and agree to assume this risk when communicating with us and utilizing the Site.
international users
The Site is hosted from the United States. Users located outside of the United States consent to the transfer of their data to the United States for processing and use in accordance with this privacy policy.