Privacy Policy

WEBSITE PRIVACY POLICY

Effective Date: 5/8/08

General

The Mary J. Blige and Steve Stoute Foundation for the Advancement of Women Now, Inc. (“FFAWN”) is strongly committed to protecting the privacy of its website visitors and people who communicate with us. This Privacy Policy seeks to help you understand (i) how we collect and use your information; (ii) how we share and protect your information; (iii) your choices regarding our use of such information; and (iv) your ability to access and correct your information.

This Privacy Policy applies when you visit this website or share your personally identifiable information with us, as discussed below. By using the website, you accept this Privacy Policy, which may be updated by us at any time. If you do not agree to this Privacy Policy for any reason, please do not use this website or share your personally identifiable information with us as discussed below. Please note that this Privacy Policy applies only to this website, and not to any other website linked to it. We do not control the privacy policies or practices of others. We encourage you to ask questions and read the privacy policies of other websites before you disclose any personal information to them.

If you have any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, you can e-mail us at privacy@ffawn.org or write to us at Privacy, FFAWN, 145 West 45th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10036.

How We Collect and Use Your Information

General

We collect personally identifiable information and non-personally identifiable information from you in a number of ways. “Personally identifiable information” is information that personally identifies you, such as your name, postal address and e-mail address (or other information that is associated by us with such above information), and non-personally identifiable information is information that does not personally identify you, including anonymous information and aggregate data.

We use this information to understand better how our viewers use our website, research our viewers’ demographics, interests, and behavior, provide visitors with customized services and information, improve our fundraising and promotional efforts, and for other similar purposes. In addition, we may also use your personally identifiable information to contact you and send you information, including fundraising materials, regarding FFAWN and our partners, through e-mail, postal mail and other means.

You may choose to opt-out of receiving information, including fundraising materials, from us at any point.

Website Visits

We and our authorized designees collect information through the servers for this website, cookies and other technologies. In general, we automatically gather certain information about our website visitors. This information includes the number and frequency of your visits, the URL of the last and next website you visit, your browser and operating system, your IP address, how long you spend on our website and what pages you view here.

We use cookies to enhance the efficiency of user interaction with the website, gain insight into and customize our visitors’ use of our website, and help maintain our website’s proper operation. “Cookies” are small files placed on the hard drive of your computer; each website can send its own cookie to your browser if your browser preferences allow it. You can configure your browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies, or notify you when a cookie is set. (Each browser is different, so check the “Help” menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences.) You are always free to decline our cookies if your browser permits, although that may prevent you from using certain features on our website, and may result in your needing to re-enter your account user name and password frequently when you are participating in our Community Blog. In addition, a number of companies offer utilities designed to help you visit websites anonymously.

Usually, the information collected through cookies and other technologies is not personally identifiable in and of itself. However, these technological methods also enable us to collect and use information in a personally identifiable form, and we may combine data collected through cookies and other technologies with personally identifiable information; in that case, we will treat the resulting information as personal information.

We use cookies to track website usage on our Community Blog; in addition, if you sign up for a user account, we will save your account user name and password and may save other personal information you provide in the registration process, such as your name and e-mail address in a “persistent” cookie. We may also use a “session cookie” to help us “remember” you until the session times out, or the closing of your browser which helps ensure that, if you are participating in our Community Blog, you remain logged into your account. Session cookies are automatically deleted from your hard drive after the end of a session.

We will not allow third parties to place any cookies, web beacons or other similar devices on our website except in limited circumstances. We do not control such devices placed on our website by third parties. We are not responsible for any other websites accessible from or linked to this website, including their privacy policies or information collection practices.

Other Collection Methods

We also collect personally identifiable information from you as follows:

E-mail Updates and E-mail Newsletter: If you sign up on our website to receive e-mail updates and/or our e-mail newsletter, we will collect, store and use your e-mail address for such purposes. We will also collect and store your name, as well as other personally identifiable information you may opt to provide to us.

Community Blog User Accounts: If you sign up for a user account on our Community Blog, we will collect and store certain personally identifiable information about you, such as your name and e-mail address and other information you may opt to provide to us, such as your postal address, telephone number, and year of birth, personal statement, and a graphic or photograph. This information will be visible in your profile page to you and to us and our designated Community Blog administrators, and may be visible to other website users, depending on your account settings.

User Comments: Although you may read the Blog without becoming a registered user, you will be required to create an account to participate in and contribute to the Blog, including message boards, chat rooms, social community environments, and other interactive features. Please be aware that any personal information you provide when using any of these features will be visible to other users and website visitors.

Donations: If you choose to make a donation to FFAWN, either online or otherwise, you will be requested to provide certain personally identifiable information, including your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, credit/debit card information, and/or banking account number. This information will be used to facilitate your donations and communicate with you about them, including to send you a receipt and acknowledgement to thank you for your support. Please note that your online donation, and any personally identifiable information you provide in connection with it, will be processed and collected by PayPal; FFAWN will receive certain personally identifiable information about you (including your name, billing address, email address, and telephone number, but not your credit card number or banking account number). Any personal information you provide to PayPal—including any information you provide if you choose to create a PayPal user account—will be subject to PayPal’s Privacy Policy. You can read PayPal’s Privacy Policy at https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/policy_privacy-outside/. We do not control PayPal’s Privacy Policy and practices.

Job Opportunities: You may choose to apply for employment or an internship position with FFAWN through online application forms we may provide or by sending us, by e-mail or otherwise, a resume and letter (containing personally identifiable information). Any information you provide to us in this regard will be viewed by FFAWN only for the purpose of evaluating your application and/or responding to your employment-related inquiry.

Other Communications: You may choose to contact FFAWN, by e-mail or otherwise, with other inquiries. Any personally identifiable information you provide in connection with such inquiries will be collected and used by FFAWN for the purpose of processing and responding to your inquiries, and to improve our website and offerings.

How We Share Your Information

We may share non-personally identifiable information we collect for a variety of purposes. For instance, we may disclose aggregate, non-personally identifiable information about our website visitors and registered users to organizations that have provided us with funding or with which we have other relationships, for informational and fundraising purposes.

We may use the services of other companies and individuals to facilitate our services and perform functions on our behalf, such as sending postal mail and e-mail, providing technical and hosting functions for our website, analyzing data, processing credit card payments and providing customer service. These companies and individuals may have access to your personally identifiable information we collect as needed to perform their functions, but may not use it for any other purpose. We require that these companies and individuals otherwise keep this information confidential.

If FFAWN merges with or transfers substantially all of its assets to another entity, FFAWN has the right to share your personally identifiable information with that entity. You will receive notice of such event, and we will request that the new entity follow the practices disclosed in this Privacy Policy or notify you of any changes to it.
We will not otherwise share your personally identifiable information, except as required by law, requested by governmental entity or law enforcement authority, subpoena, court order or discovery request, or when we otherwise believe in good faith that such disclosure is necessary or appropriate in connection with any activity that violates the law (including relating to intellectual property, fraud, contracts and privacy) or may expose us to liability. We can (and you authorize us to) disclose any of your information in such circumstances.

How We Protect Your Information

The security of your information is important to us. We employ several different technical, administrative and physical security measures to protect your personally identifiable information from unauthorized access or use. You can also read the statements regarding security in the privacy policy of PayPal, which processes online donations to us, at https://www.paypal.com/us/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=p/gen/ua/policy_privacy-outside/ and of Six Apart, our online blog platform service provider, at http://www.sixapart.com/privacy/.

You should be aware, however, that “perfect security” does not exist on the Internet, and there is always the risk that unauthorized persons may access or use your personally identifiable information. You use our website and send us such information at your own risk.

Accessing, Correcting and Making Choices About Your Information

We wish to maintain your information accurately, and to allow you to make choices about how we use it.

If you have created a user account with us, you may access and update your information, and indicate whether you wish to opt out of receiving certain communications from us, via the account settings page .

If you have otherwise submitted any personally identifiable information to us, such as by signing up to receive our e-mail updates and/or our e-mail newsletter or making a donation, you can e-mail us at privacy@ffawn.org or write to us at Privacy, FFAWN, 145 West 45th Street, 12th Floor New York, NY 10036, to notify us of any errors or changes, or to indicate whether you wish to opt out of receiving certain communications from us.

Please be advised that such opt-outs will not apply to our use of your personally identifiable information for other purposes, such as responding to your requests for information or services and communicating with you about your user account or any donations you choose to make.

If you have any other questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at the email or address listed above.

Our Policy Towards Children

We are concerned about the safety and privacy of children who use the Internet. Our website is not designed for or directed to children under the age of 13. Consistent with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998 (“COPPA”), we will never knowingly request personally identifiable information from anyone under 13 without prior verifiable parental consent. If we become aware that a child under 13 has somehow provided us with personally identifiable information without verifiable parental consent, we will use our best efforts to remove such information from our files. If you believe that your child has provided us with such information without your consent, please e-mail us at privacy@ffawn.org or write to us at Privacy, FFAWN, 145 West 45th Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10036, or call us at 212.299.5306.

Privacy Policy Changes

We may revise or supplement this policy from time to time. If we make any substantial changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by posting a prominent announcement on our website and sending you an e-mail if you have provided us with your e-mail address.

International Use

We make no claim that our website is appropriate or lawful for use or access outside the United States. Furthermore, our databases are located in the United States. If you access this website from outside the United States, you do so at your own risk. You are solely responsible for complying with all local laws, rules and regulations regarding online conduct and website access. By sending us your data, you consent to its transfer to and storage within the United States.

Governing Law/Forum

This Privacy Policy is governed by New York law. If we have a dispute regarding this policy or your use of our website, you agree that it shall be resolved solely in the state or federal courts located in the borough of Manhattan, New York City.