The Endowment Project Foundation

PRIVACY POLICY

At The Endowment Project Education Foundation, dba The Endowment Project Foundation (“TEPF”, “We”, or “Us”) we are committed to respecting  your privacy. This policy is intended to help you understand the types of information we collect and receive, why we collect it, what we do with that information, and with whom we share this information.

In addition to this policy, please also read our Terms of Use which applies to our Website. By using our platform, you agree to be bound by our terms of use and consent to the data practices described in this policy.

This policy applies to individuals who browse and use our Website (www.tepf.org) and affiliate websites or applications (including mobile apps) hosted by TEPF (all of such Internet locations collectively referred to as the “Website”), and those individuals whose information is provided to us, either directly or by third party service providers (“Partners”) for the purposes described in this policy.

WHAT INFORMATION DO WE COLLECT?

TEPF is a 501(c)(3) organization with its mission to enhance public education by closing the funding gap between public and private high school education in the U.S. through building a culture of direct, focused, and impactful philanthropy designed to support school-level and systemic public education needs.. As such, any information we collect serves to further our mission and legitimate business interests. You may be asked to provide personal information when you interact with us, one of our Partners, affiliates, or subsidiaries. The types of information we collect from you depend on how you use our Website or services, and how you interact with us. Not all of the following types of information will apply to everyone. The following types of information may be collected by or on behalf of TEPF or our Partners:

  • Contact details, such as your name, address, telephone number, email address; Login information if you register with us;

  • Credit card and billing information provided for donations and purchases; Information related to a donation, grant, fund, or our other services;

  • Information you provide when you interact with us to subscribe to our newsletter, respond to a survey, attend our events, or similar activities;

  • Background information if you apply for a job; and

  • Technical information that is created and logged automatically when you use our Website.

This might include information about your device and how you interact with our Website, including the following:

  • The Internet Protocol (“IP”) address of the device you use to connect to the internet (which may include information about your geographic location)

  • the unique identifiers of your device

  • your browser characteristics

  • your device characteristics

  • your operating system

  • your language preferences

  • the websites you visited before coming to our Website or through which you were referred to our Website

  • information on actions taken by you on our Website

  • dates and times of your visits to our Website

  • the pages you accessed on our Website.

HOW DO WE COLLECT YOUR INFORMATION?

  1. We Collect Information Directly from You.

We may collect and receive information directly from you, including when you:

  • use or access our Website, such as when you donate, register an account, fill out an application, fill out a form, or respond to a survey;

  • communicate with us by email, telephone, in writing, or social media; 

  • register to attend or attend our events either virtually or in-person; and/or

  • use any of our services, including when you interact with us or receive assistance.

  1. We Collect Information Automatically When You Access Our Website.
    Like many websites, we automatically collect information from your browser or mobile device when you use or interact with our Website. We collect this information to improve our Website, to better understand you and to communicate with you. This information may include:

  • how you interact with our Website, such as the pages you view or how long you stay on our Website;

  • computer and connection information such as browser type, version, and time-zone setting;

  • your browser plug-in type and version;

  • your device's operating system and platform; and

  • your Internet Protocol (IP) address and device identification.

Most web browsers provide options to control or manage the automatic collection of information such as your IP address, browsing history, and other usage information. We recommend reviewing your browser’s help section or privacy guides for specific instructions on managing these settings based on your preferences. Please note that disabling or adjusting certain data collection features in your browser may impact the functionality or performance of our Website and related services. 

  1. We Collect Information from Other Sources.

  • We may collect and receive information about you from other sources, such as: individuals requesting services for or on your behalf;

  • background information about you in connection with your application for a job;

  • publicly available sources; and/or

  • marketing service providers.

HOW DO WE USE YOUR INFORMATION?

We collect and use your information so that we can operate effectively, provide the service you have requested, and provide you with the best experience when you interact with us. Providing this information to us ensures that you are receiving the necessary services, consistent with your rights and interests. We also use the information we collect for the following purposes: 

  • Processing of donations and grants. Completing the donation transaction; accepting and processing grant applications;, customizing our services to your preferences;, and keeping proper records of those transactions.

  • Customer support. Notifying you of any changes to our services; responding to your inquiries via email, phone, writing, or social media; investigate and address concerns raised by you; and monitor and improve our customer support responses.

  • Improving our services. Conducting data analysis and audits; developing new products and services; enhancing our Website; improving our services; identifying usage trends and visiting patterns; conducting customer satisfaction, market research, and quality assurance surveys; determining the effectiveness of our promotions; and meeting contractual obligations.

  • Marketing and Fundraising. To communicate news about our services, features, content, and other information we think may be of interest to you.

  • Legal proceedings and requirements. Investigating or addressing claims or disputes relating to your use of our services; or as otherwise allowed by applicable law; or as requested by regulators, government entities, and official inquiries. 

HOW DO WE SHARE YOUR INFORMATION?

We may share personal information we collect with:
(For text message-specific privacy policy, please see next section)

Affiliated Entities
We may share personal information with our Partners, subsidiaries, and affiliates, for the purposes described in this privacy policy.

Strategic Partners
From time to time, we may enter a relationship with another company that is not owned by or affiliated with TEPF to provide additional features on the Website or provide additional programming that may be of interest to our donors, stakeholders, and community of supporters. These relationships may include partners, sponsors, and co-branded sites (referred to here as “co-branded pages”). Any information, including personal information that you provide on one of these co-branded pages, may be shared with such Partners or sponsors. By participating in activities or providing your personal information on these co-branded pages (or by accessing these co-branded pages or the Website), you consent to us providing your personal information to such Partners or sponsors. Partners or sponsors will use your personal information in accordance with their own privacy practices, so you should review their privacy policies. We may share your personal information with such strategic partners so that they may communicate with you directly about their services.

Service Providers
We may use third party service providers to help us operate our business and the Website or administer activities on our behalf, such as sending emails, fulfilling donations or requests.

Other Disclosures
In addition to the third parties described above, personal information may also be shared with parties outside of TEPF: (i) as permitted by law, (ii) in the event of a transfer of ownership, assets or a bankruptcy of TEPF, (iii) if we determine that disclosure of specific information is necessary to comply with the request of a law enforcement or regulatory agency or other legal process, or (iv) to protect the interests or safety of TEPF or visitors to the Website, such as to investigate fraud.

Consent
We may share your personal information other than as described in this policy if you give us your consent to do so.

TEXTING PRIVACY POLICY 

The Endowment Project Foundation maintains strict privacy policies to protect the personal information of our users obtained for text message communications. This information is never sold, rented, released, or traded to others without prior consent or legal obligation. Any sharing of text contact points with third parties is solely for the purpose of fulfilling the organization's obligations to the user. We guarantee that it will never be shared with third parties for marketing purposes. 

Text Message Opt-Out
If you are receiving text messages from us and wish to stop receiving them, simply respond with either “STOP” or “UNSUBSCRIBE” to the number from which you received the message. Once we receive your message, you will no longer receive further text messages from us.

HOW LONG DO WE KEEP YOUR INFORMATION?

To the extent permissible by applicable law, we will retain your personal information for such period as necessary to satisfy or to fulfill the following:

  • the purposes for which the personal information was provided;

  • an identifiable and ongoing business need, including record keeping;

  • a specific legal or regulatory requirement; and/or a requirement to retain records that may be relevant to any notified regulatory investigations or active legal proceedings.

WHERE DO WE STORE AND SECURE YOUR INFORMATION?

Our place of business is in the United States and we process and store personal information within  the United States. If you are visiting this Website from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States where our servers are located and TEPF is based. TEPF complies with laws in the United States that are applicable to TEPF's business practices with respect to the privacy and security of personal information.

We use reasonable technical and organizational security measures to protect the security of your personal information. However, despite our safeguards and efforts to secure your personal information, no electronic transmission over the Internet or information storage technology can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, and WE CANNOT AND DO NOT GUARANTEE AND HEREBY EXPRESSLY DISCLAIM THAT INFORMATION USERS PROVIDE TO TEPF OR ON THE WEBSITE WILL BE TOTALLY SECURE. You should only access the Website within a secure environment, and any provision or transmission of personal information to and from our Website is at your own risk.

WHAT CHOICES DO YOU HAVE?

Choices Regarding Your Personal Data:

We strive to provide you with choices regarding the personal data you provide to us. We have created mechanisms to provide you with the following control over your information:

If you register with us, you may review and change your personal data by logging into the Website visiting your account profile page. You may also send us an email at info@tepf.org to request access to, correct or delete any personal data that you have provided to us.

  • Access. You may request access to your personal information.

  • Correction. You may request correction of the personal information we hold about you.

  • Deletion. You may request deletion of the personal information we hold about you. However, we cannot delete your personal data except by also deleting your user account. Please note that we may be required to retain certain information and your personal data by law or for our legitimate business purposes. . If you delete your user account, copies of your contributions made through  the Website may remain viewable in cached and archived pages, or might have been copied or stored by other Website users.

  • Opt-out. You may choose to opt-out of the processing of your personal information for certain purposes and under certain conditions, such as the processing of your personal information for direct marketing purposes.. You can also opt-out of receiving direct marketing communications from us by following the unsubscribe instructions included in each email communication. Please note that even if you opt-out of marketing emails, we may still need to send you transaction emails related to your account, security updates, your transactions with us, and other administrative messages.  

  • Disclosure of Your Information for Third-Party Advertising. If you do not want us to share your personal data with unaffiliated or non-agent third parties for promotional purposes, you can opt-out by sending us an email stating your request to info@tepf.org.

  • Transfer. You may request the transfer of your personal data to you or to a third party. We will provide to you, or a third party you have chosen, your personal data in a structured, commonly used, machine-readable format. Note that this right only applies to automated information which you initially provided consent for us to use or where we used the information to perform a contract with you.

DO WE USE COOKIES?

We use various technologies to automatically collect and store information when you visit our Website. These technologies allow us to serve you better. They allow us to understand website and internet usage and to improve or customize our Website. For example, we may use cookies to personalize your experience at our Website (e.g., to recognize you when you return), or save your password in password-protected areas.

The technologies we use for this automatic data collection may include:

  • Cookies. A cookie is a small file that is stored on your computer, to enable our site to store information such as your website preferences, so that we can remember certain choices you have made. Cookies can also be used to recognize your device so that you do not have to provide the same information more than once.

  • Web Beacons. Pages of our Website may contain small electronic files known as web beacons (also referred to as pixel tags or single pixel gifs) that permit us, for example, to count users who have visited certain web pages and for other related website statistics.

  • Other Technologies. There are other local storage and internet technologies, such as local shared objects (also referred to as “flash cookies”) and HTML5 local storage, which operate similarly to the technologies discussed above. You may be able to refuse or disable cookies by adjusting your web browser settings. Some browsers have options that allow the visitor to control whether the browser will accept cookies, reject cookies, or notify the visitor each time a cookie is sent. Because each web browser is different, please consult the instructions provided by your web browser (typically in the “help” section). Please note that you may need to take additional steps to refuse or disable local shared objects and similar technologies. If you choose to refuse, disable, or delete these technologies, some of the functionality of the Website may no longer be available to you. You can learn more about cookies by visiting www.allaboutcookies.org or www.youronlinechoices.eu.

GOOGLE ANALYTICS

Google Analytics is a web analysis service provided by Google that utilizes cookies to monitor website traffic. We use Google Analytics to collect, track and examine data about the Website. We may run reports based on the data we collect, and we may share the data with other Google services. Google may use the data to personalize and customize the advertisements that are served to you from its advertising network. Google may not respond to “Do Not Track Signals” from your browser.

DO NOT TRACK POLICY

Your browser may offer you a “Do Not Track” option, which allows you to signal to operators of websites that you do not wish such operators to track your online activities over time and across different websites. Our Website is not configured to read or respond to "do not track" settings or signals in your browser headings.

INFORMATION ABOUT CHILDREN

Our Website and any mobile applications are intended for general audiences and not  directed to children under the age of 13. We comply with the requirements of the U.S. Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and do not knowingly collect personal information directly from any person under thirteen (13)) years of age without verifiable parental consent, and we will not knowingly link to any third-party website that solicits or collects personal information from any person under thirteen (13) years of age. If TEPF is informed that it is improperly in possession of such information or that we have linked to such a third-party website, the information will be deleted.

YOUR CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS

If you are a California resident, you may request information regarding the disclosure of your personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send an email to info@tepf.org or write to us at:

The Endowment Project Foundation; Attn: Privacy;
1717 East Cary Street, Richmond VA 23223.

SOCIAL MEDIA WIDGETS

The Website includes social media features, such as the Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and YouTube buttons, that run on our Website. These features may collect your IP address and which page you are visiting on our Website and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. Social media features and widgets are either hosted by a third party or hosted directly on our Website. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing it. 

HOW WILL WE NOTIFY YOU OF CHANGES TO THIS POLICY?

We may occasionally update this policy. When this occurs, the new policy will be posted on the Website. You should check the Website periodically to review the most recent policy. Your use of the Website or providing personal information to TEPF or any of our Partners after any update, modification, or change to this policy constitutes your acceptance of and agreement to such updates, modifications, or changes.

CONTACT US

Questions, comments, or complaints about TEPF's data practices can be sent to us by sending an email to info@tepf.org or write to us at:

The Endowment Project Foundation; Attn: Privacy;
1717 East Cary Street, Richmond VA 23223.