Donor Privacy
Protecting your personal data
Focus Humanitarian Assistance USA (FOCUS USA) is committed to respecting the privacy of our donors. We have developed this privacy policy to ensure that donor information collected both online and offline will not be shared with any third party, except with FOCUS USA’s institutional affiliates and, in some cases, we may share non-sensitive information about you with our volunteers and service providers for operational purposes.
Awareness
FOCUS USA provides this Donor Privacy Policy to make you aware of our privacy policy, and to inform you of the way your information is used. We also provide you with the opportunity to remove your name from our mailing list, if you desire to do so.
Information Collected
Here are the types of donor information that we collect and maintain:
• contact information: name, organization/church, complete address, phone number, email address;
• payment information: Bank accounts, voided checks, and billing information;
• shipping information: name, organization/church, complete address;
• information concerning how you heard about FOCUS USA;
• information you wish to share: questions, comments, suggestions; and
• your request to receive periodic updates: e.g., to individuals who request it, we will send periodic mailings related to specific fund-raising appeals and newsletters.
Information Automatically Collected
When you utilize our website in connection with donations, certain information as described below may be collected automatically. FOCUS USA and our service providers (which are third party companies that work on our behalf to provide and enhance our website and online donation options) use a variety of technologies, including cookies and similar tools, to assist in collecting this information.
• Log Files: Our servers automatically record certain information in server logs. These server logs may include information such as your web request, Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, browser type and settings, referring/exit pages and URLs, number of clicks and how you interact with us, metadata associated with uploaded content, domain names, landing pages, pages viewed or moused-over, mobile carrier, date and time stamp information and other such information.
• Device Identifiers: When you access our site using a computer or mobile device, we may collect specific device information, including your MAC address and other unique device identifiers. We also collect information such as the type of device you are using, its operating system, and mobile network information, which may include your mobile phone number.
Use of E-mail & Other Unsecured Communication
When utilizing e-mail communication, whether encrypted or unencrypted, there is always the risk that viruses or other malicious software may obtain private information and release and/or use such information without the user’s knowledge. Please note, FOCUS USA will never call, e-mail or text you and ask that you call or respond with your sensitive personally identifiable information, including your bank information or credit card information. We will also never ask you for your private account PINs, access codes or passwords. Should you determine to submit personally identifiable information to us via unencrypted email, texts, faxes or e-fax or via phone messages, we will assume that you have made an informed decision, and will view it as your agreement to take the risk that such communication may be intercepted.
How Information is Used
FOCUS USA uses your information to understand your needs and provide you with better service. Specifically, we use your information to help you complete your donation transaction, communicate back to you, and update you on our organization’s activities, mission and work, including regarding fundraising and the solicitation of donations either directly or through our service providers. Bank account/Voided checks are used only for donation or payment processing and are not retained for other purposes. We use the comments you offer to provide you with information requested, and we take seriously each recommendation as to how we might improve communication.
Making Online Donations
FOCUS USA only works with online payment processing platforms that are compliant with PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) and does not maintain credit card information on any of our servers or in any files written or digital. FOCUS USA cannot retrieve credit card information provided on the website after the credit card transaction has been processed. All credit card and electronic funds transfer (EFT) information and processing is through a third-party payment processing online platform, and the information you enter on a donation or payment page is shared only, via encryption, with these third-party service providers in order to process payments. We will never ask you to provide your Social Security Number, Driver’s License, Passport, or any other personal information, except as discussed above.
No Sharing of Personal Information
FOCUS USA will not sell, rent, or lease your personal information to other organizations. We assure you that the identity of all our donors will be kept confidential and will not be shared with third parties, except with FOCUS USA’s institutional affiliates and, in some cases, we may share non-sensitive information about you with our volunteers and our service providers for operational purposes. Use of donor information will be limited to the internal purposes of FOCUS USA and only to further the organization activities and purposes of FOCUS USA, including compliance with any state or federal laws or regulations, or in order to comply with a court order, subpoena or other legal process.
Your Choices Related to the Information Collected and Used: We provide you with a number of choices with respect to the information we collect and use as discussed in this Donor Privacy Policy. You may instruct us not to use your contact information to contact you by email, postal mail or phone regarding our organization’s activities, mission and work by contacting us. In commercial email messages, you can also opt out by following the instructions located at the bottom of such emails. Please note that, regardless of your request, we may still use and share certain information as permitted by this Donor Privacy Policy or as required by applicable law. For example, you may not opt out of certain operational or service-related emails, such as those reflecting our relationship or transactions with you.
Changes to this Policy
We reserve the right to amend this Donor Privacy Policy at any time to reflect changes in the law, our data collection and use practices, or advances in technology. We will make the revised Donor Privacy Policy accessible through our website or by other communication. Any such changes will be effective immediately upon posting. As such, we suggest that you review this policy each time you visit the site to stay informed of our privacy practices.
How we Protect Your Information
Although we take industry standard measures to safeguard against unauthorized disclosures of information, we cannot guarantee that information that we collect will never be disclosed in a manner that is inconsistent with this Donor Privacy Policy. No data transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. We suggest that you not provide data such as personally identifiable information, including credit card information, when using public computers or those with poor security standards. If you have any questions about how we protect your information, please contact us.
Contacting Us
If you have comments or questions about our donor privacy policy, please send us an email at focususa@focushumanitarian.org or call us at (877) 362-8759 x 2.
