Donor Privacy and Confidentiality Policy
Our donors’ trust and confidence are important to Great Old Broads for Wilderness (Broads). The purpose of this policy is to state our position on donor confidentiality and donor anonymity and guide the actions of the organization’s Board, Executive Director, staff, and the Development Committee, regarding the rights of donors and potential donors to confidentiality regarding their transactions with Broads.
We recognize the operation of Broads requires the maintenance and management of extensive donor and prospect records. Donor records often contain sensitive information that has been shared with or developed by Broads’ staff on a confidential basis. “Records” means all files, including electronic data, containing information on donors or prospective donors to Broads.
Information about donors and donations is handled with respect and confidentiality. Employees and volunteers of Broads are not permitted to use this information for any purpose other than to carry out the services they are performing for the benefit of Great Old Broads for Wilderness.
Policies
Confidentiality of records
Broads will not sell, share, or trade your personal information for third party fundraising or marketing purposes. Broads does not sell its mailing lists.
The Executive Director shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of donor and prospect records and will ensure that all staff have clear direction regarding the confidentiality of records through the establishment of appropriate operating procedures. She may, in her discretion, make all or part of any record available to staff members or volunteers engaged in fundraising if essential to them in executing their responsibilities. Disclosure decisions will honor the wishes of donors related to disclosure unless a larger legal issue is related.
To carry out its responsibilities, the Board, staff, or volunteers or committee members engaged in fundraising may need to review donor/prospect records. They shall respect Broads’ significant interest in protecting the sensitive nature of those records and shall maintain these policies for donor confidentiality.
Broads’ auditors are authorized to review donor and prospect records as required for auditing activities. Gift agreements are considered “strictly confidential information” and are not public documents. Particulars of a gift agreement will not be shared with the general public unless the donor has granted permission to do so.
Publication of donor names
The names of donors may be listed in Broads’ annual report, on the website and/or in similar public relations communications. Exceptions will be made for any donor who specifically requests anonymity.
Broads will not publish the specific amount of any donor’s gift without the permission of the donor.
Donors making gifts to Great Old Broads by bequest or other testamentary device are deemed to have granted such permission, unless otherwise noted.
Honor/memorial gifts
The names of donors of memorial or honor gifts may be released to the honoree, next of kin or individual(s) designated by the immediate family, unless otherwise specified by the donor. Gift amounts are not to be released without express consent of the donor.
Anonymous gifts
The Executive Director is authorized to accept anonymous gifts to Great Old Broads. In the event the Executive Director is uncertain about the desirability of accepting an anonymous gift, she shall consult with the Executive Committee. The Executive Director shall disclose to the Executive Committee, upon a request by a majority of the Executive Committee, the names of any anonymous donors.
Kinds of information
Broads defines “personal information” as information that can be used to distinguish, identify or contact a specific individual. Although Broads will not make this information publicly available, we cannot protect information such as names, addresses, telephone numbers, and business contact data published in public sources, such as telephone directories. Credit card information is handled by a secure third party host and used only to process payment initiated by a person contacting Broads. This information is not stored by Great Old Broads for Wilderness.
How we use it
Broads collects, uses, and discloses personal information concerning our donors for the following reasons:
- To establish a relationship and communicate with donors
- To understand who our donors are and how we may improve our services to meet their preferences and expectations
- To process a donation (e.g. a credit card transaction)
- To issue a tax receipt
- To recognize contributions
- To meet requirements imposed by law
How we protect your information
To learn more about how Great Old Broads for Wilderness protects your information, please refer to the privacy policy at https://www.greatoldbroads.org/privacy-policy/.
If you have questions about this policy, please contact Great Old Broads’ Executive Director, Shelley Silbert at shelley@greatoldbroads.org.