Congo Initiative USA is committed to the highest ethical standards in our communication and fundraising efforts, and in the collection, retention, and use of your personal information. We believe your privacy is important and always carefully guard the personal information you entrust to us. Your personal information will only be used by us or on our behalf to further our mission and is never traded, rented, or sold to individuals or entities outside our organization.
This Privacy Policy explains how we obtain and handle information/data we learn about you online.
The Data We Collect
Our website provides ways for you to support and learn about our work, programs, and events. We obtain information from our online visitors both directly from our visitors and indirectly from companies (ex. Google) who provide data to us.
When you use our website to make a donation, register for an event or fundraiser, sign-up for our emails, or submit other forms, we may ask you for your name, address, email, phone number(s), and other relevant information. We will ask for standard credit card information when you make a financial donation or make a purchase.
We also collect non-personal information about our online visitors to improve our website functionality and experience. Data is obtained through Cookies and other technologies that operate automatically and help us understand the pages and content that is most beneficial to our visitors, the number of website visits and page views, how they reached our site, and more. Please read our Cookie Notice for more information.
How We Secure Your Personal Information
When you make a financial or in-kind donation, online, by mail, or any other method, we protect your personal information, including payment information such as your credit card number. We use industry-standard safeguards, encryption, and security protocol to protect your information and credit card donations. In order to securely process your online, credit card donations, the Congo Initiative website is supported by CardConnect as your secure payment processing provider. Using Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) online technology, CardConnect goes beyond basic encryption and “elevates payment security to a new level by combining Point-to-Point Encryption (P2PE) with a patented tokenization process and PCI-certified vault storage.” CardConnect receives your credit card number and other personal information only to verify your credit card number and to process credit card transactions in a secure environment.
How We Use Your Information
If you provide Congo Initiative USA with personal information when you visit our website, we may use this information to do the following:
- Process or request donations
- Contact you to obtain your input on our communications
- Share with you information about our work programs, and events
- Provide a more personalized online experience
Third-Party Access To Your Information
Your information is never traded, rented, or sold to individuals or entities outside our organization. However, we may share your information with third-party vendors and services to help us manage data, process donations and transactions, and improve our online platforms. For example, we use Salsa Labs software to process donations and donor information and therefore you can access their privacy policy here. These vendors are bound by strict confidentiality rules and permitted to use the information only to support Congo Initiative operations. We also disclose information as required by law.
A Note On Gifts By Check
When you make a gift to Congo Initiative USA by check, we record the available information such as name, address, phone number, email address, date of birth, and program interests to provide a receipt for your gift and keep you informed about our work. This information becomes part of our secure, third-party donor database.
How Long Do We Keep Your Personal Information?
We keep your information for no longer than is necessary for the purposes it was collected for. The length of time we retain your personal information for is determined by operational and legal considerations. For example, we are legally required to hold some types of information to fulfill our operations and regulatory obligations (e.g. tax/accounting purposes).
We care about doing it right
Congo Initiative USA is committed to accuracy and precision in processing your information. We have procedures to check for errors, and our systems are periodically audited to make sure we process your information securely and accurately.
Congo Initiative USA mailings provide you with the option to opt-out of receiving our mailings at any time. You may choose to discontinue receiving emails and other correspondence by using the UNSUBSCRIBE link at the bottom of our emails. To update your contact information previously provided to us, please email contact@congoinitiative.org.
We will immediately discontinue contacting any person upon that person’s oral or written request received by Congo Initiative USA. You can also request access to the information we have recorded about you or have it changed or deleted at anytime by emailing contact@congoinitiative.org or mailing us at the address below.
Our computer and data systems are based in the United States and your information will be processed by us in the United States, where data protection and privacy regulations are different from other parts of the world. By using this site, you agree to this Policy and understand and agree to the transfer of all such information to the United States.
If you are in the European Union, you have the following rights under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR):
- Right to be forgotten. Individuals can request an organization to delete all their data.
- Right to object. Individuals can prohibit certain data usage.
- Right to rectification. Individuals can request incorrect or incomplete data be updated immediately.
- Right of access. Individuals must be able to find out what personal data of theirs is being processed and how.
- Right or portability. Individuals can request that personal data from one organization be transferred to another.
In the event you want to exercise these rights, you can request access to your information we, or have it changed or deleted at any time by emailing contact@congoinitiative.org or mailing us at the address below.
Social media
When you interact with us on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter, we may obtain information about you (for example, when you publicly tag us). The information we receive will depend on the privacy preferences you have set on those platforms.
Links to Third-Party Websites
This website contains some links to other websites that may be owned and operated by third-parties. We are not responsible for the privacy and security practices of sites not owned by Congo Initiative USA. When you leave our website, we encourage you to read the privacy statements of any other site that collects personally identifiable data.
Children’s Privacy
We are committed and strive to comply with the requirements of COPPA (Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act). We do not knowingly collect any information from anyone under 13 years of age. If we become aware that an individual is under the age of 13 and has submitted any information to Congo Initiative USA for any purpose without prior verifiable parental consent, we will delete their information from our records.
Our Request Of You
Any articles, photographs, streaming video, graphics, etc, you view on the Congo Initiative website are either the copyrighted property of Congo Initiative or are copyrighted by another individual or entity and used with their permission. We ask that you honor these copyrights and that you do not reproduce these materials without our written permission, unless otherwise noted. Contact us with any questions you have regarding copyright permissions.
Questions?
Please contact us with any questions you may have about our privacy policy or use of your personal information. You can also contact us by writing or calling:
Congo Initiative
5540 Centerview Dr.
Ste 204, PMB 85858
Raleigh, NC 27606-8012
919.806.7297