Privacy Policy
Alliance on Aging recognizes the importance of protecting an individual’s privacy. We take all reasonable steps to ensure that an individual’s personal information is protected from misuse or unauthorized disclosure.
Alliance on Aging recognizes that the efficient operation of the organization requires the maintenance and management of extensive donor and prospect records. These records may contain sensitive information that has been shared with or developed by the Alliance on Aging’s staff or volunteers on a confidential basis. (“Records” is construed to mean all files, including electronic data, containing information on donors or prospective donors to Alliance on Aging) Donors and prospects may be attracted to Alliance on Aging on the basis of its ability to assure temporary or permanent anonymity. Protecting donor confidentiality is an essential part of providing good service to donors.
Additionally, care must be taken to preserve confidentiality of discussions that take place and information that is shared in the course of conducting Alliance on Aging business.
The purpose of this policy is to codify the position of Alliance on Aging on confidentiality.
- Confidentiality of Records: The Executive Director or designee shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of donor and prospect records, as well as fund information. Records will normally be available to staff as needed to fulfill their duties. At the discretion of the Executive Director, staff may make all or part of any record available to Alliance on Aging volunteers to assist them in executing their specific responsibilities. Alliance on Aging auditors, legal counsel and other contractors are authorized to review donor/prospect and fund records as required for the purposes for which they are engaged.
All persons accessing donor/prospect or fund records in the conduct of Alliance on Aging business shall maintain the confidentiality of said records. This applies to agency endowment funds as well as to other types of funds. Staff may share information with donors, fund beneficiaries, and grantees pertaining to their own gifts, funds, grants, etc. Except in those instances, any copies of confidential information shall not be held outside Alliance on Aging’s office for extended periods, and are to be destroyed based on Alliance on Aging’s Records Retention Policy. - Publication of Donor Names: Unless otherwise requested by the donor, the names of all individual donors may be printed in the Alliance on Aging’s marketing, solicitation, recognitions communications and in other appropriate listings. Alliance on Aging will not publish the amount of any donor’s gift without the permission of the donor. Unless otherwise specified in the document, donors making gifts to the Alliance on Aging by bequest or other testamentary device are deemed to have granted such permission.
- Memorial/Tribute Gifts: The names of donors of memorial or tribute gifts may be released to the honoree, next of kin, or appropriate member of the immediate family, unless otherwise specified by the donor. Gift amounts are not to be released without the express consent of the donor.
- Anonymous Gifts: The Executive Director is authorized to accept anonymous gifts to Alliance on Aging and to handle them appropriately. The name of the donor and size of the gift may be withheld from the Board of Directors at the Executive Director’s discretion, if so requested by the donor. When made known to Board members, they will respect the anonymity of any such gift.
- Giving Categories: If giving categories have been stipulated for a specific fund drive, challenge grant, or project, or as part of Alliance on Aging’s ongoing recognition program, then the donors, unless they otherwise specify, are deemed to have given permission for Alliance on Aging to publish their names associated with the particular giving category. Similarly, Alliance on Aging may publish giving categories associated with donor names in its annual report, unless a donor specifies otherwise.
- No Disclosures to Third Parties: Alliance on Aging shall not release to third parties or allow third parties to copy, inspect or otherwise use Alliance on Aging records or other information pertaining to the identification of a donor or donor’s gifts. No disclosures to third parties of such information, including addresses and demographic information, shall be made without the donor’s consent.
- Confidentiality of Organization’s Business: Discussions that take place in the context of Alliance on Aging’s operations require discretion, including discussions pertaining to grantmaking, personnel issues, development activities, operational fundraising, investment management, etc. The positions or statements of individual board members, advisors, or staff should not be discussed outside of official Alliance on Aging meetings and processes. Likewise, the content of Alliance on Aging business, including documents or Alliance on Aging analysis of documents, should not be discussed or shared outside official meetings and processes.
- Public Disclosure: Alliance on Aging will comply with both the letter and spirit of all public disclosure requirements, including the open availability of its Form 990 tax returns. This Confidentiality Policy shall not be construed in any manner to prevent Alliance on Aging from disclosing information to taxing authorities or other governmental agencies or courts having regulatory control or jurisdiction over Alliance on Aging. However, all staff, volunteers, and contractors must hold strictly confidential all information of a private nature, including, but not limited to, all items explicitly discussed in this policy.
Consequences of Policy Violation: Violations of the Confidentiality Policy are considered very serious, and may result in disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal for employees or contractors, or removal from the Board or any committee for volunteers.
What information we collect
Alliance on Aging collects and uses personal information from donors including: addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, month and day of birth and donation dates/amounts.
Specific requests made by donors/volunteers are recorded. For example, requests to remain anonymous or to be excluded from certain mailings are respected. We also specify the relationship with Alliance on Aging, such as volunteer, private individual, company, etc.
How we collect the information
When donations, whether solicited or not, are made to Alliance on Aging, the details provided by the donors are recorded in our data base (unless the donor has specifically requested to not be added to our database).
Personal details of volunteers who contact Alliance on Aging to offer their services are also entered into our database.
Individuals with a relationship with Alliance on Aging through activity or participation in fundraising, programs and events receive invitations, newsletters, surveys and have access to Web-based communications that enable Alliance on Aging to capture contact information. Through these channels, individuals are given the opportunity to provide their contact information and can specify whether they would like their details added to our database and in what capacity.
Storage and security of information held
All donor contact information, donations, designations and related paperwork are stored in a safe, secure location. Alliance on Aging’s relational database is password protected and we have a strict hierarchy of access rights in place.
How we use the information
Alliance on Aging will use contact information (email, telephone number and address) of donors for these purposes only:
- To distribute receipts for donations;
- To send donor acknowledgement letters and thank donors for their donations;
- To inform supporters about upcoming fundraising and other activities at Alliance on Aging;
- For internal analysis and record keeping; and
- For General Mailings. e.g. Direct Mailing to all donors and/or volunteers.
Donors have the option to have their name publicly associated with their donation. However, unless the donor explicitly chooses to remain anonymous, the default is that all donations can be publicly announced.
Comments/testimonials given to Alliance on Aging staff/volunteers may be used in promotional materials with the express consent of the individual.
Access and Correction of Information
Donors have the right to access and request a correction to personal information. To ensure that recorded personal information is accurate and up-to-date, donors should notify Alliance on Aging of any changes to personal details as soon as possible.
Financial information
All access to donor financial information is strictly limited to professional staff responsible for processing and reporting on this data. For online payments, Alliance on Aging only uses processing services with proven security and strong reputations. Alliance on Aging does not have access to credit card or account details sent to those processing services and the information is not stored electronically by Alliance on Aging.
Notification of Changes
If Alliance on Aging decides to change the privacy policy, those changes will be posted on our Website at www.allianceonaging.org so donors are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and the circumstances (if any) in which we disclose it. If at any point we decide to use personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time it was collected, donors will be notified. Donors will have a choice as to whether or not we may use this information in this different manner. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected.
