Girls Inc. of Chicago is committed to protecting the online and offline privacy of users and donors. Portions of our site are directed to our adult donors, friends, and supporters, while other areas include content specifically designed for girls. Please review the information below to familiarize yourself with our policies on privacy, and contact Girls Inc. of Chicago if you have any questions.

OVERVIEW OF THE GIRLS INC. OF CHICAGO PRIVACY POLICY

Girls Inc. of Chicago adheres to the standards of ethics laid out in the Association of Fundraising Professionals “Donor Bill of Rights:”

• To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
• To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
• To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.
• To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
• To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.
• To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
• To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
• To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
• To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.  As well, Girls Inc. of Chicago will not sell donor information to any third-party entity, nor share donor information with outside parties without the express consent of the donor.
• To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

OVERVIEW OF THE GIRLS INC. OF CHICAGO WEBSITE PRIVACY POLICY

This Privacy Policy applies to information collected online when visiting our website and governs online data collection and usage at the Girls Inc. of Chicago sites.

You do not have to provide personal information to visit and enjoy many features of our sites. To make a contribution online, purchase products (if applicable), sign up for e-updates or newsletters, or engage in certain other activities, we will request personal information from you, such as your name, address, and e-mail address.  We ask users to certify before submitting an online donation that they are eighteen years of age or older.  Any personal information provided to Girls Inc. of Chicago by users who identify themselves as being under thirteen years of age will be deleted or destroyed by Girls Inc. of Chicago immediately upon receipt or as soon thereafter as reasonably practicable.

We use the information that you voluntarily provide to fulfill your requests, such as signing you up for e-updates or newsletters, and for surveys and user research to improve our site.

We do not share your personal information with third parties, other than with our agents who provide technical support for our site or help fill your purchase order. We cannot provide e-updates or newsletters to any user under thirteen years of age.

INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE

Visitors can visit our site without registering or providing personal information, but we do collect personal information to make certain features and options available. We collect personal information when it is voluntarily provided, for instance when registering for e-mail updates, taking our online pledge, completing our online surveys, making a donation, or purchasing products. We may ask users for first and last name, mailing address, phone number, and an e-mail address; an address and phone number is required to process online orders or donations, and other demographic information is requested to help us understand our visitors’ backgrounds, needs, and interests. For any person under thirteen years of age, any information provided will then be deleted immediately upon receipt or as soon thereafter as reasonably practicable. Persons under the age of thirteen are permitted to sign the #GirlsToo pledge, but all personal information except first name and age will be immediately deleted and destroyed upon receipt.

INFORMATION GIRLS INC. OF CHICAGO COLLECTS AUTOMATICALLY

Your web browser offers “cookies” which, if you allow their use, store small amounts of data on your computer when you visit a web site. Cookies do not contain any personally identifiable information about you and therefore cannot be used to identify you personally. You have the ability to accept or decline cookies by modifying your browser and our web sites are viewable even if you disable the cookie function on your browser. However, if you disable cookies, some advanced and customized features of our site will not be available to you.

Girls Inc. of Chicago may utilize cookie technology to assist us in tracking which of our features you like best. Cookies also enable us to provide online shopping, customize our content according to your preferences, and to age screen users for compliance with our policies for children under thirteen years of age. We DO NOT use cookies or other non-consensual methods to take personally identifiable or online contact information about you or your family off of your computer. Girls Inc. of Chicago DOES NOT use cookies for direct marketing or promotional purposes. Cookies are also NOT used to collect information specifically about you or your family for sharing with third parties [without consent].

Personal data is processed in a manner that ensures appropriate security of the personal data, including protection against unauthorized or unlawful processing and against accidental loss, destruction or damage, using appropriate technical or organizational measures.  We strive to use commercially acceptable means such as firewalls, password-protected databases with limited physical or electronic access, and encryption to protect personally identifiable information.   No method of transmission over the Internet, method of electronic storage or other security methods are one hundred percent secure so we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

WHAT WE DO WITH COLLECTED INFORMATION

We use the personal information we collect to fulfill your requests. For instance, if you wish to start a Girls Inc. of Chicago in your area, donate to Girls Inc. of Chicago, or purchase a product online (if applicable), we will use the information you provide to provide you with information (including by text messages), process your donation or purchase order. We also use collected information to evaluate and administer our service, respond to any problems that may arise, and to gauge user trends to determine what features are of most interest to our visitors.

We may, at times, produce reports containing aggregate information about our users such as demographic, age, and online usage information. This allows us to offer information and features that are most relevant to our users. We do not include personally identifiable information in these reports.

CHILDREN’S PRIVACY

Although Girls Inc. of Chicago is a non-profit organization and does not operate a commercial website, we pay special attention to protecting the privacy of visitors under age thirteen. Girls Inc. of Chicago does not knowingly collect information from children under thirteen years of age. If a child under the age of thirteen provides us with any personal information, Girls Inc. of Chicago will then dispose of such personal information in accordance with this Privacy Policy when it determines that such person is under thirteen years old or as soon as reasonably practicable thereafter.

If you believe Girls Inc. of Chicago may have any personal information from or about a child under the age of thirteen, please contact us by any of the following means:

By mail:         
Girls Inc. of Chicago
2212 S. Michigan Ave

Chicago, IL 60616

By email:
info@girlsincofchicago.org

By phone:       
312-416-7799

Girls Inc. of Chicago uses technical tools (i.e., cookies) to check the age of visitors who sign up for newsletters and updates. Our community features, if available, are designed to prevent visitors from posting personally identifiable information. Any personal information collected from a child under thirteen years of age will be deleted or destroyed immediately after identifying that such data pertains to a person under thirteen years of age or as soon as reasonably practical thereafter. Parents may review and request that we delete their child’s information or request that Girls Inc. of Chicago cease collection or use of such information by emailing a signed request, including their email address, the child’s e-mail address or other identifier, birth date, and first name, to our Content Manager at vvela@girlsinc.org. Girls Inc. of Chicago will abide by any request to delete or cease collection or use of data with respect to any child but can only provide information to a requesting parent to the extent it can verify the relationship between the requesting parent and child. No such information shall be distributed to any third parties.

OUR SECURITY FEATURES

We use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to protect credit card data during transmission. Girls Inc. of Chicago employees are made aware of its website privacy practices and we limit access to personal information to those employees with a specific need to retrieve this information. Girls Inc. of Chicago may give other companies access to our information database, but only if necessary to allow them to provide technical or fulfillment services to Girls Inc. of Chicago We may also give other companies access to the information necessary to fill your order if you purchase products from our site or to process you donation. Our technical and fulfillment agents must agree to use personal information only to process or fulfill your requests or to service our site.

UPDATING YOUR PREFERENCES

A user can, at any time, change, correct, modify or delete any personal information they may have provided to Girls Inc. of Chicago Users can also unsubscribe from any newsletters or opt out of various promotional e-mailings at any time by clicking on “unsubscribe” links in the newsletter or e-mails. Parents may review and request that we update or delete their child’s information by sending a signed request, including their email address, the child’s email address, birth date, and first name, to our Content Manager at the address below.

VISITORS FROM OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES

Girls Inc. of Chicago and the server which makes this site available worldwide are located in the United States. All matters relating to this site are governed by the laws of the State of llinois in the United States. Any information you provide will be transferred to the U.S. By visiting this site and submitting information you authorize this transfer.

PROTECTING OUR SITE

We reserve the right to use or disclose any information without notice or consent as needed to satisfy any law, regulation or legal request; to conduct investigations of consumer complaints or possible breaches of law; to protect the integrity of our site and our property; to protect the safety of our visitors or others; to fulfill your requests; or to cooperate in any legal investigation.

CHANGES TO OUR PRIVACY POLICY

We will occasionally update this Privacy Policy as necessary to maintain the highest protection for our users and to comply with a changing environment. We recommend that you check the policy when you visit our site to be sure you are aware of and understand our current policy. If we make material changes to this policy or in how we will use or collect your personally identifiable information, we will prominently post such changes prior to implementing the change. We will not make retroactive changes in how we handle previously collected personal information unless legally required to do so.

We want all our visitors to have fun navigating our site and urge you to use common sense whenever disclosing personal information on this site or anywhere on the Internet.

If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us at info@girlsincofchicago.org.