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Privacy Policy

Introduction

Dian Fossey Fund International (“Fossey Fund”, “we”, “us” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to complying with this privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”), which describes what information we collect about you, including how we collect it, how we use it, with whom we may share it and what choices you have regarding our use of your information.  This Privacy Policy applies to information collected on our Site, www.gorillafund.org, (the “Site”), whether accessed via computer, mobile device or other technology or any associated content, material, or functionality contained on the Site (the “Services”). If you make a donation to the Fossey Fund, the terms of our Donor Privacy Policy will also apply to you.  We encourage you to become familiar with the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy and the Donor Privacy Policy if it applies to you. By accessing and using the Site, or any part thereof, you acknowledge that you have read and understand this Privacy Policy.

For the purposes of applicable data protection laws, Fossey Fund is the controller of the information you provide to us.  As a controller, we process information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

Contact Information

The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International

800 Cherokee Avenue, S.E.

Atlanta, GA 30315

Email: info@gorillafund.org

Telephone: (404) 624-5881

Changes to our Privacy Policy

We may change this Privacy Policy at any time.  The most recent version of the Privacy Policy is reflected by the version date located at the bottom of this Privacy Policy.  All updates and amendments are effective immediately upon notice to you, which we may give by any means, including, but not limited to, by posting a revised version of this Privacy Policy or other notice on the Site.  You should review this Privacy Policy often to stay informed of changes that may affect you. Our electronically or otherwise properly stored copies of this Privacy Policy shall each be deemed to be the true, complete, valid, authentic, and enforceable copy of the version of this Privacy Policy.

Information We Collect from You

You may provide us with personal information when you interact with the Site.  For example, when you register with our Site, contact us by email or by using a web form, or make a donation, you may provide us with personal information including but not limited to:  name, home or other physical address, email address, telephone number, credit card information, and any other information you choose to provide.

Information We Collect Automatically

We also collect information regarding how you interact with the Site, which may include pages you view, links you click or hover over, selections you make on the Sites, your web browser’s HTTP referrer header, features you use, preferences you set, your web browser type and version, the operating system type and version of the device you are using to access the Site, the Internet protocol (IP) address of the device you are using to access the Site (or any portion thereof), general physical location, and Internet service provider.

We may also use certain tracking technologies on the system including, without limitation, cookies.  These technologies are used to passively track information about your computer and Internet connection, such as the IP address of your computer and/or Internet service provider, the date and time you access the Site, the Internet address of Sites from which you link to our Site, the computer technology you are using and your movements and preferences on our Site.  We may use this information for purposes of administering, protecting and improving the Site, to better understand the preferences of visitors to the Site, to identify server problems, to compile aggregated statistics about Site usage, and to help personalize your experience on our Site. You can refuse cookies by turning them off on your browser.

We also utilize Google Analytics, a web analysis service provided by Google, in order to better understand your use of our Site and Services.  Google Analytics collects information such as how often users visits the Site, what pages they visit and what other Sites they used prior to visiting.  Google uses the data collected to track and examine the use of the Site, to prepare reports on its activities and share them with other Google services.  Google may use the data collected on the Site to contextualize and personalize the ads of its own advertising network. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to the Sites is restricted by the Google Analytics Terms of Use and the Google Privacy Policy.  Google offers an opt-out mechanism for the Google Analytics available here.

How We Use The Information We Collect

In addition to uses describes elsewhere in this Privacy Policy, we may use the information collected to:

  • Improve the content on our Site;
  • Communicate with you and respond to your inquiries, requests or orders;
  • Perform data analytics;
  • Send you information you request from us and promotional materials regarding our projects and events;
  • Engage in marketing activities;
  • Create an aggregated data set;
  • Prevent fraudulent activity, protect the security and integrity of the Site, and correct technical problems and malfunctions in how the Site operates or processes visitors’ information; and
  • Comply with applicable laws, regulations, court orders, government and law enforcement requests.

Choice and Opt-Out

We want to communicate with you only if you want to hear from us.  If you prefer not to receive information from us or would like to update or change your information or preferences, please follow the instructions below.  However, we may send you service-related announcements, announcements about changes in policies, and transactional email such as confirmations and receipts, from time to time through the general operation of the Site or by email.  If you do not want to receive any marketing emails from us in the future, click the “unsubscribe” reference in any email we send you.

To have your name and contact information removed from the list we share with other non-profit organizations, please contact us by email at info@gorillafund.org.

If you wish to review the contact information we have on file for you, correct your contact information, provide a change of address, or if you have any questions, comments or suggestions about the Site, our Services, or Fossey Fund, please contact us by email at info@gorillafund.org.

European Economic Area (EEA) Residents

Using the contact details provided under the “Contact Information” heading above, if you are a resident of Switzerland or the EEA, which includes all countries in the European Union, Lichtenstein, Iceland, and Norway, for personal information that we have about you, you can also ask us for a copy of your personal information, ask us to erase or delete all or some of your personal information, ask us to stop using all or some of our personal information or limit our use of it, or ask us for a copy of your personal information provided in a machine readable form.

If we have collected and processed your personal information with your consent, then you can withdraw your consent at any time.  Withdrawing your consent will not affect the lawfulness of any processing we conducted prior to your withdrawal, nor will it affect processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.

We do not make use of automated decision-making.  As defined under current data protection laws, automated decisions are defined as decisions about individuals that are based solely on the automated (i.e., no human involvement) processing of information and that produce legal effects or that significantly affect the individuals involved.

You have the right to complain to a data protection authority about our collection and use of your personal data.  For more information, please contact your local data protection authority. Contact details for data protection authorities in the European Union are available at http://ec.europa.eu/justice/article-29/structure/data-protection-authorities/index_en.htm.

We respond to all requests we receive from individuals residing in the EEA and who wish to exercise their data protection rights in accordance with applicable data protection laws.  We may ask you to verify your identity in order to help us respond efficiently to your request.

Legal Basis for Processing

Where required by the EU General Data Protection with Regulation 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council on the protection of natural persons with regard to the processing of personal data and on the free movement of such data (“GDPR”), we will only collect and process personal information about you where we have a legal basis. Examples of legal bases include consent (where you have given consent), contract (where processing is necessary for entering into or the performance of a contract with you), and “legitimate interests”.  

Where we process personal information based on consent, we will ask for your consent. You may withdraw your consent at any time, but that will not affect the lawfulness of the processing of your personal data prior to such withdrawal. Where we rely on contract, we will ask that you agree to the processing of personal data that is necessary for entering into or the performance of your contract with us, and we will inform you whether the provision of your personal data is mandatory and of the possible consequences if you do not provide your personal data.

We may process your personal information for the purposes of our legitimate interests, provided that such processing does not outweigh your rights and freedoms.  Where we rely on legitimate interests, you have the right to object. We process your personal information based on legitimate interests in order to:

  • Solicit donations;
  • Send marketing materials about our programs;
  • Protect you, us, or others from data security threats;
  • Comply with laws that apply to us; and
  • Enable internal administrative processes, such as account administration.

International Data Transfers

If you are visiting the Site, or any part thereof, from outside of the United States of America, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored or processed in the United States, where our servers are located and our central database is operated.  We will rely on legally-provided mechanisms to lawfully transfer personal data across borders.

Retention Period

We retain the information we collect from you when we have an ongoing legitimate business need to do so. We will also retain your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

When we no longer need to process your personal data for the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice, we will delete your personal data from our systems.  

How We Protect Collected Information

We take commercially reasonable measures to protect information transmitted via or stored on the Site.  However, we cannot guarantee that information that users of the Site may transmit or otherwise supply will be totally secure.  You agree to immediately notify us of any breach of Site’s security, this Privacy Policy, or the Terms and Conditions of Use of which you become aware.

Credit Card Information

When you enter your credit card information into a form field on our website, your credit card information is encrypted and transmitted securely.  The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund does not store your credit card information; your credit card information is only used for the duration of the transaction.

Linked Websites

For your convenience, hyperlinks may be posted on the Site that link to other websites (the “Linked Sites”).  Some Linked Sites are not under our control, such as facebook.com. We are not responsible for, and this Privacy Policy does not apply to, the privacy practices of any Linked Sites or of any companies that we do not own or control.  Linked Sites may collect information in addition to that which we collect on the Site. We do not endorse any of these Linked Sites, the services or products described or offered on such Linked Sites, or any of the content contained on the Linked Sites.  We encourage you to seek out and read the privacy policy of each Site that you visit to understand how the information that is collected about you is used and protected.

Social Media Platforms and Sites

Any information, communications, or material of any type or nature that you submit to any of our pages contained on a social media platform or website by email, posting, messaging, uploading, downloading, or otherwise (collectively, a “Submission”) is done at your own risk and without any expectation of privacy.  We cannot control the actions of other users of a social media platform and we are therefore not responsible for any Submissions contained on a social media platform or website. By visiting any of our pages that are contained on any social media platform or website, you are representing and warranting to us that you have reviewed the applicable privacy policy and terms of use of such website or social media platform and that you will abide by all such provisions contained therein.

Sweepstakes, Promotions, Contests & Surveys

You may wish to participate in online polls, surveys, contests, sweepstakes and other promotions (“Optional Activities”) that we may offer through the Site.  Participation in these Optional Activities is completely voluntary and you may choose whether or not to disclose the information required to participate. Information requested may include personal contact information such as your name, address, date of birth, phone number, mobile phone number, email address, username, and/or similar information.  We use the information you provide to administer the Optional Activities, contact you or the people you select about the Optional Activities and we may share this information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.

California Privacy Rights

Under California law, California residents have the right to request in writing from businesses with whom they have an established business relationship, (a) a list of the categories of personally identifiable information, such as name, email, and mailing address, and the type of services provided to the customer, that a business has disclosed to third parties (including affiliates that are separate legal entities) during the immediately preceding calendar year for the third parties’ direct marketing purposes and (b) the name and address of all such third parties.  To request the above information, please email us at: info@gorillafund.org with a reference to California Disclosure Information.

Children

We do not knowingly collect any information from children under 16 years old through the Site. However, if the parent or guardian of a child under 16 believes that the child has provided us with information, the parent or guardian of that child should contact us using the contact details provided under the “Contact Information” heading above if they want this information deleted from our files. If we obtain knowledge that we have information about a child under 16 in retrievable form in our files, we will delete that information from our existing files. In addition, anyone under 16 years old should seek their parent’s or guardian’s permission prior to using or disclosing any information on the Site.

California and Delaware “Do Not Track” Disclosures

California and Delaware law require Fossey Fund to indicate whether it honors “Do Not Track” settings in your browser concerning targeted advertising.  “Do Not Track” is a standard that is currently under development. As it is not yet finalized, Fossey Fund adheres to the standards set out in this Privacy Policy and does not monitor or follow any Do Not Track browser requests.

Updated  April 8, 2019

State Nonprofit Disclosures

Certain states require written disclosures for nonprofit organizations soliciting contributions. Individual state disclosures are below.

Florida: A COPY OF THE OFFICIAL REGISTRATION AND FINANCIAL INFORMATION MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE DIVISION OF CONSUMER SERVICES BY CALLING TOLL-FREE, WITHIN THE STATE, 1-800-435-7352 (800-HELP-FLA), OR VISITING www.FloridaConsumerHelp.com. REGISTRATION DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL, OR RECOMMENDATION BY THE STATE. Florida Registration #CH2550

Georgia: A full and fair description of our programs and our financial statement summary is available upon request at our office and phone number indicated above.

Maryland: For the cost of copies and postage, from the Office of the Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401.

Mississippi: The official registration and financial information of The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Inc. may be obtained from the Mississippi Secretary of State’s office by calling 1-888-236-6167. Registration by the Secretary of State does not imply endorsement.

Nevada: Contributions may be tax deductible pursuant to the provisions of sec. 170(c) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, 26 U.S.C. ¤170(c).

New Jersey: INFORMATION FILED WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL CONCERNING THIS CHARITABLE SOLICITATION AND THE PERCENTAGE OF CONTRIBUTIONS RECEIVED BY THE CHARITY DURING THE LAST REPORTING PERIOD THAT WERE DEDICATED TO THE CHARITABLE PURPOSE MAY BE OBTAINED FROM THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF NEW JERSEY BY CALLING (973) 504-6215 AND IS AVAILABLE ON THE INTERNET AT www.state.nj.us/lps/ca/charfrm.htm. REGISTRATION WITH THE ATTORNEY GENERAL DOES NOT IMPLY ENDORSEMENT.

New York: Upon request, from the Attorney General’s Charities Bureau, 28 Liberty Street, New York, NY 10005, 1-212-416-8686 or www.charitiesnys.com.

North Carolina: Financial information about this organization and a copy of its license are available from the State Solicitation Licensing Branch at 1-919-814-5400. The license is not an endorsement by the state.

Pennsylvania: The official registration and financial information of The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund International, Inc. may be obtained from the Pennsylvania Department of State by calling toll-free, within Pennsylvania, 1-800-732-0999.

Virginia: From the State Office of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, P.O. Box 1163, Richmond, VA 23218.

Washington: From the Secretary of State at 1-800-332-4483 or http://www.sos.wa.gov/charities/

West Virginia: West Virginia residents may obtain a summary of the registration and financial documents from the Secretary of State, State Capitol, Charleston, WV 25305.

Wisconsin: A financial statement of the charitable organization disclosing assets, liabilities, fund balances, revenue and expenses for the preceding fiscal year will be provided to any person upon request.

REGISTRATION WITH A STATE AGENCY DOES NOT CONSTITUTE OR IMPLY ENDORSEMENT, APPROVAL OR RECOMMENDATION BY THAT STATE.

More information about nonprofit fundraiser disclosures and annual charity registrations.