What we do--and don't do--with the information that we get from you.
As of August 15, 2007

This is the website of Friends of the Hylebos. We can be reached at:
PO Box 24971
Federal Way, WA  98093
Phone:  253.874.2005
Email: info@hylebos.org

The following describes the policies and practices of Friends of the Hylebos with regard to the collection and use of personal information from users of www.hylebos.org, volunteer email, enewsletter subscribers and donors. Throughout this page, the terms “we,” “Friends,” “us,” and “our” are meant to include Friends of the Hylebos staff, contractors, and volunteers.

We have the utmost respect for your privacy and will not trade, sell or exchange your personal information with anyone. We only share your information with third parties we have contracted with to provide you services on our behalf, as described below under “With whom we share the information.”

When it comes to collection and use of personal information, our guiding questions are:

• “Will having this information help us better serve this individual?”
• “Do we have permission to use the information in this way?”
• “Is this use of the information required in order to fulfill the expectations of the individual?”

Information we collect about you When You Register

In order to subscribe to any of our volunteer e-mailing lists, e-newsletters, you need to register with our site (this is free). During registration, you must supply us with your email address (which is your unique user name), name, and a password. Optionally, you may also subscribe for one or more enewsletters, and provide other demographic information like zip/postal code, profession, and issue areas of interest.

When browsing the site

When you visit our website, we collect information about your session (e.g. session length, pages visited, files downloaded) based on either the IP address of your computer (if you are not a registered user), or your unique user identifier (if you are a registered user). Our website uses cookies to facilitate this tracking. For an excellent description of cookies and how they work see Wikipedia on cookies.
This information is stored in log files. Log data is used in aggregate to analyze how people use our website.

When you donate

When you donate to Friends, whether online, by mail, or on the phone, we ask for your name, address, email address, phone number, and payment method. If you pay by check, we keep a photocopy of your check. If you pay by credit card, we keep a record of the transaction, but do not store your credit card number on our website. We also maintain pertinent information about you and your gifts in a secure database, including but not limited to gift amounts, dates, payment types, and any special gift terms or conditions.

How we use the information

Aggregate information

Our goal is to help you be an effective advocate for, or broadcaster of, important ideas. Therefore, the majority of the information we collect, from website tracking to survey responses, has to do with what your interests are and how you use (or would like to use) our work. We analyze this data in aggregate and in segments and use this information in order to provide better research, content, design, organization, and delivery of our work to you.

Email addresses

If you register for our volunteer e-mailing list, enewsletter or other service, your email address is your unique identifier, or user name. We will also send you by email occasional invitations to volunteer work parties, educational and fundraising events, surveys, appeals for funds, and administrative or other notices regarding the website, its contents, and your registration.

If you are subscribed to any one of our enewsletters, we will use information you’ve provided to deliver and tailor them for you.
The “email this article” feature (designated in the top right on every page by a small graphic of an envelope) is an easy way for Friends visitors to send articles to friends and colleagues by email. The email address(es) that you provide to use this feature will only be used to send the requested article.

When you submit questions or comments to a Friends staff member by email (via a link on the website, e.g.), we will use your e-mail address to respond directly to you.

Except as explained in this policy, Friends of the Hylebos does not send unsolicited e-mail.

Other individual information

If you supply us with your postal address you may receive periodic mailings from us with information on volunteer or educational events, fundraising, or upcoming events.

If you supply us with your telephone number we will only call you with information regarding donations, donor-member benefits, or to update contact information.

If you make a donation to Friends, we will acknowledge your generosity in our annual report, website, and other fundraising materials, unless you request at the time of your donation to be acknowledged anonymously. We will also use information you provided to deliver notes of thanks, tax receipts, and other membership service-related communications, including publications and invitations to special events.

With whom we share the information

We may share aggregate information about our audience (e.g. demographics, interests, website usage) with donors, partners, website users or other interested parties. Please note that this is not personal information, only general summaries of the activities of our audience.
Third party service providers

We will not share individually-identifying personal information about you with third parties without your permission, with the exception of service providers or other organizations we contract with to fulfill services on our behalf (e.g. delivering  email or mail, executing credit card transactions), or under the circumstances described in Compliance with Legal Requirements below.

Compliance with Legal Requirements

We may disclose personal information if we are required to by law, or we believe that such action is necessary to (a) comply with the law or with legal process, (b) protect and defend our rights and property, (c) protect against misuse or unauthorized use of Hylebos.org or Friends’ work, or (d) protect the personal safety or property of our users or the public. As such, if you attempt to pose as someone else, we may disclose information about you or your actions as part of an investigation into any harm done by your actions.

Security

When we transfer and receive certain types of sensitive information, such as financial information, we redirect visitors to a secure outside vendor’s server (currently Gifttool). To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the appropriate use of information, we have put in place physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to protect the information we collect online.

How you can manage the use of your information

Friends of the Hylebos maintains other information, especially about donors, that is not accessible on the website. Upon request we will provide you with access to information that we maintain about you, including financial information (e.g., credit card account information), transaction information (e.g., dates on which customers made purchases or donations, amounts, and types of purchases), or contact information (e.g., name, address, phone number). If you need this information corrected or updated, please call, email, or write us at the contacts provided above.

We respect those that wish to receive the benefits of registration but otherwise wish to have no contact at all with the organization. If you wish to have no email contact, phone contact, or mailings from the Friends, please call, email, or write us at the contacts provided above. We will process the request within 10 business days of receiving notice. We reserve the right to contact you for customer service purposes regarding any transactions you initiate with Friends.

If you feel that this site is not following its stated privacy policy, you may contact us at the above addresses or phone number, state or local chapters of the Better Business Bureau, the state or local consumer protection office, or the Federal Trade Commission by phone at (202) FTC-HELP (  (202) 382-4357) or electronically at http://www.ftc.gov/ftc/complaint.htm.

Miscellaneous

We do not currently partner with or have special relationships with any ad server companies.

Friends of the Hylebos is not responsible for the content or the privacy policies of websites to which it links.

From time to time, we may use website visitor information for new, unanticipated uses not previously disclosed in our privacy notice. If our information practices change at some time in the future we will post the policy changes to our website to notify you of these changes. If you are concerned about how your information is used, you should check back at our website periodically.