Privacy Policy

Last Updated July 26, 2024

Family Equality (“we” or “us” or “our”) respects the privacy of our users (“user” or “you”). This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard your information when you visit websites owned and operated by Family Equality including, but not limited to,  the https://www.familyequality.org website, the https://everychilddeservesafamily.com website, third party-hosted action alerts and event registrations, as well as any other media form, media channel, mobile website or mobile application related, linked, or otherwise connected thereto (collectively, the “Site”). Please read this Privacy Policy carefully. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THE TERMS OF THIS PRIVACY POLICY, PLEASE DO NOT ACCESS THE SITE.

We reserve the right to make changes to this Privacy Policy at any time and for any reason. We will alert you about any changes by updating the “Revised” date of this Privacy Policy. Any changes or modifications will be effective immediately upon posting the updated Privacy Policy on the Site, and you waive the right to receive specific notice of each such change or modification. You are encouraged to periodically review this Privacy Policy to stay informed of updates. You will be deemed to have been made aware of, will be subject to, and will be deemed to have accepted the changes in any revised Privacy Policy by your continued use of the Site after the date such revised Privacy Policy is posted.

COLLECTION OF YOUR INFORMATION

We may collect information about you in a variety of ways. The information we may collect on the Site includes:

Personal Data

Personally identifiable information, such as your name, shipping address, email address, and telephone number, and demographic information, such as your age, gender, hometown, and interests, that you voluntarily give to us when you choose to participate in various activities related to the Site, such as online chat and message boards. You are under no obligation to provide us with personal information of any kind, however your refusal to do so may prevent you from using certain features of the Site.

Derivative Data

Information our servers automatically collect when you access the Site, such as your IP address, your browser type, your operating system, your access times, and the pages you have viewed directly before and after accessing the Site.

Financial Data

Financial information, such as data related to your payment method (e.g. valid credit card number, card brand, expiration date) that we may collect when you purchase, order, return, exchange, or request information about our services from the Site. We store only very limited, if any, financial information that we collect. Otherwise, all financial information is stored by our payment processors including Authorize.net, ClassyPay/Stripe, Eventbrite Payments, and you are encouraged to review their privacy policy and contact them directly for responses to your questions.

Facebook Permissions

The Site may by default access your Facebook basic account information, including your name, email, gender, birthday, current city, and profile picture URL, as well as other information that you choose to make public. We may also request access to other permissions related to your account, such as friends, checkins, and likes, and you may choose to grant or deny us access to each individual permission. For more information regarding Facebook permissions, refer to the Facebook Permissions Reference page.

Data From Contests, Giveaways, and Surveys

Personal and other information you may provide when entering contests or giveaways and/or responding to surveys.

USE OF YOUR INFORMATION

Having accurate information about you permits us to provide you with a smooth, efficient, and customized experience. Specifically, we may use information collected about you via the Site to:

  • Administer sweepstakes, promotions, and contests.
  • Compile anonymous statistical data and analysis for use internally or with third parties.
  • Deliver targeted advertising, coupons, newsletters, and promotions, and other information regarding our website and mobile application to you.
  • Email you regarding your account or order.
  • Fulfill and manage purchases, orders, payments, and other transactions related to the Site.
  • Increase the efficiency and operation of the Site.
  • Monitor and analyze usage and trends to improve your experience with the Site.
  • Notify you of updates to the Site.
  • Offer new products, services, and/or recommendations to you.
  • Perform other business activities as needed.
  • Prevent fraudulent transactions, monitor against theft, and protect against criminal activity.
  • Process payments and refunds.
  • Request feedback and contact you about your use of the Site.
  • Resolve disputes and troubleshoot problems.
  • Respond to product and customer service requests.
  • Send you a newsletter.
  • Solicit support for the Site.
  • Text your updates, news, and solicitations of support.

Note: By sharing your contact information with us through email sign-up forms, action alerts, and event registrations, you agree to receive texts, emails, and other forms of communication by Family Equality.

DISCLOSURE OF YOUR INFORMATION

We may share information we have collected about you in certain situations. SMS Consent or phone numbers are not shared for the purpose of SMS with third parties or affiliates. Your information may be disclosed as follows:

By Law or to Protect Rights

If we believe the release of information about you is necessary to respond to legal process, to investigate or remedy potential violations of our policies, or to protect the rights, property, and safety of others, we may share your information as permitted or required by any applicable law, rule, or regulation. This includes exchanging information with other entities for fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

Third­ Party Service Providers

We may share your information with third parties that perform services for us or on our behalf, including payment processing, data analysis, email and SMS delivery, hosting services, customer service, and marketing assistance.

Online Postings

When you post comments, contributions or other content to the Site, your posts may be viewed by all users and may be publicly distributed outside the Site in perpetuity.

Affiliates

We may share your information with our affiliates, in which case we will require those affiliates to honor this Privacy Policy. Affiliates include our parent company and any subsidiaries, joint venture partners or other companies that we control or that are under common control with us.

Business Partners

We may share your information with our business partners to offer you certain products, services or promotions.

Other Third Parties

We may share your information with advertisers and investors for the purpose of conducting general business analysis. We may also share your information with such third parties for marketing purposes, as permitted by law.

Sale or Bankruptcy

If we reorganize or sell all or a portion of our assets, undergo a merger, or are acquired by another entity, we may transfer your information to the successor entity. If we go out of business or enter bankruptcy, your information would be an asset transferred or acquired by a third party. You acknowledge that such transfers may occur and that the transferee may decline honor commitments we made in this Privacy Policy.

We are not responsible for the actions of third parties with whom you share personal or sensitive data, and we have no authority to manage or control third­party solicitations. If you no longer wish to receive correspondence, emails or other communications from third parties, you are responsible for contacting the third party directly.

TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES

Cookies and Web Beacons

We may use cookies, web beacons, tracking pixels, and other tracking technologies on the Site to help customize the Site and improve your experience. For more information on how we use cookies, please refer to our Cookie Policy posted on the Site, which is incorporated into this Privacy Policy. By using the Site, you agree to be bound by our Cookie Policy.

Website Analytics

We may also partner with selected third­party vendors, such as Google Analytics, to allow tracking technologies and remarketing services on the Site through the use of first party cookies and third­party cookies, to, among other things, analyze and track users’ use of the Site, determine the popularity of certain content and better understand online activity. By accessing the Site, you consent to the collection and use of your information by these third­party vendors. You are encouraged to review their privacy policy and contact them directly for responses to your questions. We do not transfer personal information to these third­party vendors. However, If you do not want any information to be collected and used by tracking technologies, you can visit the third­party vendor or Network Advertising Initiative Opt­Out Tool or Digital Advertising Alliance Opt­Out Tool.

You should be aware that getting a new computer, installing a new browser, upgrading an existing browser, or erasing or otherwise altering your browser’s cookies files may also clear certain opt­out cookies, plug­ins, or settings.

THIRD ­PARTY WEBSITES

The Site may contain links to third­party websites and applications of interest, including advertisements and external services, that are not affiliated with us. Once you have used these links to leave the Site, any information you provide to these third parties is not covered by this Privacy Policy, and we cannot guarantee the safety and privacy of your information. Before visiting and providing any information to any third­party websites, you should inform yourself of the privacy policies and practices (if any) of the third party responsible for that website, and should take those steps necessary to, in your discretion, protect the privacy of your information. We are not responsible for the content or privacy and security practices and policies of any third parties, including other sites, services or applications that may be linked to or from the Site.

GOOGLE MAPS

This website uses Google Maps APIs. You may find the Google Maps APIs Terms of Service here. To better understand Google’s Privacy Policy, please refer to this link.

By using our Maps API Implementation, you agree to be bound by Google’s Terms of Service.

SECURITY OF YOUR INFORMATION

We use administrative, technical, and physical security measures to help protect your personal information. While we have taken reasonable steps to secure the personal information you provide to us, please be aware that despite our efforts, no security measures are perfect or impenetrable, and no method of data transmission can be guaranteed against any interception or other type of misuse. Any information disclosed online is vulnerable to interception and misuse by unauthorized parties. Therefore, we cannot guarantee complete security if you provide personal information.

POLICY FOR CHILDREN

We do not knowingly solicit information from or market to children under the age of 13. If you become aware of any data we have collected from children under age 13, please contact us using the contact information provided below.

CONTROLS FOR DO ­NOT­ TRACK FEATURES

Most web browsers and some mobile operating systems include a Do­Not­Track (“DNT”) feature or setting you can activate to signal your privacy preference not to have data about your online browsing activities monitored and collected. No uniform technology standard for recognizing and implementing DNT signals has been finalized. As such, we do not currently respond to DNT browser signals or any other mechanism that automatically communicates your choice not to be tracked online. If a standard for online tracking is adopted that we must follow in the future, we will inform you about that practice in a revised version of this Privacy Policy.

CALIFORNIA PRIVACY RIGHTS

California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the “Shine The Light” law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to us using the contact information provided below.

If you are under 18 years of age, reside in California, and have a registered account with the Site, you have the right to request removal of unwanted data that you publicly post on the Site. To request removal of such data, please contact us using the contact information provided below, and include the email address associated with your account and a statement that you reside in California. We will make sure the data is not publicly displayed on the Site, but please be aware that the data may not be completely or comprehensively removed from our systems.

CONTACT US

If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please contact us at:

Family Equality
475 Park Avenue South, Suite 2100 New York, NY 10016
(646) 880-3005
communications@familyequality.org

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 Dvision 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 #CH37476

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 Family Equality Council 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 Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271.

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 Family Equality Council 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.

Third Party Analytics

Sites implementing Google Analytics tracking must adhere to the Terms of Service from Google. Due to this, we can direct you to How Google Uses Data When You Use Our Partners’ Sites or Apps for more information