Date of Last Revision: July 20, 2010
Thank you for visiting our website and reviewing our Privacy Policy. This website, Idealist.org ("Site"), is operated on behalf of Action Without Borders/Idealist ("Idealist," "we," "us," and "our"). Idealist.org is an interactive site where people and organizations can exchange resources and ideas, locate opportunities and supporters, and take steps toward building a world where all people can lead free and dignified lives.
By using or accessing this Site, you agree to the terms and practices of our Privacy Policy.
Although being a part of Idealist.org means sharing information about yourself and communicating with us, other Site members and groups, and the public at large, your privacy is important to us. This Privacy Policy explains what type of information we collect from you when you visit this Site, how we may use this information, who might have access to this information, which choices you have about how this information is used and shared, and which measures we take to protect this information. Please note, however, that this Privacy Policy only covers information that we collect through this Site.
The use of this Site and its services is subject to our Terms and Conditions, which you may access at any time by clicking on the link at the bottom of any page on this Site. We welcome members of all ages to this Site and its services. While we are not required to comply with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act because of our non-profit status, we strongly encourage members under thirteen years old to access our services only with parental consent and supervision in accordance with the Terms and Conditions.
As with any other site on the Internet, we collect certain information about you that may identify you personally through your use of this Site and its services, such as:
Profile Information. If you choose to use certain features and functions of the Site, we ask you to provide certain personally identifiable information about yourself ("Profile Information") without which some of these features cannot work. By providing such information, you consent to our collection and use of it, as described in this Privacy Policy and in accordance with the Terms and Conditions.
The Profile Information that we collect includes:
We do not collect any of this information about you when you visit the Site unless you give us that information.
Member-Created Content. One of the primary reasons people and organizations use Idealist.org is to share content with others. Examples include when you create an organization page, post listings, update your status, upload a photo, include an RSS feed from other websites, create an event, post a comment, or send someone a message.
Information From Other Members. We may collect information about you from other Idealist.org members, such as when your connections indicate their relationship with you. You can control who connects with you from your preferences.
Payment Information. Certain of our services are fee-based and we therefore will collect payment information from you, such as credit card numbers and billing addresses. Because payment transactions on the Site are currently outsourced to third party service providers, it is necessary for us to provide access to your payment information to such third parties. In those cases, we take reasonable steps to ensure that these providers do not use or otherwise disclose any information we collect about you except for the purpose of fulfilling their service obligations to us.
Site Use and Access. In order to monitor the effectiveness of the Site, identify areas of interest, and consider potential improvements to the Site, we also keep track of the actions you take on the Site, such as:
We use "cookies" (small pieces of data we store for an extended period of time at the location from where you access our Site) to make the Site easier to use and to protect both you and Idealist. For example, we use cookies to:
If you want to prevent your browser from accepting cookies from our Site, you should refer to the Help portion of your browser's toolbar. There you should find instructions on disabling cookies. However, please note that this will limit your ability to log in and use many features of the Site because we use cookies to recognize your browser and provide certain features that are tailored to your needs.
Like many other websites, we automatically collect information about your Internet connection that does NOT identify you personally, such as:
We use personal information that you give us to provide services that you request; respond to your questions or inquiries; identify areas of member interest; consider potential improvements to our Site; and provide a forum to connect people and organizations.
The following list provides some specific examples of the ways we may use information about you:
We will only disclose your personal information to others without first obtaining your consent in the following circumstances:
We do not sell or trade or provide your personal information to marketing companies or information brokers or any other organization or individual for commercial or marketing purposes.
You may control the visibility of most of the information you share with others on the Site and change or remove your profile information at any time through your preferences. You should review the default settings to make sure they reflect your preferences.
You have one of four options for adjusting the privacy settings of your personal profile in your preferences, explained below:
Here are some additional things to remember:
We provide links on the Site to other sites of interest. We do not endorse the content of these sites or guarantee that they will abide by this Privacy Policy. Your use of such linked sites is subject to the terms and conditions and privacy policies of the providers of those sites. We encourage our members to be aware when they leave our Site and to read the privacy policies of each site that collects personal information.
We do our best to keep your information secure, but you must actively participate in the process of keeping your information safe.
We keep your account information on a secured server behind a firewall. When you enter sensitive information (like your password), the information is encrypted using secure socket layer technology (SSL). We also reserve the right to analyze accounts for fraudulent or irregular behavior and we may limit use of site features in response to possible signs of abuse.
Although you can change your privacy options to limit outside access to your account, please be aware that none of these security measures are impermeable. We cannot control the actions of other Site members and third party organizations. You can reduce the inherent risks associated with social networking by exercising common sense and discretion: for example, you should choose a strong password, use different passwords for different websites and services, and use updated antivirus software. You should report any security violations to us as outlined in the section below.
Should you have any questions or concerns about the terms and practices of this Privacy Policy, or would like to opt out of receiving communications from us at any time, you may contact us in the following ways:
We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we do make a change, we will announce and post the revised Privacy Policy on this Site. We encourage you to review this Privacy Policy periodically. If you continue to use this Site after the announcement of the revised Privacy Policy, you will be deemed to have agreed to the changed terms and practices. Questions, comments, or complaints about our Privacy Policy should be submitted to us by one of the methods listed above.