Privacy Policy
House of Ruth (“we,” “us,” or “our”) respects the integrity and privacy of personal information gathered from all our donors as well as visitors to our website. Because protecting your privacy is important to us, we created this Privacy Policy to communicate our practices regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of Personal Information (defined below).
This Privacy Policy applies to Personal Information collected or processed through House of Ruth-operated websites and applications, including https://houseofruth.org (“Site”). This Privacy Policy does not extend to external sites linked to non-House of Ruth websites to which there might be a link from the Site. Please check with these companies or organizations and sites for their policies regarding data privacy, including the use of “cookies.”
What types of information does House of Ruth collect?
We gather personal information that you provide to us (for example, when you subscribe to our monthly e-mail newsletters), when you contribute to House of Ruth online or via mail, through third-party service providers (for example, if you make a donation through our third-party payment processor), and automatically through your use of the Site (for example, through the use of cookies on the Site, as discussed in more detail, below).
The information we collect includes “Personal Information,” which is information that, either alone or in combination with other information, identifies you. We collect Personal Information such as your name, e-mail address, and mailing address when you sign up for our newsletters or make a donation. When we combine Personal Information with other information that does not, on its own, identify you, we treat the combined information as Personal Information.
How does House of Ruth use information that is collected?
- Sending Information to You. We use your Personal Information to send you details about our programs, press releases, events, volunteer opportunities and opportunities to support our life-saving work. You may unsubscribe from receiving communications from House of Ruth at any time. Please see Can I unsubscribe from communications from House of Ruth? below for more information on how to unsubscribe from receiving communications from House of Ruth.
- For Legal and Other Purposes. If you submit or we collect Personal Information, then such Personal Information may also be used in the following ways: (i) to provide, analyze, administer, and improve our Site and activities; (ii) to identify and authenticate your access to the parts of our Site and services that you are authorized to access; (iii) for recruiting and human resources administration purposes; (iv) to protect our rights or our property and to ensure the technical functionality and security of our Site; and (v) as necessary to comply with our legal and regulatory obligations.
Does House of Ruth use “cookies” on this Site?
We use “cookies” on our Site. A cookie is a small piece of data that is stored on a visitor’s hard drive. Cookies enhance a visitor’s experience by preventing the visitor from having to log in or provide information each time the visitor returns to a Web page and by customizing content based on a visitor’s interests. Visitors can configure their browsers to refuse cookies or to be alerted when a site is attempting to send a cookie, although some House of Ruth pages may not function properly on a browser that does not accept cookies.
We use cookies to administer our Site, track visitor movement, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. Specifically, we use Google Analytics, an analytics service to help us analyze the traffic on the Site. For more information on Google Analytics’ processing of Personal Information, please see https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.
Some of our service providers may use cookies or other methods to gather information regarding your use of our Site. Such third parties may use these cookies or other tracking methods for their own purposes by relating information about your use of our Site with any of your Personal Information that they may have. The use of such information by a third party depends on the privacy policy of that third party.
Without an industry or legal standard of interpreting Do Not Track (“DNT”) signals sent to us by your browser, we do not respond to DNT signals at this time. To learn more about how DNT works, please visit http://allaboutdnt.com.
Is information shared with other organizations?
The information that we gather from subscribers or others who provide their e-mail addresses is not shared with non-House of Ruth-affiliated organizations or companies, except as provided in this Privacy Policy or with your consent.
This section describes to whom we disclose Personal Information and for what purposes:
- Nonprofit Organizations. House of Ruth follows the Association of Fundraising Professional’s (AFP) Ethical Guidelines to the Code of Ethical Principles and Standards of Professional Practice. Occasionally, House of Ruth does exchange or rent mail lists to like-minded organizations through bonded third-party vendors. These organizations are never given direct access to House of Ruth’s donor database. House of Ruth itself screens each mailing before we allow it to be sent to our trusted third-party vendors. Information pertaining to current and former House of Ruth board members, major donors, monthly Partners, and/or $100+ donors is never—under any circumstance—released to external entities for the purpose of list rentals or exchanges. If you are a House of Ruth donor and you do not want your information exchanged with other organizations, you may opt out at any time by contacting our development staff at development@houseofruth.org or call us at 202-597-5803.
- Our Service Providers. We employ service providers to perform tasks on our behalf and to assist us in providing the Site. For example, we use service providers for donation management and credit card processing (e.g., SofterWare, Inc., Authorize.Net); analytics (e.g., Google Analytics); and social media integration (e.g., Facebook, Twitter, Instagram). To help us connect with new audiences, some of these third parties may temporarily process limited amounts of Personal Information on our behalf. During that process, we take steps to avoid or minimize the use of Personal Information, such as converting information into a cryptographic hash and then providing only the hash to a service provider.
Can I correct my Personal Information?
If you are a House of Ruth donor, please contact our development staff at development@houseofruth.org or 202-597-5803. If you are not a House of Ruth donor, please send requests to access or correct Personal Information about you to houseofruth@houseofruth.org.
Depending where you live, you may have additional rights, such as the right to erase, export, object to, or restrict the processing of Personal Information. We will promptly review all such requests in accordance with applicable laws.
Can I unsubscribe from communications from House of Ruth?
All e-mail messages sent to e-mail newsletter subscribers contain a link that allows you to unsubscribe or modify your profile. You may subscribe to or unsubscribe from e-mail communication from House of Ruth at any time. You may also send an e-mail to development@houseofruth.org if you need help opting out.
To unsubscribe from receiving postal mail, please submit your request by e-mail to development@houseofruth.org, by phone to 202-597-5803, or in writing to House of Ruth, 5 Thomas Circle NW, Washington, DC 20005. Please be sure to provide the full name and address information so that we may honor your request. Once your request is processed, your information will not be included in any future mailing lists that we generate. Please note that you may receive mail for up to eight (8) weeks after your request is processed if your information was on a list that had already been released. If you have any questions about House of Ruth communications, please e-mail development@houseofruth.org.
Those wishing to opt out of receiving all communications from House of Ruth (“do not contact”), or from being included in list exchanges with like-minded organizations (“do not exchange”), can simply contact our development staff at development@houseofruth.org or via phone at 202-597-5803, or via US mail at House of Ruth, 5 Thomas Circle NW, Washington, DC 20005.
How does House of Ruth protect Personal Information?
We protect the information gathered through our Site. Our Site has security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse, or alteration of the information under our control. Our Web infrastructure is located in a locked, secure environment. When you contribute to House of Ruth online, we engage a third-party payment processor to provide a secure server and encryption to protect your financial and other personal information during transmission. However, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100% secure. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect Personal Information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.
Where does House of Ruth transfer and store Personal Information?
If you are using the Site from outside the United States, please be aware that Personal Information may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States. The data protection laws of the United States might not be as comprehensive as those in your country. By using the Site, you consent to your Personal Information being transferred to the United States for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy.
Personal Information from children
We do not knowingly collect or solicit any Personal Information from children. In the event that we learn that we have collected Personal Information from a child without parental consent, we will promptly take steps to delete that information.
Additional questions
If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy, the information that we have collected from you online, the practices of this Site, or your interaction with this Site, please e-mail development@houseofruth.org. You can also reach us via postal mail at House of Ruth, 5 Thomas Circle NW, Washington, DC 20005.