Website Privacy Policy
What information do we collect?
When you visit our website you may provide us with two types of information: personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected on an individual basis and website use information collected on an aggregate basis as you and others browse our website.
House of Ruth does not sell, trade, rent, or share any of your personal information with any entity other than the vendor we have selected to process payment transactions, which has its own privacy policy. We also do not send donor mailings on behalf of any other organization or entity. This policy applies to all information received by House of Ruth, both online and offline, on any platform (“platform” includes our website and mobile applications), as well as any electronic, written, or oral communications.
Personal information you choose to provide
We may request that you voluntarily supply us with personal information, including your email address, home or work telephone number, and other personal information for such purposes as correspondence, donating, participating in events, or online surveys. If you choose to correspond with us through email, we may retain the content of your email messages, together with your email address and our responses. We provide the same protections for these electronic communications that we employ in the maintenance of information received by mail and telephone. You are allowed at any time to contact us to review personal information collected and request corrections to your personal information. You may contact us by email, U.S. mail, telephone, or all of these methods.
Website use information
Similar to other commercial websites, our website may utilize a standard technology called “cookies” (see explanation below, “What Are Cookies?”) and web server logs to collect information about how our website is used. Information gathered through cookies and web server logs may include the date and time of visits, the pages viewed, time spent at our website, and the websites visited just before and just after our website. This information is collected on an aggregate basis. None of this information is associated with you as an individual.
How do we use the information that you provide to us?
Broadly speaking, we use personal information for purposes of administering our business activities, providing client service, and making available other information and services to our stakeholders and prospective stakeholders. Occasionally, we may also use the information we collect to notify you about important changes to our website, new services, and news and events we think you will find valuable. The lists used to send you information are developed and managed under our traditional business standards designed to safeguard the security and privacy of your personal information. You are allowed at any time to notify us of your desire not to receive our information. You may notify us by email, U.S. mail, telephone, or all of these methods.
What are cookies?
Cookies are a feature of web browser software that allows web servers to recognize the computer used to access a website. Cookies are small pieces of data stored by a user’s web browser on the user’s hard drive. Cookies can remember what information a user accesses on one website to simplify subsequent interactions with that website by the same user or to use the information to streamline the user’s transactions on related sites. This makes it easier for a user to move from website to another to and complete commercial transactions over the Internet. Cookies should make your online experience easier and more personalized.
How do we use information we collect from cookies?
We use website browser software tools such as cookies and web server logs to gather information about our website users’ browsing activities, to improve our website. This information assists us to design and arrange our site in the most user-friendly manner and to improve our site to meet the needs of our stakeholders and prospective stakeholders.
Cookies help us collect important business and technical statistics. The information in the cookies lets us trace the paths followed by users to our website as they move from one page to another. Web server logs allow us to count how many people visit our site and evaluate our site’s visitor capacity. We do not use these technologies to capture your individual email address or any personally identifying information about you.
Notice of new services and changes
Occasionally, we may use the information we collect to notify you about important changes to our website, new services, and information we think you will find valuable. You will be given the opportunity to notify us of your desire not to receive these offers by clicking on a response box when you receive such an offer or by sending us an email or telephoning us.
How do we secure information transmissions?
Should you decide to make a donation, you will be asked to provide your name, contact information, and credit card billing information. All of this information is encrypted using SSL, an industry standard secure technology. This encryption is designed to prevent the theft or interception of the information you provide. The SSL encryption is indicated on your web browser by the display of a lock or key on the browser status bar. In addition to utilizing SSL encryption for all transactions, our vendor stores encrypted credit card numbers and passwords, as well as other donor information, on servers that are kept in a physically secure environment with strict policies that minimize staff access to the information contained therein. The Card Security Code is only used for credit card processing and is not stored on the partner’s or our servers.
How do we protect your information?
Information security
We utilize encryption/security software to safeguard the confidentiality of personal information we collect from unauthorized access or disclosure and accidental loss, alteration, or destruction.
Evaluation of Information Protection Practices
Periodically, our operations and business practices are reviewed for compliance with agency policies and procedures governing the security, confidentiality, and quality of our information.
Employee access, training and expectations
Our business values, ethical standards, policies, and practices are committed to the protection of stakeholder information. In general, our business practices limit employee access to confidential information and limit the use and disclosure of such information to authorized persons, processes, and transactions.
Do we disclose information to outside parties?
We may provide aggregate information about our users, website traffic patterns, and related website information to our affiliates or reputable third parties, but this information will not include personally identifying data, except as otherwise provided in this Privacy Policy.
What about legally compelled disclosure of information?
We may disclose information when legally compelled to do so, in other words, when we, in good faith, believe that the law requires it or for the protection of our legal rights.
Permission to use materials
The right to download and store or output the materials in our site is granted for the user’s personal use only, and materials may not be reproduced in any edited form. Any other reproduction, transmission, performance, display, or editing of these materials by any means mechanical or electronic without the express written permission of House of Ruth is strictly prohibited. Users wishing to obtain permission to reprint or reproduce any materials appearing on this site may contact us directly.