4-H

Privacy Policy

Add Comment

You have arrived at www.4-h.org and/or are otherwise interacting with the Web site (“Site”) owned and operated by the National 4‑H Council (“4‑H or “we,” “our,” or “us”). This Privacy Policy governs your use of any Site that posts a link to this Privacy Policy. If you are a 4‑H donor, please refer to our DONOR PRIVACY POLICY, which governs our collection of donor information both online and offline. However, this Privacy Policy does not apply to our data collection activities offline or otherwise outside of our Site (unless otherwise stated), and does not govern the data practices of third parties that may interact with our Site. We are very sensitive to the privacy concerns of the visitors to and users of our Site. As a general policy, no personal information is automatically collected. However, certain non-personal information is recorded by the standard operation of our internet servers. Please refer to the following detailed explanation of our policies and procedures with respect to privacy. In addition, please refer to our TERMS &amp. CONDITIONS, which governs your use of the Site, and includes, among other things, grants of rights from you, limits on our liability and your remedies, mandatory arbitration, and waiver of jury trial and class actions. Our Commitment to Children's Privacy We are particularly cognizant of the need for extra vigilance with respect to the privacy of those under the age of 18. We are a general audience service. In compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, we will not require anyone under the age of 18 to disclose more information than is reasonably necessary to participate in an activity as a condition of participation. To the extent that personally identifiable data for a person under the age of 18 will be submitted by an adult, the adult is responsible for compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act and securing any necessary permission of a parent or guardian and/or providing any required notices to a parent or guardian. To the extent that we are able to determine that personally identifiable data for a person under the age of 18 has been submitted by a person under the age of 18, we will use our best efforts to secure any necessary permission of a parent or guardian and/or provide any required notices to a parent or guardian. Except as previously stated, we will not knowingly collect or maintain personally identifiable information with respect to anyone under 18. Information Collection On the Site, we may ask you to provide us with certain categories of information such as: (1) personally identifiable information, which is information that identifies you personally, such as your first and last name, e-mail address, and home address (“Personal Information”). and (2) demographic information, such as information about your gender, age, education level, occupation, zip code, etc. (“Demographic Information”). We may collect this information from various forms and in various places on the Site, including at account registration. In addition to any Personal Information or other information you chose to submit to us via the Site, we and our third party service providers may use a variety of technologies that automatically (or passively) store and collect certain information whenever you visit or interact with the Site (“Usage Information”). This Usage Information may include: your internet protocol (“IP”) address and aggregate information on what pages are accessed or visited. We may use now and hereafter known methods and technologies to store or collect Usage Information (“Tracking Technologies”). One of the Tracking Technologies we use is cookies. A “cookie” is a unique data set or “signature” deposited on a user’s hard drive by the web site that the user is accessing. The cookie often allows faster return access to the site, as well as access to certain functions that might otherwise be inaccessible. For instance, by setting a cookie on our site, the user would not have to log in a password more than once. If a user rejects the cookie, access will still be available. However, use may be limited in some areas. For example, the user may not be able to participate in certain promotions, contests or drawings. Cookies can also enable us to track and target the interests of users in order to enhance their experience. A cookie from this Web site is not linked in any way to any personally identifiable information. We are giving you notice of the Tracking Technologies so your consent is meaningfully informed. We may receive information about you from your friends and others that use the Site, such as when they submit content to us (or post) on the Site. Additionally, we may, from time to time, supplement the information we collect directly from you on our Site with outside records from third parties for various purposes, including to enhance our ability to serve you, to tailor our content to you and to offer you opportunities that may be of interest to you. To the extent we combine information we receive from those sources with your Personal Information we collect on the Site, it will be treated as Personal Information and we will apply this Privacy Policy to such combined information, unless we have disclosed otherwise. In no other circumstances do our statements under this Privacy Policy apply to information we receive about you from third parties. The Site may include functionality that allows certain kinds of interactions between the Site and a third-party web site, platform, tool, application or other service, and accessing or display of third-party content via the Site (“Third Party Services”). The use of Third Party Services may involve the third-party operator thereof (“Third Party Operator”) providing certain information, including Personal Information, to us. In addition, you may be able to access our Site, your Account and/or Site content via a third party platform, site, app or other service, and those Third Party Operators may collect Personal Information and other data about you in connection therewith, and may provide some or all of it to us. If we offer and you choose to use Third Party Services to access or use our Site, the Third Party Services may send Personal Information about you to us. If we discontinue use of any Third Party Service, you consent that we may nevertheless retain any Personal Information, and other information and data, we may have already received in connection therewith in accordance with this Privacy Policy. In addition, we may provide Third Party Services’ interfaces or links on the Site to facilitate your sending a communication from the Site. For example, we may use third parties to facilitate e-mails, tweets, “likes,” content submissions or postings of comments on Facebook or other social media platforms. We may also enable access to or display of third party content via the Site, that is actually being served or published by the third party, and such third party may be collecting data from you in connection with that content. These third parties may collect and retain any information used or provided in any such communications or other activities and these third parties’ practices are not subject to our Privacy Policy. When you use Third Party Services, you are using their services and not our Site and they, not we, are responsible for their practices. You should review the applicable third party privacy policies before using such Third Party Services in connection with our Site. From time-to-time, information from users may be requested via surveys or contests, or in order to subscribe to a publication. Participation in these activities is completely voluntary. Information requested may include Personal Information (such as name and shipping address) and Demographic Information (such as zip code or age). Personal Information (such as your contact information) will be used to notify contest winners and award prizes and for delivery of ordered publications. Demographic Information will be used for the purposes described above. Information Use We may use your Personal Information, Demographic Information and/or Usage Information that we collect from/about you: 1) to provide you with information or services or process transactions that you have requested or agreed to receive, including to send you electronic newsletters, or to provide you with special offers or promotional materials on behalf of us or third parties. (2) to enable you to participate in a variety of the Site’s features including online promotions. (3) to process your registration with any of the Site, including verifying your information is active and valid. (4) to manage and administer the Site including content management and account management. (5) to improve the Site or create new service offerings, to customize your experience on any of the Site, or to serve you, or suggest to you, specific content that may be most relevant to you. (6) to contact you with regard to your use of any of the Site and, in our discretion, changes to the any of the Site’s’ policies. (7) to prevent unauthorized, improper or illegal activities on the Site. (8) for internal business purposes. and (9) for purposes disclosed at the time you provide your information or as otherwise set forth in this Privacy Policy or for any other legal purpose not inconsistent with this Privacy Policy or our Terms of Use. Usage Information may be used to administer the site and track user’s movements. In addition, Demographic Information may be used to analyze trends, to perform longitudinal studies, to support resource development efforts and to assist national 4‑H marketing efforts. We may also use Personal Information such as email addresses and names of consenting adult volunteers and consenting parents to inform such volunteers and parents about 4‑H resources, merchandise and programs related to the specific 4‑H activities of such volunteers or parent’s youth members. IP addresses are not linked to Personal Information. Except as expressly set forth below, we will not sell, rent or share this Personal Information. Information Sharing We share your information subject to applicable law with 4‑H related entities at the state, local and county levels. We also reserve the right to disclose and transfer all such information: (i) to a subsequent owner, co-owner or operator of the Site or applicable database. or (ii) in connection with a merger, consolidation, restructuring, the sale of substantially all of our interests and/or assets or other corporate change. including, in either case, during the course of any related due diligence process. We may partner with a third party in order to obtain access to specialized services or expertise. When we do so and a user signs up for these services, we will share such Personal Information as is necessary for the delivery of the services or success of the program. Any recipient of such information is required to restrict use solely to furtherance of the purposes for which the services are intended. However, third parties may store, collect or otherwise have access to your information when you interact with their Tracking Technologies, Third Party Services (e.g., Third Party Operator’s content, tools apps or ads on our Site) or link to them from our Site. This may include using third-party tools such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest or other third-party posting or content sharing tools and by so interacting you consent to such Third Party Operator’s practices. If you elect to share information about your use of the Site with your social networks, you will be sending information about you to the social networking services that you designate, including Usage Data relating to your use of the Site. We are not responsible for the privacy policies and practices of such third parties and, therefore, you should review such third-party privacy policies and practices of such third parties prior to requesting information from or otherwise interacting with them. We may also share aggregated Demographic Information with our partners and advertisers. Such information is not linked to any Personal Information that can identify any individual person. We may use third-party vendors and partners to perform certain services on behalf of us or the Site, such as hosting or distributing the Site, designing and/or operating the Site’s features, tracking the Site’s activities and analytics, customer service, and enabling us to send you special offers or perform other administrative services. We may provide these third parties with access to your information, including Usage Information and Personal Information, to carry out the services they are performing for you or for us. Third-party analytics and other service providers may set and access their own Tracking Technologies on your Device and they may otherwise collect or have access to information about you, potentially including Personal Information, about you. We are not responsible for those third party technologies or activities arising out of them. To the fullest extent not prohibited by applicable law, we may also disclose your information if we believe in good faith that doing so is necessary or appropriate to: (i) protect or defend the rights, safety or property of 4‑H or third parties (including through the enforcement of this Policy, our TERMS &amp. CONDITIONS, and other applicable agreements and policies). (ii) comply with legal and regulatory obligations and government requests (e.g., pursuant to law enforcement inquiries, subpoenas or court orders). (iii) comply with our obligations and commitments to safeguard the privacy and security of your information. or (iv) prevent unauthorized, improper or illegal activities on the Site. Further, we may disclose information about you as otherwise permitted under our Terms &amp. Conditions or as specifically disclosed when we collect information from you. Additionally, if you notify us that you believe your rights have been violated in connection with the Site or another user of the Site, we may disclose information about you to the extent necessary to evaluate and respond to your concern. To the fullest extent not prohibited by applicable law, we have complete discretion in electing to make or not make such disclosures, and to contest or not contest requests for such disclosures, all without notice to you. Information You Disclose Publicly The Site may permit you to submit messages, text, illustrations, files, images, graphics, photos, comments, responses, sounds, music, videos, information, content, ratings, reviews, data, questions, suggestions, personally identifiable information, or other information or materials and the ideas contained therein (collectively, “User-Generated Content”), such as on blogs and message boards or on or in response to our pages or posts on any third party platforms or in connection with any of our promotions by any media or manner, or otherwise submitted to us (e.g., on our Facebook or other social media pages, in response to our tweets, or by mail). We or others may store, display, reproduce, publish, distribute or otherwise use User-Generated Content online or offline in any media or format (currently existing or hereafter developed) and may or may not attribute it to you. Others may have access to this User-Generated Content and may have the ability to share it with third parties. Please think carefully before deciding what information you share, including Personal Information, in connection with your User-Generated Content. Please note that 4‑H does not control who will have access to the information that you choose to make public, and cannot ensure that parties who have access to such publicly available information will respect your privacy or keep it secure. We are not responsible for the privacy or security of any information that you make publicly available on the Site or what others do with information you share with them on the Site. We are not responsible for the accuracy, use or misuse of any User-Generated Content that you disclose or receive from third parties through the Site. We are not responsible for User-Generated Content you submit to Third Party Services via our Site. We may also publish your name, voice, likeness and other Personal Information that is part of your User-Generated Content, and we may use the content, or any portion of the content, for advertising, marketing, publicity and promotional activities. If you elect to participate in a 4‑H sponsored online community, you are agreeing that any information which you post or upload (such as questions, answers, comments etc) will be public and generally available to all via the internet. For full terms and conditions regarding User-Generated Content you submit to the Site, please review our TERMS &amp. CONDITIONS. Third Party Services Our Site may contain content that is supplied by a Third Party Operator, and those third parties may collect Usage Data when such content is served to you. Third Party Services may also be available via the Site. We are not responsible for the data collection and privacy practices employed by such third parties or their services and they may be collecting data about you and may be sharing it with us and/or others. These third parties and their services may also associate their Tracking Technologies with you, track you across sites and time, serve you their own ads (including Interest-based Ads) and may or may not have their own published privacy policies. In addition, when you are on the Site you may be directed to other services that are operated and controlled by third parties that we do not control. For example, if you “click” on a link, the “click” may take you off the Site onto a different site. We encourage you to note when you leave our Site and to review the third-party privacy policies of all third-party locations and exercise caution in connection with them. Be sure to review any available privacy policies and notices before submitting any Personal Information to a third party or its services, or otherwise interacting with Third Party Services or other locations you link to from our Site, and exercise caution in connection with them. We are not responsible for the availability, completeness or accuracy of such third parties’ policies or notices. Account Registration In order to have full access to this Web site and to affiliated web sites, a user may be requested to complete a registration form which will require certain contact information (such as name and email address). This information is used to contact the user about the services for which they have expressed interest. In addition, a user may be asked to provide, at the user’s option, certain Demographic Information (such as income level and gender) or other unique identifiers, which will assist us in providing a more personalized experience. By registering, you may receive email communications from National 4‑H Council and/or from your state 4‑H office. Exercising Choice Our users are given the opportunity to ‘opt-out’ of having their information used for purposes not directly related to our Site at the time when such information is requested. Users who no longer wish to receive our newsletter or promotional materials may also opt-out by sending an email with “unsubscribe” in the subject line to the designated contact for the Site or to webmaster@fourhcouncil.edu or by calling Council at 301-961-2800. Security We endeavor to incorporate commercially reasonable safeguards to help protect and secure your Personal Information. However, no data transmission over the Internet, mobile networks, wireless transmission or electronic storage of information can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. When we transfer and receive certain types of sensitive information such as online orders and account information, we direct visitors to a state-of-the-art secure server, which communicates via state-of-the-art SSL or WTLS encryption and which has been designed to reduce the possibility of interception and hacking. However, please note that we cannot ensure the security of any information you transmit to us. You use our Site and provide us with your information at your own risk.