Privacy Policy

Our Commitment

It is the policy of The University of Connecticut Foundation, Inc. (the “Foundation”) to respect the privacy of its website users and we will strive to protect it on our website and affiliated giving websites. This privacy policy outlines our procedures with respect to website management and how we protect information gathered via this website and affiliated giving websites, and about what choices you have concerning our use of such information. This policy, together with our Terms of Use and Conditions, sets out the basis by which data we collect from you will be used, disclosed, processed and handled.

Please read this policy carefully. The Foundation reserves the right to change this website privacy policy without prior notice, however, if we materially change this policy, we will post a notice of those changes on the website. Please refer back to this policy regularly. Your continued use of the website will be deemed your agreement that your information may be used in accordance with the new policy.  If you do not agree with the changes, then you should stop using the website, and you should notify us that you do not want your information used in accordance with the changes.

Information We Collect

We gather information about you through our website if you voluntarily provide us with your information, such as when you make a contribution, complete an online form, register for an event, or communicate by sending us an email or completing a survey. On certain pages on our website, such as in connection with making a contribution via the website, or if you ask by email for more information about our programs or objectives, you may be asked to provide information such as name, address, phone number, fax number, email address, demographics, credit card, and other information. We do not process or store your credit card information. If you make a contribution through our website, your payment is processed through a third-party payment processor.

We also gather details of your visits to our website and the resources that you access, including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, weblogs and other communication data, including your IP address, the date and time you accessed or left the website and which pages you viewed. Some parts of our website use cookies and other tracking technologies to collect this information about you and your internet usage. See sections below “Use of Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies” to learn more.

We may gather information about you that is available to the public from other websites or sources such as LinkedIn and Facebook.

By submitting a telephone number to the Foundation, you agree that a representative of the Foundation can contact you at the number you provide, potentially using automated technology (including texts/SMS messaging) or a pre-recorded message. Your consent is not an obligation to receive any of our products and/or services.

USE OF COOKIES AND OTHER TRACKING TECHNOLOGIES

Our website uses cookies and other tracking technology. A “cookie” is a piece of text which asks permission to be placed on your device’s hard drive. Once you agree, this cookie file is stored on the hard drive of your device. By continuing to browse the website, you are agreeing to our use of cookies and tracking technologies.

As do most standard web servers, ours uses log files which include IP addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks in order to analyze trends, administer the website, collect broad demographic information for aggregate use.

We use the following cookies:

Strictly necessary cookies. These are cookies that are needed for the operation of our website. They include, for example, cookies that enable you to log into secure areas of our website.

Analytical/performance cookies. They allow us to recognize and count the number of visitors and to see how visitors move around our website when they are using it. This helps us to improve the way our website works. Examples include Facebook Connect, Hotjar, Jetpack, LinkedIn, Wallee and X Advertising (Twitter).

Functionality cookies. These are used to recognize you when you return to our website. This enables us to personalize our content for you, greet you by name and remember your preferences.

Targeting/advertising cookies. These cookies record your visit to our website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed. We will use this information to make our website and the advertising displayed on it more relevant to your interests. We may also share this information with third parties for this purpose. Examples include DoubleClick, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn Ads, MailChimp, and X Advertising (Twitter).

Our third party vendors may get more information about your activity on our website, including pages you visit, access times, visit duration, how you arrived at our websites and your IP address. An IP address is a number that identifies a device connected to the internet. For most devices, the IP address changes on at least a weekly basis. Our third party vendors may also get device identifiers and specific information about the browser you use. In some cases, this information may be unique to you. The Foundation utilizes a third party vendor, Google Analytics, to assist in collecting and analyzing such data. Refer to Google’s privacy policy for more information on how Google uses and discloses the information collected by visiting https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites.

Pixels

Additionally, our website uses pixels which are HTML code snippets that are loaded when a user visits a website or opens an email. It is useful for tracking user behavior and activity. With a tracking pixel, advertisers can get data for online marketing, web analysis or email marketing. If such data is analyzed in a particular way, the data collected through these pixels can be used for other purposes as well, for example retargeting/behavioral advertising.

For example, we deploy the Facebook Pixel on our website. The Facebook Pixel may enable Facebook to match website visitors with their Facebook User Accounts. You can find out more about how Facebook collects and uses data by clicking here.

We also use Google Analytics, Google Ads, LinkedIn and Twitter.

If you’d like to disable these tracking pixels, there are a number of ways in which you can prevent your data from being collected by tracking pixels:

Set browser and email settings to be as restrictive as possible such that external graphics are only supported after permission, and HTML emails are not supported. Appropriate firewall settings can also do this.

Some browser extensions can be used to make tracking pixels visible (e.g. PixelBlock, uBlock Origin, HTTPS Everywhere, etc.).

For more information about how targeted advertising works, you can visit the Network Advertising Initiative’s (“NAI”) educational page.

You can opt out of specific third-party targeted advertising by visiting the settings pages of those third parties, such as:

Please note that third parties (including, for example, advertising networks and providers of external services like web traffic analysis services) may also use cookies, over which we have no control. These cookies are likely to be analytical or performance cookies or targeting cookies.

Changing Your Cookie Settings

Most Internet browsers accept cookies by default, but you can change your browser preferences to block or restrict cookies if you do not want your web browsing activity tracked. Please note that some cookies are necessary for our website to run and, as such, cannot be declined. However, such cookies do not collect any personally identifiable information. If you choose, you may use the Digital Advertising Alliance (DAA) WebChoices Tool to globally opt out of third-party tracking via website cookies. There are also a variety of other tools publicly available to manage cookies and similar technologies that collect information related to your use of our website. To learn more about cookies and modifying your browser settings related to these cookies you can review guidance from the Federal Trade Commission.

We are not responsible for the effectiveness or compliance of third-party opt-out mechanisms or programs. Please note that if you remove your cookies or upgrade your browser after having opted out, you will need to opt out again. Your opt out is specific to the browser you are using and the device you use to access the website. Therefore, if you use multiple browsers or devices you will need to opt out on each browser or device. You can access the information on our website without enabling cookies in your browser, but disabling cookies may result in a diminished ability to take advantage of the services and related informational content on our website.

Donations & Event Registrations

Online donations and event registrations are processed by affiliated vendors, including Blackbaud, Aventri, Network For Good, MailChimp, MobileCause, Community Funded, and WooCommerce. Credit card and other information you provide when making an online donation is provided directly to the third-party vendor for the purpose of processing and recording gifts. All credit card information is encrypted at the time of processing and not stored by the Foundation for further use. The providers have agreed not to use any information they receive in connection with work for the Foundation in any manner inconsistent with this privacy policy. The providers have been charged with protecting this information in accordance with the prevailing industry standards as maintained by the provider and described more fully in their privacy policies.

Links to Other Websites

This website may contain links to third party vendor websites, such as email services, online donor pages and events registration pages. Links to our vendor’s privacy policies are below:

The Foundation uses all information gathered online, either in aggregate or on an individual basis, from its website, email or social media strictly for Foundation and University-related business. By accessing third party websites through our website, you are consenting to the terms and privacy policies of those websites.  We do not accept any responsibility or liability for their policies whatsoever as we have no control over them.

Use of Your Information

The information that we collect and store relating to you is primarily used to enable us to communicate with you and send you information you have chosen to receive. We also may use your personal information to administer and inform our programs and initiatives. We may also use and disclose to third parties aggregated information and statistics regarding donations and contributions to the Foundation.

Disclosure of Your Information

We may disclose your information to third-party representatives with whom we contract to update our files and to University-affiliated organizations in support of the University’s goals and objectives. We may use any information you disclose to us or that you provide to us in online applications in order to process your donations or to call, mail and provide marketing information about the University or the Foundation to you. We may also publicize your name, year of graduation and your category of support in our honor roll of donors, annual report and/or other donor recognition publications, which are publicly available, unless you specifically ask to remain anonymous.

The Foundation provides information to third party vendors for updating and marketing purposes as described in this policy and to University-affiliated organizations in support of the University’s goals and objectives. Also, although unlikely, the Foundation may be required by law enforcement or judicial authorities to provide information to the appropriate governmental authorities. In these cases, we will provide this information to the extent we have determined that the disclosure of any such information is appropriate.

We may also disclose your information where we are contractually obligated to or when we sell any or all of our organization and/or assets to a third party, whether through dissolution or other means.

Security

To secure your information, we have put in place commercially suitable physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect on our website. Nonetheless, the transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure and therefore we cannot guarantee the security of data sent to us electronically on our website, and transmission of such data is therefore entirely at your own risk.

Our online giving page is a secured website, evidenced by the lock icon located on user browser pages. However, no encryption system can guarantee perfect security with the Internet, and therefore we cannot guarantee the security of data sent to us electronically on our website, and transmission of such data is therefore entirely at your own risk.

EDITING AND DELETING PERSONAL INFORMATION

As applicable and/or as required by law, if your information changes (such as zip code, phone, email or postal address), or to otherwise fulfill your reasonable requests regarding edits to and/or deletion of personal information, please contact us.

Opting Out of Email

Email recipients may unsubscribe from Foundation-related marketing emails by clicking on the link at the bottom of the email sent, or by contacting us by phone or email.

EU Residents: ADDITIONAL DATA PROTECTION RIGHTS YOU MAY HAVE

The Foundation has its headquarters in the United States and information that the Foundation collects about you will be processed in the United States. By providing personal information to the Foundation, as described in this policy, you acknowledge that your personal information will be processed in the United States and, depending on the circumstances, that may involve a transfer of your information to the United States.

Depending on where you reside, applicable laws may give you additional rights with respect to your personal data. If such laws apply to you (for example, if you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA)), you may ask to see your data or request, to the extent allowed by law, to have your data corrected or erased. You may also object to or request restrictions on how your data will be processed. You may ask that your data be forwarded or transferred to another organization, to the extent technically feasible. Finally, to the extent allowed by law, you may withdraw consent you have given to certain data processing, without penalty. If you do decide to withdraw consent at a later date, your withdrawal will not affect the legality of the processing of your data up to that point. In various countries, you have a right to lodge a complaint with the appropriate data protection authority if you have concerns about how the Foundation processes your personal data. If you have any questions concerning your rights under applicable laws, you may also contact us.

Users’ Age

Our website is designed and intended for those who have reached the age of 16 or older. By using our website, you affirm that you are at least 16 years of age or older. We are not liable for any damages that may result from a user’s misrepresentation of age.

No one under age 13 is authorized to submit or post any information, including personally identifying information, on our website. Under no circumstances may anyone under age 13 use our website.  Parents or legal guardians of children under 13 cannot agree to these terms on their behalf.

Acceptance of Privacy Policy

By accessing and/or using www.foundation.uconn.edu you signify your acceptance of our Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to this policy, please do not use our website. Your continued use of the Foundation website following the posting of changes to these terms will mean that you accept these changes. If you do not agree with any changes to these terms, please stop using our website and notify us that you do not want your information used in accordance with the changes.

Copyright Statement

All documents, webpages, photographs and images are the property of or licensed by The University of Connecticut Foundation, Inc., except where noted. Permission is required to copy, download, or use any text, photographs, or image files.  For copyright information regarding the UConn Foundation homepage, contact the AVP of External Relations at (860) 486-5000.

ACCESSIBILITY STATEMENT

We are committed to making sure that our website is accessible to everyone. Please see our Accessibility Statement here.

Contacting Us

We welcome any queries, comments, complaints or requests you may have regarding this Privacy Policy.  Please do not hesitate to contact us at:

The University of Connecticut Foundation, Inc.

2390 Alumni Dr., Unit 3206, Storrs, CT 06269

[email protected]

(860) 486-5000

Effective Date: May 14, 2024