Privacy Policy/Terms of Use

Respecting the privacy of the visitors using our Sites is a major priority for the Foundation. The following statements will help you understand how the Foundation collects, uses and safeguards the personal information you provide to us on our Sites.

Please note that this policy applies only to the Foundation’s Sites and not to any other organizations' Web sites to which we link. Remember that when you use a link to go from a Foundation Site to another Web site, the Foundation’s Privacy Policy is no longer in effect. Your browsing and interaction on any other Web site, including Web sites the Foundation links to, is subject to that Web site's own rules and policies. Please read those rules and policies before proceeding. The Foundation does not make any representations about the practices and policies of any organization or Web site we link to and disclaims any liability or responsibility for such other Web site’s content, rules, policies or otherwise.

Types of information we collect

The types of information that may be collected on any of the Foundation’s Sites include: (1) personal information you knowingly choose to disclose that is collected on an individual basis (voluntary registration); (2) Site use information collected on an aggregate basis as you and others browse our sites; and (3) Site usage information tied to your personal information.

Voluntary Registration

Visitors to any of the Foundation’s Sites may knowingly choose to register for any of the free email newsletter(s). Visitors to Foundation Sites may knowingly choose to register to receive the “Thoughtbook,” or other printed materials. Visitors may also register for events on Kauffman Foundation Sites. When registering for events, or to receive email newsletters or printed publications, visitors may be asked to voluntarily provide their name, email address, telephone number, work address and other pertinent information. Visitors may also indicate topics of interest, which will assist us in tailoring our content to your needs. Visitors who supply information will be included in our general contact database which we will use to send emails and other communications consistent with our charitable purpose.

You may have your name removed from any of our emailing lists at any time, by following the unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of every email. If you do not wish to receive printed publications, such as the Thoughtbook, please send an email to contact@kauffman.org, or call the Foundation at 816-932-1000 and ask for the Communications Department.

Log Files

As is true of most Web sites, we gather certain information automatically and store it in log files. This information includes internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, operating system, date/time stamp, on-site bookmarks, on-site subscriptions, clickstream data and site navigation history. We use this information, which does not identify individual users, to analyze trends, to administer the site, to track users’ movements around the site and to gather information about our user base as a whole. The Foundation may collect this non-personal information even if you are not registered on any of the Sites.

We may also link this automatically-collected data to personally identifiable information. This information is tied to personably identifiable information to provide you with feedback about your experiences on the Sites and to provide you with information that you may find interesting or informative. The Foundation may also link this information to a particular individual or combine it with personal information if the Foundation has determined that it needs to identify a user because of safety or security issues or to comply with legal requirements. We do not share this automatically-collected data with third parties except those that provide direct services to us to facilitate the upkeep of and services provided thorough the Sites.

Cookies

To enable us to offer you the best possible experience when you visit the Foundation’s Sites and to offer continually updated information, we assign you a unique identification number stored in a file on your computer called a "cookie." Cookies by themselves cannot be used to find out the identity of any user. This unique identification number automatically identifies your browser - but not you - to our computers whenever you interact and browse a Foundation Site.

The cookies automatically gather certain usage information like the numbers and frequency of visitors to the Foundation’s Sites and areas visited on the Sites. We only use such data in the aggregate. This collective data helps us determine how much our customers use parts of our Sites, so we can improve our Sites to ensure that they are appealing to as many people possible.

E-mail Tracking

When you sign up to receive information or mailings from the Foundation Sites, we use clear gifs, web beacons or other such e-mail tracking devices to measure the activity of the e-mail, including your clicking on a link within an e-mail and your forwarding of the e-mail. This information is tied to your e-mail address when stored.

Information Sharing and Disclosure

The Foundation does not rent, sell, or share any personal information about individual users with any third party except to operate the Sites, provide the products or services you've requested and to send you information consistent with our charitable purpose

The information you provide to the Foundation is also used to better understand the content needs of registrants to our Sites. Our goal in collecting personal information through and monitoring visitor traffic patterns through use of cookies, log files, and e-mail tracking is to provide you with the best available Web experience for online information.

We occasionally hire other companies to provide limited services on our behalf, including packaging and mailing, answering customer questions about products or services, sending and tracking postal mail or email and processing data. We will only provide those companies the information they need to deliver the service, and they are prohibited from using that information for any other purpose.

The Foundation reserves the right to disclose your personally identifiable information to respond to a subpoena, court order or other legal process, to defend the Foundation against legal claims, or if the Foundation determines it is necessary to investigate or take action in connection with activities that the Foundation suspects are illegal, threaten the safety of any person or are in violation of these Terms.

Credit Card Information

If you choose to purchase products or pay for event registrations on the Foundation’s Sites, you may need to provide personal information and authorization for us to obtain information from various credit services. For example, in addition to the information above, you may need to provide a mailing address, billing address, credit card number and telephone number.

Security

When credit card or other personal information is provided through any of the Foundation’s Sites, this will be accomplished by establishing a "secure session" using Secure Socket Layer (SSL), or Secure Electronics Transaction (SET) protocols. These protocols encrypt all information before it is sent. The information is scrambled en route and decoded once it reaches our Sites.

Other email communications may not be secure unless you are advised that security measures will be in place prior to you transmitting the information. For this reason, you should not send confidential information, such as Social Security number, through an unsecured email.

Your Consent

By using our Sites, you consent to the collection and use of information by the Foundation as outlined in this Privacy Policy. If we decide to change our privacy policies and procedures, we will post those changes on this page so that you always have the opportunity to be aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we may disclose it.