November 23, 2006

 Indego Africa Project (“IAP”) is committed to the highest standards of integrity in all fundraising efforts and to the ethical collection, retention and use of information on donors and prospects.  When donors give to IAP, they can be confident that the information provide to IAP will be kept in the strictest confidence.

SECTION 1.  Personal Information.  When donors fill out and submit any donation or event-related forms, applications or registrations (whether online or otherwise), donors are asked to provide certain personal information, such as his or her name, title, company name, address, phone and/or fax number, e-mail address and payment information such as bank account and credit card numbers (“Payment Information” and, collectively, “Personal Information”).  IAP asks only for the Personal Information necessary to complete the transactions requested by the donor. 

SECTION 2.  Payment Information.  In particular, IAP may collect Payment Information from its donors so that IAP can process donations.  If IAP collects such Payment Information, IAP shall maintain Payment Information on IAP’s secure servers for IAP internal processes only.  If IAP uses a processing service to process donations by credit card, wire transfer or any other payment method, the company providing such service shall not retain, share, store or use any Personal Information for any secondary purposes.

SECTION 3.   Restricted Use; Authorized Uses.  IAP does not sell, rent, share or otherwise disclose donors’ Personal Information to any outside party, unless legally required to do so.  Any Personal Information that donors provide will be used only to (a) process the donor’s transaction, (b) create statistical (non-individual) data for internal use by IAP, (c) visit donors on behalf of IAP, or (d) other uses related to the fulfillment of IAP’s Mission Statement (“Authorized Uses”).  For instance, some aggregated donor Personal Information may be used to (i) evaluate and improve the IAP website, (ii) help diagnose problems with IAP servers or shared servers, (iii) gather broad demographic information, and (iv) analyze trends.

SECTION 4.   Mailings and Updates.  When making a donation to IAP, donors may be asked to check a box to “receive email updates” or “receive mailings” from IAP.  IAP will obtain and protect such information to the same degree as other Personal Information under this privacy policy.  If a donor has so indicated, IAP may choose to send e-mail updates or mailings to the donor until the donor indicates that he or she does not wish to receive such e-mail updates or mailings.

SECTION 5.   Security and Access.  IAP maintains strict physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect donors’ Personal Information.  Access to Personal Information about donors is restricted to only those officers, volunteers and employees of IAP who need access to such Personal Information in order to undertake Authorized Uses pursuant to Section 3 of this privacy policy.

SECTION 6.   Changes to Privacy Policy.  If at some point in the future there is a change to IAP’s information usage practices that affect donors’ Personal Information, it will be reflected in the privacy policy date posted on this document.

SECTION 7.   Donors’ Bill of Rights.  IAP subscribes to the Donor Bill of Rights developed by the American Association of Fund Raising Counsel (“AAFRC”), Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (“AHP”), Council for Advancement and Support of Education (“CASE”), and the National Society of Fundraising Professionals (“NSFP”), as follows:  “Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good.  It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life.  To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

I.                To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.

II.              To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.

III.            To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.

IV.            To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.

V.              To receive appropriate acknowledgment and recognition.

VI.            To be assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.

VII.          To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.

VIII.        To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.

IX.             To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.

X.                To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.”

The text of this statement in its entirety was developed by the AAFRC, AHP, CASE and NSFP.

SECTION 8.   Use of Cookies.  Visitors to the IAP website should be aware that non-personal information and data may be automatically collected by the IAP website through the use of “cookies.”  “Cookies” are small text files a website can use to recognize repeat visitors, facilitate the visitor’s ongoing access to and use of the site, and allow a site to track usage behavior and compile aggregate data that will allow content improvements.  Cookies are not programs that come onto a visitor’s system and damage files.  Generally, cookies work by assigning a unique number to the visitor that has no meaning outside the assigning site.  If a visitor does not want information collected through the use of cookies, there is a simple procedure in most browsers that allows the visitor to deny or accept the cookie feature.  IAP may use “cookie” technology only to obtain non-personal information from its online visitors in order to improve visitors’ online experience and facilitate their visit within our site.

SECTION 9.   Feedback and Questions.  IAP works hard to ensure that donors’ giving experience is a positive one.  If donors have any questions about this privacy policy, the practices of IAP, or the donors’ dealings with the IAP website, please contact:

Donor Support
Indego Africa Project
507 Archwood Trail
Houston, TX 77007
donor.support@indegoafrica.org This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
Tel: 202.580.8470

SECTION 10. Acknowledgment of Privacy Policy.  By submitting Personal Information to IAP, the donor acknowledges that he or she has read this privacy policy, understands it, agrees to its terms and authorizes IAP to collect, use and disclose Personal Information pursuant to the terms of this privacy policy.