Privacy Notice

Information we collect

Information you give us. We collect information that you choose to provide to us, both online and offline.

For example, we may collect your:

• Name
• Email address
• Mailing address
• Telephone number
• Information a parent or guardian provides about a prospective or enrolled student, such as the student’s name, school, grade, and age
• Donation and payment information

This information may be requested when you:

• Sign up for our newsletter or other emails
• Request information about our programs or enrolling a student
• Apply or inquire about becoming a mentor or volunteer
• Register for an event
• Make a donation
• Contact us

Information we collect automatically. When you visit our website, we and our service providers may automatically collect technical information, including your IP address, browser and device type, the pages you visit, the website that referred you, and the dates and times of your visits. Please see “Cookies and Tracking” below for more information.

Information collected through third-party forms. Many of the forms on our site – including requests for program information, mentor and scholar applications, event registrations and forms, and newsletter signups – are hosted by third-party form providers. Information you enter into those forms is transmitted to and stored by those providers on our behalf. Any information you submit through these third-party providers may be also governed by that provider’s privacy policy.

We use this information to respond to your inquiries and to periodically share updates about our programs, events, partnerships, and opportunities to give.

Donations

When you make a donation, we collect the information needed to process it. Donations are processed through third-party giving platforms. Payment card information is entered on and processed by those platforms; we do not collect your payment card information directly. We receive transaction details and donor contact information from those platforms.

• We honor all requests for anonymous donations.
• If donations are processed through a third-party provider, your information is used only to complete the transaction and is governed by that provider’s privacy policy.
• If you participate in a United Way campaign, your information will be handled according to that campaign’s posted policy.

Use of Cookies and Tracking

We use tools such as Google Analytics and the Meta (Facebook) Pixel to understand how visitors find and use our site. This may include:

• IP addresses
• Pages visited
• Referring websites

We may also use advertising and remarketing tools to promote our programs and opportunities to give. In addition, certain features of our website (for example, security and search-optimization tools) and the donation and form tools embedded on our site may set their own cookies.

We also use cookies to:

• Remember your preferences
• Personalize your experience
• Improve our website and services
• Analyze traffic and usage patterns
• Measure and improve the effectiveness of our outreach and advertising

Your choices. Most browsers allow you to block or delete cookies through their settings. You can also install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on and adjust your advertising preferences through your Meta/Facebook account settings. Please note that blocking some cookies may affect how parts of our site function.

International Residents

Our website is intended for users in the United States and is hosted in the United States. Information you submit through the site will be processed in the United States under applicable U.S. law.

We do not share personal information

Higher Achievement does not sell, rent, or trade your personal information.

We use your information only for:

• Responding to your inquiries and requests for information
• Reviewing and administering student and mentor applications
• Administering and operating our programs
• Processing and acknowledging donations and issuing receipts
• Sending newsletters, event invitations, and fundraising communications
• Administering events and registrations
• Operating, securing, and improving our website
• Complying with legal, tax, and audit obligations

We do not send communications on behalf of other organizations.

How We Share Your Information

We share personal information only as needed to operate our organization and our programs. We may share information with:

• Service providers and vendors that help us operate our website and forms, process donations, manage our donor database, and send email
• Professional advisors and auditors
• Others where required by law, or where we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the rights and safety of Higher Achievement, our participants, or others

Our service providers are permitted to use your information only to provide services to us. We may also share aggregated or de-identified information that does not identify you individually.

Children’s Privacy

We comply with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).

• Our website is designed for adults, and we do not knowingly collect personal information online directly from children under 13.
• Because our programs serve students, a parent or guardian may submit information about their child through our forms. We use that information to evaluate eligibility, communicate with the family, and administer the program.
• If we learn that we have inadvertently collected personal information directly from a child under 13 through our website, we will delete it.

How We Protect Your Information

We maintain reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect the information we collect. Our website uses encryption in transit (HTTPS), and access to personal information is limited to staff and service providers who need it to do their work. Donations are processed on PCI-compliant third-party platforms, so we do not store payment card numbers. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

How Long We Keep Your Information

We keep personal information for as long as needed for the purposes described in this policy, and longer where we are required to retain it for tax, accounting, audit, grant-reporting, or other legal obligations. Donation records, in particular, are retained to meet these obligations. Program and participant records are retained consistent with our records-retention practices. When information is no longer needed, we delete it or remove information that identifies you. You may request deletion of your information as described in “Your Choices” below.

Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to external sites. We are not responsible for their content or privacy practices. We encourage you to review their policies.

Your Choices

Providing information is voluntary, and you may opt out at any time.

You can:

• Unsubscribe from our emails using the link in any message we send, or by emailing info@higherachievement.org
• Request access to, correction of, or deletion of the information we hold about you
• Ask to be excluded from our mailing lists and fundraising appeals
• Manage cookies through your browser settings, as described in “Cookies and Tracking” above

We will honor your requests consistent with our legal and recordkeeping obligations. Please note that some records, such as donation records, must be retained.

Contact Us

For questions or feedback about this policy, please contact:
info@higherachievement.org. We welcome your questions about privacy.

Changes to this Policy

We may update this policy from time to time. Changes take effect when the revised policy is posted on this page, and we will update the “Last Updated” date above to reflect when the changes were made. If we make a material change in how we use or share information we collected before the change, we will use reasonable efforts to provide reasonable advance notice — for example, by posting a notice on our website or emailing the address you provided — and that change will not apply to information collected before the change until the notice period has passed.