Cat Adoption Team (CAT) understands the importance of protecting the privacy of personal information. The purpose of this policy is to state CAT’s position on donor confidentiality and donor anonymity and will guide the actions of the staff, board of directors, and other volunteers, regarding the rights of donors and potential donors to confidentiality regarding their donations.

We respect and protect the privacy of our donors and adhere to the following guidelines:

• Information about donors and donations is handled with respect and confidentiality.
• We do not sell, share, rent, or trade our donors’ names or personal information with other entities, nor do we send mailings to our donors on behalf of other organizations.
• The personal information you provide when making an online donation or registering for an event will not be disclosed to any unauthorized third-parties.
• To the extent any donations are processed through a third-party service provider, our donors’ information will only be used for purposes necessary to process and respond to the donation.
• Employees and volunteers of CAT are not permitted to use donor information for any purpose other than to carry out the services they are performing for the benefit CAT.
• Donors who provide us with a postal address or email address may receive periodic mailings about CAT, its programs, and upcoming events. If you prefer not to receive these mailings, please let us know by sending an email to [email protected] or by calling (503) 925-8903 x 6.
• If you have supplied your telephone number, you may receive telephone contact from us regarding your donation or responding to requests you have made. To opt out of phone contact, please let us know your preference by sending an email to [email protected] or by calling (503) 925-8903 x 6.

This policy applies to all donor information received by CAT, both online and offline, on any Platform (“Platform”, includes the third-party donation sites), as well as any electronic, written, or oral communications.

Policies

Confidentiality of records

The Executive Director and Communications & Development Manager shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of donor and prospect records and will ensure that all staff have clear direction regarding the confidentiality of records through the establishment of appropriate operating procedures. These managers may make all or part of any record available to staff members or volunteers if essential to them in executing their responsibilities. Disclosure decisions will honor the wishes of donors. CAT will not sell, share, rent, or trade your personal information to third-party organizations for marketing or other purposes.

To carry out its responsibilities, the board of directors and/or other development volunteers may need to review donor/prospect records. They shall respect CAT’s significant interest in protecting the sensitive nature of those records and shall maintain these policies for donor confidentiality.

CAT’s auditors are authorized to review donor and prospect records as required for the purposes for which they are engaged. Gift agreements are considered “strictly confidential information” and are not public documents. Particulars of a gift agreement will not be shared with the general public unless the donor has granted permission to do this.

Publication of donor names

The names of donors are only listed in CAT’s annual report, on the website, and/or in similar public relations communications with the express permission of those donors. Exceptions will be made for any donor who requests anonymity.

CAT will not publish the specific amount of any donor’s gift without the permission of the donor.

Donors making gifts to CAT by bequest or other testamentary device are deemed to have granted such permission, unless otherwise noted.

Honor/memorial gifts

The names of donors of memorial or honor gifts may be released to the honoree, next of kin, or individual(s) designated by the immediate family, unless otherwise specified by the donor. Gift amounts are not released without express consent of the donor.

Kinds of information

CAT defines “personal information” as information that can be used to distinguish, identify, or contact a specific individual. It does not include publicly available information such as business contact information, names, addresses, and telephone numbers as published in public sources, such as telephone directories. Credit card information is handled by a secure third-party host and used only to process payment initiated by a person contacting CAT. Credit card information is not stored by the Cat Adoption Team.

How we use it

CAT collects, uses, and discloses personal information concerning our donors for the following reasons:

• To establish a relationship and communicate with donors
• To understand who our donors are and how we may improve our services to meet their preferences and expectations
• To process a donation (e.g. a credit card transaction)
• To issue a tax receipt
• To recognize contributions
• To meet requirements imposed by law

If you have questions about this policy, please contact the development and communications director at [email protected] or by calling (503) 925-8903 x 228.