Adopted May 2018

DONOR PRIVACY POLICY

 

This document sets forth the policy that Assistance League of Downey shall follow with respect to the contributions and privacy rights of donors.

GENERAL STATEMENTS

  • Assistance League of Downey respects the privacy of its donors and has put in place a Donor Privacy Policy to honor donor’s rights.
  • Unless otherwise provided below, the Donor Privacy Policy shall be provided or made available to any donor upon request or upon receipt of a donation.
  • Assistance League of Downey maintains records of all contributions to Assistance League of Downey. Assistance League of Downey does not sell, trade, or share its donor list with any other organization. A donor may choose to restrict the use of personal information by contacting Assistance League of Downey.
  • Unless otherwise provided below, Assistance League of Downey shall not publish, post, or distribute the name, personal contact information or amount of donation of a donor to a business or to any individual who is not a member of Assistance League of Downey (with a need to know the information) without the written consent of the donor. Exceptions shall be when required by law, grant applications, and processing credit card or other payment transactions which may be made without prior knowledge or consent of the donor.
  • Publications, promotional items and publicity of Assistance League of Downey shall include but not be limited to Informational Brochure, Assistance League of Downey newsletter, Assistance League of Downey website, annual Gala program, community newsletter, grant applications, annual reports, press releases, and Assistance League of Downey history.
  • Satisfaction of the requirement to provide a copy of the Donor Privacy Policy to Assistance League of Downey members shall be met by annually providing a copy in each Assistance League of Downey member’s Yearbook.

GENERAL PROVISIONS REGARDING ALL TYPES OF DONATIONS

  • Any individual, corporation, or business may make a contribution to Assistance League of Downey.  Donations may be monetary or in-kind.
  • A donation to Assistance League of Downey may be restricted or unrestricted. Any restrictions shall be in writing. All restricted donations shall be used solely for the intended purpose and no other.
  • Items suitable for resale, such as clothing, furniture, toys, household items, etc. that are given to Assistance League of Downey without any express restrictions on their use will be presumed to have been contributed for resale in the Thrift Shop or on Offer-Up, use in other fundraising projects (such as the annual Gala) or use in Assistance League of Downey projects or operations.
  • When Assistance League of Downey receives cash or an in-kind donation of goods or services, it obtains permission from the donor before publicizing the contribution. If the intent is to publicize the contribution in a program for an event, permission to do so will be needed before the printing deadline.
  • Assistance League of Downey does not publicize or publish donor information on contributions of items placed in the Thrift Shop for resale, sold on Offer-Up or used in the operation of the Thrift Shop for displays, marking or preparing items, etc. or in other philanthropic projects.
  • All donations shall be treated individually so that multiple donations from a single donor shall receive the same consideration as if each were the first donation received.
  • The authorization to release or refuse the listing of the name and/or donation amount of the donor shall be in place for the fiscal year in which the donation is received. The donor may change the decision regarding the refusal to print the donor’s name and/or amount, but may not change the decision regarding publishing once the donor’s name and/or the amount has been released.
  • The refusal to permit disclosure of a donation does not preclude Assistance League of Downey from providing information on documents when the chapter is obligated to disclose such details. Examples would be for tax reporting purposes, grant applications, and processing credit card or other payment transactions.
  • Members of the Assistance League of Downey Board, the Assistance League of Downey committee chairmen or committee or subcommittee members requiring access to the information may view the names of the donors and the amount of donations, with instructions not to disseminate further.

DONATIONS OF REUSABLE ITEMS FOR RESALE

  • Upon request, donors will be provided a “Donor Receipt” for reusable items suitable for resale in the Thrift House or for use in Thrift Shop marketing (i.e., displays, storage, hanging, etc.) or other philanthropic programs or projects. The donor is responsible for itemizing or describing the items donated and for the valuation of the donated items.
  • Assistance League of Downey does not make or keep lists of donors of reusable items such as clothing, furniture, household items, etc. Copies of donor receipts are kept as set out below.
  • No personal information on donors or the type and value of donations or reusable items are published or publicized. Information on such donations is not sold, traded or shared with any other organization.  Information on donors and donations may be provided when required by law, for example, for tax reporting purposes or when processing credit card or other payment transactions.
  • Donor Receipts are filed in a secure location. Receipts are filed by Assistance League of Downey fiscal year; files and/or file plans do not use or display personal information of individual donors. This information is kept on file for IRS purposes and is held for five years.

DONATIONS TO DIRECT MAIL FUNDRAISING PROJECTS

  • Forms or brochures that are used to solicit contributions must have at least some part of the donor privacy policy included. Any brochure or document (such as an enclosure card) containing a request for donations or asking a donor to call or write is required to include wording regarding a donor’s privacy rights. Placement of the wording shall be on that portion requesting a contribution (or as close to the donation request as possible) since it is impossible to include a full copy of Assistance League of Downey’s donor policy. As long as there is no publication or publicity of donor’s names and/or amounts, the policy may be stated as: “Assistance League of Downey does not publish donor names and/or amounts of donations.”  If publication of donors’ names is contemplated, then the permission statements set out in “Donations Solicited in Community Publications” shall be used.

DONATIONS OTHER THAN ITEMS FOR RESALE IN THRIFT SHOP AND DIRECT MAIL

  • Except for donations of items for resale or use in operating the Thrift Shop and direct mail solicitations, Assistance League of Downey shall send a letter to the donor acknowledging the contribution, the amount of the donation and any restrictions the donor has placed on the donation. The letter may contain prepared standard paragraphs appropriate to the particular donation. The President, Corresponding Secretary, or event chairman will sign the letter. The letter includes the following pertinent information:

– The donation received.

– The exact name of the donor.

– Any restrictions the donor placed on the donation.

– How Assistance League of Downey intends to use the donation (e.g., table favors, to purchase school clothing for Operation School Bell®, to defray cost of printing, etc).A statement regarding Assistance League of Downey’s privacy policy or reference to an accompanying document containing the policy.

– The publications where Assistance League of Downey intends to acknowledge the donation. (Be as inclusive as possible.  Do not limit inclusion solely to Gala’s program when the donor may also be acknowledged in the chapter’s annual report.)An opportunity for the donor to accept or reject the recognition in publications.

– Include a place for the donor to date and sign the document.  Provide a copy of the letter to be completed and returned to the chapter. An opportunity for the donor to view publications of the chapter where donor names and contributions have been acknowledged, and the viewing procedures.

NOTE:  This letter can also satisfy the requirement that Assistance League of Downey send out letters for income tax purposes to donors giving more than $250 as long as it contains the necessary IRS required information. A copy of the letter should be filed by the Corresponding Secretary.

DONATIONS SOLICITED IN COMMUNITY PUBLICATIONS Documents that actively solicit contributions must-have part of the privacy policy included.

  • An example would be a brochure that has a panel seeking monetary contributions.
  • Any Assistance League of Downey brochure or document containing a request for donations through a tear-off panel or asking a donor to call or write is required to contain wording regarding a donor’s privacy rights.  Placement of the wording shall be on that portion requesting a contribution since it is impossible to include a full copy of the chapter’s donor policy (or as close to the donation request if a tear-off panel is not included).
  • Assistance League of Downey may publish the names of donors in the Assistance League of Downey monthly newsletter or other publications.
  • Suggested ways to present the policy in a brochure or form if donations will be published or publicized and for contributions made using an Assistance League of Downey form or brochure, such as “We Honor and Remember,” are:

 “Please give full or partial permission to include your donation in publications of Assistance League of Downey by selecting below (you may view the publications prior to completing this portion by contacting Assistance League of Downey):

You may include only my name.

You may include my name and donation.

Do not include any of my information as I wish this donation to be anonymous.

RIGHTS OF DONOR REGARDING PHOTOGRAPHS

  • Except as provided below, a donor’s photograph will not be used at any time or in any publications without the donor’s written or implied consent. Agreeing to appear in a photograph shall imply consent. This implied consent shall apply to the name and likeness of the donor being published in documents described in the General Statements section, however, a description of the amount or type of contribution should not be included without the verbal or written consent of the donor. Consent forms are available from the Vice President Public Relations and in the Assistance League of  Downey office. If Assistance League of Downey contemplates using a description of the amount or type of donation with the photograph then, prior to publication, a copy of the Donor Privacy Policy shall be sent to the donor with a request that the donor notify Assistance League of Downey within ten (10) business days of the mailing date if the donor does not wish the photograph and accompanying information to be released. The letter shall provide the donor a name, address and phone number for the reply.  A donor’s failure to reply within the time frame shall imply consent for the use.
  • It is not necessary to obtain written or oral consent from other individuals photographed in large crowds and/or groups if the photograph is taken at any event sponsored by Assistance League of Downey. Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a copy of this Donor Privacy Policy to those so appearing before using the photograph.
  • Donors or agencies sending unsolicited photographs to Assistance League of Downey shall imply consent for Assistance League of Downey to use or publish the photographs in the documents described in the General Statements above or post in Assistance League of Downey premises not accessible to the general public.
  • At all times, an Assistance League of Downey member in attendance at any event sponsored by Assistance League of Downey or the National Assistance League, any Assistance League of Downey meetings (Board, regular, projects, committees, subcommittees, teas, luncheons, etc.) or any fundraiser agrees that the member’s name and likeness may appear in any Assistance League of Downey publications, including but not limited to those listed in the General Statements section.

RECORD KEEPING AND CONFIDENTIALITY

  • All financial records and donor information are maintained by Assistance League of Downey.
  • Assistance League of Downey shall keep all donor information in a secure location at its office in the Thrift House or such secure locations outside of the Assistance League of Downey office as deemed necessary and appropriate.
  • Assistance League of Downey never provides any personal contact information, social security number, credit card number, date of birth or other personal information about a donor to anyone outside Assistance League of Downey’s membership unless disclosure is required by law or is necessary to process a transaction authorized by a donor, such as to process a credit card transaction.
  • Personal contact information is given only to members of Assistance League of Downey who require the information to carry out Assistance League of Downey projects and programs. Members are instructed not to disseminate the information further.
  • The Assistance League of Downey Board will select one person to be the custodian of the written donor contribution documents and the publicity consent forms. Event chairmen may also want copies, but one individual will keep track of all donor contributions and privacy requests.

This Donor Privacy Policy may be obtained by contacting Assistance League of Downey, 11026 Downey Ave, Downey, CA 90241 (562) 869-0232.