Privacy Policy - the basics

4. Who can see your information

What other visitors and Members can see

• Listings and organization profiles are public. Anyone can view an approved listing without logging in while it's live. Past listings drop out of the main browse lists, the home page and the default map the day after their date, and are removed from all public views 7 days after their end date or event date (see section 11). You need to sign in to apply or donate.

  • What a listing shows:

    • its title, type, category, description and photo;

    • the Organization's name, website and logo;

    • the location: browse cards show the city and state, and an opened listing shows the event's full street address (and its spot on our map, where shown);

    • dates and times, minimum age and available spots;

    • for Fundraisers: the goal, the amount raised, the number of donors, the deadline and its status.

  • Public listing data. A listing's data, including the event address and its map coordinates, is publicly accessible.

  • Donor names are not shown on listings.

  • Organization profiles show the Organization's name, description, logo, website, city and state.

  • Organization contact details.

    • Email: an Organization's contact email is always shown on its public profile, so volunteers and donors can reach it.

    • Phone:

      • An Organization's phone number is shown on its profile unless the Organization ticks "Hide my phone number from the public."

      • If it's hidden, Members and the public never see it.

    • Street address: an Organization's own street address is not shown publicly.

  • A listing's contact email is not shown publicly.

• Individual Fundraisers show the person's first name and last initial (for example, "Jane D."), plus the Fundraiser's location and the label "Personal fundraiser. Gifts go directly to Jane D. and are not tax-deductible." They never show the person's email, phone or date of birth.

Organizations you interact with

• If you apply to an opportunity, the Organization that posted it can see your name, email, phone number, date of birth and bio, along with your application.

• Application notifications. When you apply, the in-site notifications we send you about your application (and emails, once we turn them on) include the Organization's name, its contact email, its phone number if shown, and a link to its profile, so you can reach it.

• Contacting an Organization. Sent to Serve doesn't have in-site messaging. To reach an Organization, you use the contact email shown on its profile, or its phone number if the Organization has chosen to show it.

  • Anything you send that way, such as emails, calls or texts, is between you and the Organization. The same goes when an Organization contacts you using the details in your application.

  • Sent to Serve doesn't see, store or monitor those communications, unless you forward them to us, for example in a report. The Organization's own privacy practices apply to what you share with it.

  • Please be thoughtful about the personal information you share, and only share what's needed.

• If you donate, the Recipient sees, on Sent to Serve, your name, the date, the amount, the fees and the status of your gift, and the donation-received email we send it includes your name. It doesn't see your email or card details from us.

  • Giving anonymously. You can tick "Give anonymously" on the donate form. You choose this before you donate, and it can't be changed after you give. Sent to Serve then hides your name from the Recipient and other users and marks your gift as anonymous (our own team can still see it). The Recipient's Donations log and My Fundraisers page show "Anonymous donor", and our donation-received email says "An anonymous donor". We still keep your name and your account details with our record of the gift, so you can see it in My Donations and we can handle refunds, disputes and legal or tax questions. We keep that record for 7 years and then remove your personal details from it (Section 8).

  • What Stripe still records. Your payment is made through the Recipient's own Stripe account, so Stripe still records your transaction details, which usually include your name and email, and the Recipient can see them in its Stripe account. Sent to Serve doesn't control that. The anonymous option only controls what our Site shows.

  • Stripe gives the Recipient its own record of the payment, which may include your email address, billing details and your card's brand and last four digits, because your payment is made on the Recipient's Stripe account. The Recipient's use of it is governed by its own policies and Stripe's.

The Sent to Serve team

• The Sent to Serve team (our administrator) can access Site data to review listings, help with support requests, look into reports and keep the Site safe.

• Organization phone numbers. We collect every Organization's phone number for our own use, for example to verify the Organization, help with support and respond to safety concerns. We do this even when the Organization hides its number from the public.

Service providers and Stripe

• Wix.com hosts the Site, stores its data, manages member logins and forms, sends our emails (including the transactional emails in Section 3), and provides error monitoring. Wix pages load an error-reporting service, Sentry, which may receive technical data such as your IP address and browser type when an error occurs. (Wix Privacy Policy)

• Wix Analytics (part of Wix) and Google Analytics (Google LLC) collect usage and device data for us, so we can understand how the Site is used (see Sections 2 and 6). Google Analytics data goes to Google, under Google's Privacy Policy. We've turned off Google's advertising features and data sharing for our analytics.

• Stripe processes donations on each Recipient's own Stripe account, verifies the identity of Recipients, and handles payouts. Recipients issue any refunds and receipts through their Stripe accounts. Stripe also uses some payment data for its own purposes, such as fraud prevention and legal compliance, under its own privacy policy and as an independent controller. (Stripe Privacy Policy)

Legal and safety reasons

• We may share information if the law requires it, or to protect the rights, safety or property of our Members, the public or Sent to Serve.

If Sent to Serve changes

• If Sent to Serve is involved in a merger, reorganization, dissolution, or transfer of all or part of its work or assets, your information may be transferred as part of it. It would remain protected by this policy or one at least as protective.

We don't sell personal information, and we don't process it for targeted advertising. Some state laws may treat analytics cookies as 'sharing.' Once our cookie banner is in place, you'll be able to opt out with Reject or Settings. Until then, you can block or delete cookies in your browser settings, or use Google's Analytics opt-out browser add-on.

What to include in the Privacy Policy

5. Donations and payment information

• How payments work:

  • Every donation is processed by Stripe on the Recipient's own Stripe account, in US dollars.

  • The Recipient is the merchant of record for your gift, and is responsible for receipts, refunds, disputes and tax acknowledgments. Your payment is a transaction between you and the Recipient. The Recipient's own privacy practices apply to the payment details Stripe gives it, such as your email address.

  • Sent to Serve doesn't receive or hold donated funds. We only receive a 1% platform fee, which comes out of each gift (see our Donation and Refund Policy).

• Card data: your card details go straight to Stripe's secure checkout. We store only the card brand and last four digits, so you can recognize the gift in your history.

• Our confirmation: after every successful gift, we send you a confirmation email and an on-site notification ("Thank you for your gift") with the amount and the fundraiser. It's not a tax receipt. Sent to Serve doesn't issue tax receipts or confirm any Recipient's tax-exempt status. For a receipt, an acknowledgment or tax-exemption details, please contact the organization you gave to directly. Gifts to Individual Fundraisers are not tax-deductible.

• Receipts: depending on the Recipient's Stripe settings, Stripe may email you a payment receipt on the Recipient's behalf. It's a payment receipt, not a tax receipt.

• Giving anonymously: Sent to Serve hides your name from the Recipient and other users and marks your gift as anonymous, but Stripe still records your transaction details, which usually include your name and email, and the Recipient can see them in its Stripe account (see Section 4). You choose this before you donate, and it can't be changed after you give.

• Tax deductibility:

  • Gifts to Individual Fundraisers are not tax-deductible.

  • We never guarantee that a gift is tax-deductible. Whether a gift to an Organization is deductible depends on that Organization. Ask the Organization about its tax status, and check with a tax advisor.

  • If you pay tax outside the United States, your gift may not be deductible where you live, even if the Organization is a US charity. Check with a tax advisor.

• Your giving history: you can see your donation history on your My Donations page.

6. Cookies

We use cookies that are needed to run the Site, keep you logged in and keep it secure, and analytics cookies (Wix Analytics and Google Analytics) to understand how the Site is used. Our Cookie Notice explains more and how to control them.

• Analytics cookies are non-essential. We're adding a cookie banner that will let you accept or reject them. Until it's in place, you can block or delete cookies in your browser settings.

• Do Not Track: browsers' "Do Not Track" signals have no common standard, and we don't currently respond to them.

• Global Privacy Control: We don't sell personal information. Some state laws may treat analytics cookies as 'sharing.' We don't yet respond to Global Privacy Control signals. Once our cookie banner is in place, we'll treat them as an opt-out. Until then, you can block or delete cookies in your browser settings.

7. Children and young people

Age rules (the same rules appear in our Terms of Use §2 and Youth Safety Policy §2):

• Under 13: the Site isn't for children under 13. We check your date of birth when you complete your member profile, and members under 13 can't complete a profile. You can't apply or donate until your profile is complete. We don't knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we learn that we have, we'll delete the account and its information.

• EEA and UK: If you live in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom, you must be at least 18 to create an account. We check this when you save your member profile: you'll be asked whether you live in the EEA or the UK, and if you do, the date of birth on your profile must show you're at least 18. We rely on what you tell us and don't verify it.

• Ages 13–17: if you're under 18, you must have your parent or legal guardian's permission to use the Site, and they must review and agree to our Terms of Use for you. Parents and guardians who let a minor use the Site are responsible for that use.

• Teen checkbox before applying: before applying to any volunteer opportunity or mission, a member aged 13–17 must check a box confirming that a parent or legal guardian has agreed to their participation and will be present for the volunteering. You may apply only to opportunities whose minimum age you meet. This checkbox is the member's own confirmation. Sent to Serve doesn't contact or verify the parent or guardian, or check that they're present. Organizations remain responsible for their own consent and supervision checks.

• Organizations' own age rules: an Organization may set a higher minimum age, or require its own signed parental consent forms. That's the Organization's responsibility.

• 18 or older to organize or receive donations: you must be at least 18 to create an organization profile, post a listing, start a Fundraiser, or connect a Stripe account to receive donations. You must also be 18 or older to start an Individual Fundraiser.

More about young people:

• What Organizations see. When a teen applies, the Organization sees the same application details as for any applicant: name, email, phone, date of birth and bio.

• Parents and guardians. If you're a parent or guardian with a concern about your teen's account, email us at Senttoserve.help@gmail.com.

• Volunteer age limits: Organizations set their own minimum ages for opportunities and are responsible for any youth-protection steps their activities need. The Site shows the minimum age but doesn't check applicants' ages against it.

• More: see our Youth Safety Policy.

8. How long we keep information

We keep information only as long as we need it for the purposes in this policy:

• Your account and profile: until you delete your account or ask us to, except as described below, or until your account has been inactive for 3 years, whichever comes first. "Inactive" means no sign-in and no other activity (such as applying, donating, saving your profile, or posting or editing a listing) for 3 years, counted from the latest of these. We'll try to email you before we delete an inactive account, and signing in keeps it open.

• Applications: 2 years after the event or opportunity they're for.

• Donation records: 7 years, for accounting, tax and dispute purposes, even if you delete your account sooner. This includes the donor's name for anonymous gifts, which isn't shown on the Site. After that, we remove your personal details from them and keep only anonymous amounts and totals, so fundraiser totals stay accurate.

• Closed and past listings: removed from public view 7 days after their end date or event date. After that, they're kept in the poster's own portal (the Organization's, or the individual's for an Individual Fundraiser), visible only to them and the Sent to Serve team. We delete an archived listing 3 years after the date it was archived (or 7 years after that date, for a Fundraiser that received donations). The poster or the Sent to Serve team may delete it sooner. Posters can't delete a Fundraiser that has received donations themselves; they can email us to ask. Listings without a date stay public until the Organization or the Sent to Serve team removes them. If a Recipient's account is deleted, its archived Fundraisers that received donations are kept, no longer linked to the account and not shown publicly, until their own 7-year date.

• Records of our approval or removal of a listing: kept as long as the listing is kept, then deleted with it under the archived-listing rule above.

• Youth-safety reports: kept for at least 7 years. After 7 years they're flagged for manual review, and they're never deleted automatically.

• Records of which Terms and policies you accepted, and when (including earlier versions): kept for as long as your account exists and afterward for as long as we may need them to show what was agreed to or to handle a legal claim.

• Analytics data: Google Analytics data is kept for 14 months. Wix Analytics data is kept as set by Wix.

• Newsletter signups: if we start a newsletter, until you unsubscribe.

When we delete information:

• Some information may remain in backups for a limited time.

• We may keep information when the law requires it or to resolve disputes.

• Information you shared with an Organization (such as an application) may also be kept in that Organization's own records.