United Way Monterey County Confidentiality Policy
Approved by Board of Directors: 12/10/2009: Revised 04/25/2024
United Way Monterey County (UWMC) recognizes the importance of protecting an individual's privacy. We take all reasonable steps to ensure that an individual's personal information is protected from misuse or unauthorized disclosure.
UWMC subscribes to the Donor Bill of Rights which was developed by the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), The Giving Institute, and the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE).
UWMC recognizes that the efficient operation of the organization requires the maintenance and management of extensive donor and prospect records. These records may contain sensitive information that has been shared with or developed by the UWMC’s staff or volunteers on a confidential basis. (“Records” is construed to mean all files, including electronic data, containing information on donors or prospective donors to UWMC.) Donors and prospects may be attracted to UWMC on the basis of its ability to assure temporary or permanent anonymity. Protecting donor confidentiality is an essential part of providing good service to donors.
Additionally, care must be taken to preserve confidentiality of discussions that take place and information that is shared in the course of conducting United Way business.
The purpose of this policy is to codify the position of UWMC on confidentiality.
- Confidentiality of Records: The President and CEO or designee shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of donor and prospect records, as well as fund information. Records will normally be available to staff as needed to fulfill their duties. At the discretion of the President and CEO, staff may make all or part of any record available to UWMC volunteers to assist them in executing their specific responsibilities. UWMC’s auditors, legal counsel and other contractors are authorized to review donor/prospect and fund records as required for the purposes for which they are engaged.
All persons accessing donor/prospect or fund records in the conduct of UWMC business shall maintain the confidentiality of said records. This applies to agency endowment funds as well as to other types of funds. Staff may share information with donors, fund beneficiaries, and grantees pertaining to their own gifts, funds, grants, etc. Except in those instances, any copies of confidential information shall not be held outside UWMC’s office for extended periods, and are to be destroyed based on UWMC's Records Retention Policy.
- Publication of Donor Names: Unless otherwise requested by the donor, the names of all individual donors may be printed in the UWMC's marketing, solicitation, recognitions communications and in other appropriate listings. UWMC will not publish the amount of any donor's gift without the permission of the donor. Unless otherwise specified in the document, donors making gifts to the UWMC by bequest or other testamentary device are deemed to have granted such permission.
- Memorial/Tribute Gifts: The names of donors of memorial or tribute gifts may be released to the honoree, next of kin, or appropriate member of the immediate family, unless otherwise specified by the donor. Gift amounts are not to be released without the express consent of the donor.
- Anonymous Gifts: The President and CEO is authorized to accept anonymous gifts to UWMC, and to handle them appropriately. The name of the donor and size of the gift may be withheld from the Board of Directors at the President and CEO’s discretion, if so requested by the donor. When made known to Board members, they will respect the anonymity of any such gift.
- Giving Categories: If giving categories have been stipulated for a specific fund drive, challenge grant, or project, or as part of UWMC’s ongoing recognition program, then the donors, unless they otherwise specify, are deemed to have given permission for UWMC to publish their names associated with the particular giving category. Similarly, UWMC may publish giving categories associated with donor names in its annual report, unless a donor specifies otherwise.
- No Disclosures to Third Parties: UWMC shall not release to third parties or allow third parties to copy, inspect or otherwise use UWMC records or other information pertaining to the identification of a donor or donor's gifts. No disclosures to third parties of such information, including addresses and demographic information, shall be made without the donor's consent.
- Confidentiality of Organization's Business: Discussions that take place in the context of UWMC’s operations require discretion, including discussions pertaining to grantmaking, personnel issues, development activities, operational fundraising, investment management, etc. The positions or statements of individual board members, advisors, or staff should not be discussed outside of official UWMC meetings and processes. Likewise, the content of UWMC business, including documents or UWMC analysis of documents, should not be discussed or shared outside official meetings and processes.
- Public Disclosure: UWMC will comply with both the letter and spirit of all public disclosure requirements, including the open availability of its Form 990 tax returns. This Confidentiality Policy shall not be construed in any manner to prevent UWMC from disclosing information to taxing authorities or other governmental agencies or courts having regulatory control or jurisdiction over UWMC. However, all staff, volunteers, and contractors must hold strictly confidential all information of a private nature, including, but not limited to, all items explicitly discussed in this policy.
Consequences of Policy Violation: Violations of the Confidentiality Policy are considered very serious, and may result in disciplinary action, up to and including dismissal for employees or contractors, or removal from the Board or any committee for volunteers.
What information we collect
UWMC collects and uses personal information from donors including: addresses, telephone numbers, email addresses, month and day of birth and donation dates/amounts.
Specific requests made by donors/volunteers are recorded. For example, requests to remain anonymous or to be excluded from certain mailings are respected. We also specify the relationship with UWMC, such as volunteer, private individual, company, etc.
How we collect the information
When donations, whether solicited or not, are made to UWMC, the details provided by the donors are recorded in our database (unless the donor has specifically requested to not be added to our database).
Personal details of volunteers who contact UWMC to offer their services are also entered into our database.
Individuals with a relationship with United Way through activity or participation in fundraising, programs and events receive invitations, newsletters, surveys and have access to Web-based communications that enable UWMC to capture contact information. Through these channels, individuals are given the opportunity to provide their contact information and can specify whether they would like their details added to our database and in what capacity.
Storage and security of information held
All donor contact information, donations, designations and related paperwork are stored in a safe, secure location. UWMC's relational database is password protected and we have a strict hierarchy of access rights in place.
How we use the information
UWMC will use contact information (email, telephone number and address) of donors for these purposes only:
- To distribute receipts for donations;
- To send donor acknowledgement letters and thank donors for their donations;
- To inform supporters about upcoming fundraising and other activities of UWMC;
- For internal analysis and record keeping; and
- For General Mailings. e.g. Direct Mailing to all donors and/or volunteers.
Donors have the option to have their name publicly associated with their donation. However, unless the donor explicitly chooses to remain anonymous, the default is that all donations can be publicly announced.
Comments/testimonials given to UWMC staff/volunteers may be used in promotional materials with the express consent of the individual.
Access and Correction of Information
Donors have the right to access and request a correction to personal information. To ensure that recorded personal information is accurate and up-to-date, donors should notify UWMC of any changes to personal details as soon as possible through the following contact methods: Phone: 831-372-8026 www.unitedwaymcca.org
Financial information
All access to donor financial information is strictly limited to professional staff responsible for processing and reporting on this data. For online payments, UWMC only uses processing services with proven security and strong reputations. UWMC does not have access to credit card or account details sent to those processing services and the information is not stored electronically by UWMC.
Notification of Changes
If UWMC decides to change the privacy policy, those changes will be posted on our Website at www.unitedwaymcca.org so donors are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and the circumstances (if any) in which we disclose it. If at any point we decide to use personally identifiable information in a manner different from that stated at the time it was collected, donors will be notified. Donors will have a choice as to whether or not we may use this information in this different manner. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected.