Privacy Policy of Bridge to Türkiye Fund

Privacy Policy

Modified: 07/14/2025

We value your trust and are committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and share information provided by individuals who engage with us—whether as donors, event participants, volunteers, or simply as visitors to our website or users of our digital platforms.

This policy outlines what types of data we collect, the reasons behind that collection, and how we safeguard your privacy throughout your interactions with us. It also clarifies your rights regarding your personal data and provides guidance on how to exercise those rights.

We encourage you to read this policy carefully to understand how we handle your information and how you can reach us—or the appropriate authorities—if you have any concerns or questions about how your data is being used.

1. Key Terms

To help make this policy easier to understand, here are a few terms we use throughout:

  • “We,” “us,” or “our” refers to Bridge to Türkiye Fund (BTF), a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in the United States (EIN: 58-2678580).
  • “You” refers to anyone whose personal information we may collect—this includes our donors, event participants, volunteers, and website visitors.
  • “Our website” means the official Bridge to Türkiye Fund site, located at bridgetoturkiye.org, unless otherwise noted.
  • “Personal information” means any data information relating to an identified or identifiable individual.
  • “Cookies” refer to small text files stored on your browser to track website usage.
  • “Third parties” refers to service providers or partners who help us operate our website, process donations, or communicate with our community.

2. What Personal Information We Collect and How We Collect It

We collect most of the personal information you share with us voluntarily—such as when you make a donation, attend an event, communicate with us via email, phone, or video call, or interact with our website. In some cases, we also collect information automatically when you visit our website, using tools such as Google Analytics.

The types of personal information we may collect include listed below. Note that some categories may overlap or include additional information not specifically mentioned here.

  • Identifiers: Your full name, preferred name, email address, zip codes, phone number, date of birth, and similar identifiers.
  • Financial Information: Limited payment-related details such as your bank account or card number (when donations or payments are processed), as well as payment confirmation information. Please note: We do not store full credit card numbers or banking credentials on our systems.
  • Additional Information: Information you choose to share when applying for or participating in our programs and events, such as your educational background, professional experience, or demographic data (e.g., location, language preferences).
  • Technical and Usage Data: Like most websites, we collect data such as your IP address, browser type, device operating system, the pages you visit, links clicked, search keywords, and the time and duration of your visit. This data is collected automatically through cookies and similar technologies. You can manage or block cookies via your browser settings but doing so may affect some site features.
  • Third-Party Data Sources: We may receive personal information from third-party platforms such as social media services, event registration tools, or payment processors when you engage with our campaigns or initiatives through those platforms.

We may share limited information such as your name and fundraising progress with team or Fundraiser leaders or authorized organizational staff for the purposes of coordinating event logistics or team activities.

For more detailed information regarding donor data handling and confidentiality practices, please see our full Donor Privacy Policy here.

3. Third-Party Web Tools

To help us operate our website and improve your experience, we may use trusted third-party tools and service providers. These partners help us analyze how people use our digital services, deliver certain features, or support secure donation processing.

These third parties only access your personal information as needed to perform their specific tasks and are contractually required to protect your data and not use it for any other purpose.

Our website may contain links to third-party sites. We are not responsible for the content, security, or privacy practices of these external sites. We encourage you to review their policies before providing any personal information.

Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors navigate our website—such as which pages, links, or features are most frequently used. This helps us make the site more useful and user-friendly.

  • Google Analytics collects anonymous usage data, such as browser type, visited pages, and time spent on the site.
  • IP addresses are anonymized and are not stored.
  • General demographic insights (like approximate age ranges or interests) may be gathered through Google’s Demographics and Interests reporting.
  • These insights do not identify individual users, but rather provide statistical trends based on browser behavior.
  • We may use cookies, pixel tags, or similar tracking technologies to understand usage patterns and improve user experience. You may set your browser to refuse cookies, though some features of our website may not function properly as a result.

You can choose to opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on. For more information, please read the Google Analytics Privacy Policy.

4. How and Why, We Use Your Personal Information

We only use your personal information for purposes that are legitimate, transparent, and aligned with our nonprofit mission. These purposes include:

Programs and Events: We use personal information to plan, manage, and improve our educational and charitable programs, events, fundraisers and campaigns. This includes maintaining accurate participant records and understanding how our events are accessed and experienced by participants.

Communication: We use your contact information to stay in touch with you. This may include sending updates about ongoing initiatives, confirming donations or registrations, responding to inquiries, and sharing opportunities to get involved with our programs and projects.

Impact Evaluation and Reporting: We may use limited personal data to evaluate the effectiveness of our programs and to understand the demographics of our community. For example, we may compile statistics such as age, location, or professional background to support internal assessments or grant reporting. Any data shared publicly—for example, in an annual report—will always be anonymized and aggregated.

Legal, Financial, and Tax Compliance: We process personal information as needed to comply with U.S. federal and state tax laws, nonprofit reporting requirements, and other applicable regulations. This includes donation records, tax receipts, and audit documentation.

Website and User Experience: We use anonymized technical data (such as IP addresses and browser type) to analyze how our website is used, in order to improve functionality, accessibility, and user satisfaction.

Security and Technical Support: We use certain personal data to detect, prevent, and resolve technical issues and to ensure the security of our digital platforms. This includes monitoring for potential misuse, unauthorized access, or cybersecurity threats.

Promotional Emails: From time to time, we may email you about BTF events, stories, newsletters or campaigns. We believe this type of outreach serves our mission, but you are always free to opt out. Every newsletter we send includes an unsubscribe link, and we will honor your preferences. We never sell or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes.

Other Uses: We may also use your personal information for any purpose that was clearly explained at the time of collection or with your explicit consent.

5. Who We Share Your Personal Information With

We treat your data with care and only share it when necessary and appropriate:

Service Providers: We work with trusted service providers—such as secure payment processors, and email platforms—who help us deliver our services. These providers may process limited personal information on our behalf, but only under strict confidentiality agreements and data protection requirements.

Professional Advisors and Auditors: We may share limited personal data with legal counsel, accountants, or external auditors when needed for compliance, risk management, or financial reporting.

Government and Legal Authorities: We may disclose personal data if required to do so by law, for example in response to valid legal process, tax inquiries, or regulatory requests.

We do not and will not sell your personal information to any third party. In the past 12 months, BTF has only shared personal information with service providers and professional advisors in direct support of our mission.

6. Where Your Personal Information is Stored

Your data may be stored on secure servers managed by our trusted third-party providers. Some of these providers may be located outside your home country, including outside the European Economic Area (EEA). In such cases, we take appropriate safeguards to protect your information, including secure data transfer protocols and contractual data protection measures.

7. How Long We Keep Your Personal Information

We will keep your personal information only for as long as is necessary:

  • To process payments and to administer our programs, events, and related services.
  • To respond to any questions, complaints, or claims made by you or on your behalf.
  • To show that we treated you fairly; or
  • To keep records required by law.

We will not retain your personal information for longer than necessary for the purposes set out in this policy.

8. Residents of the European Economic Area (EEA)

Although we do not actively operate within the European Economic Area (EEA), we recognize and respect the rights of individuals in the EEA under the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). If you are in the EEA and engage with our website, participate in a program, or make a donation, we want to ensure your personal data is handled responsibly.

Since our operations and data infrastructure are primarily based in the United States, your personal information may be transferred outside of the EEA. This could include transfers to our main office, third-party service providers, or platforms we use to manage donations, communications, or digital services.

When such transfers occur, we take steps to ensure your information remains protected. These steps may include:

  • Using Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) approved by the European Commission,
  • Partnering only with service providers that demonstrate GDPR compliance,
  • Or, where required, obtaining your explicit consent prior to data transfer.

By interacting with BTF and using our online services, you acknowledge and consent to the possible transfer of your personal information outside the EEA. We remain committed to transparency, and we will notify you if our data transfer practices change in the future.

If you have any concerns or requests related to your data and how it’s used, we encourage you to contact us directly. (See Contact Us section.)

9. Children Under 13

We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under the age of 13. We do not market to children or target our services at them. If we become aware that we have unintentionally collected personal data from a child under 13, we will delete that information as soon as possible.

As stated throughout this Privacy Policy, we only collect personal information for specific, legitimate purposes and do not disclose it to third parties except to support program delivery or as required by law. We maintain appropriate safeguards to protect all personal data we process.

This section also serves as a notice to parents or guardians: if your child is involved in a BTF program or event and you have questions about their data, you are welcome to contact us at any time.

10. Your Rights

Depending on where you reside, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information under laws such as the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). These may include:

Under GDPR (EEA residents):

  • Right to Access: You may request a copy of your personal information held by us.
  • Right to Rectification: You may ask us to correct inaccurate or incomplete information.
  • Right to Erasure: You may request deletion of your data, subject to legal exceptions.
  • Right to Restrict Processing: You can ask us to limit how we use your data in certain cases.
  • Right to Data Portability: You may request your data in a portable, machine-readable format.
  • Right to Object: You can object to the use of your data, especially for direct communication.
  • Right Not to be Subject to Automated Decisions: You have the right to not be subject to automated decision-making that significantly affects you.

 

Under CCPA (California residents):

  • Right to Know: You can ask what personal data we collect, how we use it, and with whom we share it.
  • Right to Opt-Out: You may opt out of the sale or transfer of your personal data (BTF does not sell personal data).
  • Right to Deletion: You may request that we delete your personal data, with limited exceptions.
  • Right to Equal Service: We will never discriminate against you for exercising your rights.

 

California Online Privacy Protection Act (CalOPPA)

  • We comply with CalOPPA and honor Do Not Track signals. Users can visit our site anonymously, and we provide a Privacy Policy link on our homepage or as a minimum on the first significant page after entering our website.

Please note: These rights may be subject to legal limitations, and we may need to verify your identity before fulfilling certain requests.

11. Keeping Your Personal Information Secure

We take your data security seriously. We have implemented appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, misuse, or loss.

  • Access to your data is limited to those who need it for legitimate operational reasons.
  • All staff and volunteers with access to personal information are subject to confidentiality agreements.
  • We maintain procedures to detect and respond to data breaches. If required by law, we will notify you and the appropriate authorities in the event of such a breach.

12. How to Exercise Your Rights

If you would like to access, correct, delete, or inquire about how we use your personal data, please contact us at: info@bridgetoturkiye.org

13. Changes to This Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy was last updated on July 4, 2025. From time to time, we may update this policy to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or technology.

We will post any updates to this page and notify you via our website. We encourage you to review this page periodically to stay informed.

 14. How to Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or if you would like to request this notice in another format (e.g., large print, audio), please contact us:

📧 Email: info@bridgetoturkiye.org
📞 Phone: +1 (919) 240-7077
🏢 Mail: Bridge to Türkiye Fund
1609 E Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, NC 27514
🌐 Website: www.bridgetoturkiye.org

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