Privacy Policy
Our Commitment to Protecting Privacy and Personal Information
San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation is committed to protecting personal privacy and the personal information collected via its website. All information you provide to us electronically is kept confidential and will not be used in ways to which you have not consented.
The San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation wants you to be familiar with how we collect, use and disclose information. This Privacy Policy describes our practices in connection with information that we collect through our website at www.foundation.smccd.edu. By using our Site, you agree to this Privacy Policy.
Encryption and Personal Information
Encryption is used for the transfer of data. Unfortunately, no data transmission over the internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. As a result, although we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee or warrant the security of any information you transmit to or from our website. We will not sell or disclose any information that identifies you to a third party.
“Personal Information” is information that identifies you as an individual or relates to an identifiable individual, including: name, mailing address, phone number, email address, user name, and credit card information.
We and our service providers may use Personal Information in a variety of ways, including:
- To respond to your inquiries, fulfill your requests, and process your gifts and grants.
- To send administrative information to you, such as changes to our terms, conditions, and policies, as well as information about our philanthropic activities and the services we offer to donors to support their philanthropic endeavors;
- For our business purposes, such as data analysis, audits, fraud monitoring and prevention, developing new products, improving or modifying our Site, identifying usage trends, determining the effectiveness of promotional campaigns, and operating and expanding business activities.
If you submit any Personal Information relating to other people to us in connection with the Site, you represent that you have the authority to do so and to permit us to use the information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
Disclosure of Personal Information
Your Personal Information may be disclosed:
- To our affiliates for the purposes described in this Privacy Policy; and
- To our third-party service providers who provide services such as website hosting, data analysis, payment processing, information technology and related infrastructure provision, email delivery, auditing and other services.
Other Uses and Disclosure
We may also use and disclose your Personal Information as we believe to be necessary or appropriate: (a) to comply with applicable law and respond to requests from public and government authorities, to cooperate with law enforcement, or for other legal reasons; (b) to enforce our terms and conditions; and (c) to protect our rights, privacy, safety or property, and/or that of our affiliates, you, or others. In addition, we may use, disclose or transfer your information to a third party in the event of a reorganization, merger, assignment, or transfer of all or any portion of our assets or organization.
Information Gathering and Use of Cookies
“Other Information” is information that does not reveal your specific identity or does not directly relate to an identifiable individual, including:
- Browser and device information
- IP address
- Information collected through cookies and other technologies
- Information that has been aggregated in a manner that it no longer reveals your specific identity
We and our service providers may collect Other Information in a variety of ways, including:
Through your browser or device: Certain information is collected by most browsers or automatically through your device, such as your Media Access Control (MAC) address, computer type (Windows or Mac), screen resolution, operating system name and version, device manufacturer and model, language, and Internet browser type and version. We use this information to ensure that the Site functions properly.
IP Addresses
We use Internet Protocol (IP) addresses (the unique Internet address assigned to your computer) to help diagnose problems with our servers and to administer our website. For example, we utilize statistical software to identify the sections of our website that are most frequently accessed. However, we do not link IP addresses to any personally identifiable information.
Cookies
Like many other websites, portions of our website may use messages given by web browsers to web servers, commonly known as cookies, which can be used to provide you with tailored information from a website.
What is a Cookie?
A cookie is an element of data that a website can send to your browser, which may then be stored on your computer system. This element of data is a piece of text, not a program. The site can only access the information from a cookie sent by the website. We cannot access cookies sent by other websites or the information they contain. Additionally, we cannot learn your email address or any other information about you through the use of a cookie. The only way the San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation would learn such information is if you specifically submit that information.
What Does a Cookie Do?
Overall, the use of cookies helps to give you a customized experience while using our website. This information helps us customize our website and allows us to monitor how many people are using our website statistically and for what purpose. Through the use of cookies, the San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation will be able to determine what is working and what is not. That information is then used to keep our website fresh and relevant to you – the user.
Decline to Accept Cookies
You may decline to accept cookies sent by the website by selecting an option on your browser to reject cookies. Other sites linked to the website may also send cookies; however, San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation does not control such activities. If you decline a cookie, you may not be viewing the website in a way in which it was designed to be optimally presented.
Google Analytics
We use Google Analytics, which uses cookies and similar technologies to collect and analyze information about Site use and report on activities and trends. This service may also collect information regarding the use of other websites, apps, and online resources. You can learn about Google’s practices by going to https://policies.google.com/privacy/google-partners and opt out of them by downloading the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Links to Other Websites
You will encounter links to websites of organizations not directly affiliated with the San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation. Please be aware that San Mateo County Community Colleges Foundation is not responsible for the information practices of external organizations. We recommend you review the privacy policies and/or statements of each website you visit that collects personal information.
Accessibility
We are committed to creating an accessible community – that is, one that provides websites, course materials, documents, and applications that are accessible to all current and future students, faculty, staff, and other constituents. Learn more about our commitment to accessibility.
Third Party Services
Third-Party Payment Services
We may use third-party payment services to process donations or other payments made through the Site. If you wish to make a donation or other payment through the Site, your Personal Information will be collected by the third-party payment service and will be subject to that third party’s privacy policy, rather than this Privacy Policy.
Security
We seek to use reasonable organizational, technical and administrative measures to protect Personal Information within our organization. Unfortunately, no data transmission or storage system can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. If you have reason to believe that your interaction with us is no longer secure, please immediately notify us in accordance with the “Contact Information” section below.
Choices and Access
If you would like to update Personal Information that you have provided to us, you may contact us in accordance with the “Contacting Us” section below. If you no longer want to receive promotional emails from us, you may opt-out by following the instructions contained in such email. We will try to comply with your request(s) as soon as reasonably practicable. Please note that if you opt out of receiving promotional emails from us, we may still send you important administrative messages, from which you cannot opt out.
Retention Period
We will retain your Personal Information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by applicable law.
Use of the Site by Minors
The Site is not directed to individuals under the age of eighteen (18) and, we do not knowingly collect Personal Information from such individuals.
Jurisdiction and Cross-Border Transfer
The Site is controlled and operated by us from the United States and is not intended to subject us to the laws or jurisdiction of any state, country or territory other than that of the United States. Your Personal Information may be stored and processed in any country where we have facilities or in which we engage service providers, and, by using the Site, you consent to the transfer of information to countries outside of your country of residence, including the United States, which may have data protection rules that are different from those of your country.
Sensitive Information
Unless we specifically request it, we ask that you not send us, and you not disclose, any sensitive Personal Information (e.g., social security numbers, information related to racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, religion or other beliefs, health, biometrics or genetic characteristics, or criminal background) on or through the Site or otherwise to us.