Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

1. Introduction & Scope

IBADO East African Charity Foundation ("IBADO," "we," "us," or "our") is a registered 501(c)(3) tax-exempt public charity (EIN: 83-2464095) headquartered at 1337 Sampson Ave, Columbus, OH 43219, USA. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, disclose, and protect personal information when you visit our website at ibadoeastafricannfp.org, make a donation, sign up for our newsletter, submit a volunteer application, request program support, or otherwise interact with our organization.

By accessing or using our website, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with our practices, please do not use our website or submit personal information to us. This policy applies to all visitors, donors, volunteers, program beneficiaries, and other individuals who interact with IBADO through digital or in-person channels.

Our Principal Officer, Abshira Qassim, oversees organizational compliance with this policy. For privacy-related inquiries, contact us at admin@ibadoeastafrican.org.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information that you voluntarily provide and information that is automatically collected when you use our website.

Information you provide directly:

• Contact information: Name, email address, phone number, and mailing address when you submit our contact form, volunteer application, newsletter signup, or program support request.
• Donation information: Name, email address, donation amount, payment method details (processed by third-party payment processors — we do not store full credit card numbers on our servers), and optional dedication messages.
• Volunteer information: Name, email address, skill preferences, availability, and background check authorization when applicable.
• Program intake information: Name, contact details, household composition, income documentation, and hardship descriptions when you apply for crisis relief or other programs.
• Communications: Content of emails, messages, and other correspondence you send to us.

Information collected automatically:

• Device and browser data: IP address, browser type and version, operating system, device type, and screen resolution.
• Usage data: Pages visited, time spent on pages, referring website URLs, click patterns, and navigation paths through our site.
• Cookie data: As described in Section 3 below.

3. Cookie Policy & Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your browsing experience, analyze site traffic, and support our fundraising efforts. A cookie is a small text file stored on your device when you visit a website.

Types of cookies we use:

• Essential cookies: Required for the website to function properly, including cookie consent preferences stored in your browser's local storage (key: "ibado_cookie_consent").
• Analytics cookies: We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors interact with our website. Google Analytics collects anonymized data including pages visited, session duration, geographic region (city-level), and traffic sources. Google Analytics operates under Google's privacy policy. You can opt out of Google Analytics by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.
• Functional cookies: Remember your preferences, such as donation amount selections and form progress.

When you first visit our website, a cookie consent banner appears allowing you to accept or decline non-essential cookies. You can change your preferences at any time by clearing your browser cookies and revisiting the site. Most browsers also allow you to block or delete cookies through their settings menu.

We do not use cookies for targeted advertising or sell cookie-derived data to third parties.

4. How We Use Your Information

We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:

• Processing donations and issuing tax-deductible receipts under IRC Section 170
• Responding to contact form submissions, support requests, and volunteer applications
• Administering our charitable programs, including intake assessments and case management
• Sending newsletters, impact reports, and organizational updates (only with your consent)
• Complying with IRS reporting requirements, including Form 990 filings
• Improving our website, programs, and donor experience through aggregated analytics
• Protecting against fraud, unauthorized access, and other security threats
• Fulfilling legal obligations, including responding to lawful government requests

We process your information based on: (a) your consent, (b) our legitimate interest in operating a charitable organization, (c) performance of a contract (e.g., processing your donation), and (d) compliance with legal obligations.

5. Donor Privacy Guarantee

We never sell, rent, trade, or share your personal information with third parties for their marketing purposes. This is a fundamental commitment of IBADO East African Charity Foundation, not merely a policy statement.

Donor information is used exclusively for: processing your contribution, sending tax receipts and thank-you communications, reporting aggregate (non-identifiable) data in our annual impact report and Form 990 filing, and — only if you opt in — including your name in our annual donor recognition materials.

We may share donor information with service providers who assist us in operating our organization, including payment processors (Stripe, PayPal), email delivery services, and accounting software. These providers are contractually obligated to use your data only for the services they provide to us and are prohibited from using it for their own purposes.

If you wish to make an anonymous donation, contact us at admin@ibadoeastafrican.org before completing your gift, and we will ensure your name does not appear in any public donor listings.

6. Data Sharing & Third-Party Services

We do not sell personal information. We may share information in the following limited circumstances:

• Service providers: Payment processors, web hosting (ibadoeastafricannfp.org), email services, form processing (Web3Forms), and analytics (Google Analytics) process data on our behalf under strict confidentiality agreements.
• Legal requirements: We may disclose information when required by law, court order, or governmental regulation, or when we believe disclosure is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of IBADO, our beneficiaries, donors, or the public.
• Organizational transitions: In the event of a merger, dissolution, or transfer of assets, donor and beneficiary data would be transferred to the successor organization with continued privacy protections.
• Aggregated data: We may publish anonymized, aggregated statistics (e.g., "412 donors contributed in FY2025") that cannot identify any individual.

Our website contains links to third-party sites (e.g., IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search, social media platforms). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those external sites and encourage you to review their policies before providing personal information.

7. Data Security & Retention

We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your personal information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. These measures include SSL/TLS encryption for data transmitted through our website, secure payment processing through PCI-compliant third-party providers, access controls limiting employee and volunteer access to personal data on a need-to-know basis, and regular review of our data handling practices by our Secretary & Operations Lead.

No method of transmission over the Internet or electronic storage is 100% secure. While we strive to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. If you believe your interaction with us is no longer secure, please contact us immediately at admin@ibadoeastafrican.org.

Retention periods: Donation records are retained for seven (7) years per IRS requirements. Program intake records are retained for three (3) years after case closure. Contact form submissions are retained for two (2) years. Newsletter subscriber data is retained until you unsubscribe. Analytics data is retained in aggregated form for up to twenty-six (26) months per Google Analytics default settings.

8. Your Rights (CCPA, GDPR & General)

Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Right to access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Right to correction: Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete personal information.
• Right to deletion: Request deletion of your personal information, subject to legal retention requirements (e.g., IRS-mandated donor record retention).
• Right to opt out: Unsubscribe from marketing communications at any time by clicking the "unsubscribe" link in any email or contacting us directly.
• Right to data portability: Request your data in a structured, machine-readable format (applicable under GDPR).
• Right to non-discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your privacy rights (applicable under CCPA).
• Right to restrict processing: Request that we limit how we use your information in certain circumstances (applicable under GDPR).

California residents (CCPA): IBADO does not sell personal information as defined by the California Consumer Privacy Act. California residents may submit a verifiable consumer request to know, delete, or opt out by emailing admin@ibadoeastafrican.org with the subject line "CCPA Request." We will respond within forty-five (45) days.

European Economic Area residents (GDPR): If you are located in the EEA, you have additional rights under the General Data Protection Regulation. Our legal basis for processing is outlined in Section 4. To exercise your rights or lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority, contact us at admin@ibadoeastafrican.org.

Children's privacy: Our website is not directed at children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, contact us and we will promptly delete it.

Changes to this policy: We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. Material changes will be posted on this page with an updated "Last updated" date. Continued use of our website after changes constitutes acceptance of the revised policy.

Contact us: For any privacy-related questions, requests, or concerns:

IBADO East African Charity Foundation
Attn: Privacy Officer — Jonathan H. Sanders, M.P.A.
1337 Sampson Ave, Columbus, OH 43219, USA
Email: admin@ibadoeastafrican.org