Privacy Policy

Last updated 07/31/2023
 

This Privacy Policy describes how Animal Welfare Institute (“AWI”, “we”, “us” or “our”) handles personal information that we collect through our digital properties that link to this Privacy Policy, including our website (collectively, the “Website”), as well as through social media, phone calls, non-electronic mail  and other activities described in this Privacy Policy.

Personal Information We Collect

Information you provide to us. Personal information you may provide to us through the Website or otherwise includes:

  • Contact data, such as your first and last name, email address, and mailing address.
  • Communications data based on our exchanges with you, including when you contact us through the Website, social media or otherwise. 
  • Research data we may ask for to help with our programs, such as your age and/or geographic location and any additional responses to surveys that we might ask you to complete for research purposes related to our organization.
  • Transactional data, such as information to complete a donation or action alert through the Website, including limited payment card information and donation history. 
  • Other data not specifically listed here, which we will use as described in this Privacy Policy or as otherwise disclosed at the time of collection.

Information we collect from third-party data. In the event that we wish to conduct market research, we may collect personal information from third-party public data sources, such as government agencies, public records, social media platforms and other publicly available sources. 

Automatic data collection. We and our service providers may automatically log information about you, your computer or mobile device, and your interaction over time with the Website, our communications and other online services, such as:

  • Device data, such as your computer or mobile device’s operating system type and version, manufacturer and model, browser type, screen resolution, RAM and disk size, CPU usage, device type (e.g., phone, tablet), IP address, unique identifiers, language settings, mobile device carrier, radio/network information (e.g., Wi-Fi, LTE, 3G), and general location information such as city, state or general geographic area.
  • Online activity data, such as pages or screens you viewed, how long you spent on a page or screen, the website you visited before browsing to our Website, navigation paths between pages or screens, information about your activity on a page or screen, access times and duration of access, and whether you have opened our emails or clicked links within them.
  • Communication interaction data such as your interactions with our email or other communications (e.g., whether you open and/or forward emails)—we may do this through use of pixel tags (which are also known as clear GIFs), which may be embedded invisibly in our emails. 

Cookies and similar technologies. Some of the automatic collection described above is facilitated by the following technologies:

  • Cookies, which are small text files that websites store on user devices and that allow web servers to record users’ web browsing activities and remember their submissions, preferences, and login status as they navigate a site. Cookies used on our sites include both “session cookies” that are deleted when a session ends, “persistent cookies” that remain longer, “first party” cookies that we place and “third party” cookies that our third-party organization partners and service providers place. 
  • Local storage technologies, like HTML5, that provide cookie-equivalent functionality but can store larger amounts of data on your device outside of your browser in connection with specific applications. 
  • Web beacons, also known as pixel tags or clear GIFs, which are used to demonstrate that a webpage or email was accessed or opened, or that certain content was viewed or clicked.

How We Use Your Personal Information

We may use your personal information for the following purposes or as otherwise described at the time of collection:

Business operations. We may use your personal information to:

  • provide, operate and improve the Website and our organization; 
  • communicate with you about the Website and our organization, including by sending announcements, updates, security alerts, and support and administrative messages;
  • communicate with you about events in which you participate;
  • understand your needs and interests, and personalize your experience with the Website and our communications; and
  • provide support for the Website, and respond to your requests, questions and feedback.

Research and development. We may use your personal information for research and development purposes. As part of these activities, we may create aggregated, de-identified or other anonymous data from personal information we collect. This means removing information that makes the data personally identifiable to you. We may use this anonymous or de-identified data and share it with third parties for any lawful purpose, including to analyze and improve the Website and promote our work.

Compliance and protection. We may use your personal information to:

  • comply with applicable laws, lawful requests and legal process, such as to respond to subpoenas or requests from government authorities;
  • protect our, your or others’ rights, privacy, safety or property (including by making and defending legal claims); 
  • audit our internal processes for compliance with legal and contractual requirements or our internal policies; 
  • enforce the terms and conditions that govern the Website; and 
  • prevent, identify, investigate and deter fraudulent, harmful, unauthorized, unethical or illegal activity, including cyberattacks and identity theft.  

With your consent. In some cases, we may specifically ask for your consent to collect, use or share your personal information, such as when required by law to obtain consent.  

Cookies and similar technologies. In addition to the other uses included in this section, we may use the Cookies and similar technologies described above for the following purposes:

  • Technical operation. To allow the technical operation of the Website.
  • Functionality. To enhance the performance and functionality of our Website and services.
  • Analytics. To help us understand user activity on the Website, including which pages are most and least visited and how visitors move around the Website, as well as user interactions with our emails. For example, we use Google Analytics for this purpose. To provide this service, Google Analytics may collect certain information about you from your computer using cookies. You can learn more about Google Analytics and how it collects and processes data here. You can opt-out of the use of Google Analytics here.

How We Share Your Personal Information

In limited instances we may share your personal information with the following parties and as otherwise described in this Privacy Policy or at the time of collection.  

  • Service providers. Third parties that provide services on our behalf or help us operate the Website or our organization (such as hosting, information technology, email delivery, and website analytics). 
  • Payment processors. Any payment card information you use to donate via the Website is collected and processed directly by our payment processors, such as Authorize.net or PayPal. Authorize.net (a Visa solution) may use your payment data in accordance with its privacy policy, and PayPal may use your payment data in accordance with its privacy policy. We do not have access to your full payment details on our website. 
  • Third parties designated by you. We may share your personal data with third parties where you have instructed us or provided your consent to do so. We will only share personal information that is needed for these other companies to provide the services that you have requested. 
  • Professional advisors. Professional advisors, such as lawyers, auditors, bankers and insurers, where necessary in the course of the professional services that they render to us.
  • Authorities and others. Law enforcement, government authorities and private parties, as we believe in good faith to be necessary or appropriate for the Compliance and protection purposes described above. 
  • Transferees. Relevant participants in transactions involving a merger, consolidation, or other disposition of all or any portion of the assets of AWI.

Your Choices

In this section, we describe the choices available to you. 

  • Surveys. As noted above, we may periodically request feedback from you about our programs or operations. You may choose to participate or not, at your discretion, and to answer any/all of the questions posed. You are also free to share that information at any time by visiting our Contact Us page.
  • Do Not Track. Some Internet browsers may be configured to send “Do Not Track” signals to the online services that you visit. We currently do not respond to “Do Not Track” signals. To find out more about “Do Not Track,” please click here.

Other Sites and Services

The Website may contain links to websites, mobile applications, and other online services operated by third parties. In addition, our content may be integrated into web pages or other online services that are not associated with us. These links and integrations are not an endorsement of, or representation that we are affiliated with, any third party. We do not control websites, mobile applications or online services operated by third parties, and we are not responsible for their actions. We encourage you to read the privacy policies of the other websites, mobile applications and online services you use.

Security

We employ technical, organizational and physical safeguards that are designed to protect the personal information we collect. However, security risk is inherent in all Internet and information technologies, and we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information.

International Data Transfer

We are headquartered in the United States and may use service providers that operate in other countries. Your personal information may be transferred to the United States or other locations where privacy laws may not be as protective as those in your state, province, or country.  

Children

The Website is not intended for use by anyone under 13 years of age. If you are a parent or guardian of a child from whom you believe we have collected personal information in a manner prohibited by law, please contact us. If we learn that we have collected personal information through the Website from a child without the consent of the child’s parent or guardian as required by law, we will comply with applicable legal requirements to delete the information.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to modify this Privacy Policy at any time. If we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you by posting it on the Website or other appropriate means, including through our AWI Quarterly magazine. Any modifications to this Privacy Policy will be effective upon our posting the modified version (or as otherwise indicated at the time of posting). In all cases, your use of the Website (or other means for providing information to AWI), after the effective date of any modified Privacy Policy indicates your acceptance of the modified Privacy Policy.

How to Contact Us

To exercise your choices or if you have questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please call AWI at (202) 337-2332 or email us at [email protected].