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Privacy Policy

Updated February 26, 2024

The Greater Chicago Food Depository cares deeply about privacy protection. We have developed this Privacy Policy to explain our practices regarding the collection, use and dissemination of information provided by donors, volunteers and advocates (“supporters”), who communicate with us through various methods, and by visitors to our websites, located at the URLs chicagosfoodbank.org and BancoDeAlimentosChicago.org (the “Website”).

When we collect, use or share information from supporters and Website visitors, we apply appropriate confidentiality and security measures.

We encourage you to read this Privacy Policy thoroughly so that you may fully understand your rights. The Privacy Policy is designed to provide you with information regarding the following topics:

  1. What information is collected
  2. How the information is used
  3. How the information may be shared
  4. Security measures used to protect the information
  5. How to access information and request corrections
  6. How to contact us regarding this Privacy Policy and to exercise opt-out rights
  7. Additional information

If, after reviewing this Privacy Policy, you have additional questions, please contact us through any of the ways identified in Section 6 below.

1. Collection of Information

Information Collected About Supporters

The Food Depository reaches out to supporters and other interested individuals in a variety of ways. We collect information you provide directly to us through your responses to mailings, emails, text messages, telephone calls, third-party social media sites and this Website. For example, our Website provides a number of forms on which we request information to make donations, volunteer, sign up to receive communications about hunger and nutrition initiatives, and send us questions and comments. We also collect information from supporters who attend Food Depository events and organize virtual food drives.

Depending on the communication to which you are responding, we may collect personal information such as your name, address, email address, phone number(s), the amount and date of donations, and how such donations were made. The Food Depository uses vendor software programs and databases to process and store this information so that we can perform necessary services such as accepting donations, issuing contribution confirmation notices and scheduling volunteer sessions.

We use third-party payment services to process credit card payments for donations and merchandise sales. Credit card information is retained by the third-party services only as long as is necessary to complete the transaction (or for the duration of automatic recurring donations) and is subject to the third-party service’s privacy policy. Credit card information is not shared with the Food Depository.

In addition to obtaining information directly from supporters, we obtain data from other sources. For instance, vendors may provide us with demographic information such as age, gender and giving profiles. We generally use such information to identify and communicate more effectively with current and potential supporters.

Information Collected About Website Visitors

We collect information on how our Website is accessed and used. This may include information such as your computer’s Internet Protocol address (IP address). An IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer when you use the Internet. We use IP addresses to help diagnose problems with our server, administer our Website, analyze usage and trends, track users’ movement, gather broad demographic information for aggregate use in order for us to improve the Website, respond to your inquiries, and deliver customized, personalized content. IP addresses are not linked to personally identifiable information.

Our Website also uses cookies and similar tracking technologies to enhance your experience while using our Website. Cookies are files with small amounts of data, including an anonymous unique identifier. Cookies are commonly used by websites to collect and track information and to improve and analyze websites. Use of cookies makes visiting websites easier by performing certain functions such as saving your passwords, your personal preferences and interests for advertising. Cookies also help us learn what pages, features, resources and websites are popular and are not, allowing us to continually improve our Website and better serve our visitors.

Your browser is probably set to accept cookies. However, if you would prefer not to receive cookies, you can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies. If you choose to have your browser refuse cookies, it is possible that some areas of our Website will not function properly when you view them. By not setting your browser to refuse cookies, you agree to our use of cookies.

2. Use of Information

The Food Depository uses personal information from supporters in order to further our mission to end hunger. We may use your information for a variety of purposes, such as to:

  • Communicate with you and establish a relationship about the Food Depository’s programs, needs and initiatives surrounding hunger and nutrition
  • Engage in marketing campaigns
  • Process donations and merchandise sales, and send donation confirmations
  • Organize and plan activities and events surrounding volunteering and fundraising
  • Learn about supporters and solicit feedback, such as by conducting surveys
  • Respond to your comments, questions and requests

We may communicate in a number of ways, such as mail, emails, text messages, phone calls, social media and targeted digital advertising.

To opt out of receiving communications from the Food Depository, please contact us as explained in Section 6 below.

3. Sharing of Information

We may share personal information about supporters with third parties for marketing purposes, including targeted digital advertising, in order to build our network and increase support for our programs. We also may publish donors’ names and giving levels in documents such as our annual report in order to recognize their support, unless requested otherwise.

To opt out of the sharing of your information, please contact us as explained in Section 6 below.

The Food Depository may be required by law to disclose personal information, for example, in response to a court order or a subpoena. We also may disclose such information in response to a law enforcement request or where we believe it necessary to investigate, prevent or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the physical safety of any person or as otherwise required by law.

4.  Protecting Your Information; Security

We understand that no matter how we collect your information, we have a responsibility to protect it. We take that responsibility seriously. We build security into our Website features and donation/volunteer processing to help protect data from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction.

We have systems in place to identify threats and take reasonable steps to respond to those threats, protecting the information users share with us. Of course, no method of Internet transmission or data storage can provide guaranteed protection to your information.  If anything should ever happen to your information, we’ll let you know as soon as we can and try our best to make it right.

This Website has security measures in place to protect against the loss, misuse and alteration of the information under our control. The security measures used on this Website include, but are not limited to, industry-standard Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology, firewalls, and internal policies to maintain the security of stored data. While we follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100 percent secure.

Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee it.

5. Accessing and Correcting Your Information

You can contact the Food Depository to review personal information that may have been collected about you and to correct any errors. For more information about contacting us, please see Section 6 below. We may not be able to accommodate all requests, such as those that would impact record retention, violate any law or legal requirement, or cause the information to be incorrect.

6. Contacting Us/Opting Out

We would like to hear from you if you have any questions, concerns or suggestions regarding this Privacy Policy, our privacy and security practices, or your dealings with this Website.

Please contact us if you want to stop receiving future communications from the Food Depository; opt out from having your information shared with third parties for marketing purposes or the publishing of your name and giving level in documents such as annual reports; or to review personal information we may have collected about you.

When you contact us, please let us know that you are communicating about the Privacy Policy.

There are a number of ways to reach us:

Our emails provide an easy, automated opt-out method so that you can stop receiving those types of communications: Click “Unsubscribe” at the bottom of an email.

To stop receiving text messages, reply STOP to the number from which you received the text message.

If you would like to opt out of targeted digital advertising, also sometimes referred to as Online Behavioral Advertising, please visit the Network Advertising Initiative (NAI) consumer opt out.

7. Additional Information

Other Websites

Our Website contains links to other websites. Please note that when you click on one of these links, you are entering another website for which the Food Depository has no responsibility. We encourage you to read the privacy statements on all such sites as their policies may be different than ours. We have no control over information that is submitted to, or collected by, these third parties.

Shortcode Texting

Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent to our 91471 shortcode will be obtained by our mobile phone texting provider but not be shared with any other third parties. Read additional information regarding our mobile shortcode terms and conditions.

Updates

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to address new issues and reflect policy changes. When we do, we will revise the date at the top of this page to indicate the date of any update. We encourage you to review the Privacy Policy whenever you access the Website to stay informed about our privacy practices.