Privacy

Last updated: 08/23/2024

 The University of Massachusetts Amherst Foundation (“UMass Amherst Foundation,” “we,” “us,” or “our’) web sites and related online services are provided by the UMass Amherst Foundation to inform of our mission to support private fundraising on behalf of the faculty, students, and facilities of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, and we are committed to respecting your privacy. 

This Privacy Policy explains our practices regarding the collection, use, and disclosure of information that you (“you” or “user”) may provide to us through your use of our website located at https://umassgiving.org , our social media pages, related online services, and any other websites that we link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, our “Website”).

By accessing the Website, you agree to be bound by this Privacy Policy.  If you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy, please do not use the Website.  Each time you use the Website, the current version of this Privacy Policy will apply. Accordingly, when you use the Website, you should check the date of this Privacy Policy (which appears at the top) and review any changes since you last reviewed the Privacy Policy.

Information We Collect

We collect two types of information from users of our Website: “Personal Information,” which is information that you provide that can be used to identify you (such as your name or your email address), and “Aggregate Information,” which is information that cannot be used to identify you (such as frequency of visits to the Website and your browser type).

INFORMATION YOU PROVIDE TO US

Website.  We collect Personal Information that you voluntarily provide to us when you use our Website.  For example, you may provide us with your contact information such as your email address, first and last name, the content of your communication, or other Personal Information when you choose to submit such information to us through email, an online form, or other method (such as contacting us through the Contact Us feature on our Website).   If you interact with us on social media, we may collect your social media profile information, your communications with us, and your communications and posts on our social media pages. 

Giving.  If you gift or donate to The UMass Amherst Foundation, we collect your Personal Information, including your full name, billing address, school affiliation, alumni class year (if applicable) and student ID number (if applicable).  You may also optionally provide us with your spouse’s or partner’s name, as well as any special gift instructions or comments.  If you dedicate your gift in honor or memoriam of another, we collect information about such dedication.

We also collect your payment details to process your gift.

Account.

Surveys.  We may also send surveys, questionnaires, and the like, which may ask you to provide Personal Information to us, as well as the content of your responses.

Contests.  We may operate promotional and other contests, giveaways, and sweepstakes.  We collect your submission information, which includes Personal Information, and use such information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and the rules, terms, and conditions applicable to such contest, giveaway, or sweepstakes.

INFORMATION WE AUTOMATICALLY COLLECT 

When you use our Website, we automatically receive and collect information from your device.  This information includes the following:

  • Information about your device, such as the operating system, hardware, system version, Internet Protocol (IP) address, device ID, and device language.

  • The specific actions that you take when you use our Website, including but not limited to the pages and screens that you view or visit, search terms that you enter, and how you interact with our Website.

  • The time, frequency, connection type, and duration of your use of our Website.

  • Information regarding your interaction with email messages, for example, whether you opened, clicked on, or forwarded the email message.

  • Identifiers associated with cookies or other technologies that may uniquely identify your device or browser (as further described below).

  • Your general geographic location (based on your IP address).

  • Pages you visited before or after navigating to our Website.

EMPLOYMENT

If we have collected your Personal Information through our “Careers” page in response to a job opening, you are giving us permission to use and retain your Personal Information for the purpose of evaluating your application for employment consideration for the specific position that you applied to, as well as other roles at The UMass Amherst Foundation or any of our affiliate organizations.  This Personal Information may be processed and stored by a third party talent tracking solution provider as well as with vendors, consultants, and other service providers who need access to such information to carry out work relating to the recruitment process on our behalf.  

AGGREGATE INFORMATION COLLECTED

Aggregate Information is information that does not identify you.  Aggregate Information may be collected when you use our Website, independent of any information you voluntarily enter. Additionally, we may use one or more processes to de-identify information that contains Personal Information, such that only Aggregate Information remains.  We may collect, use, store, and transfer Aggregate Information without restriction.

COOKIES AND ANALYTICS

Like most websites, our Website may use “cookies.”  Cookies are alphanumeric identifiers that we transfer to your computer’s hard drive through your web browser to help us identify you when you come to our Website. 

Our Website collects cookies and may use cookies for reasons including, but not limited to:

  • Analyze our web traffic using an analytics package.

  • Test content on the Website.

  • Store information about your preferences.

  • Recognize when you return to the Website.

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website experience by enabling us to monitor which pages you find useful and which you do not.  A cookie in no way gives us access to your computer or device, or any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us.[CB6] 

You can choose to accept or decline cookies.  Most web browsers automatically accept cookies, but you can usually modify your browser setting to decline cookies if you prefer.  This setting may prevent you from taking full advantage of the Website.

We may use third parties, such as Google Analytics or other analytics providers, to analyze traffic to our Website. Google Analytics does not create individual profiles for visitors and only collects aggregate data. To disable Google Analytics, please download the browser add-on for the deactivation of Google Analytics provided by Google at http://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout?hl=en. To learn more about privacy and Google Analytics, please consult the Google Analytics overview provided by Google at http://www.google.com/intl/en/analytics/privacyoverview.html.[CB7] 

Although we do our best to honor the privacy preferences of our visitors, we are not able to respond to Do Not Track signals from your browser.

How We Use Your Information

In general, we collect information and Personal Information from you so that we can provide our Website, operate our organization, programs, and services, facilitate your gifting and donations, and provide information that you request from us.  This includes but is not limited to the following:

  • Support UMass Amherst Foundation programs, services, and operations.

  • Provide, operate, improve, maintain, and protect our Website.

  • Facilitate your gifting and donations.

  • Provide you with technical and other support.

  • Send you updates, marketing communications, and other information about The UMass Amherst Foundation, our services, our Website, and our affiliate organizations.

  • Send you notices and alerts.

  • Conduct research, analytics, and monitor and analyze trends and usage.

  • Contact you and respond to your inquiries.

  • Enhance or improve user experience, our organization, and our Website, including the safety and security thereof. 

  • Personalize our Website to you.

  • As necessary to comply with any applicable law, regulation, subpoena, legal process, or governmental request.

  • Enforce contracts, including investigation of potential violations thereof.

  • Detect, prevent, or otherwise address fraud, security or technical issues.

  • Protect against harm to the rights, property or safety of The UMass Amherst Foundation, our users, or the public as required or permitted by law.

How We Share Your Information

We do not rent or sell your Personal Information.

Like most organizations, we share information, including Personal Information, in certain circumstances with third parties through operation of our Website and our organization.  Below we explain when that happens.

SERVICE PROVIDERS

We may transfer Personal Information to third parties for the purpose of providing the Website or operating our organization.  For example, we may transfer your Personal Information to third-party service providers to assist with providing the Website, and to communicate with you about current or future products and services.

GIVING

We share Personal Information with third-parties in furtherance of our philanthropic activities.

AFFILIATES

We share Personal Information with our affiliated entities and organizations, including the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the University of Massachusetts Amherst Alumni Association.  For details about how they use your Personal Information, please visit their privacy policies:

REQUIRED TRANSFERS

We may also transfer your Personal Information to third parties under the following circumstances: (i) to comply with a legal requirement, law, subpoena, judicial proceeding, court order, governmental request, or legal process; (ii) to investigate a possible crime, such as fraud or identity theft; (iii) in connection with the sale, purchase, merger, asset sale, financing, reorganization, liquidation or dissolution of The UMass Amherst Foundation, including the evaluation thereof; (iv) when we believe it is necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of The UMass Amherst Foundation  or other persons, or (v) as otherwise required or permitted by law, including any contractual obligations of The UMass Amherst Foundation.

AS DIRECTED BY YOU AND WITH YOUR CONSENT

Except as otherwise provided in this Privacy Policy, we share Personal Information with companies, organizations or individuals outside of The UMass Amherst Foundation only at your direction or when we have your consent to do so. 


International Transfer

Our Website is hosted in and operated from the United States.  If you use our Website from other countries with laws governing data collection and use that may differ from United States law, then please note that by sending an email or other communication containing Personal Information or by providing Personal Information through our Website, you are voluntarily transferring your Personal Information outside of those regions to the United States.

 Children's Privacy

Our Website is not intended for use by children under the age of 13 and we do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of 13 in connection with the Website.

Opting Out

If you no longer wish to receive our marketing and promotional communications, you may opt-out by following the instructions included in each communication.

How We Protect Your Information

The security of your Personal Information is important to us.  We use reasonable administrative, physical, and technical safeguards to secure the Personal Information you share with us.  Despite these safeguards and our additional efforts to secure your information, we cannot promise or guarantee that hackers, cybercriminals, or other unauthorized third parties will not be able to defeat our security and improperly collect, access, steal, or modify your Personal Information.

Third-Party Websites

The Website may contain hyperlinks to websites operated by third parties, which may include social media features, such as social media buttons or links.  We provide such hyperlinks for your reference and convenience only.  We do not control such websites and are not responsible for their content or the privacy or other practices of such websites.  It is up to you to read and fully understand their privacy policies.  Our inclusion of hyperlinks to such websites does not imply any endorsement of the material on such websites or any association with their operators.  If you are submitting information to any such third-party through our Website, you should review and understand that party’s applicable policies, including their privacy policies, before providing your information to the third-party.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to amend this policy at any time without any prior notice to you.  Each time you use our Website the current version of this Privacy Policy will apply.  When you use our Website, you should check the date of this Privacy Policy (which appears at the top of the Privacy Policy) and review any changes since the last version. 

Questions

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, please contact us at: https://www.uma-foundation.org/contact-us

UMass Amherst Foundation

134 Hicks Way

Amherst, MA 01003

 privacy@uma-foundation.org