Donor Privacy Policy

San Diego Habitat for Humanity values our past, current, and potential donors and volunteers (hereinafter referred to as “supporters”) and adheres to strict privacy policies. Our commitment to respect the privacy of our supporters extends to how we obtain, use, protect, and share information about them. This privacy policy is intended to be applied in conjunction with related San Diego Habitat policies, including, but not limited to, our Donor Bill of Rights (below).

  1. We hold strictly all information concerning donors and prospects, including names, addresses, names of beneficiaries, nature and value of estates, amounts of provisions or gifts, etc., unless the donor or prospect grants permission to use selective information for purposes of referral, testimonial, example, recognition, or publicity.
  2. We will not share, sell, rent, or otherwise offer information about supporters to other organizations.
  3. We will maintain complete and accurate supporter records for at least such time as is required by law.
  4. We have procedures in place to limit access to information to only those employees and volunteers who need to know such information in order to fulfill our mission.
  5. We will use our best efforts to comply with the expressed wishes of any supporter who does not want their name used in any promotional material, wishes their name removed from solicitation and other mailing lists, or wishes their gifts or services to remain anonymous.
  6. We will comply with the laws and regulations of the Internal Revenue Service, all states in which we solicit funding, and the U.S. Postal Service.
  7. We collect personal information from visitors to our website only if they make a donation or request goods or services. Personal information provided by users of our website is used to process a gift or deliver requested information.
  8. Visitors to our website who provide us with their name and email address may be added to our mailing list, from which they can be removed at any time by following the instructions that are found in our electronic communications or by contacting our administrative offices by telephone, email, or mail.
  9. Personal information is never sent via email.

Donor Bill of Rights

Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

  1. To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
  2. To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
  3. To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.
  4. To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
  5. To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.
  6. To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
  7. To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
  8. To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
  9. To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.
  10. To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

Donor Bill of Rights ©2013, Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), all rights reserved. Reprinted with the permission from the Association of Fundraising Professionals.