Houston Center for Literacy Privacy Policy

Effective November 9, 2012

Privacy Notice Table Of Contents:

Our Commitment To Privacy
The Information We Collect
How We Use Information
Our Commitment To Data Security
Our Commitment To Children's Privacy
How To Access Or Correct Your Information
Use of Cookies
Links to Other Websites
How To Contact Us

Our Commitment to Privacy

Your privacy is important to us. To better protect your privacy we provide this notice explaining our online information practices and the choices you can make about the way your information is collected and used. To make this notice easy to find, we make it available on our homepage and at every point where personally identifiable information may be requested.

The Information We Collect:

This notice applies to all information collected or submitted on the Houston Center for Literacy website (www.houliteracy.org). On some pages, you can make a financial contribution, apply to work as a volunteer, apply to become a member of the Mayor's Coalition for Literacy, apply for a Mayor's Challenge Grant, and submit an inquiry to receive materials.  Below are the types of personal information collected at these pages:

• Making a financial contribution- When making a financial contribution online through our secure Google Checkout account, we collect your name, address, email address, phone number, and receive an order confirmation number from Google Checkout.  During the online donation process, Google Checkout allows the option to keep your email address confidential.  To view the Google Checkout Privacy Policy, please go to https://checkout.google.com/support/bin/answer.py?answer=39332&hl=en_US
• Applying to work as a volunteer- When you download the volunteer application online, you will return the form with personal information such as your name, address, email address, phone number, emergency contact name and information, volunteer preferences, and permission to submit to a background check.
• Applying to become a member of the Mayor's Coalition for Literacy- When you download the membership application form online, you will return the form with agency information including agency name, Executive Director, address, website, contact's name, contact's email address, contact's phone number, agency's background, agency's service information, agency's class schedules, agency's staff information, and volunteer information.  Attachments requested with the application include completed Membership Contract, financial reports from the previous fiscal year, application fee, current budget from current fiscal year, 501(c)(3) determination letter, list of Board of Directors, and Form 990.
• Applying for a Mayor's Challenge Grant- When you download the grant application online, you will return the form with agency information including agency name, address, contact person's email, contact's phone number, grant purpose, and proposed budget.
• Submitting an inquiry- When you submit an inquiry via email, we will respond and collect preferred contact information that is given.

The Way We Use Information:

The information you provide about yourself when making a contribution or downloading and submitting an application may be used in our programs and activities.  We enter donor information into our database so we can contact you with any questions, provide information about our events and programs, and request contributions.  We enter provider agency information into a database so we can contact you when necessary and send informational updates on programs and events.  Provider agency names are listed on informational materials dispersed by Houston Center for Literacy.  We do not share this information with outside parties, except to the extent necessary to complete your request.

You may contact Houston Center for Literacy's administrative office at any time to have your information removed from our mailing list and/or database.

Finally, we never use or share the personally identifiable information provided to us online in ways unrelated to the ones described above without also providing you an opportunity to opt-out or otherwise prohibit such unrelated uses.

Our Commitment To Data Security

To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the correct use of information, we have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

Our Commitment To Children's Privacy:

Protecting the privacy of the very young is especially important. For that reason, we never collect or maintain information at our website from those we actually know are under 13, and no part of our website is structured to attract anyone under 13.

How You Can Access Or Correct Your Information

You can request a copy of your collected personal information, request corrections to your personal information, and/or request to be removed from our database and/or mailing list by contacting Emily Manning by email at emily.manning@houliteracy.org, by phone at 713-640-8230, or by sending a written request to 2401 Portsmouth St., #230, Houston, TX 77098-3938.

If you are a new or continuing donor and do not want your name shared outside of the organization in materials such as an Annual Report, please contact Emily Manning by email at emily.manning@houliteracy.org, by phone at 713-640-8230, or by sending a written request to 2401 Portsmouth St., #230, Houston, TX 77098-3938.  We always respect the privacy of donors who contribute anonymously.

To protect your privacy and security, we will also take reasonable steps to verify your identity before granting access or making corrections.

Use of Cookies

A cookie is a small file which asks permission to be placed on your computer's hard drive. Once you agree, the file is added and the cookie helps analyze web traffic or lets you know when you visit a particular site. Cookies allow web applications to respond to you as an individual. The web application can tailor its operations to your needs, likes and dislikes by gathering and remembering information about your preferences. 

We use traffic log cookies to identify which pages are being used. This helps us analyze data about web page traffic and improve our website in order to tailor it to customer needs. We only use this information for statistical analysis purposes and then the data is removed from the system. 

Overall, cookies help us provide you with a better website, 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 any information about you, other than the data you choose to share with us. 

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 may prevent you from taking full advantage of the website.

Links to Other Websites

Our website may contain links to enable you to visit other websites of interest easily. However, once you have used these links to leave our site, you should note that we do not have any control over that other website. Therefore, we cannot be responsible for the protection and privacy of any information which you provide whilst visiting such sites and such sites are not governed by this privacy statement. You should exercise caution and look at the privacy statement applicable to the website in question.

How To Contact Us

Should you have other questions or concerns about these privacy policies, please call us at
713-640-8200 or send us an email at executive.team@houliteracy.org.