Privacy Policy
The Internal Revenue Service recognizes United Way of the Franklin and Hampshire Region as a Section 501(c)(3) public charity. Gifts to United Way of the Franklin and Hampshire Region are tax deductible in the U.S.A. Our Federal Tax ID # is 04-2104792. No goods or services were forwarded or offered in exchange for this contribution.
This site is owned and operated by Hampshire Community United Way d/b/a United Way of the Franklin and Hampshire Region (UWFH). Because we gather certain types of information about our users, we feel you should fully understand our policy and the terms and conditions surrounding the capture and use of that information.
Your Consent
By using this site, you consent to the collection and use of this information by UWFH. If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it.
Information we gather and track
UWFH gathers three types of information about website users:
Applicant information needed to create your account (if applicable).
Information that users provide through optional, voluntary submissions. These are voluntary submissions to receive our electronic newsletters, to forward to a friend, and from participation in polls and surveys.
Information UWFH gathers through aggregated tracking information derived mainly by tallying page views throughout our sites. This information allows us to better tailor our content to readers’ needs.
Under no circumstances does UWFH divulge any information about an individual user to a third party.
UWFH gathers user information in the following processes:
Account Creation (where applicable): During registration the user is required to supply a username, password, and email address. Accounts are not required to view the site, but they are required to post in the forum.
“Forward to a friend” policy: Our site users can choose to electronically forward a link, page, or documents to someone else by clicking “e-mail this to a friend”. The user must provide their email address, as well as that of the recipient. This information is used only in the case of transmission errors and, of course, to let the recipient know who sent the email. The information is not used for any other purpose.
Polling: We may offer interactive polls to users so they can easily share their opinions with other users and see what our audience thinks about important issues. Opinions or other responses to polls are aggregated and are not identifiable to any particular user. UWHC may use a system to “tag” users after they have voted, so they can vote only once on a particular question.
Surveys: UWFH may occasionally conduct user surveys to better target our content to our audience. We sometimes share the aggregated demographic information in these surveys with our partners.
Usage tracking: UWHC tracks user traffic patterns throughout all of our sites. UWHC breaks down overall usage statistics according to a user’s domain name, browser type, and MIME type by reading this information from the browser string (information contained in every user’s browser). UWFH tracks and catalogs the search terms, which users enter in our Search function. We use tracking information to determine which areas of our sites users like and don’t like based on traffic to those areas. This helps us continue to build a better service for you.
Cookies
We place a text file called a “cookie” in the browser files of your computer. The cookie itself does not contain personal information although it will enable us to relate your use of this site to information that you have specifically and knowingly provided. But the only personal information a cookie can contain is information you supply yourself. A cookie can’t read data off your hard disk or read cookie files created by other sites. UWFH uses cookies to securely validate your user session.
You can refuse cookies by turning them off in your browser. If you’ve set your browser to warn you before accepting cookies, you will receive the warning message with each cookie. You do not need to have cookies turned on to use this site. However, you do need cookies to log in to your account.
Use of Your Information
UWFH uses any information voluntarily given by our users to enhance their experience in our network of sites, whether to provide interactive or personalized elements on the sites or to better prepare future content based on the interests of our users.
As stated above, we use information that users voluntarily provide in order to enable users to participate in polls, surveys, and forums.
When we use tracking information to determine which areas of our sites users like and don’t like based on traffic to those areas. This helps us continue to build a better service for you. We track search terms entered in Search function as one of many measures of what interests our users.
UWFH creates aggregate reports on user demographics and traffic patterns for partners. We will not disclose any information about any individual user except to comply with applicable law or valid legal process or to protect the personal safety of our users or the public.
Sharing of Information
UWFH uses the above-described information to tailor our content to suit your needs. We will not share information about individual users with any third party, except to comply with applicable law or valid legal process or to protect the personal safety of our users or the public.
Security
UWFH operates secure data networks protected by industry standard firewall and password protection systems. Our security and privacy policies are periodically reviewed and enhanced as necessary and only authorized individuals have access to the information provided by our constituents.
A SSL certificate protects our donation form. All your information will be encrypted before being submitted.
Contacting us
If you have any questions about this Web site’s privacy policies or practices or your interaction with this Web site, please contact us by:
1. Sending an e-mail to us at info@uwhampshire.org
2. Calling us at (413)584-3962
3. Faxing your comments to us at (413) 584-5114
4. Writing to us at: P.O. Box 123 • 71 King Street, Northampton, MA 01061
Internal Financial Controls
United Way of the Franklin and Hampshire Region, in compliance with United Way Worldwide requirement “H,” is fully committed to the use of internal controls for financial reporting. To assure accurate financial reporting and procedures, free of conflicts of interest or fraud, we engage independent certified public accountants to audit our records and financial internal controls annually.
Questions? Email us: finance@uw-fh.org or call: 413-584-3962.