Last Updated: October 20, 2022
The National Kidney Foundation, Inc. ("National Kidney Foundation", "we", "us", or "our"), wants you to know how we use and protect the personal information you provide to us. We take the protection and proper use of your Personal Information (defined below) seriously and are committed to protecting your Personal Information in our possession. In order to preserve your trust, we want you to understand what Personal Information we collect from you, how we use such information, and the choices you have regarding the use of this information.
Scope: This policy applies to all Personal Information received by National Kidney Foundation, Inc. both online and offline, including the National Kidney Foundation, Inc. website (www.kidney.org) and mobile applications, as well as any electronic, written, or oral communications. This policy does not apply to Personal Information that we use for human resources or other employment purposes.
Information we collect
Personal Information: "Personal Information" refers to any information we can use to identify or contact you, such as your name (first and last), address (city, state, zip), email address, telephone number, profession, contact preference, connection to kidney disease, etc. When we combine any information (whether or not it is personally identifiable on its own) with Personal Information, we will treat the combined information as “Personal Information.” We may collect information in the following ways:
- When you apply for membership
- When you visit, or use our online donation system (e.g. funds or the KidneyCars vehicle donation program)
- Register for an event
- When you register for or use any of our mobile Apps, or tools inside our mobile apps
- When you sign-up for newsletters or other communication from us
- When you participate in an online survey
- When you provide personal information in a community area or other public forum
From Your Activity: We may capture the IP address and ID of the device you use to connect to the online service, the type of operating system and browser you use, and the information about the site you came from, the parts of our online service you access, the type of mobile device you use and the site you visit next.
From Cookies: A cookie is a small amount of data which often includes a unique identifier that is sent to your browser from a website and is stored on your computer's hard drive. You can configure your browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies, or notify you when a cookie is set. (Each browser is different, so check the "Help" menu of your browser to learn how to change your cookie preferences.)
Using pixel tags and other similar technologies. Tracking pixels may be used to, among other things, track how you engage with our website and services (e.g. email newsletters) to help ensure we are providing you with valuable content and to facilitate our marketing efforts (including, but not limited to, reaching new audiences on social media sites).
Google Analytics: We use Google Analytics to analyze the audience of the website and improve our content. No personal information is collected from Google Analytics. For further information on the privacy policy concerning Google Analytics, please go here. If you have enabled a “do not track” feature on your browser, we will not use Google Analytics to track your activity.
Advertising Opt-Out: Third parties, including but not limited to Facebook and other social media platforms, may use cookies, pixel tags, and other storage technologies to collect or receive information from our website and elsewhere on the internet and use that information to provide services to us, including targeted advertising. However, you may choose to opt-out of the use of targeted advertising by clicking here: http://www.aboutads.info/choices or http://www.youronlinechoices.eu (please note: we do not operate or control these third party sites, and there may be additional ways for you to opt out of online advertising). Please note that by opting out, you will continue to see ads, but ads may not be as relevant to your interests.
Information Collected by and From Social Media Services and Other Third Party Platforms: You may also be able to engage with our content on or through social media services or other third party platforms, such as Facebook, or other third-party social media plug-ins, integrations and applications. When you engage with our content on or through our website, social media services or other third party platforms, plug-ins, integrations or applications, we may have access to certain Information in your profile. This may include your name, email address, photo, gender, birthday, location and an ID associated with the applicable third party platform or social media account user files, like photos and videos, your list of friends or connections, people you follow and/or who follow you, or your posts, topics of interests, or "likes." For a description on how social media services and other third party platforms, plug-ins, integrations or applications handle your information, please refer to their respective privacy policies and terms of use, which may permit you to modify your privacy settings.
When we interact with you through our content on third party websites, applications, integrations or platforms, we may obtain information regarding your interaction with that content, such as content you have viewed, information about advertisements within the content you have been shown or may have clicked on.
When you use a link online to visit a third-party website, you are subject to that website's privacy and security practices, which may be different from ours. You should familiarize yourself with the privacy policy, terms of use and security practices of that third-party website before providing any information on that website.
How We Use and Share the Information
The National Kidney Foundation will not sell, trade or share your personal information with any other entity, nor will we send mailings to you on behalf of other organizations unless you have given National Kidney Foundation, Inc. specific permission to do so.
We use Personal Information to operate our platforms, to provide information that you request, and to help facilitate donations and transactions. We may use Personal Information for other business and legal purposes, such as conducting audits, fraud monitoring and prevention, developing new services, enhancing, improving or modifying our programs and our Services, identifying usage trends, determining the effectiveness of fundraising campaigns and mission activities, and updating and expanding our business activities.
Online payment information, i.e. credit card numbers, is not stored in any NKF system. Should you voluntarily disclose personal information online, e.g. on message boards, through email or in chat areas, that information may be collected and used by others.
Email communication from the National Kidney Foundation adheres to the CAN-SPAM Act and contains an opt-out link. If you have any questions or concerns about your privacy on this site, please contact us.
We may share Personal Information with our affiliates, including for our and our affiliates’ operational, fundraising, and marketing purposes.
We engage service providers who may need to process Personal Information to perform tasks on our behalf and to assist us in providing the platforms and operating our business (which includes, but is not limited to, the use of social media platforms for the advertising purposes described above). To the extent any donations are processed through a third-party service provider, the donors' information will only be used for purposes necessary to process the donation. Although we do not have direct control over our service providers, who are independent contractors, we take commercially reasonable steps to help ensure our service providers provide at least the same level of protection for Personal Information as we do.
If we sell or otherwise transfer part or the whole of our business or assets to another organization (e.g., in the course of a transaction like a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy, dissolution, or liquidation), any information we maintain, including Personal Information, may be among the items sold or transferred.
We may disclose Personal Information at the request of law enforcement or government agencies or in response to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process to establish, protect, or exercise our rights or to defend against a legal claim or as otherwise required or allowed by law, or to protect the rights, property, or safety of any other person. We may also disclose Personal Information to investigate or prevent a violation by you of any contractual or other relationship with us or your illegal or harmful activity.
All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties.
Online Security
National Kidney Foundation websites employ Secure Socket Layer (SSL) security for data. System passwords are routinely changed. All credit card information transmitted during online transactions is processed with Secure Socket Layer (SSL) security, an established protocol for transmitting information via the Internet which uses server authentication and data encryption to ensure that your data is safe and secure. Once processed, credit card information is not stored in any NKF system. Access to www.kidney.org coding and protocols is restricted to National Kidney Foundation. Despite use of these safeguards, we cannot guarantee and do not represent that your information will always be secure from unauthorized access.
Exercising Your Rights
If you would like to access, amend, erase, export, or object to or restrict the processing of, Personal Information about you, you may submit a request to [email protected]. We will promptly review all such requests in accordance with applicable laws and in accordance with our Policy on Discontinuing Contact.
Depending on where you live, you may have a right to lodge a complaint with a supervisory authority or other regulatory agency if you believe that we have violated any of the rights concerning Personal Information. We encourage you to first reach out to us at [email protected], so we have an opportunity to address your concerns directly before you do so.
Children's Privacy
We do not knowingly collect or solicit any Personal Information from children. In the event that we learn that we have collected Personal Information from a child, we will promptly take steps to delete that information, unless we have parental consent or are otherwise authorized to collect such Personal Information under applicable law.
Retention of Personal Information
We retain Personal Information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which we collected it, including any business or legal purposes. To determine the appropriate retention period, we consider the amount, nature, and sensitivity of Personal Information, the potential risk of harm from unauthorized use or disclosure of your Personal Information, the purposes for which we process your Personal Information, whether we can achieve those purposes through other means, and all applicable legal requirements.
Personal Information Transferred to the United States
If you are outside the United States, please be aware that Personal Information may be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States. Although we take steps to provide adequate safeguards, the data protection laws of the United States might not be as comprehensive as those in your country.
Changes To This Online Privacy Statement: NKF may change this Online Privacy Policy Statement from time to time. When we do, we will let you know by appropriate means such as by posting the revised policy on this page with a new "Last Updated" date. Any changes to this Online Privacy Statement will become effective when posted unless indicated otherwise.