YELLOWSTONE FOREVER PRIVACY POLICY
Updated: May 31, 2018. This Policy updates and overrides any preexisting policies found on any Yellowstone Forever (or Yellowstone Association and Yellowstone Park Foundation) web properties.
Yellowstone Forever, formerly the Yellowstone Association and Yellowstone Park Foundation, respects your right to privacy. Because we know many of you care, this privacy policy (“Policy”) overviews the kind of information collected through Yellowstone Forever’s website (www.yellowstone.org), email and mailing sign-ups and any other offline collection, online donation forms, online park store, and other web properties (“Site”) and how we use such information.
By visiting the Site, providing your information online or through offline collection, and/or receiving our emails and mailings from us, you fully accept the terms of this Policy and the practices it describes. If you do not agree, please discontinue your use of the Site and unsubscribe from our email and mailing lists by following instructions below. If you are signed up for email and mailing updates you may unsubscribe at any time — simply email [email protected], or call or mail us as directed below.
Yellowstone Forever reserves the right, at any time and without prior notice, to make updates to this Policy. If we do so, we’ll make sure that updates are indicated as described below. Updates are effective immediately upon posting.
If you have questions regarding this Policy, please send us an email at [email protected] and reference “Privacy Policy” in the subject line. You also may call or mail us as directed below.
What Information We Collect and How We Use this Information:
When you make a donation or sign up to be a supporter, purchase a product from us, register for a Yellowstone Forever event or Institute program, subscribe to our email list, or engage with us online (e.g., filling out a form), Yellowstone Forever asks you for personal contact information such as your name, mailing address, phone number and email address. We may use this contact information to provide you with a receipt or financial report; to contact you to clarify or obtain additional information about an order you placed, a donation you made, an event or Institute program you registered for; or to send you additional information about Yellowstone Forever.
If you make a donation, we may contact you on occasion to offer you an opportunity to make another gift, or to inform you of promotions involving partners, or Institute programs you make take. You may also receive a personal call from a staff member or volunteer thanking you for your donation. You will always have the opportunity to opt-out of future communications from us.
From time to time, Yellowstone Forever rents or exchanges its list of direct mail supporters with other reputable organizations to benefit our programs and activities. We have found this to be the most cost-effective method of reaching additional potential constituents and hope you value the information they send you. Your name is only made available to these carefully screened organizations through third-party mailing agents for a limited use. Such organizations will not have continued access to your name and address unless you choose to respond to their initial mailing. You may request to have your name removed from a list rental or exchange by emailing us at [email protected] and referencing “Privacy Policy” in the subject line. You also may call or mail us as directed below.
Personal contact information also may be shared with certain vendors we engage (i.e., reputable companies we use for services such as shipping products or sending mail). Our vendors must agree to maintain the confidentiality of any personal contact information we provide them in order to perform their services. In addition, if you made a donation via an online fundraiser or third-party event, Yellowstone Forever may share your donation information with the fundraising host so the host can measure the success of its activities.
Email and Mail Subscriber and Donor Information
Yellowstone Forever gives visitors the option of signing up for our email and mailing list in order to receive the above-described information, including, but not limited to, updates about our programs and efforts to support the world’s first national park, and ways you can join us in providing support.
Sign-ups require subscribers to provide their personal contact information that may include name, email address, mailing address, and other similar information. We store this personal information in a secure database powered by our third-party fundraising and constituent management service provider.
We use this information to communicate with you as described above. We also use this information to engage in our internal analyses and engagement/communication strategies, site audits, fraud monitoring, and development of new features, that will improve the Site and allow us to assess how we are doing fulfilling Yellowstone Forever’s mission.
Yellowstone Forever also provides visitors the ability to support our work through an online donation portal. In order to do so, visitors must indicate the amount of their donation and provide us with their name, mailing address, email address, and other personal information. This information is stored in a secure database powered by our third-party fundraising and constituent management service provider. We use it in order to: process and acknowledge your donation, whether on a one-time basis or monthly basis if so authorized; engage in our internal analyses, that will allow us to assess how we are doing fulfilling Yellowstone Forever’s mission; and, unless you direct otherwise by contacting us as directed below, recognize your donation above a certain threshold on Yellowstone Forever’s donor recognition rolls, including those printed in Yellowstone Forever publications.
To complete a donation through our donation portal, donors also must enter their credit card information into fields that are securely encrypted and processed through our third-party fundraising and constituent management service provider. Alternatively, donors have the option of completing their online donation by using PayPal. Yellowstone Forever does not, itself, store or have access to any credit card information you submit here to complete your donation. All credit card processing systems use industry recognized security standards and are PCI compliant.
Donors additionally will be added to our email and mailing lists unless they direct otherwise by opting out or contacting us as directed below, in which case we’ll use your personal information as described above.
Information Collected Through Online Park Store
Yellowstone Forever operates an online store where individuals can purchase educational products and materials and register for Institute programs that will enhance their park experience. In order to purchase products and materials or register for Institute programs through the store, individuals must complete an online transaction form. The form requires visitors to provide their name, contact information including email address, and credit card information that is securely encrypted and processed through a recognized third-party e-commerce platform provider, and only used to fulfill your request. Yellowstone Forever also receives your name and contact information including email, which we store in a secure database. Yellowstone Forever does not, itself, store or have access to any credit card information you submit here to complete your donation.
Individuals who make purchases through our online store additionally have the option to become a supporter and/or sign up for our email and mailing lists, in which case we’ll use your personal information as described above.
We do not collect any other personally identifiable information through the Site, or through our emails and mailings, unless you provide it to us. However, if you submit such information to us, you represent that you have the authority to do so and allow us to use it according to this Policy. If you give us false or inaccurate information, or if we have reasonable grounds to suspect that your information is false or inaccurate, we have the right to suspend or terminate your access to the Site, or to take you off of our email and mailing lists.
If you would like to review the personal information we’ve collected about you and/or make corrections, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected], or as directed below. Requests are usually processed within several business days.
Other Collected Information
Log Files
As is customary, Yellowstone Forever may collect additional information through our log files about your use of the Site, but that is not personally identifiable. Our Site log files may record your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address associated with the computer or device you use to access the Site, your browser and operating system, type of device, time and date of visiting the Site, the content you view, the length of your Site visit, and the links you use to access the Site, regardless of whether you sign up for email and mail updates or make an online donation.
We use this information to address or help diagnose problems with our server, administer the Site, analyze trends, track visitors’ movement, gather broad demographic information for aggregate use in order for us to improve the Site, and deliver customized personalized content.
Use of ‘Cookies’
Our Site may use cookies to store basic information and preferences, so we can customize and enhance your visitor experience. Cookies are pieces of data that websites transfer to your computer or device and are used for record-keeping purposes so that we recognize you when you visit the Site again. Use of cookies makes visits easier by performing functions such as saving your passwords and personal preferences regarding your Site use.
Your browser is probably set to accept cookies from us. However, if you would prefer not to receive cookies, you can change your browser settings accordingly. If you refuse them, it is possible that some areas of our Site will not function properly when you view them. To learn more about cookies, visit https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTTP_cookie.
How We Share Your Information:
From time to time, we may have third parties perform services on Yellowstone Forever’s behalf, including assisting us with internal data processing and analyses, engagement/communication strategies, fraud protection, and other similar activities. Such parties will have access to your personal information only to the extent they need access to perform services for Yellowstone Forever and are required, as our agents, to maintain the confidentiality and security of such information. Otherwise, we will not share your personal information with anyone else, unless outlined above, and except if we are required to so by law or if we have a reasonable belief that such action is necessary to comply with a court order or other legal process served on Yellowstone Forever or the Site; protect and defend our rights or property, including the Site; or prevent fraud, injury, or harm to persons or property, including acting under emergency circumstances to protect the personal safety of our staff, volunteers, visitors, or the general public.
Yellowstone Forever reserves the right to share any non-personally identifiable information in any manner we determine is reasonable or necessary, including sharing it with third parties to better assess how the Site is used and identify ways to improve it. We also will use this information with others in an aggregate form about how the Site is used, including statistics such as the number of Site visits.
What Security Measures We Use:
All personal information provided to Yellowstone Forever is transmitted using SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption. SSL is an industry-accepted coding system that lets your browser automatically encrypt or scramble data before you send it to us.
We also protect the personal information we have about you in our databases by placing it on a secure portion of our Site that is only accessible to authorized employees and agents of Yellowstone Forever. Unfortunately, however, no data transmission over the Internet is 100 percent secure. Although we strive to protect your information, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of such information. Yellowstone Forever does not store in our database nor do we have access to the credit card information you submit through our online donation portal or through the educational online park store.
Other Websites and Third-Party Links:
Our Site may contain links to other third-party sites and platforms. Please note that when you click on one of these links, you are entering another site or platform for which the Yellowstone Forever has no responsibility. We encourage you to be aware when you leave our Site and to read the privacy statements of every site or platform that collects your personal information. This Policy only applies to the information Yellowstone Forever collects through this Site and emails and mailings.
Information from Children Under 13:
Yellowstone Forever’s Site is not intended for use by children under 13 years of age. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 13, please do not send any information about yourself to Yellowstone Forever, including your name, address, telephone number, or email address. In the event that we learn that Yellowstone Forever has collected personal information from a child under age 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe that we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us by emailing [email protected], or as directed below.
Cross-Border Transfer Notice:
The Site is controlled and operated by Yellowstone Forever from the United States. If you are located outside of this country, you acknowledge and understand that any personally identifiable information you submit will be transferred to us here in the United States, the laws of which your country may consider inadequate for data protection. If you are not in the United States and voluntarily submit personally identifiable information to us, you consent to its general use as provided in this Policy and to the transfer and storage of that information in the United States. Yellowstone Forever does not intend to subject itself to the laws or jurisdiction of anywhere outside of the United States.
Changes to Policy:
Yellowstone Forever reserves the right at any time and without prior notice to make updates to this Policy. If Yellowstone Forever decides to update this Policy, we will post an update date to the top of this page (https://www.yellowstone.org/yellowstone-forever-privacy-policy/), next to the Privacy Policy link on our homepage, and anywhere else we determine is appropriate to ensure that individuals always know what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances, if any, we share it.
If Yellowstone Forever decides to use email and mail subscribers or donors’ personal information in a way that is different from what is reflected here at the time of collection, we also may notify them by including a note in one of our emails.
How to Unsubscribe:
You may unsubscribe from Yellowstone Forever email and mail updates at any time, and we will make that option readily available. Unsubscribe links are included at the bottom of every email communication that we send. If you are unable to complete your request through our automated process, please contact us by emailing [email protected] and include “RE: Privacy Policy” in your subject line. You also may submit an unsubscribe request to us by mail by mailing the address below. Requests are usually completed within several business days.
Once you have unsubscribed, Yellowstone Forever will put you on a “do not contact” list but we will retain your information for backup and archival purposes, including, without limitation, to maintain necessary records of donations and online park store transactions.
Contact Us:
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy and/or our practices, you can contact:
PO Box 1857
Bozeman, MT
59771-1857
You can also send an email to [email protected] (include “RE: Privacy Policy” in the subject line), or call us at (406) 848-2400.