Privacy Policy

Cause of Action Institute (the “Organization” or “COA”) recognizes that visitors to our website are entitled to know how we collect, use, and maintain information we collect or may collect about them. This privacy policy explains what information we collect, how we use that information, with whom we will share this information, and related information.

Information Collected By COA

COA collects two types of information from users: personal data such as zip code, email address and demographic information; and aggregated data such as information about traffic patterns on ftjfoundation.org or causeofaction.org (for example, how many users log on to ftjfoundation.org or causeofaction.org on a daily basis).

Aggregated Information

Aggregated information, such as which pages users visit, is collected through various means. One of these ways is through an IP address, a unique numeric identifier assigned to each computer browser accessing the Internet.  An IP address, by itself, cannot identify you personally. However, when combined with other information provided by your Internet Service Provider (ISP), your IP address can be used to identify the computer originating a message.  When you request a page from COA, our servers log your IP address but do not link IP addresses to anything personally identifiable, so although your session will be logged, your session will remain anonymous to us.

Cookies

We use a standard technology called a “cookie” to collect information about how the site is used and to help automate the process of logging on to certain areas of the site. Cookies are small strings of text stored on your computer’s hard drive by a Web server which help us improve your access to our site and identify repeat visitors to our site. We use session cookies to identify your computer during a particular session, i.e., when you sign into the site or post a comment.  Most Web browsers provide you the ability to accept or decline cookies, as well as to be warned each time a cookie is being sent. If you choose to decline cookies you may not be able to take advantage of all aspects of our site.

Some pages on ftjfoundation.org and causeofaction.org may include web content or functionality from third parties, such as embedded videos hosted by non-COA services.  For example, content or functionality from the following third parties may be present on some pages:

  •     YouTube.com;
  •     Vimeo.com;
  •     Flickr.com;
  •     Socrata.com;
  •     Google Moderator;
  •     Livestream.com
  •     Facebook.com; and
  •     UStream.com.

These third parties may use technologies such as cookies in conjunction with the provision of this content or functionality.  You should consult the privacy policies of these third parties for further information as COA in no way assumes any liability for their actions.

Personally Identifiable Information

Certain actions and areas of the site may require you to provide personal information, such as when you join our website or create a user account, submit a comment, make a donation, or ask for more information.  When you submit personal information, which may include but is not limited to:  your full name, street address, e-mail address, unique subscriber ID, telephone number, and other relevant contact information, COA may collect such information.  By submitting this personal information to us, you agree that we may use the information in accordance with this privacy policy. We will update this privacy policy as we deem necessary. You should be sure to reread this policy in its entirety from time to time.

We may use your information in ways related to our mission, such as to contact you about other activities and/or fundraising campaigns or as otherwise disclosed to you at the point of collection, and we may share your information with our affiliates and partners and any other organizations or entities for similar purposes.  We may, for example, publish compilations of comments collected through ftjfoundation.org and/or causeofaction.org or provide them to national leaders, members of the press or other individuals.  We exercise discretion to protect voluntarily submitted information if its disclosure would raise privacy concerns.  Additionally, to the extent required by applicable federal or state law, we will provide this information to others. Additionally we may share your information with vendors, consultants, and other service providers or volunteers who are engaged by or working with us and who need access to such information to carry out their work for us as well as organizations, groups or causes that we believe have similar viewpoints, principles or objectives.  To be clear, we may share personally and non-personally identifiable information with third parties that help manage our website and databases as well as with any partners, affiliates, or other third parties to advance our charitable mission.

By submitting this information to us, you give us permission to receive it, review it, edit it, store it, post it on our website, and use it as we see fit. To protect your privacy, we strongly urge you to not include any identifying information in your submissions.

In the event that we reasonably believe that you have violated any of the Terms of Conditions governing your use of this site, we reserve the right to use any information we have collected about you in connection with any efforts we make or made by any of our agents on our behalf.

Links on ftjfoundation.org and/or causeofaction.org to External Sites

FTJfoundation.org and/or causeofaction.org  may contain links to websites created and maintained by other public and/or private organizations and individuals.  COA provides these links as a service to our users.  When you follow a link to an external site, you are leaving FTJFoundation.org and causeofaction.org and are subject to the privacy and security policies of the owners/sponsors of the external site. COA does not control or guarantee the accuracy, relevance, timeliness, or completeness of information contained in a linked site.  We also do not endorse the organizations or individuals maintaining sites that we link, any views they express, or any products/services they offer.

Financial Information You Choose to Provide

If you choose to make an online donation, you may be directed to a third party website.  You should carefully read their privacy policy and terms of conditions and apprise yourself of the details.  When you make an online donation, COA may have access to your credit card billing information, but the credit card information that you provide at the time of donation will be used only to process your donation and will not be used for any other purposes.

Email Newsletter and Updates

If you sign up to receive our email newsletter and updates, we may collect, store, and use your email address to send you such information from COA. We may also collect and store other personally identifiable information including but not limited to your name, address, phone number, mobile phone number, email address, username, and/or similar information you may opt to provide us. If you provide us with your mobile phone number, COA may use it to send you text messages. In addition, as noted above, COA may share this information with our affiliates, partners, and other organizations or entities to advance our charitable mission.

User Comments

Any comments you provide, along with any personal information provided in connection with those comments, may be visible to other uses and website visitors.  Therefore, please do not provide any information via your comments that you do not want publicly available.

Job Opportunities

You may choose to apply for employment or an internship opportunity with COA through online application forms we may provide or by sending us, by email or otherwise, a resume and letter (containing personally identifiable information). Any information you provide to us in this regard will be viewed by COA only for the purpose of evaluating your application and/or responding to your employment-related inquiry.

Security

Before you submit any information to COA via this website, please remember that information submitted via the Internet, including through a website or email is subject to interception or incorrect routing, and the Internet is not a fully secure communications channel. Certain sections of this site may have heightened security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information you have provided. The security measures used on this site to protect any available online donation pages include, but are not limited to, industry-standard Secure Socket Layer (SSL) technology, Verisign certificates, firewalls, and internal policies to maintain the security of stored data. While we follow generally accepted industry standards to protect the personal information submitted to us, no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is 100 percent secure. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

How to Unsubscribe or Contact Us About Your Information

If you do not want to receive any email or other communications from us in the future, please click the “unsubscribe” reference in any email we send you. Otherwise, you may send an email to contact@causeofaction.org or a letter to the below address requesting that we unsubscribe you from our contact lists. Note that absent a specific request your records will remain in our database.

If you wish to review the contact information we have on file for you, correct your contact information, provide a change of address, or inform us how you wish your contact information to be used, please contact our staff. You may contact us by mail, or telephone, as follows:

Cause of Action Institute
1310 N Courthouse Rd. Suite 700
Arlington, VA 22201
202.499.4232

Policy Last Updated: 01/06/19

Modifications to this Privacy Policy

We reserve the right to amend or change this Policy at any time.

Complaints or Questions

If you have any questions or concerns about how we have used information we have collected about you, please contact us:
Cause of Action Institute
1310 N Courthouse Rd. Suite 700
Arlington, VA 22201
202.499.4232