This statement comprises the privacy policy of The Congressional Award Foundation (the “Foundation”) as it pertains to the congressionalaward.org website (the “Website”). We welcome you to use the Website, which can be accessed and browsed without the need to submit any personally-identifiable information (“Personal Information”). We strive to make sure that any Personal Information that you do provide to us is protected and secure. Our privacy policy tells you how we treat the information about you that we receive through this Website.

The Information We Collect & How We Use It

The Foundation collects Personal Information on the Website as follows:

Email Newsletters
If you choose to sign up for The Congressional Award Foundation newsletter (“Newsletter”), we will collect the data you provide to us voluntarily on the data forms, which includes your name, email address, and state where you live. We will use this information to send you Newsletters and may use this information to contact you about the Foundation and its activities.

Registration/Application Forms
If you choose to register for The Congressional Award online by using our Website, we require that you provide certain personal information, including your name, address, email and phone, date of birth, and gender. We also ask for, but do not require, additional information, including Congressional District, ethnicity, Member of Congress, partnering organization, school, and prior participation in The Congressional Award program. We also require that you submit the name and telephone number of your Advisor, and ask for, but do not require, your advisor’s address and email. The required information is necessary to process your application and to contact you and your Advisor regarding The Congressional Award.

Use of Information
We will use the personal information you submit on this Website to register you for and communicate with you about The Congressional Award and the Foundation and its activities. The personal information you submit on behalf of your Advisor will only be used for purposes related to The Congressional Award. Information about you and your participation in The Congressional Award program may be publicized by the Foundation.

Minimum Age Requirements
The minimum age to register for The Congressional Award is thirteen-and-a-half (13 ½) years of age. Our website is not directed at individuals under thirteen (13) years of age and we do not permit registration by or knowingly collect any personal information from such individuals.

Donations
The Foundation uses a third party, Network For Good, to process online donations to the Foundation made electronically through the Website. Any Personal Information you submit through the “Donate” section of the Website (including your name, postal address, email address, telephone number, credit card number, and relationship to the Foundation) to make an online donation is provided directly by you to Network For Good and will be used by Network For Good to process your transaction and generate an email receipt. Information provided by you to Network For Good is subject to Network For Good’s privacy policy. We do not control Network For Good’s privacy policy and practices or its website. Network For Good will provide the Foundation with certain Personal Information about you (including your name, billing address, email address, telephone number, donation amount, and relationship to the Foundation, but not your credit card number) when you choose to make an online donation to the Foundation through the Website (unless you request that your donation remain anonymous, in which case the Foundation will not receive your name and contact information). The Foundation will use this information to produce and send to you an acknowledgement letter.

With Whom Your Information Is Shared

The Foundation will not share your Personal Information with any other company or third party without your permission, except as set forth above and as follows:

Third Parties Related to the United States Congress
The Congressional Award program was established by Public Law 96-114, The Congressional Award Act of 1979, as amended (“Congressional Award Act”). By registering for The Congressional Award, you authorize the Foundation, as the administrator of The Congressional Award program, to share the personal information you submit in your registration with Members of Congress and Congressional staff. Pursuant to The Congressional Award Act, the Foundation is required to provide certain reports to Congress which may include your personal information. The Foundation is also subject to audits by the Comptroller General of the United States (“Comptroller General”) and Government Accountability Office and such audits may require us to permit the Comptroller General and Government Accountability Office to access records which may include your Personal Information.

Other Third Parties
Aside from sharing your Personal Information with the entities listed above, we will only share your Personal Information with certain third parties after receiving your authorization. The third parties with whom we may share your information are listed on our Partners webpage. We will not share your Personal Information with such third parties unless you authorize us to do so by checking the opt-in box that appears when you register online for The Congressional Award using this Website.

Service Providers
We use a third party to distribute the Newsletter and to host this Website. When you register online for The Congressional Award or subscribe to the Newsletter, we share your Personal Information with these third parties on a confidential basis only to the extent necessary for the third parties to provide these services on behalf of the Foundation.

Legal Process
We provide your Personal Information to third parties in response to a subpoena or when we are required to do so by law, for example, in response to a court order, judicial proceeding, or legal process or other legal obligation; in response to a law enforcement agency’s request; to protect the security or confidentiality of our records; or in special cases when we have reason to believe that disclosing this information is necessary to identify, contact, or bring legal action against someone who may be causing injury to or interference with our rights or the rights of others.

We do not and will not sell to or, except as provided herein, share with third parties the Personal Information you provide us when subscribing to the Newsletter or registering for The Congressional Award using this Website, nor do we share with third parties Advisor information.

Third Party Websites

Our Website contains links to other websites that are not owned or controlled by the Foundation. These websites may or may not have their own privacy policies. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other websites. We encourage you to be aware when you leave our site and to read the privacy statements of each website that collects personal information, as their policies may differ from ours.

Opt Out

If you have provided the Foundation with your email address to receive Newsletters, you will be given the opportunity to opt-out or change any editable aspects of your subscription with the Foundation by accessing the link provided in the email. We will make a reasonable effort to handle your request promptly and efficiently.

Tracking & Cookies

The Foundation collects non-Personal Information (IP addresses, for example) from visitors to help us understand how our Website is being used. Like most websites, the Website may place a “cookie,” or small file, in the browser of a visitor’s computer. This cookie will assign a user a unique number that allows the Foundation to save information so that the information does not need to be re-entered. We may use cookies to provide you with a more customized browsing experience while you are on the Website. If you refuse to allow us to place a cookie on your hard drive, you may be restricted from some pages and services on the Website. Our Website may contain links to other sites that may use cookie technology. We do not have access to, or control over, these cookies.

We may also track IP addresses, navigation patterns and requests made to our server when we monitor Website traffic. We use this information to improve the structure, content and general usability of the Website.

Security of Your Personal Information

The Foundation uses reasonable precautions to protect your Personal Information and to store it securely. In addition, access to your Personal Information is reasonably restricted to prevent unauthorized access. Only employees of the Foundation are granted access to Personal Information. Access is password protected, and employees are advised that the information to which they have access is confidential and must be protected. Finally, the servers on which we store Personal Information are kept in a reasonably secure environment.

Correcting/Updating Your Information

You may access, update, or correct your Personal Information by emailing or writing to the Foundation. Email requests should be sent to information@congressionalaward.org. Written requests should be sent to The Congressional Award Foundation, PO Box 77440, Washington, DC 20013.

You may unsubscribe from the Newsletter by using the “unsubscribe” link found in each issue of the Newsletter delivered to the email address with which you subscribed.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

Our privacy policy may change in the future and we reserve the right to change or modify our privacy policy at any time, at our sole discretion. We encourage you to review this privacy policy periodically to understand our policy regarding our collection and use of Personal Information. The Effective Date of this policy, as stated below, indicates the last time this policy was revised or materially changed. Checking the Effective Date below allows you to determine whether there have been changes since the last time you reviewed the policy.

Effective Date of Privacy Policy: December 1, 2008

Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding our privacy policy, please contact us at information@congressionalaward.org.