Privacy Policy

Lighthouse is a U.S. 501(c)(3) not-for-profit entity with additional recurring operations in Chile, South Asia, Kenya, and collaborations in multiple other countries. Lighthouse partners and organizations, as well as collaborators, are separate entities and not legal affiliates of Lighthouse,

The following information provides you with an overview of our processing of your personal data and your rights arising from the EU General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).


About the Policy

Lighthouse is committed to protecting the privacy of storytellers, collaborators, and all users of our website and virtual platforms. This Privacy Policy describes how and what data we collect, and how and why we use your personal data. It also outlines options we provide for you to access, update, or otherwise take control of your personal data. This statement applies with respect to the information that we collect from

Lighthouse website, located at www.lighthousestories.org, and associated Lighthouse web properties.

Please note that this policy may be revised periodically without notice. Amendments to this statement will be posted at this URL and will be effective when posted. Your continued use of this site following the posting of any amendment, modification, or change shall constitute your acceptance thereof. If you have concerns about how your data is being collected and used, please review this policy prior to submitting any personal information. And if you cannot agree to the terms of our privacy policy, please refrain from using the Lighthouse website and associated web properties.

Personal information is collected directly from you when you:

Take a survey
Complete a webform
Register for an event or activity
Sign up for our Newsletter
Join respective Lighthouse mailing lists (applicable only to affiliates of Lighthouse)

Your data is used solely by Lighthouse. We will share personal information with third parties and/or companies who provide services to Lighthouse only as required. Lighthouse service providers currently include, but may not be limited to, WordPress, PyroCMS, Joomla, Bluehost, Digital Ocean, Siteground, Gorilla Web Studio, Google Analytics, G-Suite for Nonprofits, PayPal, LifeSchool, Open HPI, Surveymonkey, Typeform, and Mailchimp. The services provided may include email service, payment processing, website hosting, learning platforms, and other processing services required by Lighthouse. Lighthouse does not trade or sell personal information at any point.

Please note that information we collect from you may be stored and processed by these providers consistent with their privacy policies, which we encourage you to review. We will take reasonable steps to ensure that these third-party service providers keep your personal data confidential and only use your personal data to the extent necessary to perform their functions and not for any other purpose.

If you submit any personal information to Lighthouse in response to a request for program interest or participation, this may be shared with relevant third parties (including partners), depending on the nature of the request. Personal information collected in this capacity will be used solely for the purpose identified and covered under that particular request, not this Privacy Policy.

You may also provide us with information related to other people, for example, to refer a friend to participate in Lighthouse activities or to nominate a presenter for a Lighthouse activity. As part of this process, you may need to provide personal data, such as name and contact information, to us about persons other than yourself. By sharing this kind of information with us, you confirm that you have sought and received consent to share such a person’s personal data with us prior to submission.


Cookies, IP Records, and Server Location

Lighthouse website collects non-personal data used to ensure important site-functionality, including recognizing logged-in members. We use cookies to make your visit to our website more convenient and to deliver content specific to your interests. Cookies are small pieces of information stored on your hard drive, not on our site. They do not spy on you or otherwise invade your privacy, and they cannot invade your hard drive and steal information. You can turn off cookies through the Preferences option on your web browser. Turning off cookies, however, may cause technical difficulties when navigating the website, and may limit your ability to log in and access your profile.

Lighthouse web-server also records IP addresses from all visitors to the site. The collection of IP addresses is standard procedure in most web-server environments and is not linked to any personally identifiable information. The IP addresses are used to help diagnose problems, analyze trends, and gather broad demographic information, helping us further improve our website. Lighthouse may collect and use the geographical location of your computer or mobile device. This location data is collected automatically and is used to provide you with information regarding services that we believe may be of interest to you based on your geographic location and to improve our location-based services and products.

The Lighthouse website and the servers that make this site available are located in the United States. The Internet laws in the United States govern all matters relating to this site. Any information you provide in subscribing to our website or registering at our website will be transferred to the United States. By visiting our site and submitting information, you authorize this transfer, processing, and use.


Google Analytics

Lighthouse uses Google Analytics. To provide website visitors with more choice on how their data is collected by Google Analytics, Google has developed the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on (https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout). The add-on communicates with the Google Analytics JavaScript to indicate that information about the website visit should not be sent to Google Analytics. The Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on does not prevent information from being sent to the website itself or to other web analytics services.


Social Media Widgets and Applications

Lighthouse websites and microsites may include functionality to enable sharing via third-party social media applications, such as Facebook, Twitter, Linked In, Youtube, and Instagram. These social media applications may collect and use information regarding your use of the Lighthouse website. Any personal information you provide via such social media applications is governed by the privacy policies of that company. Lighthouse does not have control over, or responsibility for, those companies or their use of your information.


Off-Site Links

Lighthouse provides links to other websites. Lighthouse is not responsible for the privacy practices or contents of these other sites.


Co-Branded and Framed Sites

From time to time, Lighthouse works with trusted partners. You may find our logo on various other websites. These types of pages are branded by both Lighthouse and a partner. However, the data collected on these types of pages are not governed by our privacy policy. Your activity and information on these sites are governed, gathered, and controlled by the privacy statement on the URL/domain address you are visiting.

Lighthouse may syndicate its content to and distribute its content through other sites on the Internet. Although you may see the Lighthouse logo on these pages, your activity and information on a framed site are governed, gathered, and controlled by the privacy statement on the URL /domain address you’re visiting. Lighthouse does not receive user information back from these framed sites.


Lighthouse Communications

Lighthouse may use the data you provide to contact you with newsletters, marketing, or promotional material, network updates, and new features and services. From time to time we will deliver email communications to employers, partners, advertisers, sponsors, and newsletter subscribers in our database on behalf of Lighthouse, partners, or Lighthouse hubs.

If there is ever a major error included in a Lighthouse email that provides misleading information, Lighthouse will send a corrected version of the email, accompanied with an explanation of the problem.

You may update your email preferences and opt-out of receiving future communications from Lighthouse by following the instructions set forth in the How to Change your Communication Preferences section.


How To Change Your Communication Preferences

Lighthouse newsletter is powered by Mailchimp. To update your contact information and/or to unsubscribe from receiving our newsletters, please follow the instructions given at the bottom of the respective email.

Affiliates subscribed to Lighthouse mailing lists catering to our community can change their email preferences and/or opt-out at any time by following the instructions provided in the footer of each mail. When we receive an opt-out and/or update request, we will take steps to stop sending emails to the requestor’s email address within a maximum of 30 days.


Photography and Videography

While attending a Lighthouse event or activity, you may be filmed, photographed, or recorded. Unless an individual or group clearly communicates their dissent, Lighthouse – including our Partners, hub collaborators, and agents – may use these films, images, or recordings for marketing and communications purposes.


Surveys and Testimonials

At times Lighthouse will run surveys asking for specific contact or demographic information, such as information personal preferences/opinions about specific Lighthouse programs, events, and resources. These surveys are always optional and your personal information is stored and used consistent with this policy. The purpose of these surveys is to improve the programs, initiatives, and resources for our partners and the wider community.


Security

Lighthouse website has industry-standard security measures in place to protect the loss, misuse, and alteration of the information under our control. We take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of your personal information including limiting staff access and the use of encrypted data.


Children’s Privacy

Lighthouse does not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under the age of 16. If we become aware that we have collected Personal Information from a child under age 16 without parental consent, we will take steps to remove that information from our servers.


Donor Privacy Policy

Lighthouse respects the privacy of its donors and will not share or sell a donor’s personal information with anyone else.


Personal Information Retentio
n

Lighthouse will retain your information as follows:

Technical data (e.g., IP address, device information) incidentally collected when you visit our website will be retained for 90 days;

If you sign up for communications from Lighthouse, we will keep your information until you unsubscribe after which we will only retain that information that will enable us to retain your unsubscribe preference;

If you donate or purchase a product or event ticket from Lighthouse via our website or by phone, we will keep your information to process your payment and enable us to ensure that transactions can be appropriately processed.

If you apply for a position with Lighthouse we will retain your application for 3 years. Retirement and pension records will be kept permanently. Other employment and personnel records will be retained for 7 years after termination.

At the end of the retention period, we may store your information in an aggregate and anonymized format to help us understand historical behaviors and to enhance our website. Your personal data will be retained for longer if required by law or court order and/or as needed to defend or pursue legal claims.


What are your data protection rights

Lighthouse wants to make sure you are fully aware of all of your data protection rights. Every who has provided data to Lighthouse through the newsletter, survey, events registration or else is entitled to the following:

The right to access – You have the right to request Lighthouse for copies of your personal data. We may charge you a small fee for this service.

The right to rectification – You have the right to request that Lighthouse corrects any information you believe is inaccurate. You also have the right to request Lighthouse to complete the information you believe is incomplete.

The right to erasure – You have the right to request that Lighthouse erase your personal data, under certain conditions.

The right to restrict processing – You have the right to request that Lighthouse restrict the processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.

The right to object to processing – You have the right to object to Lighthouse processing of your personal data, under certain conditions.

The right to data portability – You have the right to request that Lighthouse transfers the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.


Legal Disclaimer

Lighthouse will disclose personal and aggregate information when required by a valid legal mechanism such as a search warrant, subpoena, or court order, or when we deem it necessary, in our sole discretion, to protect our rights and the safety of others, or our members, employees, or properties.