Boys & Girls Clubs of America – Commitment to Donors

Effective July 19, 2022

Boys & Girls Clubs of America (“BGCA”) is a national organization that serves local independent member organizations (“Local Boys & Girls Clubs”). Together Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Local Boys & Girls Clubs form one of the nation’s largest networks of local youth organizations. Boys & Girls Clubs are dedicated to promoting the health, social, educational, vocational and character development of youth throughout the United States of America.

Each Boys & Girls Club organization is a separate legal entity; is governed by an independent board of directors, executive committee, or other governing body; and is solely responsible for its own affairs, including, but not limited to, matters of safety, compliance with federal, state, and local laws, physical facilities, uses of technology, finances, policies and programs, and personnel policies and decisions. Each Local Boys & Girls Club has sole authority to hire, terminate, prescribe the duties of and establish the terms of employment of its employees and officers.

As the national organization, Boys & Girls Clubs of America has no authority with respect to the policies or decisions of Local Boys & Girls Clubs. Accordingly, each Local Boys & Girls Club controls its own affairs, and Boys & Girls Clubs of America does not control and cannot be held responsible for the actions of Local Boys & Girls Clubs.

Boys & Girls Clubs of America Donor Policy

BGCA believes in safeguarding personal information and ensuring that privacy is respected and protected for donors, local Boys & Girls Clubs, all youth, volunteers, vendors and members of the Alumni & Friends Association. We will use personal information to keep donors, friends, vendors, volunteers and alumni informed of our activities, including our programs, special events and funding needs. We respect all requests to remain anonymous. We will always provide an “opt-out” procedure for donors and others who receive such materials to request that their names be deleted from similar mailings, phone calls, faxes or electronic communications in the future. Donors, friends, volunteers and alumni may contact BGCA at any time, and we will gladly accommodate your preferences. Individuals may choose to opt out of electronic communication including emails and faxes. Individuals may also request that their record be flagged as “Do Not Call.” BGCA will honor all or a combination of these “opt out” preferences.

You can learn more about BGCA’s general privacy policy here.

Donor Information

Collection of Data: BGCA collects personal data through event registration, email subscription, online donation services, postal mail, wire transfer, phone and other electronic means. We only collect this information when users submit it voluntarily or through BGCA’s website. If a user prefers not to submit such information online, they may contact BGCA to determine an appropriate channel to transmit this information.

• We may collect a person’s first name, last name, email address, company, position, secondary email address, address, city, state, zip code, and phone numbers (home, work, or mobile). We may collect event-specific information pertaining to a person’s attendance, corporate affiliation, meal preferences and guests.


• We may collect the provided name and email of a spouse, contributor or foundation to facilitate the recognition for a gift. This confidential information is kept on file for IRS purposes.


• BGCA complies with CANSPAM, and at any time donors, volunteers, alumni and friends may “opt- out” or be removed from our contact lists and can unsubscribe to emails. BGCA will discontinue contact with any person upon oral or written request. For questions regarding our privacy policy or to make an “opt-out” request, please feel free to contact us at:
  
  Boys & Girls Clubs of America
  National Headquarters
  Resource Development- Operations, 7th Floor
  1275 Peachtree Street NE
  Atlanta, GA 30309
  Phone: (404) 487-5700
  Email: donor@bgca.org
  
  
• BGCA will maintain an electronic record in our database of all requests for discontinuance of contacts. Oral requests will be recorded in writing by BGCA staff and will then be permanently recorded in the electronic donor database.

Storage of Data: Donor information is maintained in a password-protected, secured database. Only authorized personnel have access to this information and only for appropriate business purposes. This information is shared with board members and authorized staff, only on a confidential and need-to-know basis.

• Wire transfer information received and processed by BGCA is stored in Serenic. Serenic is a leading publisher of financial management and business operations software for nonprofits, international non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and the public sector. Serenic is a Gold ERP and Gold ISV vendor and a development partner for Microsoft.

Sharing of Data: We respect our donors’ choices and control over their information.  You, as a donor, may at any time have your name excluded from any donor list exchange activity.  To ask that your name be excluded from list exchange activity or to otherwise change how BGCA contacts you, please email us at donor_relations@bgca.org.

• Annual Report: BGCA publishes a list of the names of donors over a designated amount in its annual report. Options for anonymous giving and “opt-out” selections are available. Please contact BGCA for these requests.


• Non-profit Sharing: BGCA may share donor names and email/mailing addresses with other reputable nonprofit organizations on a limited basis in exchange for limited access to the names, email, and addresses of their constituents. We have found this is a cost-effective method of reaching additional potential constituents. These organizations will not have continued access to your name and address unless you choose to respond to their initial mailing. We do not share mobile/cell phone data in connection with this list exchange. BGCA never sends out mailings on behalf of other organizations.


• Boys & Girls Club Sharing: If an individual requests that information be shared with a Boys & Girls Club then BGCA will comply with his or her wishes. From time to time, BGCA will share donor or prospective donor information with Clubs to ensure collaborative efforts.


• Employee Giving: Some corporations support BGCA through employee giving programs and campaigns. Generally these are managed by the corporation and are processed through payroll deductions. BGCA seeks permission from the corporation and the individual employee before adding any employees to the BGCA database. BGCA may share cumulative giving totals with the partner but will not share individual donor/employee names.


• Employees may participate in matching gift programs with their employers. Matching gift requests are sent to the corporation for processing with the knowledge of the employee and the appropriate paperwork.

BGCA expects vendors to uphold privacy guidelines. We do not authorize these service providers to use or disclose the information except as necessary to perform services on our behalf or to comply with legal requirements. If data is shared, a Non-Disclosure Agreement will be entered into with the vendor.

Online Security: For more information, please see BGCA’s Privacy Policy here. BGCA is compliant with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI DSS). This is a set of requirements designed to ensure that ALL companies that process, store or transmit credit card information maintain a secure environment. Essentially, this includes any merchant that has a Merchant ID (MID).

• The PCI DSS is administered and managed by the PCI SSC (www.pcisecuritystandards.org), an independent body that was created by the major payment card brands (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, Discover and JCB). It is important to note that the payment brands and acquirers are responsible for enforcing compliance, not the PCI council. A copy of the PCI DSS is available here.


• Efforts are made to protect card numbers at all times. BGCA does not store credit card numbers, and credit card refunds are processed manually and under strict guidelines.

Donor Bill of Rights: This Bill of Rights was created by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Non-Profits. BGCA believes in and upholds this Bill of Rights in all donor interactions.

Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To ensure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

1. To be informed of the organization's mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
2. To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization's governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
3. To have access to the organization's most recent financial statements.
4. To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
5. To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.
6. To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
7. To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
8. To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
9. To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.
10. To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

Changes To This Donor Policy

BGCA may revise this Privacy Policy at any time by updating this posting. Please consult this Privacy Policy regularly.