Privacy Policy
Looking for the Foundation's policies regarding online privacy? Please review the information below and contact us if you have any questions.
The Rheumatology Research Foundation (the “Foundation”) has a policy of keeping all donor information private, and does not sell, rent, or share its mailing lists. All donor information is kept securely and disclosed only by what is required by state and federal law. Below is information on the Foundation’s privacy practices for the following areas:
- What personally identifiable information the Foundation may collect
- What personally identifiable information third parties may collect through the website
- What organization may collect the information
- How the Foundation may use the information
- With whom the Foundation may share user information
- What choices are available to users regarding collection, use and distribution of the information
- What types of security procedures are in place to protect the loss, misuse or alteration of information under Foundation control
- How users can correct any inaccuracies in the information
The privacy policy has been reviewed by outside sources, including legal representation and third parties.
If you have questions or concerns regarding the privacy policy, contact the Rheumatology Research Foundation by e-mail at foundation@rheumatology.org.
INFORMATION COLLECTION AND USE
Information Collection
The Foundation is the sole owner of any information collected on www.rheumresearch.org. The Foundation may collect information from our users at several different points on our website. We recognize personal data as any information related to an identified or identifiable individual. Depending on the context of your interactions with Foundation, we collect and use different types of personal data from website visitors, members and others that interact with us.
We process personal data in the context of marketing activities for the purposes of marketing our services and of communicating with ACR/ARP members and others who interact with the Foundation. In order to keep members and others who interact with the Foundation informed of important ACR activities, services, and news pertaining to the rheumatology field, we send out certain marketing emails and publications. In order to better serve our constituents' needs and target communications to their preferences, we collect information about their use of these communications.
Registration
In order to use this website, some users may be asked to complete a registration form. A user is required to give certain contact information (such as name, password and e-mail address) during the registration process. We use some information for access to our site and may use this information to contact the user about services on our site for which he or she has expressed interest. The provision of other information is optional but encouraged so we can provide a more personalized experience on our site. This information remains the sole property of the Foundation. It is not sold and is only shared with third parties when necessary to provide certain services. For more information, see the “Sharing” section.
Donation or Order Information
We request information from users on our donation and order forms. A user must provide contact information (such as name, e-mail address and mailing address) and financial information (such as credit card number and expiration date). This information is used for billing purposes and to fill customers’ orders. If we have trouble processing an order, the information is used to contact the user.
INFORMATION USE
Profile
We may store information that we collect through cookies, log files and/or clear gifs. A profile is stored information that we keep on individual users detailing their viewing preferences. Consequently, information collected through some of these means is tied to the users’ personally identifiable information to improve the content of the site for the user. This profile is used to tailor the services provided to a user through our site. Information in users’ profiles is only shared with third parties when necessary to provide those services. For more information, see the “Sharing” section.
Cookies
A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user. We may use both session ID cookies and persistent cookies. For the session ID cookie, once users close their browsers, the cookie simply terminates. A persistent cookie is a small text file stored on the user’s hard drive for an extended period of time. Persistent cookies can be removed by following Internet browser help file directions.
By setting a cookie on our site, users would not have to log in with a password more than once, thereby saving time on our site. Cookies also enable us to track and target the interests of our users to enhance the experience on our site. See the “Profile” section. If users reject the cookie, they may still use our site.
Log Files
Like most standard website servers, we use log files. This includes Internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, Internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the site, track user movements in the aggregate and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. Data collected through log files, such as IP addresses, etc., is not linked to personally identifiable information.
COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE SITE
Special Offers and Updates
We may send all new members a welcoming e-mail to verify their password and username. Established members will occasionally receive information on products, services, special deals and a newsletter. Out of respect for the privacy of our users, we present the option to not receive these types of communications. Please see the “Choice/Opt Out” section.
Newsletter
If a user wishes to subscribe to our newsletter, we ask for contact information such as name and e-mail address. Out of respect for our users’ privacy, we provide a way to opt out of these communications. Please see the “Choice/Opt-out” sections.
Service Announcements
On rare occasions, it is necessary to send out a strictly service-related announcement. For instance, if our service is temporarily suspended for maintenance, we might send users an e-mail. These communications are not promotional in nature. Users may opt out of these communications. Please see the “Correcting/Updating/Deleting/Deactivating Personal Information” section.
Customer Service
We communicate with users on a regular basis to provide requested services and, in regard to issues relating to their account, we reply via e-mail or phone, in accordance with the user’s wishes.
SHARING
Legal Disclaimer
Though we make every effort to maintain user privacy, we may need to disclose personal information when required by law wherein we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a current judicial proceeding, a court order or legal process served on our website.
Aggregate Information (non-personally identifiable)
We do not share aggregated demographic information with any third parties.
Personal Information
We do not share personal information collected from this website with third parties for any uses other than Foundation-associated business.
Third Party Intermediaries
We use outside companies for necessary business tasks, such as shipping orders and processing credit card payments. It is our understanding that these companies do not retain, share, store or use personally identifiable information for any secondary purposes and such information is protected and encrypted. However, the use of personally identifiable information by third parties is governed by such third parties’ privacy policies.
Service Providers
We partner with other third parties to provide specific services. For example, we use third-party companies for application submissions, delivery of communication materials and other necessary activities. We may share names, address information, phone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail addresses in cases where it is necessary for the third party to provide these services. These third parties are not allowed to use personally identifiable information except for the purpose of providing these services. We make our privacy policies clear to any service providers, and adherence to these policies may be required for maintaining a business relationship with the Rheumatology Research Foundation.
Choice/Opt-out
Our users are given the opportunity to opt out of having their information used for purposes not directly related to our site at the point where we ask for information. Users who do not wish to have us use their fax numbers or e-mail addresses may opt out of receiving these communications by e-mailing us at foundation@rheumatology.org, calling us at (404) 365-1373 or mailing us at Rheumatology Research Foundation, 2200 Lake Boulevard NE, Atlanta, GA 30319.
Links
This website contains links to other sites. Please be aware that the Foundation is not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our site that they are doing so and to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personally identifiable information. This privacy statement applies solely to information collected by this website.
Security
This website takes reasonable precaution to protect our users’ information. When users submit sensitive information via the website, their information is protected both online and off-line.
Sensitive information, such as credit card numbers, is encrypted and protected with strong encryption software. Encryption means the credit card number is scrambled so that it is virtually impossible to be decoded and read by a hacker or other unintended party. While on a secure page, such as our donation form, the lock icon in the web address bar of web browsers, such as Microsoft Internet Explorer and Google Chrome, becomes locked, as opposed to unlocked or open, which is seen when users are using an unencrypted page.
While we use SSL encryption to protect sensitive information online, we take reasonable precautions to protect user-information off-line. All of our users’ information, not just the sensitive information mentioned above, is restricted in our offices. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, our customer service representatives) are granted access to personally identifiable information. Finally, the servers that store personally identifiable information are in a secure environment. If users have any questions about the security of our website, they can send an e-mail to foundation@rheumatology.org.
Access by Children Under 13
By submitting your information (including personally identifiable information) through our site, you will be considered to have given your permission and consent for the collection, use, retention and disclosure of your information as set forth in this privacy policy. Use of our site and the Foundation’s services is strictly limited to persons who are of legal age in the jurisdictions in which they reside.
The Foundation will not knowingly accept any information from an individual under the age of thirteen (13) years. In compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (“COPPA”), any information that the Foundation may receive from any individual who is reasonably believed to be under the age of 13 will be deleted. If you are under the age of 13, please do not provide any information (including personally identifiable information) through the site. If you are under the age of 13 and have already provided information through the site, please have your parent or guardian contact us immediately using the information below so that we can remove the information you provided from our files.
Children under the age of 13, or equivalent minimum age in the relevant jurisdiction, are not permitted to register through this site.
Correcting/Updating/Deleting/Deactivating Personal Information
If a user’s personally identifiable information changes (such as zip code, phone number, e-mail or postal address) or if users no longer desire to use our service, we provide a way to correct, update or delete/deactivate users’ personally identifiable information. This can be done by e-mailing the Foundation at foundation@rheumatology.org, contacting us by telephone at (404) 365-1373 or mailing us at Rheumatology Research Foundation, 2200 Lake Boulevard NE, Atlanta, GA 30319.
Notification of Changes
The Foundation reserves the right, in its sole and absolute discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove any portion of the terms, in whole or in part, of this privacy policy at any time. If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes to this privacy statement, our home page and other places we deem appropriate so our users are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it and under what circumstances, if any, we disclose it. We will use information in accordance with the privacy policy under which the information was collected. Continued use of our website after any such revision or modification constitutes your acceptance of this Privacy Policy as so revised or modified. BY USING OUR WEBSITE, YOU AGREE TO THIS CHANGE PROCEDURE.
International Users
If you are visiting this site from outside of the United States, your connection may be made through and to servers located in the United States, your registration, entries and orders placed through the site may be fully processed in and from the United States, and all information you provide may be processed and maintained in our web servers and internal systems located within the United States. The data protection and other laws of the United States and other countries might not be as comprehensive as those in your country, but please be assured that we take steps to ensure that your privacy is protected. By using our services, you understand that your information may be transferred to our facilities and those third parties with whom we share it as described in this privacy policy. By using this site, you authorize the export of your Personal Information to the United States and its storage and use as specified above when you provide such information to us. This privacy policy and our legal obligations are subject to the laws of the State of Georgia and the United States, regardless of the location of any user. Any claims or complaints must be filed exclusively in the courts of the United States in the State of Georgia.
Contact Information
If you have any questions or suggestions regarding our privacy policy, please contact us by email at foundation@rheumatology.org.