Privacy Policy

e-Collecta | Crowdfunding Platform

E-COLLECTA PRIVACY POLICY

Date of Last Revision: December 30, 2021.

Welcome to the websites, mobile application or widgets (as the case may be) operated by E-Collecta. (including its subsidiaries, affiliates, agents, and service providers, collectively, “E-Collecta,” “we,” “us,” or “our”). E-Collecta provides (a) a platform through its website at www.e-Collecta.com and attendant mobile applications (collectively, with any new features and applications, the “E-Collecta Platform”) and the E-Collecta Community and related services (collectively, with the E-Collecta Platform, the “E-Collecta Services”).

This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) describes and governs how we collect, use, share and protect information collected in the context of our Services. Before you use or submit any information through or in connection with the Services, please carefully review this Policy. By using any part of the Services, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information as outlined in this Policy. To the extent allowed by law, the English version of this Policy is binding and other translations are for convenience only.

INFORMATION WE COLLECT

As further described below, when you use or otherwise access the Services, we collect information in multiple ways, including when you provide information directly to us, and when we passively collect information from your browser or device (e.g., by logging how you interact with our Services).

  1. Information That You Provide Directly to Us:
    1. Registration information:
      When you register for our Services or open an account, we collect your email address and login details, your zip code, your country, your phone number (for purposes of multi-factor authentication and to provide you with important messages) and any information you choose to provide us (such as a profile picture).
    2.  Creation of a fundraiser:
      When you create a fundraiser on the Platform, we collect the information you choose to provide us in relation to your fundraiser and we display it through our Platform. For example, you can provide a fundraiser title, choose a fundraiser category, upload images and describe your fundraiser goal(s).  You might, in creating a fundraiser, choose to provide us with information relating to third parties by organizing a fundraiser for a family member or friend, and in doing so, you disclose the name or circumstances of that family member or friend.  By providing information in a fundraiser, you consent to our collection, storage and use of your data.  If you upload personal data related to third parties, you acknowledge and agree that you have the authority of the relevant third parties for us to access and use the relevant data and that you have notified the third parties and informed them of how their information is collected and used by E-Collecta to provide the Services. We reserve the right to identify you as the person who has made the referral in any messages that are sent to them.Our payment processors also collect and maintain information related to your withdrawal of funds from any fundraiser.
    3. Setting up withdrawals:
      When you are the beneficiary (or the recipient of funds from a fundraiser), we collect your contact details (such as name and email address), zip code, country, your phone number (for purposes of multi-factor authentication and to send you important messages) and any information you choose to provide us.Our payment processors collect your details as well as other information necessary to set up the withdrawals.
    4. Donation information:
      On the E-Collecta Platform, when you donate to a fundraiser, we collect your contact details (such as name and email address), zip code, country, and any information you choose to provide us (such as a description of why you have donated).Our payment processors collect your credit card details and other information necessary to process the donation such as your mobile number, perfect money account, crypto wallet address.
    5. Public Communications:
      You can post comments, leave feedback, send thank-you notes or otherwise communicate with other users through our Platform. Any content, including such comments, feedback, and notes that you choose to post through our Platform are available to the public by default.Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information for both us and other users to use and share. Take care not to share personal data unless you intend for that data to become public. Please also be considerate and respectful of others while using the community to share your opinions. We reserve the right, but do not have the obligation, to review and monitor such posting or any other content on our Services, and to remove postings or content that may be viewed as inappropriate or offensive to others.
    6. Communications to E-Collecta:
      You may contact us via  email,or by other means (for example, with questions about our Services, for customer support, or to let us know your ideas for new products or modifications to existing products). You may also choose to respond to surveys that we send out, or queries about your fundraisers.  When you do so, we collect the information you choose to provide us, such as your contact details, any images you choose to upload and the contents and nature of your message.We would ask that you take care not to send financial information or other other sensitive personal data to us through our email or other means, unless we ask you specifically for that data as part of providing our Service to you.  When you provide such information to us directly, you consent to the processing of this data by E-Collecta and/or our service providers.
    7. Information relating to third parties:
      You can choose to provide us with information relating to third parties. For example, if you choose to share your fundraiser with family and friends through our Platform’s texting services. If you decide to do that, we give you the option to either add information to our Platform or to provide us access to information stored in your email and mobile device’s address books, such as names, email addresses, or phone numbers of your contacts (collectively, “Third-Party Data”).If you use any feature of the Services that allows you to communicate with third parties (such as to refer a third party to the Services or to communicate with them regarding a fundraiser or a donation), either by submitting Third-Party Data to the Services or otherwise permitting the Services to automatically access Third-Party Data in your possession, you acknowledge, represent, and agree (a) that you have the authority of the relevant third party for us to access and use the relevant Third-Party Data, and (b) that you have notified these third parties and informed them how their information is collected and used by E-Collecta to provide the Services.We reserve the right to identify you as the person who has made the referral in any messages that are sent to them. We use Third-Party Data to (1) contact such third party using the Third-Party Data provided, and/or (2) provide you with an editable template message designed to facilitate communication between you and such third party through the Services. In addition to sending the foregoing communications, we may also send reminders or related messages to you and to third parties on your behalf from time to time where permitted by applicable law. In each case, any such communications sent to third parties using Third-Party Data will provide a means to “opt out” of receiving further communication of the same nature.
    8. Sensitive information:
      You can also provide us with information about yourself or third parties that is considered sensitive, such as political opinions, health information or religious beliefs.  If you post this information in a fundraiser, you choose to provide such information to be published publicly in relation to your fundraiser, donation or otherwise.When you provide such information to us directly, you consent to the processing of this data by E-Collecta and/or its service providers.
  2. Information That is Passively or Automatically Collected:
    1. Device & Usage Information:
      When you interact with E-Collecta through the Services, we automatically receive and store certain information from devices that you use to access the Services. This information is collected passively by using various technologies, and includes the type of internet browser or mobile device you use, any website from which you have come to the Services, your operating system, and location data through an IP address that identifies the state where you logged into the Platform or your precise geo-location if you have permitted your mobile device to provide that information to us. E-Collecta either stores such information itself or such information is included in databases owned and maintained by E-Collecta, and/or its agents or service providers.
    2. Location Information:
      When you use the Services to organize a fundraiser, the Services request that you provide your zip code, city or town, and state or province of residence. Please keep in mind that other users of the Services can view your zip code, city or town, and state or province of residence in connection with the fundraiser, if it is made available within E-Collecta’s Public Search Directory. We also use your location information as described above under “Device & Usage Information”, and in an aggregate way, as described below in the “Aggregated Data” section.
    3. Cookies and Other Electronic Technologies:
      When you interact with the Services, we try to make that experience simple and meaningful. When you visit our Platform, our web server, third party business providers, and/or the Social Networking Services (defined below) integrated into the Service, we use cookies or other electronic technologies (such as web beacons or pixel tags) for various purposes. Cookies are small pieces of information that are issued to your computer or mobile device when you visit a website, or access or use a mobile application. That information regarding your use of the Platform is stored and sometimes tracked. Web beacons are transparent image files, which enable the Platform to track website usage information.  Unlike cookies, web beacons are not placed on your computers. Pixel tags are tiny graphic images with unique identifiers that track online movements of our users. Unlike cookies, pixel tags are embedded in web pages. We will refer to the cookies and other technologies identified here collectively as “Cookies” for purposes of this Policy. 
      1. Type of Cookies
        Some Cookies are strictly necessary to make our Services available to you (“Essential Cookies”). For example, Essential Cookies are used to provide the chat and login functionality and to remember your consent and privacy choices. We cannot provide our Services without these Essential Cookies.
        We also use Cookies for functional purposes in order to maintain and improve our Services or your experiences, and for marketing purposes (collectively, “Non-Essential Cookies”). Some of the Non-Essential Cookies used are set by us to collect and process certain data on our behalf and some are set by third parties and/or our Social Networking Services.  
      2. Information to and from Social Networking Services  Non-Essential Cookies include Cookies we use in conjunction with the Social Networking Services. One of the special features of the Services is that it allows you to enable or log into the Services via various Social Networking Services, like Facebook or Twitter, or to upload videos using YouTube APIs (“Social Networking Service(s)”). By directly integrating these services, we aim to make your online experiences richer and more personalized. To take advantage of these features, we will ask you to provide your credentials for the applicable Social Networking Service in order to log in to our Services. When you add a Social Networking Services account to the Services or log into the Services using your Social Networking Services account, we will collect relevant information necessary to enable the Services to access that Social Networking Service. As part of such integration, the Social Networking Service will provide us with access to certain information that you have provided to the Social Networking Service (for example, your name and photograph, as well as other information that you permit the Social Networking Service to share with us).We will use, store, and disclose such information in accordance with this Policy. However, please remember that the manner in which Social Networking Services use, store, and disclose your information is governed by the policies of such third parties, and E-Collecta shall have no liability or responsibility for the privacy practices or other actions of any Social Networking Services that may be enabled within the Services. For example, if you upload a video onto your fundraiser using the mobile application for the E-Collecta Platform, your video will be uploaded using YouTube and subject to Google’s Privacy Policy and Google’s Security Settings. You also have the option of using single sign on or posting your activities to Social Networking Services when you access content through the Services. By proceeding, you are allowing the Social Networking Service to access your information on the Platform, and you are agreeing to the Social Networking Service’s terms of use and privacy policy in your use of the Service. You further acknowledge that if you choose to use this feature, your friends, followers, and subscribers on any Social Networking Services you have enabled will be able to view such activity. For example, if you sign on using Facebook, Facebook’s privacy policy and terms of service would apply to the data Facebook might obtain from your activities on E-Collecta. Please visit the terms of use and privacy policy of the relevant Social Networking Service to learn more about your rights and choices, and to exercise your choice about those technologies.  
      3. Analytics
        We use third-party web analytics services on our Services, such as those of Google Analytics, to help us analyze how users use the Services, including by noting the third-party website from which you arrive, and providing certain features to you. The information (including your IP address) collected by the technology will be disclosed to or collected directly by these service providers, who use the information to evaluate your use of the Services. This information can be used to place interest-based advertisements on the Platform. This may result in you seeing advertisements for our Platform when you visit other websites. To prevent Google Analytics from using your information for analytics, you can install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on by clicking here. Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to the Site is restricted by the Google Analytics terms of use and the Google privacy policy.
      4. Why We Use Cookies
        We use Cookies to collect information about your access to and use of the Platform, including to: (1) allow you to navigate and use all the features provided by our Platform; (2) customize elements of the layout and/or content within the Platform and remember that you have visited us before; (3) identify the number of unique visitors we receive; (4) improve the Platform and learn which functions of the Platform are most popular with users; and (5) understand how you use the Platform (e.g., by learning how long you spend on the Platform and where you have come to the Platform from). As we adopt additional technologies, we may gather additional information through other methods. We will notify you of such changes with updates to this Policy.
      5. Your Cookie Preferences
        Most web and mobile device browsers automatically accept Cookies but, if you prefer, you can change your browser to prevent that or to notify you each time a cookie is set. You can also learn more about Cookies by visiting www.allaboutcookies.org, which includes additional useful information on Cookies and how to block Cookies using different types of browsers or mobile devices.
        You can also consult the “Help” section of your browser for more information (e.g., Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, or Apple Safari).  You can also manage the use of Flash technologies, including Cookies and local storage objects with the Flash management tools available at Adobe’s website. Please note that by blocking any or all Cookies, you may not have access to certain features or offerings of the Services.

If you are accessing our Services through a mobile device, you can also update your privacy settings on your device by setting the “Limit Ad Tracking” and Diagnostics and Usage setting property located in the settings screen of your Apple iPhone or iPad, or by resetting your Android ID through apps that are available in the Play Store. You can also limit information collection by uninstalling the App on your device and you can use the standard uninstall process available as part of your device for this purpose.  Finally, and in connection with the Social Networking Services, you can visit your settings with each of the Social Networking Services to exercise your choice about those technologies. 

 

OUR USE OF INFORMATION COLLECTED

E-Collecta uses the information collected from the Services in a manner that is consistent with this Policy. We use the information that you provide (or otherwise permit the Services to access) for the following purposes:

    1. Communicating With You
      We use the information we collect to contact you for administrative purposes (e.g., to provide services and information that you request or to respond to comments and questions). For instance, if you contact us by email, we will use the information you provide to answer your question or resolve your problem. In addition, we may call you if you are not responding to email and your fundraiser is subject to refunds.We also use the information we collect to send you communications relating to the Services, such as updates on events, communications relating to products and services offered by us and by third parties, and communications about services we believe will be of interest to you. For example, we can send periodic emails to registered users of the Services relating to their recent interactions with the Services, such as donating to a fundraiser.
    2. Mobile Services: If you access the Services through a mobile device and if you have chosen to provide us with your mobile number, or other electronic means to your mobile device, you agree that we can communicate with you regarding your E-Collecta account by SMS, MMS, text message.  Further, when setting up your E-Collecta account, if you click “Send code” by “Text Message,” you agree to receive automated text messages related to your account from or on behalf of E-Collecta at the phone number provided.  You can reply STOP to such text messages to cancel.  Message frequency will vary. Message and data rates may apply. In the event you change or deactivate your mobile telephone number, you agree to promptly update your E-Collecta account information to ensure that your messages are not misdirected. Please note that your wireless service carrier’s standard charges, data rates, and other fees may apply where you access the Services through a mobile device. In addition, downloading, installing, or using certain Services on a mobile device may be prohibited or restricted by your carrier, and not all Services may work with all carriers or devices. 
    3. Providing the Services
      We use the information we collect to operate, maintain, and provide our Services such as enabling access to the Platform, customer support or to complete transactions.  
    4. Security and Fraud Prevention
      We use the information we collect to secure our Services and to verify identity, prevent fraud, and to continually improve these aspects of our Services.  This includes our request for your (mobile) telephone number to conduct multi-factor authentication when you create an account and/or at the time you set up withdrawals as a beneficiary.
    5. Analytics, Research and Product Development
      We use the information we collect to analyze data usage trends and preferences in order to improve the accuracy, effectiveness, security, usability or popularity of our Services.  We further use data in connection with our research on our customer demographics, interests and behavior.If you are located in Europe, we process information as listed under A, B and C as necessary (i) to fulfill our obligations under our contract with you or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract, or (ii) for our legitimate interest, such as, to maintain our relationship with you or to protect you and us against fraud.
    6. Customization
      We use the information we collect, such as device identifiers, to learn how users interact with our Services in order to personalize the content of our Services, such as customizing the language and fundraisers on our homepage based on your location.If you are located in Europe, we process information as listed under D as necessary for our legitimate interest.
    7. Legal
      We use information we collect to defend our legal rights, comply with state, local, federal or international laws, and to enforce our Terms of Service and this Policy.

If you are located in Europe, we process information as listed under E (i) to fulfill our obligations under our contract with you or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract; (ii) for our legitimate interest to maintain our relationship with you, (iii) to protect our business or protect you and us against fraud; or (iv) to comply with legal obligations.

OUR DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION COLLECTED THROUGH THE SERVICES

There are certain circumstances in which we share information collected through the Services with certain third parties without further notice to you, as set forth below.

 

  1. Affiliates and Subsidiaries
    We share your personal information among the E-Collecta entities, including our affiliates and subsidiaries, in order to provide our Services including: hosting, marketing and publicizing fundraisers; providing you with customer support; administering funds in connection with fundraisers; authenticating donors; sending you communications; and conducting the other activities described in this Policy.
  2. Agents, Consultants, Vendors and Related Third Parties:
    E-Collecta contracts with other companies to perform certain business-related functions on E-Collecta’s behalf, and we provide access to or share your information with these companies so they can perform services for us. Examples of such functions include marketing, mailing information, data storage, security, identity verification, fraud prevention, payment processing, legal services, and maintaining databases. We limit the personal information provided to these service providers and entities to that which is reasonably necessary for them to perform their functions, and we require them to agree to maintain the confidentiality of such information.
  3. Third Parties that Partner With Us or Offer Services You Choose to Link
    E-Collecta shares personal information with third parties that partner with us on various initiatives and/or that offer services you choose to link to your E-Collecta fundraiser or that are linked to a E-Collecta fundraiser to which you may donate.  Examples of this are Social Networking Services and their integrated social media tools or “plug-ins.  When E-Collecta shares personal information with third parties, we require those third parties to handle the information in accordance with relevant laws.  When you link to or interact directly with third-party companies (or you donate to E-Collecta fundraisers that are linked), their use of your personal information and your use of their features are governed by the privacy notices of those companies. We encourage you to carefully read their privacy notices.
  4. Legal Requirements:
    E-Collecta can access, disclose, transfer and preserve your information when we have a good faith belief that doing so is necessary to: (i) comply with the law including with subpoenas, search warrants, court orders, and other legal process; and respond to inquiries or requests from government, regulatory, law enforcement, public authorities, or content protection organizations; (ii) protect and defend the legal rights, privacy, safety or property of E-Collecta, its affiliates, subsidiaries, employees, agents, contractors, or its users; (iii) permit us to pursue available remedies, commence, participate in, or defend litigation, or limit the damages we may sustain; or (iv) enforce this Policy or any applicable Terms of Service.
  5. Organizers and beneficiaries of fundraisers:
    We share your information with organizers and, if not the same, the beneficiaries of the fundraiser. For example, if you donate to a fundraiser, we share your name, email address and donation information you’ve provided in connection with your donation with the organizer or beneficiary, who may contact you. For example, if an individual starts a fundraiser for a Charity and you donate to that fundraiser, then if the information is requested, (i) the Charity can receive information about both the organizer, if not the same, and donors, and (ii) organizer can receive donor information.  In the same scenario, the beneficiary may communicate with you about your donation and/or may rely on your information in order to comply with its legal and auditing requirements.
  6. Your Consent
    We may share your information in the event that you consent to the sharing of your information. For example, we may partner with third party organizations to arrange for specific fundraisers. If you consent to our providing your contact information to a specific partner, we share, with the partner organization, your name, email address and other information you’ve provided in connection with your donation to the specific fundraiser.
  7. Aggregated Data
    We aggregate, anonymize and/or de-identify information collected actively or passively about you so that the information no longer relates to you individually.  We then use that data for various lawful purposes, including but not limited to our research on our customer demographics, interests and behavior. We also share this information with our affiliates, agents, business partners, research facilities or other third parties (e.g., Google Analytics).
  8. Cookies and Other Electronic Technologies
    Information is shared as stated in the Section entitled “Cookies and Other Electronic Technologies.” 
  9. Other Users of Our Services
    We provide your information to other users of our Services if you choose to make your information publicly available in a publicly accessible area of the Services, such as in your fundraiser or in the comments.
  1.  

VOLUNTEERED INFORMATION

Please be advised that some information you provide may be publicly accessible, such as information posted in forums or comment sections. We also collect information through forums and communities, surveys and customer support communications, your communication to us of ideas for new products or modifications to existing products, feedback and other solicited or unsolicited submissions (collectively, with publicly-accessible information, “Volunteered Information”). By sending us Volunteered  Information, you further (a) agree that we are under no obligation of confidentiality, express or implied, with respect to the Volunteered  Information, (b) acknowledge that we may have something similar to the Volunteered  Information already under consideration or in development, (c) grant us an irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, worldwide license to use, modify, prepare derivative works, publish, distribute and sublicense the Volunteered  Information, and (d) irrevocably waive, and cause to be waived, against E-Collecta and its users any claims and assertions of any moral rights contained in such Volunteered  Information. This Volunteered  Information section shall survive any termination of your account or the Services.

CHILDREN

Our Services are not designed for use by individuals under the age of 13 (or 16 for children located in Europe). If you are under the age of 13 (or 16 for children located in Europe), please do not use the Services and/or submit any information through the Services. If you have reason to believe that a child under the age of 13 (or 16 for children located in Europe) has provided personal information to E-Collecta through the Services, please contact us at support@e-Collecta.com, and we will delete that information from our databases to the extent required by law.

LINKS TO OTHER WEBSITES

This Policy applies only to the Services. The Services can contain links to other web sites not operated or controlled by E-Collecta (the “Third-Party Sites”). The policies and procedures we described here do not apply to the Third-Party Sites. The links from the Services do not imply that E-Collecta endorses or has reviewed the Third-Party Sites. We suggest contacting those sites directly for information on their respective privacy policies.

SECURITY

While no organization can guarantee perfect security, E-Collecta has implemented and seeks to continuously improve technical and organizational security measures to protect the information provided via the Services from loss, misuse, unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, or destruction. For example, limiting access to information only to employees and authorized service providers who need to know such information for the purposes described in this Policy. 

RETENTION OF YOUR INFORMATION

We retain your information for as long as we deem necessary for the purpose for which that information was collected and for our legitimate business operations; provided, however, that your information is only retained to the extent permitted or required by applicable laws. When we no longer need to retain your information, we will take reasonable steps to remove it from our systems and records and/or take steps to anonymize it so that you can no longer be identified from it in accordance with our internal document retention policies.

When determining the retention period for your information, we take into account various criteria, such as the type of products and services requested by or provided to you, the nature and length of our relationship with you, possible re-enrolment with our products or services, the impact on the Services we provide to you if we delete some information about you, mandatory retention periods provided by law and the statute of limitations.

YOUR RIGHTS AND CHOICES

You can access and correct certain information about you by visiting the “Account Settings” portion of our Platform. You can control whether certain information you post to the Services is publicly available to others by adjusting the settings in your account. You can also request in writing copies of personal information about you held by us. If that information is inaccurate, please let us know and we will endeavor to make the necessary amendments, erase, or block the relevant information as you request.

MARKETING OPT OUT 

Each marketing communication we send you will contain instructions permitting you to “opt out” of receiving future marketing communications. In addition, if at any time you wish not to receive any future marketing communications or you wish to have your name deleted from our mailing lists, please contact us at the email address or mailing address set forth under “Contacting E-Collecta.” If you opt out of receiving marketing communications or other information we think may interest you, we can still send you emails about your account or any Services you have requested or received from us.

You can make a request to exercise any of these rights in relation to your information by sending the request to us at the email address or mailing address set forth under “Contacting E-Collecta.” For your own privacy and security, at our discretion, we may require you to provide your identity before providing the requested information. Please note that E-Collecta may take up to 30 days to fulfill such requests.

The above rights can be limited under applicable law. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the local data protection authority if you believe that we have not complied with applicable data protection laws. You also have the right to lodge a complaint with the supervisory authority of your residence, place of work or where the incident took place.

OTHER TERMS

Your access to and use of the Services is subject to E-Collecta’s Terms of Service and such other terms, which may be made available to you in connection with your use of the Services.  

CHANGES TO E-COLLECTA’S PRIVACY POLICY

E-Collecta reserves the right to update or modify this Policy at any time and from time to time. We will notify you of any updates or changes we make to this Policy. If you disagree with our revisions to the Policy, you can deactivate your account or discontinue the use of our Services. Please review this Policy periodically for any updates or changes to this Policy.