Paws Up Projects

Privacy Policy

Effective as of March, 2023

Welcome to Paws Up! Paws Up Projects (“Paws Up”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) is a nonprofit that provides individuals the opportunity to share posts about projects they completed to help animal shelters and rescues and allows animal shelters and rescues to post projects they need help with.

This Privacy Policy describes our practices regarding Personal Information (which is information that can reasonably be used alone or in combination with other reasonably available information, to identify or contact a specific individual) we collect through: our website located at www.pawsupprojects.org and any other interactive features or services owned or controlled by Paws Up that post a link to this Privacy Policy, (each, a “Service” and collectively, the “Services”), as well as any Personal Information we collect offline and combine in our Services databases. Certain features discussed in this Privacy Policy may not be offered on each Service at any particular time.

Users of the Services include:

• Individuals who request to post about projects they or others have done to help animal shelters and rescue organizations
• Shelters and rescue organizations, including their representatives, and
• Site visitors who visit the website but do not post

(collectively, referred to as “users” or “you”).

Note about Children: Children under the age of 13 in the U.S. may only use our Services with the express prior consent of a parent or legal guardian.

1. What is this policy?

WE DESCRIBE OUR PRIVACY PRACTICES BELOW IN THIS PRIVACY POLICY. THIS SUMMARY PROVIDES AN OVERVIEW OF SOME IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING OUR USE AND SHARING OF YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION. PLEASE READ THE ENTIRE PRIVACY POLICY VERY CAREFULLY. BY USING ANY SERVICE, YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND UNDERSTAND THIS PRIVACY POLICY IN ITS ENTIRETY.

Information collection/How we use your information: Personal Information that we collect is primarily used to communicate with you and to provide and maintain access to the Services. Please review the “What information does Paws Up Collect?” and “How does Paws Up use the information it collects?” sections of this Privacy Policy for a full description of the Personal Information we collect and how we use that information.

Information Sharing: Remember that if you request to publish a User Post or share Personal Information publicly or with other users on the Services, your information may be visible to others. We also work with service providers to provide us with information regarding traffic on the Services, including the frequency of use and the actions users take when visiting the Services and to provide us with information regarding the use of the Services. We may work with other third parties, that provide us with a platform to host our application. If that is the case, then Personal Information may be stored on the servers of such third parties. We may also share your Personal Information with other third parties, as further described in the section below entitled “Will Paws Up share any of the information it collects?” Note that we do not share your Personal Information with third parties for their marketing purposes; however, we may share your Personal Information with third parties under certain other circumstances.

2. What information does Paws Up collect?

Information Shared With Us

The Services may collect Personal Information. Users may provide information about themselves in connection with their use of the Services. Note, at this time, we do not allow users to create accounts. Users may provide Personal Information by requesting to post on the Services about available projects and information about their animal shelter/rescue or about projects they have done to help animal shelters and rescues (“User Post”). To submit a User Post, users must provide the information listed below. Paws Up will review the information provided prior to publishing User Posts publicly on the Services

1. Posts

Animal Shelters/Rescues

• first and last name for a point of contact
• website link
• shelter name
• address of the shelter or rescue
• phone number

Other users

• first name
• email address
• information about the project, which may include pictures and details such as when and where the project took place
• birthday (to determine whether to request parental consent)
• if the birthday entered indicates the user is under 13, name and email of a parent or guardian

1. Third Party Services and Information Third Parties Provide About You

The Services may permit interactions between the Services and a third-party feature or service. These third parties may provide us with information about you. Similarly, if you publicly post information on a third-party platform, such as a social media site, that references Paws Up or one of the Services, your post may be published on our Services in accordance with that third party’s terms. These features may collect, for example, your IP address or other unique identifier, which page you are visiting on our website, or other information and may set a cookie to enable the third-party feature to function properly. When you use a third-party feature through the Services, the third party may also have access to information about you and your use of our Services. Your interactions with third-party links and features are governed by the privacy policies of the third parties.

Third-Party Privacy Policies

Our use of the information we collect from users is subject to this Privacy Policy. The information collected and stored by any third party remains subject to the third party’s privacy policies and practices, including whether the third party continues to share information with us, the types of information shared, and your choices with regard to what is visible to others on that third party website and service. The third party may allow you to remove the application or feature, in which case we will no longer collect information about you through the application or feature, but we may retain the information previously collected in compliance with all applicable laws.

Information We Collect Automatically

Like other websites and online services, we and our analytics providers, vendors and other third-party service providers may automatically collect certain “Usage Information” whenever you access and use the Services. For example, we may collect information regarding how often a user accesses certain features.

Usage Information may include the browser and operating system you are using, the URL that referred you to our Services (if applicable), the search terms you entered into a search engine that led you to our Services (if applicable), all of the areas within our Services that you visit, and the time of day you used the Services, among other information. We may use Usage Information for a variety of purposes, including to select appropriate content to display to you and to enhance or otherwise improve the Services and our products.

In addition, we automatically collect your IP address or other unique identifier (“Device Identifier”) for any computer, mobile phone or other device (any, a “Device”) you may use to access the Services. A Device Identifier is a number that is automatically assigned to your Device used to access a Service, and our servers identify your Device by its Device Identifier. Some mobile service providers may also provide us or our third-party service providers with information regarding the physical location of the Device used to access a Service, internet service provider (ISP), date and time of your visit, browser language, browser type, referring and exit pages and URLs, amount of time spent on particular pages, which parts of our Services you use, which links you click, search terms, operating system, traffic and related statistics, keywords, and/or other general browsing or usage data.

Usage Information is collected via tracking technologies, including the following:

Cookies and similar technologies

Like many other websites and apps, we use “cookies” (a small file sent to your computer by a website or device to allow the website or app to store information which uniquely identifies you) or other similar software to collect data in order to assist our users and provide them with a more personal experience, to allow for the technical operation of the Services, to enhance the performance and functionality of the Services, and for analytics purposes. You can disable cookies at your browser or device’s settings, but please note that if you do so, some (or all) of the features and functionality of our Services may not be available to you. For more information on opting out of cookies and web beacons, see the section titled “How can I opt-out of sharing, providing, or receiving certain information?” below.

We do not use cookies or any other tracking technologies, including web beacons (as discussed below), on the Services to direct advertisements to children.

Web Beacons

We may also use web beacons on the Services, in our emails, and in our advertisements on other websites. Web beacons are tiny graphic images that are used to collect information about your visit to the Services, such as the pages you view and the features you use, as well as information about whether you open and/or act upon one of our emails or advertisements. We may also collect the URL of the website you visited immediately before coming to the Services. Web beacons help us analyze our site visitors’ behavior and measure the effectiveness of the Services. We may work with service providers that help us track, collect and analyze this information.

How We Respond To Do Not Track Signals:

Please note that your browser setting may allow you to automatically transmit a “Do Not Track” (DNT) signal to websites and online service you visit. DNT is a privacy preference that users can set in certain web browsers to inform websites and services that they do not want certain information about their webpage visits collected over time and across websites or online services. However, we do not recognize or respond to browser-initiated DNT signals, as the internet industry is still working to determine what DNT means, how to comply with DNT, and how to create a common approach to responding to DNT. To find out more about “Do Not Track”, please visit http://www.allaboutdnt.com.

3. How does Paws Up use the information it collects?

We may use Personal Information for the following purposes:

1. To provide the Services. We use your Personal Information to  allow you to participate in features we offer, such as publishing your User Post, contact you regarding the Services, and to allow other users to contact you.
2. To improve the Services. Your Personal Information may be used to tailor content, recommendations and offers we display to you, both on the Site and elsewhere online, as well as to maintain or improve our Services.
3. To send communications. Anyone over 18 may sign up to receive communications from us regarding information and updates related to Paws Up. Information may be sent through a newsletter that will provide insight into projects and volunteer opportunities. Recipients who have opted-in to such communications may unsubscribe at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in any email. Users under the age of 18 are prohibited from signing up for these communications and we will unsubscribe any person under the age of 18 that we become aware of signing up to receive these communications. We will not use data obtained from or through the Services to advertise to users under 18 in any way, including targeted advising.
4. To create anonymous data for analytics. We may make information anonymous by excluding information that makes it personally identifiable to you and may use and share that anonymous data for our lawful business purposes.
5. For compliance, fraud prevention, and safety. We use your Personal Information as we believe is necessary or appropriate to (a) enforce our terms and conditions; (b) protect our rights, privacy, safety or property, and that of you or others; and (c) protect, investigate, and deter against fraudulent, harmful, unauthorized, unethical, or illegal activity (including for purposes of user verification or authentication and to ensure that our APIs are being used appropriately).
6. To comply with law. We use your Personal Information as we believe necessary or appropriate to comply with applicable laws, lawful requests, and legal process, such as to respond to subpoenas or requests from government authorities.
7. With your consent. In some cases, we may ask for your consent to collect, use, or share your Personal Information, such as when required by law or agreements with third parties.

Please note that information submitted on the Services via a “Contact Us” or other similar function may not receive a response. We will not use the information provided via these functions to contact you for marketing purposes unrelated to your request unless you agree otherwise.

4. How does Paws Up work with third parties? Will Paws Up share any of the information it collects?

Paws Up does not share your Personal Information with third parties for their marketing. Paws Up may share anonymous information, such as aggregate or de-identified user statistics, demographic information and Usage Information with third parties for Paws Up’s lawful business purposes.

We also may share your Personal Information with third parties with your consent (if permissible under applicable law), as disclosed at the time you provide us with information, and as described below or otherwise in this Privacy Policy:

1. Public Posts

The Services are designed to allow users to share their User Posts through public posts on our website. Users will be able to submit information about their experiences and request that Paws Up share that information publicly on the Services in a User Post. Paws Up may post Personal Information such as first name, pictures, and any information included in the summary provided by the user. Email addresses will not be shared publicly.

2. Service Providers & Partners

We will share your Personal Information with third parties to provide services to us or you in connection with the Services, but subject to confidentiality obligations. We may provide your Personal Information to companies that provide services to help us with our business activities or data security, including (without limitation) to providers offering hosting, information technology, customer support, and consumer and educational research services. We also work with service providers to provide us with analytics and other information regarding traffic on the Services, including the features used when visiting the Services and to provide us with information regarding the use of the Services.      

3. Administrative, Legal Reasons & Academic Integrity Investigations

We may also disclose your information, including Personal Information, in response to a subpoena, court order, or when otherwise required by law; in response to bankruptcy proceedings; to defend our rights; in response to a request from law enforcement; to provide information to a claimed owner of intellectual property who claims that content you have provided to us infringes on their rights; upon request of or as otherwise authorized by an academic institution connected to an investigation into academic integrity; to protect and/or defend any applicable Terms of Service or other policies applicable to the Services; or to protect the personal safety, rights, property or security of any organization or individual.

We may also use Device Identifiers, including IP addresses, to identify users, and may do so in cooperation with copyright owners, Internet service providers, wireless service providers or law enforcement agencies in our discretion.

These disclosures may be carried out without your consent or without notice to you.

4. Business Transitions

Paws Up may share Personal Information with its affiliates and board members primarily for business and operational purposes. In the event that Paws Up goes through a business transition, such as a member change, merger, acquisition by another entity, or sale of all or a portion of its assets, bankruptcy, or other change, including, without limitation, during the course of any due diligence process, your information, including Personal Information, will likely be among the assets shared and/or transferred.

You will be notified via email and/or a prominent notice on Services of any completed transaction uses of your Personal Information, as well as any choices you may have regarding your Personal Information.

5. Testimonials

We may display personal testimonials of satisfied adult users on our Services to other users of the Services and/or the public in addition to other endorsements. With your consent, we may post your testimonial along with your first name. If you wish to update or delete your testimonial, you can contact us.

No Third-Party Advertising

Paws Up will never share any Personal Information with third parties to allow those third parties to advertise or market their products or services to users. Data mining or scanning of user content for the purpose of advertising or marketing users is prohibited.

Third-Party Content, Links to Other Sites, and Paws Up Content Found Outside of the Services

Certain content provided through the Services may be hosted and served by third parties. In addition, the Services may link to third-party websites or content over which Paws Up has no control and which are governed by the privacy policies and business practices of those third parties.

Please also note that Paws Up content may be included on web pages and websites that are not associated with us and over which we have no control. These third parties may independently collect data. Paws Up is not responsible or liable for the privacy practices or business practices of any third party.

For more information about data we receive from third parties, please refer to “Third Party Services and Information Third Parties Provide About You” above.

5. What happens if I access Paws Up’s services through a mobile device?

If you use the Services through a mobile device, you agree that Paws Up may store and use that information for security purposes (for example, for user verification or authentication).

6. How does Paws Up protect children’s information?

Protecting the privacy of young children is especially important to Paws Up. For that reason, we have created certain features designed to help protect Personal Information relating to children who are less than 13 years of age (“Children” or each, a “Child”). For example, we will not use data from Children for any advertising purposes.

Paws Up does not knowingly permit Children to use our Services without prior, express consent from a parent or legal guardian. If we learn that Personal Information of a Child has been collected on our Services without prior parental consent, then we will take appropriate steps to delete this information. If you are a parent or guardian and discover that your child under the age of 13 has requested to publish a User Post on our Services without your consent, please contact Paws Up to request that we delete that Child’s Personal Information from our systems.

How does a Child use the Services?

Children requesting to publish a User Post on our website. Paws Up uses an age gate to determine whether parental consent is necessary. If a user is under 13, Paws Up will obtain the appropriate parental consent prior to collecting any additional information about the Child.

What Child information is visible to others?

If a Child requests to publish a User Post on the Services, the Child’s  first name and photos/description in the User Post may be shared publicly.

We share public posts from the Services on our social media account. If you do not want us to share your Child’s posts on our social media, please contact us at info@pawsupprojects.org.

Parents/guardians can review and access their Child’s information by contacting us by email at info@pawsupprojects.org.

7. How does Paws Up protect and store my information?

Paws Up takes data security very seriously. Paws Up has implemented commercially reasonable technical, physical, and administrative security measures designed to protect the Personal Information submitted to us, both during transmission and upon receipt, and at rest. Such measures vary depending on the sensitivity of the information at issue.

Please note that no method of transmission over the Internet, or method of electronic storage, is completely secure. Therefore, while we strive to use commercially reasonable means to protect your Personal Information, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

If you have any questions about security on our Services, you can contact us at info@pawsupprojects.org.

8. How can I opt-out of sharing, providing, or receiving certain information?

Providing Personal Information: You can always decline to share Personal Information with us. Parents of Children may review their Child’s information and direct Paws Up to delete it or refuse to allow further collection or use of their Child’s information by contacting us at info@pawsupprojects.org.

However, it is important to remember that you may not be able to use the Services without providing some Personal Information and that many of Paws Up’s features may not be accessible, or may not function properly – for example, we may not be able to remember your language preferences for you if you block all cookies.

Email Communication: You can opt-out of receiving further communications by email by clicking the unsubscribe button at the bottom of an email. Paws Up may continue to send you Service-related emails, as we believe necessary to provide the Services.

Cookies & Advertising Choices: Your options for controlling what information cookies and similar technologies collect about you may include:

• Browser settings. Most browsers let you remove or reject cookies. To do this, follow the instructions in your browser settings. Many browsers accept cookies by default until you change your settings. Please note that if you set your browser to disable cookies, the Services may not work properly. For more information about cookies, including how to manage and delete cookies on your device, visit allaboutcookies.org. If you do not accept our cookies, you may experience some inconvenience in your use of the Services. For example, we may not be able to recognize your computer and you may need to log in every time you use the Services.

·       Privacy browsers/plug-ins. By using privacy browsers or ad-blocking browser plug-ins that let you block tracking technologies.

You will need to apply these opt-out settings on each device from which you wish to opt-out.

9. How can I access and manage my personal information?

You may be able to review the information you provided to us on a Service and make any desired changes to the information by contacting us at info@pawsupprojects.org and requesting that we edit or delete your posts from the Services or your Personal Information from our databases. Even after information is deleted, we may maintain it in backup or archive form unless you request permanent deletion.

10. What communications will I receive from Paws Up and how do I limit them?

Paws Up may post notices on the homepage of our website. You may be required to check a box indicating you saw the notice. Paws Up may also send users information by email. You may choose to stop receiving certain emails from Paws Up by using the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the Paws Up email. However, we reserve the right to send you information in connection with providing the Services. If you no longer want to receive Services-related information from us, you will need to request that your User Posts be removed from the Services and your information deleted.      

11. How do I remove my User Post?

If you wish to remove your User Post, please contact us at info@pawsupprojects.org, and we will remove your post and your Personal Information, if applicable, from our active databases. You typically will receive a response to a request sent to this email within five business days of our receiving it.

12. How long does Paws Up keep my information?

Upon a request to delete your User Post and your information, Paws Up will take commercially reasonable steps to delete any Personal Information from our live databases in a reasonable amount of time not to exceed ninety (90) days. You understand and agree that Paws Up may continue to have Personal Information in archive files or similar databases. You further agree that Paws Up has no obligation to delete aggregated or de-identified information. Paws Up may retain and use aggregated and de-identified information for any purpose consistent with laws and regulations.

Even if your User Posts are removed from the Services and information is deleted, information may remain in backup or archive records and we may retain certain data relevant to preventing fraud or future abuse or for legitimate business purposes, such as analysis of aggregated or de-identified data or if required by law. All retained data will continue to be subject to the applicable privacy policy for the Service.

13. How will Paws Up notify me of changes to this policy?

We will notify you of material changes to the Privacy Policy on our website and/or by email or other appropriate means.

Paws Up may update this Privacy Policy at any time and any changes will be effective upon posting. Upon any update, the date at the top of this policy will be updated. Upon visiting our website following the changes, a user will be prompted to confirm they have seen the change through a pop-up in order to continue us of the website. In the event that there are changes to the way we treat your Personal Information, you are responsible for regularly reviewing this Privacy Policy and your email associated with your User Post for notice of such modifications. Your continued use of the Services following an update to this Privacy Policy will constitute your acceptance of the updated Privacy Policy.

14. What if I live in California?

Right to Removal of Posted Information—California Minors

If you are under 18 years of age, reside in California, and have a post on our Services, you have the right to request removal of unwanted information that you requested to publicly post on the Services. To request removal of such information, you should contact us as provided below. Upon receiving such a request, we will make sure that the information is not publicly available on the Services, but the information may not be completely or comprehensively removed from our systems and databases. Note that we will never publicly post Child Personal Information without obtaining any consents required by law.

15. What if I do not live in the U.S.?

The Services are not currently intended for users outside of the United States. If you are located outside of the United States, please do not use the Services. Be aware that the Services are operated in the United States, a jurisdiction in which the privacy laws may not be as comprehensive as those in the country where you reside and/or are a citizen, and any information we collect will be transferred to and processed in the United States. By using the Services, or providing us with any information, you fully understand and unambiguously consent to the transfer, processing and storage of your information in the United States.

16. How can I contact Paws Up?

If you have questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, please contact us by email at info@pawsupprojects.org