Privacy Policy

Americans United is committed to protecting the privacy of our donors and website users, and we want you to be aware of our information gathering and dissemination practices for all digital resources hosted by Americans United (AU).

 

Website Privacy Policy

When you visit our websites, AU automatically collects certain information—including Internet Protocol (IP) address, name of your Internet Service Provider, browser type, and [number of clicks, etc.]. This information allows us to improve our websites, diagnose any problems with our server, and better our marketing efforts. For example, we utilize analytics on this information to measure website traffic, including page views, number of visitors, time spent on the site, one-time and repeat visitors, and frequency of visits. AU does not automatically collect any other information from people who visit or interact with our websites.

If you provide your name, mailing address, email address, phone number, or other information via a form on any of our websites, we may store that information and contact you about our work. AU on occasion uses third-party vendors to provide services to its sites or to AU. These services can include processing credit card transactions or facilitating fundraising campaigns. Information you provide on AU’s sites may be provided to these vendors on a confidential basis solely for the purpose of providing these services.

Cookies

A cookie is a small piece of information exchanged between a website and your browser. Your browser stores cookies in your computer’s temporary file memory.
When you use our website, we use cookies to collect information from your browser. They customize the experience for our visitors, support some necessary functions, and help us better understand how our visitors use our websites. Cookies are not shared or revealed to other websites. More specifically:

  • The cookies provided by AU are intended to enhance the browsing experience for visitors to our websites as described above.
  • Certain parts of AU websites will allow you to utilize cookies in order to automatically store your website login information for subsequent visits. If you are using a public computer, it is highly suggested you do not use this feature.
  • You may be able to refuse or disable cookies by adjusting your web browser settings. Some browsers have options that allow the visitor to control whether the browser will accept cookies, reject cookies, or notify the visitor each time a cookie is sent. Because each browser is different, please consult the instructions provided by your browser (typically in the “help” section).
  • If you choose to have your browser refuse cookies, it is possible that some of the features available on AU websites will not function properly when you view them.

Donor Privacy Policy
Americans United is committed to protecting the privacy of our donors and website users, and we want you to be aware of our information gathering and dissemination practices for all digital resources hosted by Americans United (AU). This policy applies to all information received by AU, both online and offline—including information received through au.org, protectthyneighbor.org, and projectfairplay.org, as well as any other electronic services provided by AU that links to this policy.

If you have any questions about these policies, we encourage you to contact us:

  • Email us at membership@au.org, or
  • Call our Development Department at (202) 466-3234×213.

AU is committed to protecting the privacy of our donors. We do not share or otherwise disclose any personal information, including your name, mailing address, or email address with other organizations–whether your donation is executed online or offline–except as outlined below. Donors have the option to NOT have their name and address shared with organizations or entities with whom we execute list exchanges or rentals for fundraising purposes (see Resale or disclosure of donor information to third parties below for information on how to make sure your name and address are never shared with other organizations or entities).

Taking action when we send you an email:

  • If you sign a petition, your name and state may be included in an electronic file or hard-copy printout delivered to legislators or other policymakers.
  • If you respond to an action alert by emailing a member of Congress or other policymaker, submitting a comment to a government agency, or taking an action that generates a communication to an outside entity, the information you enter on the action page may be passed along to that outside entity.
  • Only AU staff has access to personal information provided by visitors to our sites.

Making online donations:

  • AU is fully compliant with PCI-DSS (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard) and does not maintain credit card information on any of our servers or in any files written or digital. AU cannot retrieve credit card information provided on the website after the credit card transaction has been processed.
  • All credit card and electronic funds transfer information and processing is handled by Paragon Payment Solutions or PayPal, and the information you enter on a donation or payment page is shared only, via encryption, with these third-party service providers in order to process payments.
  • AU will NEVER ask you to provide your Social Security number, Driver’s License, Passport, or any other personal information, except as discussed above.

Resale or disclosure of donor information to third parties:

From time to time, in order to grow our membership, AU may rent, share, or exchange a list of our donors’ names and mailing addresses (whether gathered from online or offline donations) with like-minded organizations. In return, we are able to use other organizations’ names and addresses to help increase AU’s membership and raise funds to support our mission.

Other than the name and mailing address, no other personal donor information (including email address and past donations) is included in exchanges or rentals. Furthermore, organizations participating in list exchanges or rentals do not have physical possession of anyone’s name and address. Lists are sent directly to a mail house that prepares mailings, and the information is never revealed to an organization. The only way an organization can obtain the name and address of someone on a list they have obtained through exchange or rental is if that person makes a donation to said organization.

Importantly, you may choose not to participate in this type of exchange by “opting-out.” To keep your name and address from being sold, rented, shared, or exchanged to any other organization or entity, please check the appropriate box on the reply form accompanying an AU fundraising appeal you have received in the mail and return it in the enclosed envelope. You can also send an email to membership@au.org, call the Development Department at (202) 466-3234 x213, or contact us by mail at: 1310 L Street, NW, Ste. 200 Washington, DC 20005. Be sure to specifically request that AU not share your information with any organization or entity. Be sure to include your full name and address. We fully honor all such requests.

AU on occasion uses third-party vendors to provide services to its sites or to AU. These services can include processing credit card transactions or facilitating fundraising campaigns. Information you provide on AU’s sites may be provided to these vendors on a confidential basis solely for the purpose of providing these services.

Your California Privacy Rights

If you are a California resident, California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits you to request information about our disclosure of your personal information to third parties for direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please send a letter to:

Chief Operating Officer, Americans United for Separation of Church and State 1310 L Street, NW Suite 200 Washington, DC 20005

AU will never email or send you information on behalf of other organizations.

Access, Correct, or Delete Your Information

You may request to access, correct, or delete your personal information collected by AU, and we will not discriminate against you for doing so. You can make the request in a number of ways:

  • Use our online form (only if you have provided us with your email address at some point),
  • Email us at membership@au.org,
  • Call us at (202) 466-3234 x213, or
  • Contact us by mail at: 1310 L Street, NW, Ste. 200 Washington, DC 20005.

Security

AU has adopted procedures to protect the confidentiality and integrity of any sensitive information you provide to us over the Internet. Whenever sensitive information is requested on the AU Web site, it is processed by the secure server, https://www.au.org. Information exchanged with any address beginning with https://www.au.org is encrypted using SSL (Secure Socket Layer) encryption before transmission.

While AU strives to protect your information, no data transmission over the Internet is 100% secure. Hence, users are always encouraged to be mindful of security when sending sensitive information over the Internet. Americans United strongly recommends that you do not provide data such as credit card information when using public computers or those with poor security standards.

This Privacy Policy was most recently updated on January 29, 2020. AU may change this Privacy Policy at any time by posting such changes on this website. Any such changes will be effective immediately upon posting. We recommend that you review the Privacy Policy each time you visit the site to stay informed of our privacy practices.