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Privacy Policy

Essential Partners is committed to protecting the privacy of donors, people who use our website, and anyone in our community.  You have a right to know how information you share may be used, where it may be shared, the reasonable accuracy and security of any data collected, and how you may choose not to share data with us or with third parties.

This Privacy Policy describes the types of information that are collected by Essential Partners and our websites, and how that information is used. No data transmission over the internet is 100% secure. We strive to protect your information, but cannot ensure or guarantee the security of any such information.

Information We Collect and How We Use It

Essential Partners collects and electronically maintains personal information, including contact information (such as your name, email address, mailing address, social email IDs, and telephone number), demographic information, payment history, and communication history.

This information is collected when you fill out a form on our website; make a contribution; contact us by phone, email, mail or in person; register for an event; complete an assessment after a project; or navigate through our website (including downloading resources).

From time to time, we may also collect personal information from you in ways that aren’t described above, with your express approval.

We do not store credit card information, and credit card payments are routed through payment card industry compliant third-party payment services. That said, Essential Partners does collect and maintain payment history for accounting, invoicing, and communication purposes. If payment is processed through direct deposit or virtual check, information may be stored through compliant third-party payment services or directly in bank accounts.

Any information we collect and maintain will be used for legitimate business purposes, including to help us respond to inquiries or for purposes for which you provided the information (e.g. to process donations, register for a workshop, or purchase a guide). Your personal information may also be used to help us communicate relevant information to you, offer targeted services, evaluate our impact in analyses for internal and external audiences, and to follow up with any accounting or registration-related questions. We do not collect any personal information that we do not need for legitimate business purposes.

We do not disclose your personal information except as described in this policy. We may share personal information in certain situations, including:

  1. Contractors and Service Providers. We disclose the information we collect from you to any service providers who perform functions on our behalf (including website hosting, payment processing, and information technology.) Any payment you make online, by phone, through the mail, or by other means will be shared with third-party processing service providers. We authorize these third party users to use personal information only as necessary to comply with legal requirements, and we require service providers to safeguard the privacy and security of any personal information they process on our behalf. On occasion, Essential Partners also uses contractors to help with our operations. We require all contractors to protect your information in accordance with this Privacy Policy.
    1. Please note that Essential Partners’ Privacy Practices may not be applicable at any third-party sites. When you leave the Essential Partners website, we have no control regarding what information may be collected about you or what third parties may do with the information. Please review any privacy policies on third-party sites before using those sites.
  2. Medical Emergency. We may disclose your personal information to medical professionals in an emergency while you are attending an EP event, or when we have a presumed responsibility to do so.
  3. Third-Party Researchers. Essential Partners may disclose your personal information with researchers for purposes directly related to our mission. Information will only be shared without identifying individual data subjects.
  4. Necessity. EP will disclose your personal information as necessary to respond to government requests, report information as required by law, or protect public safety.

We will never sell or share your personal information with third parties without your consent.

Other Information is any information that does not reveal your specific identity or relate to an identifiable individual. If we are required to treat Other Information as Personal Information under applicable law, then we will do so. We collect Other Information such as IP address, search information, log files, type of browser or device, geographic location of your device, Cookies, duration of time using our services, and pages visited. (A cookie is a small file placed on the hard drive of your computer. You may refuse to accept browser cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our website. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our website.) This information helps us understand usage of our Services, diagnose problems, and administer our Services.

How You Can Control the Collection and Use of Your Personal Information

By completing and submitting forms on our website or third-party sites that opt you in to receiving emails, you agree to receive emails from Essential Partners with additional resources, training opportunities, and other general communication. You may, at any time, choose to opt out of receiving business- and marketing-related emails by following the opt-out link at the bottom of our emails. Please allow 10 business days for that request to be completed. You may also, at any time, choose to opt out of receiving mail from us by emailing info@whatisessential.org.  Please allow up to 60 days for your address to be removed from any mailings that are currently underway. 

We strive to keep our records as accurate as possible. You may, under applicable laws, have a right to access, correct, restrict, update, modify, or delete your personal information that you have provided to us at any time. To do so, or to request to receive an electronic copy of your Personal Information, please email info@whatisessential.org. In your request, please make clear what Personal Information you would like to have changed or removed. For your protection, we may only implement requests with respect to Personal Information associated with the particular email address you use to send your request, and we may need to verify your identity before completing your request. We will try to comply with your request as soon as reasonably possible. Please note that we may need to retain certain information for recordkeeping purposes or other transactions.

We retain Personal Information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Statement unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law. We comply with all Internal Revenue Service, state, local regulations and our internal policies governing the retention, management, and destruction of personal information we collect and maintain.

This Website is not directed toward children under 13 years of age, and Essential Partners does not knowingly collect information from children under 13. We request that they do not submit any Personal Information through the Services.

How We Protect Your Information

Essential Partners uses security measures to protect your personal information, including multi-factor authentication, an encrypted website, mandated security updates to devices, limiting access to personal information, using firewalls and antivirus software, and mandating password changes regularly. Information on our website and with third-party software has up-to-date security certificates. All traffic to our site is encrypted. We use third-party software that encrypts personal information during transmission to the extent technically feasible, including when stored on laptops and other portable devices. In the event of breaches, we will notify relevant supervisory authorities within 72 hours of becoming aware of the breach, unless the breach is unlikely to result in a risk to the personal information. If there is a high risk (for example, if a breach might lead to financial loss, loss of confidentiality, discrimination, or damage to reputation), we will notify you without undue delay. 

By visiting this website you are accepting the policies described in this Privacy Policy and consenting to share your Personal Information as described above. This Privacy Policy may be updated anytime, and any changes will be reflected on this website. If we make any updates that materially reduce the privacy protections related to your personal information, we will give you the opportunity to consent to such changes before applying them to that information. Please check back regularly!

If you have any questions, concerns, or suggestions regarding this Privacy Policy or our Privacy Practices, please email us at info@whatisessential.org or write to us at 

Essential Partners
P.O. Box #400175
Cambridge, MA 02140