Donor Privacy
Mid-Minnesota Legal Aid (Legal Aid) is committed to respecting the privacy of our donors. We have developed this privacy policy to assure our donors that donor information will not be shared with any third party.
Information We Collect
Legal Aid collects and uses various pieces of information from persons donating to the organization. This includes: amount donated, address, telephone number, donor comments and e-mail address. Tax laws in the United States require Legal Aid to keep contact information and contribution level of donors on file.
How We Use This Information
Legal Aid will use contact information (e-mail, telephone number and address) of donors for these purposes only:
- Distribute receipts for donations
- Thank donors for their donation
- Inform donors about upcoming fundraising and other activities
- Internal analysis and record keeping
- Reporting to relevant U.S. and state agencies (these reports are not for public inspection)
No Sharing of Personal Information
Legal Aid will not share, sell, rent or lease donor personal information to other organizations. The identity of all our donors will be kept confidential. Donations from persons will not be publicly announced unless authorized by the donor.
Financial Information
All access to donor financial information is strictly limited to professional staff who need to process those data. No such data are given to any person, organization or group who does not need to access those data.
Legal Aid only uses online payment processing services with world class security and strong reputations. Legal Aid does not store, nor does it have access to, your credit card information, bank account numbers, or other account data sent to those processing services.
Discontinuing Contact Upon Request
It is Legal Aid’s policy to communicate with donors according to their expressed preferences whenever possible. Legal Aid will discontinue or change the method used to contact any person upon that person’s oral or written request to Legal Aid.
Upon a person’s (or a person’s authorized representative’s) request that Legal Aid discontinue further contacts, the person’s name and address will be promptly modified in Legal Aid’s donor database to ensure that no further contact is made with the person. Legal Aid will also take steps to ensure that no further contact is made with the individual and that the person’s name is removed from any external databases or records under Legal Aid’s control.
Permanent Record: Legal Aid will maintain an electronic record of all requests for discontinuance of contacts. Oral requests will be noted in writing by the staff of Legal Aid and then permanently recorded in the electronic database. The records of persons who have made such a request will be maintained by Legal Aid to the extent necessary for legal or liability purposes.
Donor Bill of Rights
Legal Aid subscribes to the Donor Bill of Rights, which was created by the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy, the Council for Advancement and Support of Education, and the Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Non-Profits.
Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To ensure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:
- To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
- To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
- To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.
- To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
- To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.
- To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
- To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
- To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
- To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.
- To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.
Contact Us
For questions about our donor privacy policy, or to correct or update your donor information, please email mhugdahl@mylegalaid.org or call 612-746-3744.