Privacy Policy

Deocracy Institute Privacy Policy

Last Updated: January 29, 2026

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) explains the information collection, use, and sharing practices of Deocracy Institute (“we,” “us,” and “our”).

Unless otherwise noted on a particular website or service hosted by Deocracy Institute, this Policy describes and governs the information collection, use, and sharing practices of Deocracy Institute with respect to your use of our websites that link to this Privacy Policy, including: https://deocracy.org (collectively, the “Websites”), and the services we provide through our Websites and/or host on our servers (collectively, the Websites, and the services available through them are referred to as the “Services”).

Before you use or submit any information through or in connection with the Services, please carefully review this Privacy Policy. By using any part of the Services, you understand that your information will be collected, used, and disclosed as outlined in this Privacy Policy. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THIS PRIVACY POLICY, PLEASE DO NOT USE THE SERVICES.

Our Principles
Information We Collect
How We Use Your Information
When We Disclose Your Information
Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data
Online Analytics and Global Privacy Control
Your Choices and Data Subject Rights
International Transfers
Security Measures
Children
Data Retention
Third-Party Links and Services
US State Privacy Rights (California, Virginia, Colorado, et al.)
Changes to this Privacy Policy
Questions About this Privacy Policy

1. Our Principles

Deocracy Institute has designed this policy to be consistent with the following principles:

Privacy policies should be human readable and easy to find.
Data collection, storage, and processing should be simplified as much as possible to enhance security, ensure consistency, and make the practices easy for users to understand.
Data practices should meet the reasonable expectations of users.

2. Information We Collect

We collect information in multiple ways, including when you provide information directly to us; when we passively collect information from you, such as from your browser or device; and from third parties.

Information You Provide Directly to Us
We will collect any information you provide to us. We may collect information from you in a variety of ways, such as when you: (a) create an online account, (b) apply for membership, (c) make a donation or purchase, (d) register for an event, (e) apply for a scholarship, grant, or fellowship, (f) contact us or provide feedback, (g) sign a petition distributed by Deocracy Institute, (h) subscribe to our newsletter, or (i) apply for a job at Deocracy Institute.

This information may include but is not limited to your name, email address, phone number, mailing address, payment information, photo, geographic location, and your social media handles.

Sensitive Data: In specific circumstances (such as scholarship applications or event accessibility requests), we may collect “Sensitive Personal Data” as defined by applicable laws (e.g., race, ethnicity, religious beliefs, or health data). We will only collect this data with your explicit consent or where strictly necessary for the administration of a specific program.

Information that Is Automatically Collected

Device/Usage Information
We may automatically collect certain information about the computer or devices (including mobile devices or tablets) you use to access the Services. As described further below, we may collect and analyze (a) device information such as IP addresses, location information (by country and city), unique device identifiers, IMEI and TCP/IP address, browser types, browser language, operating system, mobile device carrier information, and (b) information related to the ways in which you interact with the Services, such as referring and exit web pages and URLs, platform type, the number of clicks, domain names, landing pages, pages and content viewed and the order of those pages, statistical information about the use of the Services, the amount of time spent on particular pages, the date and time you used the Services, the frequency of your use of the Services, error logs, and other similar information.

Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies
We also collect data about your use of the Services through the use of Internet server logs and online tracking technologies, like cookies and/or tracking pixels. A web server log is a file where website activity is stored. A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your computer when you visit a website.

Depending on your jurisdiction, we will ask for your consent via a “Cookie Banner” before placing non-essential cookies on your device. These technologies enable us to: (a) recognize your computer; (b) store your preferences and settings; (c) understand the web pages of the Services you have visited; (d) enhance your user experience; (e) perform searches and analytics; and (f) assist with security administrative functions.

Information from Third Parties
We may also collect information about you or others through third parties. For example, if you apply for membership, we may collect information from the references or vouchers you identified in your membership application. To the extent permitted by law, we may also collect information from third parties, including public sources, social media platforms, and marketing firms.

3. How We Use Your Information

We may use the information we collect from and about you to:

Fulfill the purposes for which you provided it;
Evaluate your application for a scholarship, grant, fellowship, or membership;
Distribute funds to scholarship and grant recipients;
Provide and improve the Services, including to develop new features or services, promote community collaboration, take steps to secure the Services, and for technical and customer support;
Fundraise, accept donations, or process purchases of merchandise;
Host events and programs;
Send you information about your relationship or transactions with us, account alerts, or other communications, such as newsletters to which you have subscribed;
Process and respond to your inquiries or to request your feedback;
Conduct analytics, research, and reporting;
Evaluate job candidates during our hiring process;
Comply with the law and protect the safety, rights, property, or security of Deocracy Institute, the Services, our users, and the general public; and
Enforce our Master Terms.

We may aggregate and/or de-identify information collected through the Services. We may use de-identified and/or aggregated data for any purpose, including without limitation for research and marketing purposes.

4. When We Disclose Your Information

We may disclose and/or share your information under the following circumstances:

Service Providers. We may disclose your information with third parties who perform services on our behalf, including without limitation, event management, candidate selection, marketing, customer support, data storage, data analysis and processing, and legal services.
Legal Compliance and Protection. We may disclose your information if required to do so by law or on a good faith belief that such disclosure is permitted by this Privacy Policy or reasonably necessary or appropriate for any of the following reasons: (a) to comply with legal process; (b) to enforce our Master Terms and policies; (c) to respond to your requests for customer service; and/or (d) to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of Deocracy Institute, our agents, our users, and the public.
Business Transfers. As we continue to develop our business, we may engage in certain business transactions, such as the transfer or sale of our assets. In such transactions, your information may be disclosed.
Consent. We may disclose your information to any third parties based on your explicit consent to do so.

Note on “Sale” of Data: Deocracy Institute is a nonprofit organization and does not sell your personal information for monetary value. However, under certain laws (such as the California CPRA), allowing third-party tools (like analytics or social media pixels) to collect data on our site may be defined as “sharing” or “selling” for the purpose of cross-context behavioral advertising. You may opt out of this via our Cookie Preferences or by enabling Global Privacy Control (see Section 6).

5. Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data

The laws in some jurisdictions require companies to tell you about the legal ground they rely on to use or disclose information. To the extent those laws apply, our legal grounds are:

Contractual Commitments: To provide services to our users.
Legitimate Interests: Customer service, fundraising, security, and improving our business.
Legal Compliance: To comply with our legal obligations.
Consent: Where required by law (e.g., for sensitive data or tracking cookies).

6. Online Analytics and Global Privacy Control

We may use third-party web analytics services (such as Google Analytics) on our Services. To prevent Google Analytics from using your information for analytics, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

Global Privacy Control (GPC): We support the Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser signal. If you are using a browser or extension that sends the GPC signal, we will automatically treat this as a request to opt-out of non-essential cookies and the “sale/sharing” of data for targeted advertising.

7. Your Choices and Data Subject Rights

You have various rights with respect to the collection and use of your information. Depending on your location (EU, UK, USA, etc.), these rights may include:

Right to Access: Confirm whether we hold your data and access a copy of it.
Right to Correction: Update or correct inaccuracies in your personal data.
Right to Deletion: Request that we delete your personal information (subject to legal retention requirements).
Right to Portability: Receive your data in a portable, machine-readable format.
Right to Restrict Processing: Ask us to stop processing your data in certain ways.
Right to Withdraw Consent: Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time.
Right to Opt-Out of Automated Decision Making: You have the right not to be subject to a decision based solely on automated processing (including profiling) which produces legal effects concerning you.
Right to Non-Discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

How to Exercise Your Rights:
To exercise these rights, please email us at admin@deocracy.org.

Email Unsubscribe: You may unsubscribe from marketing emails by clicking the “unsubscribe” link in the email footer.
Fundraising Analytics: You may opt out of fundraising analytics by contacting us at admin@deocracy.org.

8. International Transfers

Deocracy Institute operates globally. Our computer systems are currently based in the United States and the United Kingdom.

If you are located in the European Economic Area (EEA), the United Kingdom (UK), or Switzerland, please note that we may transfer your personal data to countries, including the United States, that may not offer the same level of data protection as your home country.

When we transfer data outside of the EEA/UK/Switzerland, we ensure appropriate safeguards are in place. We rely on:

Adequacy Decisions adopted by the European Commission; or
Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) issued by the European Commission (and the UK Addendum), which contractually obligate the recipient to protect your data.

By providing us with your information, you acknowledge any such transfer, storage, or use.

9. Security Measures

We have implemented technical, physical, and organizational security measures to protect against the loss, misuse, and/or alteration of your information. However, no Internet transmission is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee that these measures will prevent every unauthorized attempt to access your information.

10. Children

The Services are intended for users over the age of 18 and are not directed at children under the age of 13. If we become aware that we have collected personal information from children under the age of 13 (or under 16 in certain jurisdictions like the EU) without parental consent, we will take reasonable steps to delete it as soon as practicable.

11. Data Retention

We retain the information we collect for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes set forth in this Privacy Policy, or as long as we are legally required or permitted to do so.

12. Third-Party Links and Services

The Services may contain links to third-party websites (e.g., social media sites) and plug-ins. Deocracy Institute is not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such third-party websites. The collection, use, and disclosure of your information will be subject to the privacy policies of those third-party websites, not this Policy.

13. US State Privacy Rights (California, Virginia, Colorado, et al.)

If you are a resident of California, Virginia, Colorado, Connecticut, Utah, or other US states with comprehensive privacy laws, this section applies to you.

Notice of Collection: We collect the categories of personal information listed in Section 2 (Identifiers, Commercial Information, Internet Activity, Geolocation, etc.).
Right to Opt-Out of Sale/Sharing: As mentioned in Section 4, we do not sell data for money. However, you have the right to opt-out of the “sharing” of your data for cross-context behavioral advertising. You can do this via the “Cookie Settings” link on our footer or by using the GPC signal.
Right to Appeal: If we deny your privacy request, residents of certain states (like VA and CO) have the right to appeal our decision. You may submit an appeal by replying to our denial email or contacting admin@deocracy.org with the subject line “Privacy Appeal.”
Shine the Light: California residents may request a list of third parties to whom we have disclosed personal information for their direct marketing purposes.

14. Changes to this Privacy Policy

We will continue to evaluate this Privacy Policy as we update and expand our Services. We will post any changes here and revise the date last updated above. If we make material changes, we will provide you with notice as required by law.

15. Questions About this Privacy Policy

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy or our privacy practices, you can contact us at: admin@deocracy.org.

Deocracy Institute
1 Lawson Ln STE 200D PMB 147 Burlington, VT 05401