Privacy Policy
SCHOLARMATCH PRIVACY POLICY
EFFECTIVE DATE: September 1, 2023
In this privacy policy (“Privacy Policy”), we describe how ScholarMatch, Inc. (“ScholarMatch”, “we”, “us” or “our”) collects, uses and discloses personal information that we obtain about visitors to our website at https://scholarmatch.org/ (the “Site”) and the services provided through the Site (the “Services”).
This Privacy Policy does not apply to information collected by or provided to (a) ScholarMatch offline or on any other website operated by ScholarMatch or any third party or (b) any third party, including through any webform (e.g. Airtable), application or content (including any payment portal or application (e.g. Paypal)) that may link to or be accessible through the Site.
Please read this Privacy Policy carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your information and how we will treat it. By using the Site, you consent to the privacy practices described in this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree with these policies and practices, do not use the Site.
Information We Collect About You
We collect several types of information from and about users of the Site and Services directly from you when you provide it to us or third parties authorized to share it with us, as well as automatically through your use of the Site and Services.
Information We Collect Directly From You. You may directly provide us with your personal information in the following ways:
- Website Forms. You may provide us with your personal information by filling out forms on the Site. This information may include your name, email address, phone number, credit card number and billing address.
- Email Communications and Newsletters. You may provide us with your email address in order to receive newsletters or other communications. We may collect information from you through records and copies of correspondence with you, including email addresses.
- Contacting Us. You may provide us with your personal information when you contact us or request information about us, the Site or our services (whether by email or other means).
- Information Provided in Connection with Student Funding. If you are chosen to receive funding from ScholarMatch, we may collect information from you to provide such funding and make payments on your behalf, including account number, lender and loan term.
- Information Provided In Connection with the Services. You may provide us with your personal information in connection with the Services. Such information you provide may include your name, contact information, school or employer, demographic information, academic interests, first-generation status and family income level.
Information We Collect Automatically. When you visit the Site, we may automatically receive and record certain information from your computer, web browser and/or mobile device, including your IP address or other device address or ID, web browser and/or device type, hardware and software settings and configurations, the web pages or sites that you visit just before or just after visiting the Site, the pages you view on the Site, your actions on the Site, and the dates and times that you visit, access or use the Site. Please see the “Cookies and Other Tracking Mechanisms” section below for more information.
How We Use Your Information
We use your information, including personal information, for the following purposes:
- Provide Our Services We use your personal information to provide the Site and its contents and the Services you have requested, interact with the communications you provide to us, communicate with you about your use of the Site and Services, send you news and newsletters, respond to your inquiries, provide customer service and other information you request from us and fulfill any other purpose for which you provide it or for which you have consented.
- Provide Personalized Services. We may use your personal information to tailor the content and information that we may send or display to you and to otherwise personalize your experience while using the Site and Services.
- Improve and Develop Our Services. We use your personal information to: (a) ensure the Site and Services are working as intended; (b) operate the Site and Services; (c) better understand how users access and use our Site and Services; (d) develop, maintain, protect and improve our Site and Services; and (e) perform research and analytics, including to analyze and report on usage and performance of our Site and Services.
- Donations and Volunteering. We may use your personal information to process donations you may make through the Site and/or evaluate your eligibility to volunteer with us or use our services.
- Compliance.We may use your personal information to: (a) detect, investigate, and prevent activities on our Site that may violate our Terms of Use, could be fraudulent, violate copyright or other rules, or that may be otherwise illegal, (b) comply with legal requirements, (c) defend or exercise legal claims, (d) respond to law enforcement or governmental investigations or requests, and (e) protect our rights and the rights and safety of our users and others.
How We Share Your Personal Information
We may share your information, including personal information, as follows:
- Where you have provided consent, we share your information, including personal information, as described at the time of consent.
- Provided Purpose. We may disclose the personal information we collect from you to fulfill the purpose for which you provide it or for any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information.
- Volunteers and Students. We may disclose the personal information we collect from you to your assigned volunteer or student for purposes of communicating with your volunteer or student regarding ScholarMatch’s Services.
- Affiliates. We may disclose the personal information we collect from you to our affiliates or subsidiaries solely for the purpose of providing the Site and ScholarMatch’s Services.
- Change of Control. We may disclose the personal information we collect from you to a buyer or other successor in the event of a merger, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of ScholarMatch’s assets, whether as a going concern or as part of bankruptcy, liquidation or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by ScholarMatch about our Site, users (including students) or volunteers is among the assets transferred.
- Service Providers. We may disclose the information we collect from you to third party vendors, service providers, contractors or agents who perform functions on our behalf.
- In Response to Legal Process. We also may disclose the information we collect from you in order to comply with the law, a judicial proceeding, court order or other legal process, such as in response to a subpoena or any other government or regulatory request.
- To Protect Us and Others. We also may disclose the information we collect from you where we believe it is necessary to investigate, prevent or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the safety of any person, violations of our Terms of Use or this Privacy Policy, or as evidence in litigation in which we are involved.
- Aggregate and De-Identified Information. We may share aggregate or de-identified information about users and their use of the Site with third parties and publicly for marketing, advertising, research or similar purposes.
Your Choices
You may decline to share certain information with us, in which case we may not be able to provide to you some of the features and functionalities of our services offered through the Site. If you do not wish to receive email offers or newsletters from us, you can opt-out of receiving email information from us by using the unsubscribe process at the bottom of the email. We will fulfill opt-out requests without charge and within ten (10) days of receipt of such request. Although your changes are reflected promptly in active user databases, we may retain all information you submit for a variety of purposes, including backups and archiving, prevention of fraud and abuse, and analytics.
Cookies and Other Tracking Mechanisms
We and our service providers may use cookies and other tracking mechanisms, such as web beacons, to track information about your use of our Site. We may combine this information with other personal information we collect from you (and our third party service providers may do so on our behalf).
Currently, our systems do not recognize browser “do-not-track” requests. You may, however, disable certain tracking as discussed in this section (e.g., by disabling cookies), but such disabling may impair use of the Site.
Cookies are small files placed on your computer’s hard drive through your web browser for record-keeping purposes. 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 Site. 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 Site. Some cookies allow us to make it easier for you to navigate our Site, while others are used to allow us to track your activities at our Site. The cookies we may use include:
- Session Cookies. Session cookies exist only during an online session. They disappear from your computer when you close your browser or turn off your computer. We use session cookies to allow our systems to uniquely identify you during a session.
- Persistent Cookies. Persistent cookies remain on your computer after you have closed your browser or turned off your computer. We use persistent cookies to track aggregate and statistical information about user activity.
Third Party Analytics
We use automated devices and applications, such as Google Analytics, to evaluate usage of the Site. We use these tools to help us improve our Site, services, performance and user experiences. Entities providing these devices and applications may use cookies and other tracking technologies to perform their services. We do not share your personal information with these third parties. To opt-out of Google Analytics and find out more about their privacy practices, see https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Third-Party Links
The Site may contain links to third-party websites and applications (e.g. Airtable, Paypal, etc.). Any access to and use of such linked websites is not governed by this Privacy Policy, but instead is governed by the privacy policies of those third party websites. We are not responsible for the information practices of such third party websites.
Security of My Personal Information
We have implemented measures designed to protect your personal information from loss, misuse, and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction. Please be aware that despite our efforts, no data security measures can guarantee 100% security. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk.
Children under the Age of 13
The Site and services made available through the Site are not intended for children under 13 years of age. No one under age 13 may provide any information to or on the Site or otherwise to ScholarMatch. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 13, do not use or provide any information on this Site or through any of its features. If we learn we have collected or received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at info@scholarmatch.org.
Visitors from Outside the United States
This Site is controlled and operated by ScholarMatch in the United States, which may have less protections than your jurisdiction of residence. If you choose to access the Site from outside the United States, you acknowledge that you will be transferring your information, including personal information, outside of those regions to the United States for storage and processing, as necessary to provide to you the services available through the Site.
Changes to this Privacy Policy
This Privacy Policy is current as of the Effective Date set forth above. We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time, so please be sure to check back periodically. We will post any changes to this Privacy Policy on the Site. If we make any changes to this Privacy Policy that materially affect our practices with regard to the personal information we have previously collected from you, we will endeavor to provide you with notice in advance of such change by highlighting the change on the Site’s home page.
Our Contact Information
Please contact us with any questions or comments about this Privacy Policy, our use and disclosure practices, your communication preferences or your consent choices by e-mail at info@scholarmatch.org.