Donor Privacy and Confidentiality Policy

It is the policy of the Southwest Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America to keep donor information private.  The Council will not sell, give or trade a donor's personal information to any other entity in existence without their written permission.

Purpose

Your trust and confidence are important to us.

The purpose of this policy is to state the position of the Council on donor confidentiality and donor anonymity and will guide the actions of the Board of Directors, the Scout Executive and staff who may serve the Council, regarding the rights of donors and potential donors to confidentiality regarding their transactions with the Council.

The Southwest Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America recognizes that the operation of the Council requires the maintenance and management of extensive donor and prospect records.  Donor records often contain sensitive information that has been shared with or developed by the council staff on a confidential basis.  "Records" means all files, including electronic data, containing information on donors or prospective donors to the Council.

Policies

Confidentiality of Records

The Scout Executive shall be responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of donor and prospect records and will ensure that all staff have clear direction regarding the confidentiality of records through the establishment of appropriate operating procedures.  He/she may, in his/her discretion, make all or part of any record available to staff members or volunteers if essential to them in executing their responsibilities.  Disclosure decisions will honor the wishes of donors related to disclosure unless a larger legal issue is related.

To carry out its responsibilities, the Board of Directors may need to review donor/prospect records.  All directors shall respect the Council's significant interest in protecting the sensitive nature of those records and shall maintain these policies for donor confidentiality.

The Council's auditors are authorized to review donor and prospect records as required for the purposes for which they are engaged.  Fund agreements are considered "strictly confidential information" and are not public documents.  Particulars of a fund document will not be shared with the general public or with fund recipients unless the donor has granted permission to do this or unless these details are essential to be shared in order for the fund to be administered as desired by the donor.

Fund Representatives

The donor or donors who sign the funding documents are the Fund Representatives.  The CEO of a nonprofit agency that has an agency endowment is the Fund Representative.  A donor may petition the Council in writing to designate another Fund Representative or Representatives.  Previously designated successive generation donor advisors will be Fund Representatives once they receive donor privilege upon the death of a donor.

Only Fund Representatives are authorized to receive fund statements of information concerning activities of the fund.  Release of fund information to auditors will be done only upon written request of the Fund Representative.  For memorial funds, the family will designate a Fund Representative.

For unrestricted, field or interest, administrative endowment or other funds created by the Board of Directors, it will be the Council's discretion to designate others as Fund Representatives.

Publication of Donor Names

The Council will not publish the specific amount of any donor's gift or name without the permission of the donor.  Donors making gifts to the Council by bequest or other testamentary device are deemed to have granted such permission.  Donors should be aware that it is the Council's policy, from time to time, to publish the current market value of its funds from which a reader may be able to determine the approximate size of a donor's gift.

Honor/Memorial Gifts

The names of donors of memorial or honor gifts may be released to the honoree, next of kin or appropriate member of the immediate family, unless otherwise specified by the donor.  Gift amounts are not be released without express consent of the donor.

Anonymous Gifts

The Scout Executive is authorized to accept anonymous gifts to the Council.  In the event the Scout Executive is uncertain about the desirability of accepting an anonymous gift, he/she shall consult with the Executive Committee.  The Scout Executive shall disclose to the Executive Committee, upon request by a majority of the Executive Committee, the names of any anonymous donors.

Disclosure of Pending Gifts

In the event that the Scout Executive concludes that the Council is likely to receive, in the immediate future, a gift equal to or greater than five percent of its then existing assets, the Scout Executive shall notify the Chair.  The President and the Scout Executive shall apply all requirements of the gift acceptance policy and determine the appropriate course for notifying the Board of Directors.

Kinds of Information

The Council may collect personal information such as names, company names, titles, addresses, telephone numbers, fax numbers, e-mail addresses, and payment information (such as credit card numbers) from donors.  By submitting personal information, the donor acknowledges that he or she has read this privacy policy, understands it, agrees to its terms and authorizes the Council to collect, use and disclose personal information pursuant to the terms of the privacy policy.

Any information you submit through email, online, phone, mail or by an employee becomes the sole property of Southwest Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America.

How We Use It

The Council uses personal information collected from donors to respond to donor inquiries, to issue donation receipts, to help in deciding who receives future fundraising appeals, to help organize fundraising events, and to inform donors of new programs and services.

How we protect your Information

The first protection we ensure is that the Southwest Florida Council, Boy Scouts of America never sells, rents, leases or exchanges your personal information with other organizations.  The identity of all who contact us through our website, postal mail, and email will be kept confidential.  The use of your information is limited to internal purposes, by authorized individual, to better service any existing donors, potential donors or partner relationship.  We make every effort to ensure the security of your information.  To prevent unauthorized access, maintain data accuracy, and ensure the proper use of information, we have established and implemented appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

Removing your name from our mailing list

You can ask to be removed from our email list, mailing list or phone lists.  If you determine that information in our database is inaccurate or it has changed, you can modify your personal information by email at:  Charles.Vonderheid@scouting.org or 239-936-8072.