Privacy Policy

We are committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of our donors, advisors, nonprofit partners, and vendors. We value the trust you place in us by stewarding your generosity and take very seriously our responsibility to safeguard the integrity of the information you provide us at www.cfscc.org owned and operated by Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. Our Privacy Policy is designed to help you understand how we protect your information while maintaining excellent service. This Privacy Policy describes how CFSCC collects, uses, shares and secures the personal information you provide. It also describes your choices regarding use, access, and correction of your personal information.

If you have an unresolved privacy or data use concern that we have not addressed satisfactorily, please contact us at info@cfscc.org, subject line: privacy policy.

What information do we collect?

If you are a fundholder or planned giving client, CFSCC will request that you provide personal information to us. This information includes, but is not limited to your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address, fund name, fund number, date of birth and the last four digits of your SSN. If you open a fund using a credit card, we will also collect your billing information such as your credit card number and billing address. Upon request, CFSCC will provide you with information about whether we hold any of your personal information.

If you are a grantee, community partner, or vendor, CFSCC may request your organization’s name, address, tax EIN number, and bank routing number, and account number in order to process Automated Clearing House (ACH) payments

If your information changes or if you no longer desire our service, you may access, correct, update, or delete it by contacting us. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe. We will retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services. We will retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements. If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer use your information to provide you services, please contact us at info@cfscc.org.

What do we use your information for?

Any of the information we collect from you may be used in one of the following ways:

We use your information to help us tailor and continually improve your experience on our donor and applicant sites. We use your information in the following ways:

  • Responding to your inquiries

  • Communicating with you about your account, submissions or transactions

  • Communicating with you about upcoming events

  • Sending you newsletters, mailings and information about our initiatives and events via email or another medium

  • Processing your donation, competitive grant/scholarship application or grant recommendation request

  • Event registration

  • Performing statistical, demographic, and marketing analysis of our online users

  • Personalizing content and experiences on our online system

What is the information you share with the public?

CFSCC adheres to the highest standards of ethical practices in our operations and is dedicated to protecting the privacy of all our online users.

Under IRS Code, the following foundation documents are public information:


  • IRS Forms 990 and affiliated schedules;

  • Exemption letter from the IRS;

  • Approved application for exemption with supporting documentation.

  • Lists of our donors are not available to the public. We do not reveal the name of anonymous donors to the recipient of a grant.


How do we protect your information?

Your information is considered to be private and will be used for internal purposes only. We will also use this information to confirm that you are authorized to receive information about your fund(s) and/or we may send you information, pursuant to your request, to the location(s) indicated by you. We restrict access to your personal information to those employees, agents, and parties who process your requests and transactions and provide you with our services. All of our employees and Board of Directors sign a non-disclosure agreement annually.

Under no circumstances will we share, loan, barter, or sell information about you or your fund to any third party without your written consent except in ways described in this Privacy Policy. If you authorize us in writing to provide your information to a trusted third party such as your accountant or attorney, we will oblige.

Do we disclose any information to outside parties?

No, CFSCC does not sell, trade, or otherwise transfer to outside parties your personally identifiable information. This does not include trusted third parties who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or servicing you so long as those parties agree to keep this information confidential. Here are the privacy policies for:


When a user elects to add third party information, such as participants on our website and service when you establish a fund (recommender, successor, financial advisor, interested parties like an assistant, accountant, tax advisor, or other person), we require third party personal information including name, email, address, date of birth and phone for authorization purposes. This third party personal information is not used for any secondary or unsolicited purposes. Third party may contact us directly to request that we remove this information from our database.

How do you protect my information online?

CFSCC recognizes the importance of maintaining a secure and safe online environment. In order to do so, we and our data management system Foundant use a secure industry-standard SSL-encryption server that protects all data transmission before you send it to us.

Links to Other Sites

As a service and convenience to you, we will provide links to other websites that we think may be of interest to you in your philanthropic planning. Please be aware that once you leave our website and enter another website, you may be subject to different privacy practices and policies over which we have no control. Please exercise caution when disclosing personal information on those sites.

Testimonials & Photos

We display photos and personal testimonials of satisfied clients and grantees on our site in addition to other endorsements. With your consent we may post your photo or testimonial along with your name. If you wish to update or delete your photo or testimonial, you can contact us directly.

Blogs

Our website offers publicly accessible blogs or community forums. You should be aware that any information you provide in these areas may be read, collected, and used by others who access them. To request removal of your personal information from our blog or community forum, contact us directly.

Do you use cookies?

Yes. Cookies are small files that a website or its service provider transfers to your computer’s hard drive through your web browser, if you allow it. Cookies enable the websites or service provider systems to recognize your browser and capture and remember certain information about your use of the website. We use cookies to compile aggregate data about site traffic and site interaction so that we can offer better site experiences and tools in the future. Users can control the use of cookies at the individual browser level. If you reject cookies, you may still use our site, but your ability to use some features or areas of our site may be limited.

Do you use other tracking technology?

Yes. We use Google Analytics to help analyze trends, administer the site, track users’ movements around the site, and to gather demographic information about our user base as a whole. Information recorded includes how you arrived at our site (e.g., the URL you came from or if you arrived from another site), your network name, your browser type, which type of Internet browsing device you are using, the country, state, and city where your server is located and the pages viewed during your visit to our site.

Our site also uses two specific Google Analytics features: Google Analytics Demographics and Interest reports. These features generate information about a user’s age, gender and interests from Google’s interest-based advertising or third-party audience data to improve services on this website. This information is tracked using Google’s DoubleClick cookie.

Google’s ability to use and share information collected by Google Analytics about your visits to this website is restricted by the Google Privacy Policy. To provide website visitors more choice on how their data is collected by Google Analytics, Google has developed an Opt-out Browser add-on, which is available by visiting Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on, to enable you to opt-out of Google’s programs.

SMS texting privacy policy and SMS texting terms and conditions

Effective Date: 02/17/2025

User Consent

By using Community Foundation Santa Cruz County’s services, including signing up for text message communications, you expressly consent to collecting, using, and sharing your personal information as outlined in our Privacy Policy. You acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, including the terms related to data collection, communication, and security.

You further consent to receive text messages from Community Foundation Santa Cruz County, including general and/or promotional messages. You may opt out of receiving general and/or promotional messages at any time by following the opt-out instructions provided in the messages. Your continued use of our services constitutes your ongoing consent to these terms.

Mobile information will not be shared with third parties/affiliates for marketing/promotional purposes. All the above categories exclude text messaging originator opt-in data and consent; this information will not be shared with any third parties

Opt-Out

You may choose to stop receiving general and/or promotional text messages from Community Foundation Santa Cruz County at any time. To opt out, simply reply to any text message you receive from us with the word ‘STOP’ or ‘UNSUBSCRIBE.’ Once we receive your opt-out request, we will promptly remove your number from our general and/or promotional messaging list. Please note that opting out of general and/or promotional messages will not affect your ability to receive important service-related communications.

Message frequency and content

By subscribing to Community Foundation Santa Cruz County’s text messaging service, you agree to receive informational messages related to appointment reminders and account updates. Message frequency may vary based on your preferences or activity. Message and data rates may apply. You can opt out of receiving these messages at any time by following the instructions provided in each message.

Liability and disclaimers

Community Foundation Santa Cruz County is not responsible for any delays, failures in delivery, or any other issues related to the transmission or receipt of text messages. Delivery of text messages is subject to effective transmission by your mobile carrier and is not guaranteed by Community Foundation Santa Cruz County.

By subscribing to our SMS services, you acknowledge and agree that Community Foundation Santa Cruz County will not be liable for any damages, losses, or injuries arising from or related to the use or failure to receive any text messages, including but not limited to, delays, non-delivery, or technical issues. Your use of our SMS services is at your own risk, and we provide our services on an ‘as-is’ basis without any warranties of any kind, express or implied.

Data security and information handling

Community Foundation Santa Cruz County is committed to protecting the security of your personal information. We implement industry-standard security measures to safeguard your data against unauthorized access, use, or disclosure. However, it is also your responsibility to protect the confidentiality of your account information and any passwords associated with your use of our services.

You agree to notify Community Foundation Santa Cruz County immediately of any unauthorized use of your account or any other security breach. Community Foundation Santa Cruz County will not be liable for any loss or damage arising from your failure to protect your account or personal information adequately. By using our services, you acknowledge and accept that no data transmission over the Internet or mobile networks can be guaranteed to be 100% secure, and therefore, you use our services at your own risk.

Privacy policy

Community Foundation Santa Cruz County collects personal information from you when you interact with our services, including when you sign up, make purchases, or communicate with us via text messages. The types of information we collect may include your name, contact details, payment information, and any other information you voluntarily provide.

We use this information to provide, maintain, and improve our services, process transactions, communicate with you, and comply with legal obligations. Your information may be shared with trusted third-party service providers solely for the purpose of operating our business and fulfilling our commitments to you. We do not sell, rent, or share your personal data with third parties for marketing purposes without your explicit consent.

You have the right to access, correct, or delete your personal information at any time, and we are committed to handling your data in a secure and transparent manner.

Data protection

Community Foundation Santa Cruz County takes the security of your personal information very seriously. We employ industry-standard security measures, including encryption and secure servers, to protect your data from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. We continuously monitor our systems to ensure your information is safe and secure, and we are committed to maintaining the highest levels of data protection to safeguard your privacy.

Explicit non-sharing of information

Community Foundation Santa Cruz County is committed to upholding the highest standards of privacy for all personal information collected through our text messaging services. We do not sell, rent, distribute, or trade your personal data to third parties without your explicit consent unless legally required to do so. Any information shared with third parties is exclusively for the purpose of delivering our services to you. We assure you that your data will never be shared with third parties for marketing purposes.

Opt-out instructions

If you no longer wish to receive text messages from us, you can opt out at any time by replying with the word ‘STOP’ or ‘UNSUBSCRIBE’ to the number from which you received the message. Upon receiving your request, we will promptly remove you from our messaging list, and you will no longer receive further text communications from us.

Changes to Privacy Policy

Community Foundation Santa Cruz County may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices or legal requirements. When we make changes, we will notify you by updating the “Last Updated” date at the top of this policy. In the event of significant changes, we will provide a more prominent notice, such as sending an email notification or displaying a notice on our website.

By continuing to use our services after these changes, you agree to the revised Privacy Policy. We encourage you to periodically review this policy for the latest information on our privacy practices.

SMS text messaging Terms and Conditions

You agree to receive informational messages (appointment reminders, account notifications, etc.) from Community Foundation Santa Cruz County. Message frequency varies. Message and data rates may apply. For help, reply HELP call us at: (408) 662-2000 or email us at cfhelp@cfscc.org. You can opt-out at any time by replying STOP."

Your Consent

By using our Site, you consent to our Privacy policy.

Changes to our Privacy Policy

If we decide to change our Privacy Policy, we will post those changes on this page and/or update the Privacy Policy modification date here: This policy was last modified on February 26, 2025.

Contacting Us

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, you may contact us using the information here.


If you have any questions please email us or call 831.662.2000.