Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

Thank you for your interest in Mercy For Animals. Your privacy is important to us, and we strive to be transparent in our collection and utilization of your information. When we use “MFA,” “we,” “us,” or “our,” this means Mercy For Animals, Inc.

This Privacy Policy (“Policy”) explains what information we collect from or about volunteers, Donors (as defined below), and visitors and users (collectively referred to as “you,” “your,” “User,” or “Users”) of our websites, including but not limited to www.mercyforanimals.org and all other MFA-owned or MFA-managed web domains or mobile applications; our online store; our social media platforms; messaging services used for communicating with us; multichannel advocacy tools; and our online and offline donor platforms (collectively, the “MFA Services”). The Policy also explains how we collect information, use it, disclose it to third parties, and protect it, as well as the rights you have with respect to your information.  For purposes of relevant privacy laws, MFA is the data controller of your information.

Please read this Policy carefully. By being a User and using the MFA Services, you agree to our collection, use, disclosure, and transfer of your information as described in this Policy and to the terms herein. If you do not agree to this Policy, please do not use MFA Services.

“Donors” means supporters who make donations by any means, including online (such as through online fundraising platforms or our websites) and offline (such as at events or by submitting paper form pledges).

This Policy contains the following sections:

    • What information does MFA collect?

    • How does MFA use my information?

    • How does MFA disclose my information?

    • Your rights and choices

    • How is my information protected?

    • How is my information retained?

    • Children’s privacy

    • Information for Users outside the United States

    • Links to other sites

    • Changes to this Policy

    • Contacting us

What information does MFA collect?

The information we collect about you depends on the MFA Services you use, how you use them, and the information you provide to us.

We collect information in three main ways: (1) information you provide directly to us; (2) information we collect automatically through technology when you use MFA Services; and (3) information we collect from other sources.

Information you provide directly to us

When you use MFA Services, you may directly provide certain information to us. For example, you provide information when you subscribe to our emails, submit any of our online forms, answer a survey or participate in research, attend an event or conference, make a donation, shop in our online store, sign up for SMS/text messages, volunteer with us, or participate in advocacy campaigns or contests.

The information we collect directly from you may include:

    • Contact and account information, such as name, mailing address, email address, telephone number, mobile phone number, social media handle/screen name, and demographic information.

    • Financial and transaction information, such as billing address, payment card or bank account information, and government identifiers, if you make a donation or a purchase via the MFA Services.  Please note that in some circumstances this information is collected and stored by our trusted third-party payment processors and not by us.  Such third parties’ privacy policies and terms will therefore apply to how they collect and process your payment information.

    • Demographic information, such as age, gender, household income, military status, race/ethnicity, marital status, and religious beliefs.  Note that this information may be considered “sensitive data” under applicable laws.

    • Professional information, including your current company, company address and other contact information, professional history, your titles/roles, degrees or schooling, licenses, academic records, and similar information.

    • Audio/Video content, such as that collected from CCTV footage, video or audio recordings, and photographs.

    • Other information that you provide to us, such as the content of your communications with us, information about the campaigns and volunteer work in which you want to participate, and contacts through social media channels.

Information we collect automatically

When you use MFA Services that are online (such as our websites), we and our vendors may collect certain information about you automatically using cookies and similar technologies. Cookies are small text files placed on your device that perform a variety of functions, including recognizing your device, remembering your preferences, enabling the MFA Services to function, assisting with security, and improving our advertising and analytics. Cookies and similar technologies may collect the following information about you:

    • Technical information about your device and your use of MFA Services, such as your IP address, device identifiers, and information about your web browser (such as language and preferences), operating system, device (such as model and manufacturer), and activity on our online services (such as pages you visit, links you click, and the webpages you visit before and after visiting the MFA Services).

    • Location information, such as the location of the device you are using to access our websites (which may be derived from IP-based geolocation), and more precise GPS location information if you have agreed to the collection of precise location through your device settings.

Information we collect from other sources

We may collect information about you from other sources, such as social media networks (for example, when you interact with us by liking us on Facebook or Instagram or following us on Twitter), other publicly available sources and databases, data aggregators, marketing companies, and other third parties to help us supplement our records.

How does MFA use my information?

We may use your information in various ways, depending on the information, including for the following purposes:

    • To provide and maintain the MFA Services and our operations, including to run our programs, engage in fundraising, and maintain the functioning and security of the MFA Services.

    • To provide you with goods, services, or interactions you request, such as to facilitate purchases in our online store and enable you to participate in our work as a volunteer, Donor, or otherwise.

    • To communicate with you via email, text, or mail, subject to applicable law and any preferences you have communicated to us, including to send information about events, activities, and donation and volunteer opportunities, contact you about transactions conducted through an MFA Services, or update you about changes to our terms and policies.

    • To analyze and improve the MFA Services and our programs, including to improve the MFA Services’ content and functionality, enhance MFA Service features that require User input, understand Users’ use of the MFA Services, and measure interest in our various campaigns and programs.

    • For legal and compliance purposes, including to enforce our terms and policies and protect our legal rights.

    • For any other lawful purpose with your consent.

De-identified information: We may de-identify your information or aggregate your information with that of other Users so that it cannot reasonably identify you. We may use and disclose this de-identified or aggregated information to any party for any lawful purpose.

Data combination:  For the purposes above, we may also combine the information that we collect through the MFA Services with information that we receive from other sources, both online and offline, and use such combined information in accordance with this Policy.

Legal bases for processing:  The laws in some jurisdictions require companies to tell you about the legal grounds they rely on to process your information. Our legal bases for processing your information as described in this Policy are as follows:

    • Where use of your information is necessary to perform our obligations under a contract or commitment to you. For example, to provide the services you’ve requested from us, or to comply with our legal terms and policies.

    • Where use of your information furthers our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of others. For example, to operate and provide security for the MFA Services, facilitate our programs, receive payments for your purchases, defend our legal rights, and prevent fraud.

    • Where we use your information to comply with applicable legal obligations. For example, keeping track of your donations for tax and auditing purposes.

    • Where you have consented to our processing of your information for a particular lawful purpose.

How does MFA disclose my information?

We may disclose your information in the following ways:

    • To affiliated entities. We may disclose your information to MFA affiliates under common ownership and/or control.

    • To our service providers. We may disclose your information to vendors that provide us with services that help us run our organization and the MFA Services, including data hosting and storage, security, research and analytics, marketing and advertising, security, donation processing, communications, and legal services.

    • To other charities and organizations. We and our vendors may disclose your name, address, and donation amounts and histories to other charities and organizations so that these organizations can contact you for marketing purposes. This includes FreeWill Co. (“FreeWill”), who will receive your name and address when you sign up to receive an information packet on the FreeWill service page of MFA, so that FreeWill can send you the requested information. There is no obligation to leave a gift in your will to MFA as part of the free will service. Your will remains confidential, and we will not receive a copy, but FreeWill will let us know if you have left a gift to us and may send us your name and contact information (you will be subject to the policies, rules, and terms of FreeWill as a third party) so that we can inform our legacy team and send you a thank-you letter. Your telephone and cell phone number(s) and any related opt-in(s) to text messages are excluded from disclosures to third parties for marketing purposes.

    • To volunteers: If you are an MFA volunteer, we may share your information with other MFA volunteers who assist us in establishing, managing, and maintaining our relationship with you. MFA volunteers may use your Information for volunteer organizing, inter-volunteer communication, and volunteer education and information. MFA volunteers to whom we disclose your information are bound by confidentiality agreements with MFA.

    • For legal purposes. We may disclose information if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such disclosure is reasonably necessary to: (a) comply with legal process (for example, a subpoena or court order); (b) enforce our legal terms, including this Policy, or other contracts with you; (c) respond to legal claims involving us; or (d) protect the rights, property, or personal safety of MFA, our volunteers, or others.

    • Organizational transfers. If we participate in a merger, acquisition, bankruptcy proceedings, or other transfer or reorganization of assets, including in contemplation thereof, your information may be among the transferred assets. If a portion or all of our assets are transferred to a third party in these circumstances, we may disclose your information as part of the transfer.

    • For other purposes with consent. We may use your information for any other lawful purpose that we disclose to you and to which you consent.

Your rights and choices

We respect our Users’ choices and control over their information. Your legal rights to exercise such controls and choices vary based on the laws of your jurisdiction, and may include the following:

    • Access to, or a copy of, your information

    • Confirmation that we are processing your information

    • Correction or amendment of your information

    • Deletion of your information

    • Transfer of your information to a third party

    • Restriction or objection to certain uses of your information

If you have provided consent for us to use your information for a specific purpose, you may also request to withdraw that consent.

You can exercise the rights listed above at any time by emailing us at [email protected]. You may also make such requests online using our supporter hub, which enables you to directly correct or change your information, at https://act.mercyforanimals.org/user/.

We may ask you to provide us with information necessary to reasonably verify your identity before responding to your request. We will consider all requests and provide our response within the time period required by applicable law. Please note, however, that certain information may be exempt from such requests (e.g., where we are required to keep information for legal purposes, or where deletion of information would interfere with freedom of expression). Depending on your jurisdiction of residence, if we deny your request in whole or in part, you may have the right to appeal the decision. In such circumstances, we will provide you with information regarding the appeals process.

Marketing communications

You may opt out of email communications from us by clicking the “manage subscriptions” link at the bottom of the emails. If you are currently receiving SMS/text messages from us and wish to opt out of receiving such messages, you may do so by replying “STOP.” You may also opt out of both email communications and text messages by emailing us at [email protected]. Please note that if you opt out of marketing communications, we may still send you service-related communications such as an email informing you about a volunteer opportunity that you signed up for, a transaction you completed on the online store, or a notice of changes to our legal terms, including this Policy.

Notice of Right to Opt Out of Sales of Personal Information and Processing/Sharing of Personal Information for Targeted Advertising Purposes

As explained in the “Cookies,” “Online Analytics,” and “Online Advertising” sections below, we provide certain information to third-party advertising providers for targeted advertising purposes, so that we can provide you with more relevant and tailored ads regarding our services, or use related advertising analytics services. The disclosure of your information to these third parties to assist us in providing these services may be considered a “sale” of personal information under applicable law, or, the processing/sharing of personal information for targeted advertising purposes.

If you would like to opt out of our online disclosure such as through cookie and pixel technology of your personal information for purposes that could be considered “sales” for those third parties’ own commercial purposes, or “sharing” for purposes of targeted advertising, please see the Cookies, Online Analytics, and Online Advertising sections below for how to change your cookies settings. You can also submit a sale opt-out request to opt out of our offline disclosures of information that are subject to applicable opt out rights by emailing us at [email protected]. Please note that we do not knowingly sell the personal information of minors under 16 years of age without legally-required affirmative authorization.

Please note that if you have a legally-recognized browser-based opt out preference signal turned on via your device browser, we recognize such preference in accordance with applicable law.

Cookies

As mentioned above, we and our vendors use cookies and similar technologies to collect certain information about you. You may be able to set your internet browser or device to stop accepting new cookies, notice when you receive a new cookie, or disable existing cookies. Please consult the “Help” section of your browser for more information. The setting will apply only to the browser or device you are using, so you will need to reset the setting on a different browser or device. If you disable some or all cookies, the MFA Services may not function as intended and some features may be unavailable.

Online analytics

We and our vendors may use third-party analytics services on MFA Services to help us understand how users engage with MFA Services, including Google Analytics. These parties may use cookies and other technologies to help collect, analyze, and provide us with reports and/or data. For more information about Google Analytics and how it collects and processes data, please visit: https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites. To opt out of Google Analytics using your information for analytics purposes, see: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Online advertising

We may allow third-party advertising technologies (e.g., ad networks and ad servers, or other advertising partners) to place cookies or other tracking technologies on your browser or device to collect information about you to assist in the delivery of relevant advertising on other websites you visit and other online services you use. These ads may be based on your current activity or your activity over time and across other websites and online services and may be tailored to your interests. For example, if you visit an MFA website, you may see ads for MFA on other websites you visit.

We neither have access to, nor does this Policy govern, the cookies or other tracking technologies that may be placed on the device you use to access the MFA Services by such non-affiliated third parties. If you are interested in more information about tailored browser advertising and how you can generally control cookies from being put on your computer to deliver tailored advertising, you may visit the Network Advertising Initiative’s Consumer Opt-Out link, the Digital Advertising Alliance’s Consumer Opt-Out link, or Your Online Choices to opt out of receiving tailored advertising from companies that participate in those programs. You also may opt-out from Google Analytics for Display Advertising or the Google Display Network by using Google’s Ads Settings.

Do Not Track (“DNT”) 

DNT is a privacy preference that users can set in certain web browsers. We do not currently recognize or respond to browser-initiated DNT signals. You can learn more about Do Not Track here.  Please note that DNT is a different mechanism than the legally-recognized browser-based privacy preference signal referenced above.

How is my information protected?

MFA maintains lawful data security measures in line with current industry standards for the MFA Services to protect the information under its control against unauthorized access and disclosure. These measures include the implementation of a variety of technical, physical, and administrative data-security safeguards to protect the information, including encryption of data in transit and at rest using industry-standard encryption protocols and access control policies and mechanisms. Please keep in mind, however, that no data transmitted over the internet is 100 percent secure, and any information disclosed online can potentially be collected and used by parties other than the intended recipient.

How is my information retained?

We retain information for different periods of time depending on the purposes for which we collect and use it, as described in this Policy. We will delete or de-identify information when it is no longer needed to fulfill these purposes unless a longer retention period is required to comply with applicable laws. There may be relevant legal, technical, financial, regulatory retention requirements or other operational reasons where we are unable to fully delete or de-identify your information. Where this is the case, we will take lawful measures to prevent further processing your information.

Children’s privacy

MFA does not knowingly solicit or collect personal information (as defined in applicable law) from minors under the age permitted by applicable law without parental consent. If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your minor disclosed information to us in a way that is prohibited by applicable children’s privacy laws, please contact us at [email protected].

Information for Users outside the United States

MFA is based in the United States. If you are located outside of the United States, please be aware that we may store and process your information in the United States or any other country in which MFA or its affiliates or vendors maintain facilities. If you are located in the European Union or other regions with laws governing data collection and use that may differ from United States law, please note that we may transfer your information to a country and jurisdiction that does not have the same data protection laws as your jurisdiction. By using the MFA Services, you consent to the transfer of your information to such jurisdictions. If you do not want your information to be transferred in this way, do not use the MFA Services.

Links to other sites

The MFA Services may contain links to other sites, products, and services that are external and not owned or controlled by us. We are not responsible for the privacy practices employed by, or content provided by, such other sites, products, and services. We encourage you to be aware when you leave MFA Services and to review the privacy policies of any third-party websites or services, as you will be subject to their policies, rules, and terms.

Changes to this Policy

We may change this Policy at any time. Changes will be effective immediately upon posting. Please check this Policy regularly to ensure that you are aware of any changes. Your visit to or use of any MFA Services after changes to this Policy have been made means you have accepted the changes. We may also provide you with additional notice or options regarding updates to the Policy in accordance with applicable law.  If you do not agree with the changes, immediately stop visiting or using MFA Services.

Contacting us

If you have any questions about our Policy, please contact us as provided below.

For questions specifically about your information or to exercise your rights with regard to your information, email [email protected].

For general questions about this Policy or your rights hereunder, email [email protected].

For any inquiries, you may write to us at:
Mercy For Animals
8033 Sunset Blvd., Ste. 864
Los Angeles, CA 90046
Attn: Legal Affairs Department

Last updated on September 16, 2024