Privacy Policy

‍Last Updated: October 23, 2023

Welcome to Miles for Military. This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) describes the types of information Miles for Military Incorporated, a nonprofit organization, collects from you through your access and use of the Miles for Military website located at milesformilitary.org (including for donations or registering to participate in our programs), as well as when you interact with us or otherwise communicate with us (collectively, our “Services”). This Policy also describes how we use and disclose this information, and certain rights and options you have regarding your information. Please note that use of our Services is also subject to our Terms of Service.

IF YOU ARE A DONOR: Please read this Policy carefully to understand how we collect, use, and disclose your information. Miles for Military does use third-party payment processors to facilitate donations, and we encourage you to read the privacy policies of these third-party vendors before providing them with your information.

By providing us with personal information or using the Services, you expressly consent to the information-handling practices described in this Policy. If you do not agree with this Policy, please do not use the Services or provide us with your information.  

Important Information About This Policy

While we always aim to provide complete and transparent information about how we process your personal information, we reserve the right to amend or update this Policy from time to time, or to create additional policies, in order to accurately reflect changed circumstances or new legal requirements.  As a result, it is important that you read this Policy closely so that you are fully aware of how and why we are using your personal information.

To assist us in ensuring that we can provide the most accurate information possible, we ask that you check this Policy for updates. We also ask that, where we have an ongoing relationship with you and any of the data you have provided becomes no longer accurate, you keep us informed of this so we can amend our records accordingly.  

Personal Information We May Collect or Receive About You

For the purposes of this Policy, “personal information” is any information that identifies, relates to, or can be used to contact a particular individual. The types of personal information we collect from users of our Services includes the following categories:

·       Contact information – first name, last name, email address (personal, military, or business), mailing address (personal, military, or business),billing address (personal or business), telephone number (personal, military, or business), and employer and employment details.

·       Account information – if you register to use our portal, your username, account password, account number, and other information that we may request or that you may provide relating to your account.

·       Travel-related information – if you are a hero that seeks travel assistance, the details of your requested or approved ticket (including departure and arrival details), the details of military leave request or approval, and other details regarding your planned or requested trip.

·       Volunteer activities information – if you are a hero that seeks travel assistance, the details of the organization for whom you volunteered, including the details and description of your volunteer activities, associated confirmation letters, photos and other testimonials about or relating to your experience or volunteer activities.

·       Testimonial information – if you are a hero who has participated in one of our programs, we may solicit from you details about your experience, including testimonial statements, photographs or video recordings, or audio recordings.

·       Charitable partner information – if you are a charitable partner, we may collect additional details regarding the opportunities available at your organization for heroes to volunteer, as well details about your programming.

·       Donor-specific information – if you are a donor or prospective donor, publicly available demographic and wealth-related information or data, details of your interactions with any professional fundraiser we engage, records and details of any donations you have made, inquiries from you, or other unique donation information.

·       Transactional information – if you make a donation to our organization, the details of your contribution, including your bank account or payment card and billing information (which is collected and processed by a third-party payment processor on our behalf), donation method, and other donation details.

·       Marketing information – details regarding informational and promotional materials you may have requested or received from us, our services in which you are interested, your receipt of promotional communications, and information on your marketing or communication preferences.

·       Communication information – details of any communications or inquiries you submit to us, including technical or customer support requests, through email, calls, or other features available in our website.

·       Device and usage information – details regarding how and when you use our website, including the device used to connect to our website, your IP address and device identifier, the frequency and duration of your usage, the pages you view, what websites or search terms referred you to our website, and information about your interaction with our website.

We collect this information when you access, use, or navigate our website, register for and use our portal, fill in forms on our website, subscribe to our mailing list, request information via our website, communicate with us (including by phone, email, chat, or otherwise), interact with any chat bot or similar feature available on our website, visit or engage with our social media pages, participate in surveys or sponsored activities, attend events or seminars hosted by us, or otherwise provide us with personal information.

Please note that we may aggregate or anonymize the foregoing types of data such that they are no longer capable of identifying you, in which case they are no longer considered “personal information” for the purposes of this Privacy Policy.

Automatically Collected Usage and Device Information

Like most website operators, we use various technologies to automatically collect the following types of information about you:

• Cookies.  Cookies are small text files that a website transfers to a visitor’s device for record keeping purposes.  We use cookies to personalize visitors' experiences on our website, provide content that we believe may be of interest, track visitor trends and patterns, engage in marketing and advertising, and otherwise analyze our website traffic.   For further information about cookies, including how to refuse cookies, please visit www.allaboutcookies.org.  Please note that if cookies are disabled, you may not be able to enjoy certain     features of our website.
• Pixels and Web Beacons. Our website may also use “Pixel” and “Web beacon” technologies. Pixels and web beacons are small pieces of code that are deployed on a website or within an email that are used to monitor the behavior of website visitors or email recipients—such as what pages were visited or whether links in an email were opened—and gather analytics.  For example, when a visitor accesses on our website that utilize a pixel or web beacon, an anonymous notice of that visit is generated which may be processed by us or by our vendors. These pixels and web beacons, in turn, work in conjunction with cookies to let us know what portions of our website are of interest to our visitors and to help us provide you with tailored information from our website. If you turn off cookies, pixels and web beacons may still detect certain information and disregard any cookie-prohibitive markers or signals. Please note that pixels and web     beacons may transmit information regarding website visitors to third parties, who may then use that information for marketing, tracking, or other similar purposes. Facebook/Meta’s Pixel is an example of this type of technology. To disable cookies or web beacons, as well as targeted advertising derived from pixel data, please view and adjust the settings for your social media account, email account, and device.

• Log Files and Device Identifiers.  We use log files to track actions occurring on the website and mobile application and collect data about visitors, including IP address, browser type, Internet service provider, referring/exit pages, date/time stamps, and device identifiers.
• Analytics. We may use technologies supplied by third-party vendors to track your engagement with our website (e.g., to catalog and assess certain user-prompted events and to monitor functionality and performance of our website). How we use and disclose such information is described in more detail below.

The information collected through these technologies may be combined with personal information. We may share information about your use of our website with our analytics partners, who may combine it with other information that you previously provided to them.

Information from Other Sources

We may obtain both personal and non-personal information about you from affiliates, vendors, charitable and business partners, and other third parties and add it to other information we have collected. For example, if you are a hero that volunteers with a charitable partner, we may receive information from the partner about your volunteer activities. We, and the third parties we engage, may combine information we collect from you over time, and across our website, with information obtained from other sources. This helps us improve the information’s overall accuracy and completeness, and also helps us better tailor our interactions with you.

Information from Social Media

If you interact with us on any social media platform: (i) depending on your social media privacy settings, the personal information that you submit on the social media platform may be read, collected, or used by us as described in this Policy, and (ii)where we respond to any interaction with you on social media, your account name/handle may be viewable by any and all members or users of our social media accounts.  Social media platforms operate independently from us and we are not responsible for the personal information that you choose to submit or link on any social media platform.  We encourage you to review the privacy policies and settings of any social media platform with which you interact to help you understand their privacy practices.

How We Use Your Information

We (or the service providers acting on our behalf) use the personal information identified above for the following purposes:

• Providing heroes our Services, including facilitating connections between military members and charitable partners that provide volunteer opportunities, reviewing and facilitating travel and ticket requests, connecting military members with donors and others     who support our Services and offer benefits for military members and their families.
• Negotiating, entering into, and managing our business relationship and agreements with our charitable and business partners.
• Making our website available to heroes and other military personnel, charitable partner personnel, and others who use our portal.
• Determining your interest in receiving donor materials.
• Engaging in fundraising and plan future fundraising activities, events, and services.
• Process donations and event registrations, issue tax receipts, and otherwise facilitate the fundraising process.
• Providing and optimizing your experience on our website and in our portal and ensuring that our content is presented to you in the most effective manner.
• Communicating with you, including responding to your inquiries about our Services or questions regarding any issues you are experiencing with our website.
• Sending you promotional or informational communications and solicitations, tracking your marketing preferences, and for our internal marketing purposes.
• Creating marketing and informational materials about our organization and services, including distributing testimonials from users to our charitable partners and donors.
• Managing customer service issues, including issues relating to our process for facilitating connections and ticket requests and approvals, and similar donor, recipient, or organizational feedback.
• Troubleshooting and resolving any technical issues with our website.
• Developing, updating, and improving our Services, user experience, and otherwise improving our knowledge and insights regarding users.
• Preventing and detecting fraud, financial crime, hacking activities, security breaches, and other unlawful activities in connection with the website or the use of our Services.
• Enforcing our agreements with you or our organizational partners, complying with our legal or regulatory obligations, and defending or advancing legal claims.
• Notifying you about changes to our Services, our Terms of Service, or material changes to this Privacy Policy.
• Providing you with surveys or otherwise soliciting feedback from you.
• Performing other functions as otherwise described to you at the time of collection or to which you otherwise consent.

For more information about your options relating to your personal information and your communication preferences, see “Your Choices About Collection and Use of Your Information” below.

Our Marketing Efforts

We may send you direct marketing communications from time to time including news, updates, offers, and other announcements relating to our business. We will only send marketing messages where the law allows us to do so and, in the event that you no longer wish to receive marketing communications from us, then you can always unsubscribe using the option provided in the communication you have received(e.g., in the footer of the email) or by contacting us using the information below.

Disclosure of Your Information

When the information we collect is aggregated, anonymized, or otherwise does not identify you, it is no longer considered “personal information.” We may use such information for any purpose or disclose it to third parties, to the extent permitted by applicable law.

We do not sell or rent our own donor list, but we may purchase or rent lists from other organizations from time to time to reach prospective donors.  We do not knowingly rent lists from organizations where such an association may harm the goodwill and trust between Miles for Military and our donors.

While we strive to keep donation information confidential, we do disclose it to our board members, staff, volunteers, and other professionals on a need-to-know basis and in compliance with applicable laws, regulations, court orders, or other governmental requests.

In addition, we may disclose your information to the following types of persons:

●                 Charitable partners, business partners, affiliates, or related entities who we partner with to provide our Services and who help us offer military members and their families information and services that are relevant to them or that they request.  

●                 Service providers we use to facilitate our business operations and administer our Services. These third parties have access to your personal information only to perform specific tasks on our behalf. For example, our service providers include (i) IT and system administration providers, (ii) our website hosting providers, (iii) call centers or professional fundraisers, and (iv) vendors to facilitate donations and payment processing.

●                 If you are a hero, third-party travel or airline businesses in order to facilitate your receipt of a valid ticket and travel plans.  

●                 If you authorize us to disclose information to family members or other military personnel, we may disclose your personal information to such persons. You can revoke your consent to this kind of disclosure at any time.

●                 Marketing and advertising vendors that may assist with lead generation, hosting information relating to customers and business partners and potential customers or business partners, marketing automation, advertisement placement and targeting, and marketing campaigns and communications.

●                 Analytics vendors in order to understand our website traffic and usage patterns, optimize our website, and identify potential new users.

●                 Regulatory and governmental authorities, law enforcement agencies, and courts, as necessary to comply with applicable laws and regulations, respond to a subpoena, search warrant, or other lawful request for information, or to otherwise protect our rights.

●                 Our professional advisors, such as lawyers, accountants, and other similar advisors.

●                 Buyers or other successors prior to or in the event of a merger, acquisition, divestiture, restructuring, reorganization, dissolution, or other sale or transfer of some or all of our assets, whether as a going concern or as a part of bankruptcy, liquidation, or similar proceeding, where the information is among the assets being transferred.

●                 Other parties for any purpose we disclose at the time you provide the information.

Protection of Personal Information

We use administrative, technical, and physical measures to protect your personal information from loss, theft, or unauthorized use or disclosure.  Please be aware that no data transmission over the Internet is 100% secure.  While we strive to protect your personal information, we cannot ensure or warranty the security of any information you transmit to us, and you do so at your own risk.

Information Retention

Miles for Military adheres to applicable Internal Revenue Service, state, and local regulations, as well as our own internal policies, governing the retention, management, and destruction of donor information we collect and maintain.

Your Choices About Collection and Use of Your Information

We respect your right to make choices about the ways we collect, use, and disclose your information.  Because we are a nonprofit organization, we may not be legally required to offer you choices about the use and disclosure of your personal information that are afforded to you under applicable privacy laws. That said, we try to offer you meaningful choices regarding your personal information. Some choices you have regarding personal information include the following.

• Marketing Emails – As required by applicable laws, you can opt-out of receiving promotional emails from us by clicking the “opt out,” “unsubscribe,” or similar link in any such promotional emails and following the instructions provided.
• Cookies– Depending on your browser or device, you may have the option to set the browser to accept all cookies, reject all cookies, notify you when a cookie is set, or delete cookies.  Each browser and device are different, so we recommend you evaluate the tools and settings available in your browser or device, as well as any available instructions  or the same.  Please note that if you disable or delete cookies, you may not be able to access or use certain features of the Services. Users can opt out of third-party advertising cookies from a wide range of advertising services, including Google, by visiting the Network Advertising Initiative's Opt-Out page. 
• Pixels – Please consult your profile settings for social media platforms in order to adjust your receipt of targeted advertisements. For example, review your Facebook Ad Preferences to better understand how Facebook is using your information and to disable certain features.
• Analytics – As discussed above, we use analytics tools in connection with the Services.  If you would like to refrain from having your data collected by Google Analytics, Google has developed an opt-out browser that you can use.  You can find more information on how     Google uses information it collects by reading its Privacy Policy located here.
• Declining to Provide Information – You can choose not to provide us with information we may request through our Services, but that may result in you being unable to use certain features of our website, request information about our Services, or initiate other     transactions with us.
• Do Not Track Mechanisms – Please note that our website does not honor “Do Not Track” signals, and such signals will not impact the operation of the website.  

In addition to the above, you may contact us using the details provided at the end of this Policy with any questions about the choices relating to your personal information.

Links to Third-Party Services

Our website may contain links to third-party websites. Such websites have separate privacy policies that you should review. We cannot and do not take responsibility for the content of linked websites or those companies’ data-handling practices.

Children’s Privacy

Our website is a general audience website and is not directed at children under the age of 13. Accordingly, we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under age 13 through the Services. Should we discover that a child under age 13 provided us with personal information, we will use that information only to inform the child that we must have parental consent before receiving such information.  

Changes to this Policy

Please note that we may change this Policy from time to time. If there are changes to our Policy, we will post them here and update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this document. Continued use of the Services after any changes is deemed to be acceptance of those changes. Accordingly, we encourage you to check this Privacy Policy periodically for updates.

How to Contact Us

If there are any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, you may contact us using the information below.

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MILES FOR MILITARY
101 Huntington Ave, 24th Floor
Boston, MA 02199
contact@milesformilitary.org
603-456-1288