Privacy Policy

Effective date: October(2026)

The Submitters Collective (“we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy. This policy explains how we handle information when you use our website, donate, create an account, request assistance, volunteer, submit content, or contact us.

This policy describes our practices. Where a particular activity requires your consent, we request that consent separately.

1. Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect:

Your name, email address, phone number, and mailing address.
Account information, email-verification records, and account preferences.
Donation amounts, dates, references, payment methods, and payment status.
Your selected public donor identity, including a name, alias, or anonymous designation.
Assistance-request details, including the type of assistance, amount requested, explanation of your circumstances, and supporting documents.
Identification and address-verification information provided through assistance applications.
Volunteer or join-the-team application information.
Letters, testimonials, suggestions, messages, and other content you submit.
Technical information, such as IP address, browser and device information, website requests, and security logs.

Please provide only information relevant to your interaction with us. Do not submit payment-provider passwords, PINs, verification codes, or unnecessary sensitive information.

2. Donations and Payment Information

We use banks and third-party payment services to receive donations. These may include PayPal, Venmo, Stripe-supported methods, Zelle, Cash App, and other methods offered on our website.

These providers handle payment information under their own terms and privacy policies.

Depending on the payment method, we may receive information such as:

The sender’s name, email address, or payment-account identifier.
The donation amount, date, transaction reference, and payment status.
Information included in a payment memo or note.
Limited payment-method details provided by the processor.

Our website is not designed to collect or store full payment-card numbers, card security codes, payment-provider passwords, or bank-login credentials. Do not send those details through our forms or email.

Zelle and Cash App

When you select a manually verified payment method, we may create a donation order before funds are received.

We use order references and information available in incoming payment records to reconcile donations. A QR scan, payment-link visit, or donation order does not automatically confirm payment.

Choosing an anonymous public identity does not prevent us, your bank, or the payment provider from receiving information needed to process or verify the transaction.

3. How We Use Information

We use information as needed to:

Record, reconcile, acknowledge, and administer donations.
Handle payment questions, corrections, and refund requests.
Create accounts, verify email addresses, and protect access to private records.
Review assistance applications and supporting documents.
Verify identity, address, eligibility, and application information.
Communicate about applications, status changes, and requests for further information.
Review volunteer and join-the-team submissions.
Publish content submitted through clearly identified public features.
Apply donor-recognition preferences.
Respond to questions and suggestions.
Maintain website operation, security, and fraud prevention.
Maintain records and meet applicable legal obligations.

4. Assistance Applications and Identity Documents

Assistance applications may contain sensitive information about your identity, finances, household, housing, or personal circumstances.

We use this information to assess and administer your request, verify relevant details, prevent misuse, and communicate with you.

Identity and supporting documents are submitted for application review, not public publication. Access should be limited to authorized people and service providers who need it for these purposes.

Submitting an assistance application does not authorize us to publish your name, identification, address, circumstances, or application as a story or testimonial. Any such publication requires separate permission.

Use the designated upload process for requested documents. Do not email identity documents or Social Security numbers unless we have specifically arranged an appropriate method with you.

If a request requires verification with an outside organization or person, we will explain the proposed verification and obtain permission where required.

5. Accounts and Verification

Some features require a website account. Guest donations may be available without creating one.

We use account and verification information to authenticate users, protect private records, and connect donations or applications to the appropriate account.

Creating an account does not automatically establish ownership of every past donation. Additional verification may be needed before records are linked or disclosed.

You may request account closure using the contact information below. Closing an account does not necessarily delete records that must be retained for financial, legal, security, or application-administration purposes.

6. Donor Leaderboard and Public Recognition

Where offered, you may choose to appear publicly under your name, an alias, or an anonymous designation.

For manual donations, anonymous recognition is the default unless you save another choice.

The leaderboard may display the selected identity alongside a donation amount, amount range, ranking, or donation period, as shown by the feature. An anonymous entry may still display a donation amount.

A public alias is not necessarily anonymous if other people can identify you from it.

To request a correction or removal of your public identity, contact support@submitterscollective.org. Removing public recognition does not require deletion of the underlying financial record.

7. Letters, Testimonials, and Other Submissions

Some website features are intended for public display, including public letters and testimonials.

When you submit content through a form identified as public, the content and the public identity you select may be visible to visitors, searchable by search engines, and copied by others.

Please do not include identity documents, private addresses, confidential application details, or another person’s personal information in public submissions without appropriate permission.

Public submissions may be reviewed or moderated before or after publication.

Private contact messages, assistance applications, and volunteer requests are not automatically published or treated as testimonials.

You may request removal of your published content. We cannot guarantee removal of copies retained independently by other people or third-party services.

8. Volunteer and Join-the-Team Submissions

We use volunteer and join-the-team information to review your interest, communicate with you, and administer participation.

These submissions are not public merely because they were submitted through our website.

Any additional screening or information requirements will be explained separately where applicable.

9. How We Share Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information for other organizations’ marketing purposes.

We may disclose relevant information to:

Banks and payment providers involved in your donation.
Website hosting, storage, email, and technical-support providers.
Security and fraud-prevention providers.
Authorized staff, volunteers, and professional advisers who need it for their responsibilities.
Authorities or other parties where disclosure is legally required or reasonably necessary to address fraud, security incidents, or threats to safety.

We may also publish information you submit through a clearly identified public feature or disclose information with your permission.

Service providers may process information on our behalf. Banks and payment platforms may also process information independently under their own policies.

10. Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies for functions such as:

Maintaining login sessions.
Operating donation carts and checkout.
Remembering preferences.
Protecting donation receipts and account access.
Supporting security and fraud prevention.

Third-party payment services and embedded content may also use cookies or similar technologies under their own policies.

If analytics or other optional tracking tools are enabled, applicable notices and consent controls should explain their use.

You can manage cookies through your browser and any cookie controls provided on the website. Blocking certain cookies may prevent login, checkout, or private-record access from working properly.

11. Technical Information and Analytics

Our hosting and security services may process technical information, including IP addresses, browser details, request times, and activity logs, to operate and protect the website.

If we use analytics services, we use them to understand website activity and improve our services. The specific services and applicable controls will be identified in our website notices where required.

We do not intentionally provide identity documents, private application narratives, or payment credentials to analytics services.

12. Email and Other Communications

We may use your contact details to send:

Verification and account-security messages.
Donation acknowledgments and payment confirmations.
Assistance-request receipts and status updates.
Requests for clarification or supporting information.
Replies to volunteer requests, suggestions, and inquiries.

Newsletters and promotional messages are separate from communications needed to administer a transaction, account, or request.

You may unsubscribe from promotional messages using the instructions provided or by contacting us. Unsubscribing does not necessarily stop essential service or security messages.

13. Data Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards appropriate to the information we handle.

No website, electronic storage system, or transmission method can be guaranteed completely secure.

Please protect your account credentials and notify us if you suspect unauthorized access. We will not ask you to disclose your payment-provider password, PIN, or verification codes.

14. Data Retention

We retain information for the purposes described in this policy and to meet applicable recordkeeping obligations.

Retention needs differ by record type:

Donation and financial records may be retained for accounting, reconciliation, audit, and legal purposes.
Account information may be retained while the account is active and afterward where necessary.
Assistance applications and supporting documents should be retained only for the period needed for review, administration, fraud prevention, and applicable obligations.
Identity documents should not be retained indefinitely merely because an application was submitted.
Public submissions may remain published until removed or the relevant feature is discontinued.
Security records may be retained as needed to investigate misuse and protect the website.

Deletion from active systems may not immediately remove information from backups. Any retained information remains subject to applicable safeguards.

15. Third-Party Services and International Processing

Our website may link to external websites or include services such as payment platforms, video players, and podcast players.

These services may collect information when you interact with them. Their privacy practices are governed by their own policies.

Depending on where our providers operate, information may be processed or stored outside your state or country.

16. Children’s Privacy

Our website’s account and submission features are not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information directly from children under 13 without an appropriate legal basis and any required consent.

An adult applying for assistance for a household should provide only information about children that is necessary for the request.

If you believe a child has submitted information inappropriately, contact us so we can assess and address the situation.

17. Privacy Requests

Depending on applicable law, you may have rights to request access, correction, deletion, or other limits on the handling of your information.

You may also contact us to request removal of a public donor identity, letter, or testimonial.

Send requests to support@submitterscollective.org. We may need to verify your identity before disclosing or changing private information. We will request only information reasonably necessary for that verification.

Some information may need to be retained to meet legal obligations, maintain financial records, protect security, or address disputes.

18. Changes to This Policy

We may update this policy as our services and practices change. The revised version will identify its effective date.

Where required, we will provide additional notice or obtain consent before applying a materially different use to information already collected.

19. Contact Us

The Submitters Collective
Email: support@submitterscollective.org
Website: submitterscollective.org
Contact page: Contact Us