Vera Institute of Justice

Last Modified: August 8, 2024

This Privacy Policy explains how Vera Institute of Justice, Inc. (“Vera,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) collects, uses, and discloses your information. This Privacy Policy applies to personal data collected on our website (http://www.vera.org) and personal information you provide to us through our website.

Where applicable, you consent to the use of your information as described in this Privacy Policy each time you visit our website.

Collection of Personal Information

Personal information is information that can be used to directly or indirectly identify you. Personal information does not include information that has been anonymized or aggregated so that it can no longer enable us, whether in combination with other information or otherwise, to identify you.

We may collect different kinds of personal information from or about you:

• Information you provide: We may collect the personal information you provide—such as your name, address, and email address—when you use our website, Contact Us, register for our events, subscribe to our blog online, apply for employment, submit comments on blog posts, or otherwise interact with us through our website.
• Donations: If you make a donation, we collect personal information in connection with the donation. This information includes payment information, such as your credit or debit card number and other card information, and billing and contact details, required to process your donation with our payment processor(s).
• Information about use of our website: When you visit our website we may collect information about your use of our website, which may include information about your device’s unique identifier, the IP address of your device, usage information, diagnostic information, location information, or browsing information, from or about the computers, phones, or other devices on which you install or access our products or services. We may gather some of this information automatically.
• Information from third parties: We use third parties, including analytics providers, hosting providers and search information providers from whom we may also receive information as described below.

Use of Personal Information

Generally speaking, we use the information we collect through our website to provide, improve, and develop our website, programs, and services, to communicate with you, and to protect us and our website visitors. We collect, process, and determine how to process your information for the following purposes:

• Communicating with you: We use your information to process and respond to your requests when you contact us; to communicate with you about donations, subscriptions, events and issues, or employment applications; and to inform you about our policies and terms. If you wish to unsubscribe, you can do so at any time by following the “unsubscribe” link included in each such communication. We may use your information to process and respond to your requests when you contact us.
• Providing, improving, and developing our website, programs, and services: We use personal information to help us provide, improve, and develop our website, programs, and services.
• Promoting safety and security: We may use personal information to help verify payment transactions, as well as to promote safety and security, such as by monitoring fraud and investigating suspicious or potentially illegal activity or violations of our terms or policies.

SMS

No mobile information will 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.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to provide, protect, and improve our website and services, such as by understanding user behavior, and providing a safer experience.

You can remove or reject cookies using your browser or device settings, but in some cases doing so may affect your ability to use our website.

Please read our Cookie Policy to learn more about how we use cookies and the choices you have.

Disclosure of Personal Information

We make certain personal information available to trusted partners who work on behalf of or with Vera to help communicate with you about Vera’s work, upcoming events, and collaborations between Vera and other organizations. Personal information will only be shared by us with these parties in order to provide or improve our services programming; it will not be shared with third parties for their own marketing purposes without your prior express consent. We may also share personal information for purposes of legal compliance and security.

Service Providers

We may share personal information with companies that provide services on our behalf, such as website hosting; email services; donation management; payment processing; data analytics; and other services that assist in providing our programs and services. These companies are obligated to protect your information.

Legal Compliance and Security

We may disclose personal information, as necessary by law, or as a result of legal process, litigation, or requests from public or governmental authorities within or outside your country of residence. We may also disclose personal information if we determine that for purposes of national security, law enforcement or other issues of public importance, disclosure is necessary or appropriate. We may also disclose personal information if we determine in good faith that disclosure is reasonably necessary to protect our rights and pursue available remedies, enforce our terms and conditions, or protect our operations.

Your Access and Control Over Information

Depending on where you live, you may have the rights described below. You may have the right to access, correct, or delete the personal information that we collect. You may be entitled to object, at any time, to the further processing of your personal information. You may have the right to receive your personal information in a structured and standard format. You may lodge a complaint with the competent data protection authority regarding the processing of your personal information.

To protect the privacy and the security of your personal information, we may request information from you to enable us to confirm your identity and right to access such information, as well as to search for and provide you with the personal information we maintain. There are instances where applicable laws or regulatory requirements allow or require us to refuse to provide or delete some or all of the personal information that we maintain.

You may Contact Us to exercise your rights. We will respond to your request in a reasonable timeframe, and in any event in less than 30 days.

Third-Party Websites and Services

Our websites and services may contain links to or the ability for you to access third-party websites, products, and services. We are not responsible for the privacy practices employed by those third parties, nor are we responsible for the information or content their products and services contain. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected by us through our website and services.

Information Security, Integrity, and Retention

We take reasonable technical, administrative, and physical security precautions to protect against unauthorized access to your information.

It is important that you take precautions to protect against unauthorized access to your information and computers or other devices. If you feel that the security of your personal information has been compromised in connection with our website, please immediately Contact Us. Please be aware that, despite our efforts, no security system is impenetrable. In the event of a security breach, we will notify you and the proper authorities if required by law.

We will retain your personal information for as long as it is necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

Children

We do not knowingly collect, use, or disclose information from children under 13. If we learn that we have collected the personal information of a child under 13, we will take steps to delete the information as soon as possible. Please immediately Contact Us if you become aware that a child under 13 has provided us with personal information.

U.S. Website; Consent to Transfer

This website is operated in and targeted to individuals in the United States. If you are outside of the United States, any information you provide will be transferred to the United States, and by using this website and/or providing us with your information, you consent to this transfer.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

We may periodically change this Privacy Policy and expect most changes to be minor. Any non-material changes will take effect immediately upon posting of an updated Privacy Policy.

Your continued use of our website after the effective date of this Privacy Policy means that you accept the revised Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to the revised Privacy Policy, please refrain from using our website.

Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy, you may contact us at: Tel: 212.334.1300 | Email: contactvera@vera.org