Miles 4 Mentors respects the privacy of the children, families, donors, volunteers, and community members we serve. This Privacy Policy explains what information we may collect through Miles4Mentors.org, how we use and protect that information, and the choices available to you. By using our website or submitting information through one of our forms, applications, registrations, or donation tools, you acknowledge the practices described in this Privacy Policy.

Information We Collect

The information we collect depends on how you interact with Miles 4 Mentors.

Information you provide directly to us may include:

• Your name, email address, mailing address, and other contact information
• Questions, comments, messages, or stories submitted through our website
• Volunteer, sponsorship, event registration, or program information
• Donation information, including your name, email address, donation amount, and transaction details
• Information submitted when applying for a Miles 4 Mentors scholarship or other financial assistance

Because many of our programs serve children, a parent or guardian may also provide information about a child, including the child’s name, age, school, activity or sport, participation costs, equipment needs, and other information necessary to review an application or provide assistance.

Some applications may also request optional demographic information, such as gender or ethnicity, for program tracking, reporting, grant purposes, or to better understand the communities we serve.

How We Use Information

Miles 4 Mentors may use information we collect to:

• Respond to questions and requests
• Review and administer scholarship and financial-assistance applications
• Register participants for events and programs
• Communicate with parents, guardians, participants, donors, volunteers, and community partners
• Process and acknowledge donations
• Maintain donor and program records
• Coordinate volunteers, sponsorships, and community partnerships
• Improve our programs, events, website, and outreach
• Prepare aggregate program statistics, reports, or grant information
• Protect the security and integrity of our website and organization
• Meet legal, financial, accounting, and regulatory obligations

We may also use information for another purpose when you have specifically given us permission to do so.

Children and Family Information

Miles 4 Mentors serves children and families, and we take the privacy of young people seriously.

Whenever personal information about a minor is requested through our scholarship, registration, or other program forms, we expect that information to be submitted by, or with the knowledge and permission of, a parent or legal guardian.

Children under 13 should not independently submit personal information through our website without the involvement of a parent or guardian.

If you believe a child has provided personal information to us without appropriate parental or guardian involvement, please contact us at info@miles4mentors.org so we can review the information and take appropriate action.

Scholarship Applications

Our Pay to Play Initiative Scholarship application may request information necessary to determine eligibility and administer an award. This can include information about the student, parent or guardian, school, activity, participation costs, equipment needs, and financial assistance being requested.

Application information is used to evaluate requests, communicate with families, administer awards, maintain appropriate records, and evaluate or report on our programs.

We limit access to scholarship information to people who reasonably need it to administer Miles 4 Mentors programs or provide services on our behalf.

Photos, Stories, and Public Recognition

Miles 4 Mentors may occasionally share participant stories, photographs, first names, activities, schools, awards, or other information to celebrate our programs, recognize participants, report to funders, or share the impact of our work.

When information involving a minor is intended for this type of public use, we seek permission from the child’s parent or guardian as appropriate.

Submitting a scholarship application or participating in a Miles 4 Mentors program does not by itself give us unrestricted permission to publicly share private information about a child.

Donations and Payment Processing

When you make an online donation, we collect information necessary to process the gift and maintain appropriate donor records. Our donation system currently supports payment methods including credit card and PayPal.

Payment information may be processed by third-party payment processors and financial-service providers. Those providers handle payment information according to their own privacy and security practices.

Miles 4 Mentors may retain donor information such as your name, email address, donation amount, transaction date, and other records needed for acknowledgments, accounting, tax, reporting, and donor-management purposes.

Contact Forms and Communications

When you contact Miles 4 Mentors through our website, we may collect your name, email address, and whatever information you choose to include in your message. The current contact form requests a first and last name, email address, and comments or questions.

We use this information primarily to respond to you and maintain appropriate records of our communications.

If we send promotional or informational emails, you may ask us to stop sending them at any time. We may still send administrative or transactional communications when necessary.

Cookies and Similar Technologies

Our website may use cookies and similar technologies to operate properly, remember preferences, understand how visitors use the site, measure the effectiveness of outreach, and improve the visitor experience.

Cookies may collect information such as:

• IP address
• Browser and device type
• Pages visited
• Approximate location
• Referring website
• Date and time of visits
• Interactions with website content

You can control or delete cookies through your browser settings. Disabling some cookies may affect how certain parts of the website function.

Meta/Facebook Pixel

Miles4Mentors.org currently uses the Meta Pixel, a technology provided by Meta Platforms. The Pixel may collect information about visits and interactions with our website and associate that activity with information held by Meta, depending on the visitor’s browser, account, and privacy settings.

We may use this information to understand website traffic, measure outreach or advertising effectiveness, and improve how we communicate with our community.

Meta’s collection and use of information is governed by Meta’s own privacy practices.

Analytics

We may use website analytics tools to better understand how visitors find and use Miles4Mentors.org. Analytics information is generally used in aggregate to evaluate website performance, popular content, visitor activity, and opportunities to improve the site.

These services may use cookies, IP addresses, device identifiers, or similar technologies as part of their operation.

Third-Party Services

Miles 4 Mentors relies on third-party service providers to operate portions of our website and programs. These may include providers that support:

• Website hosting and security
• Online forms and applications
• Donation and payment processing
• Email and communications
• Analytics
• Social media
• Cloud storage and productivity services

For example, portions of our current scholarship and registration processes use Google-hosted forms or services, and the website connects with Meta/Facebook.

These third parties may process information as necessary to provide their services and are subject to their own privacy policies and practices.

How We Share Information

Miles 4 Mentors does not sell personal information.

We may share information in limited circumstances, including:

• With service providers that help us operate our website, process donations, administer programs, or provide other organizational services
• With community organizations or activity providers when necessary to administer an approved scholarship or program
• With accountants, legal advisers, auditors, grant administrators, or similar professional advisers
• When required by law, court order, subpoena, or other valid legal process
• When reasonably necessary to protect Miles 4 Mentors, our participants, our users, or others from fraud, abuse, security threats, or other harm
• When you or a parent or guardian has authorized the disclosure

We ask service providers to use information only as necessary to provide their services or as otherwise permitted by law.

Data Security

We take reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational measures to protect personal information from loss, misuse, unauthorized access, alteration, or disclosure.

However, no website, email system, online form, or electronic storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure. We therefore cannot promise absolute security.

How Long We Keep Information

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and for legitimate operational, accounting, tax, grant, legal, and recordkeeping needs.

Different types of records may be retained for different periods. When information is no longer reasonably needed, we may delete, anonymize, or securely dispose of it.

Your Privacy Choices

You may contact Miles 4 Mentors to:

• Ask what personal information we maintain about you or your child
• Request that inaccurate information be corrected
• Ask us to delete information when appropriate
• Withdraw a previously granted publicity or communication preference when applicable
• Ask questions about how your information is being used

Some information may need to be retained when required by law or when reasonably necessary for financial, tax, grant, fraud-prevention, program, or other legitimate organizational purposes.

Depending on where you live and applicable privacy law, you may have additional rights regarding your personal information.

The Minnesota Consumer Data Privacy Act applies only to organizations meeting specified thresholds, but covered organizations must provide privacy notices and mechanisms for consumers to exercise applicable rights.

Links to Other Websites

Our website contains links to other websites and services that are not operated by Miles 4 Mentors.

Once you leave Miles4Mentors.org, the privacy practices of the other website or service apply. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing personal information.

Changes to This Privacy Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy as our programs, website, technology, or legal requirements change.

When we make changes, we will update the Last Updated date at the top of this page. Significant changes may also be communicated through the website or another appropriate method.

Contact Us

If you have questions about this Privacy Policy, believe information has been submitted improperly, or would like to make a privacy-related request, please contact:

Miles 4 Mentors
Email: info@miles4mentors.org