Sijil Privacy Policy

1. Information We Collect

Information you provide

When you join Sijil, make a contribution, request information, or contact us, we may collect:

• your name and email address;
• your Sijil membership and contribution details, including amount, frequency, date, transaction status, and receipt information;
• a billing or mailing address when required by the payment method, needed for a receipt, or voluntarily provided;
• communications, questions, or other information you choose to send us; and
• records needed to administer your recurring contribution, issue acknowledgments, and maintain our financial and tax records.

Telephone numbers and text messages

Sijil does not ask for telephone numbers on its enrollment or contribution forms and does not operate an SMS or text-message program. We do not use Sijil information to send fundraising, marketing, or membership text messages. If you voluntarily include a telephone number in correspondence with us, we will use it only to respond to that correspondence and not for SMS marketing.

Payment information

Sijil contributions are processed through Donorbox and the payment processor or processors selected for the relevant transaction. IPS-USA receives the transaction information necessary to administer your membership and contribution, such as your name, email address, contribution amount, payment status, and transaction identifier. IPS-USA does not intentionally collect or store full payment-card numbers, bank-account numbers, or card security codes.

When you provide payment information through a Donorbox form, Donorbox and the relevant payment processor also process information under their own privacy notices and terms. Donorbox's Privacy Policy is available at donorbox.org/privacy.

Information collected automatically

When you visit Sijil webpages or a Donorbox contribution page, IPS-USA and our service providers may automatically receive limited technical information, such as your IP address, browser and device type, operating system, referring page, pages viewed, and the date and time of access. We may also use cookies or similar technologies needed to operate the Services, maintain security, prevent fraud, remember preferences, and understand aggregate use of Sijil pages. Where required by law, we will request consent before placing non-essential cookies.

2. How We Use Information

We use personal information only as reasonably necessary to:

• process and administer Sijil memberships and recurring contributions;
• send contribution confirmations, receipts, membership notices, and other transaction-related communications;
• respond to questions, requests, or concerns;
• send Sijil, IPS-USA, and program updates by email when you have requested or otherwise agreed to receive them;
• maintain accurate financial, tax, audit, and organizational records;
• protect the security and integrity of our systems, prevent fraud, and comply with applicable law; and
• maintain and improve the functionality, accessibility, and security of Sijil pages using aggregate or technical information.

We do not use Sijil donor information to build advertising audiences for third parties or to enable third parties to market their own products, services, or causes to you.

3. Email Communications and Your Choices

You may opt out of promotional or newsletter emails at any time by using the unsubscribe link in the message or by contacting us as described below. Opting out of promotional email will not stop necessary transactional communications, such as contribution receipts, notices about an active recurring contribution, or responses to a request you have made.

4. How We Share Information

IPS-USA does not sell, rent, trade, or exchange Sijil donor or member information. We do not disclose donor information to other organizations for their own fundraising or direct-marketing purposes. We do not publish the identity of an individual Sijil member or the amount of an individual contribution unless the person has asked us to do so or has given us permission.

We may disclose limited personal information only in the following circumstances:

• Authorized personnel and service providers. To IPS-USA personnel and carefully selected providers that need the information to perform work for us, such as Donorbox, payment processors, email and receipt providers, website hosts, database or cloud-storage providers, and professional advisers. These parties may use the information only to provide the relevant service or as otherwise required by law.
• Legal, security, and compliance needs. When we reasonably believe disclosure is required by law, regulation, subpoena, court order, or other valid legal process; or when necessary to protect the rights, safety, property, security, or operations of IPS-USA, our donors, or others.
• Organizational transition. To professional advisers or a successor organization in connection with a merger, restructuring, transfer of assets, or similar organizational event, subject to appropriate confidentiality and privacy protections.
• Your direction or consent. When you expressly ask or authorize us to share information for a specific purpose.
• Deidentified information. We may use or share aggregate or deidentified information that cannot reasonably identify you.

5. Data Retention

We retain personal information only for as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including administering an active Sijil membership, providing receipts, resolving inquiries, maintaining records required for accounting, tax, audit, fraud-prevention, and legal purposes, and enforcing our agreements. When information is no longer needed, we will delete, anonymize, or securely dispose of it, subject to our legal and operational recordkeeping obligations.

6. Security

IPS-USA uses reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards designed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, loss, misuse, alteration, or disclosure. Access to donor information is limited to personnel and providers who need it for the purposes described above. Donorbox and the relevant payment processors are responsible for the security of their own systems and payment-processing environments.

No online system or method of transmission is completely secure. While we work to protect your information, we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we learn of a security incident involving personal information, we will take the steps required by applicable law.

7. Cookies and Third-Party Services

Most browsers allow you to remove or reject cookies through browser settings. Doing so may affect certain features of the Services. Donorbox and other third-party services linked from Sijil may use their own cookies and similar technologies. Their collection and use of information are governed by their own privacy policies, not this policy.

8. International Visitors

IPS-USA is based in the United States. If you access Sijil from outside the United States, your information may be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States and in other countries where our service providers operate. Those jurisdictions may have data-protection laws that differ from those in your place of residence.

9. Access, Correction, Deletion, and Other Privacy Requests

You may ask us to access, correct, update, or delete the personal information that IPS-USA holds about you, or to stop sending promotional email. To protect personal information, we may need to verify your identity before responding. We may retain or decline to delete information when required or permitted by law, including information needed for tax, accounting, audit, fraud-prevention, security, or other legitimate recordkeeping purposes.

Depending on where you live, applicable law may give you additional privacy rights. To make a request, contact us using the information below. We will respond within the period required by applicable law.

10. Children

Sijil is not directed to children under 13, and IPS-USA does not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 in connection with Sijil. If you believe that a child has provided personal information to us, please contact us and we will take appropriate steps to address the request.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our practices, Services, or legal obligations change. We will post the revised policy on the applicable Sijil page and update the "Last updated" date. If a change is material, we will provide additional notice when required by law.

12. Contact Us

For questions about this Privacy Policy, a Sijil privacy request, or an email-preference change, contact:

Institute for Palestine Studies (USA), Inc.
Attn: Privacy Request
1930 18th Street NW, Suite B2 #2409
Washington, DC 20009, USA
ipsdc@palestine-studies.org