Donor Bill of Rights

Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To ensure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

  1. To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
  2. To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.

III. To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.

  1. To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
  2. To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.
  3. To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.

VII. To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.

VIII. To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.

  1. To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.
  2. To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.


What Information Do You Keep About Donors?

All donor information is voluntary. We do not require any information, but use what is provided to help us understand giving patterns and make educated assumptions about future donations in order to prepare our annual budgets. The information collected is kept on file for IRS purposes and is confidential. It is shared on a need-to-know basis with key staff and board members. Information we store includes:

  • Name, address, telephone number and e-mail address
  • Giving history, including dates and amount of gifts
  • Events attended
  • Mailings and publications received
  • Any requests for information
  • Information provided by the donor in the form of comments and suggestions
  • Past solicitations for special programs/campaigns


Do You Sell My Information to Telemarketers?

SoHumane does not sell or give our donor lists to other businesses or organizations, including other animal welfare or non-profit groups. We do not send out solicitations on behalf of other organizations or businesses unless their activities directly benefit Southern Oregon Humane Society (fund-raising dinners, etc.)


Can I Request Not To Receive Solicitations and E-mails?

We value our donors and do not want to intrude on their privacy and will stop mailings and/or e-mail communication with any donor upon request. Request can come in the form of e-mail, phone message or written. Unless otherwise indicated, we will send “thank-you” letters for IRS purposes to all donors, even those who have requested no solicitation. We may also send an annual summary of gifts to donors in January for tax filing purposes.

If you request no or limited contact, your information will not be removed from our database. Our software allows us to exclude all such individuals from mailings and e-mail communications. To stop receiving mailings and e-mail solicitations, please send a note to marcia@sohumane.org


How Long Do You Keep My Information?

SoHumane maintains a permanent, electronic record of all donations, bequests and legacies. The information is stored on the secure servers of the software provider. That provider, DonorPerfect, has the following policies in place:

 

Sharing and Usage

We (SofterWare Inc. dba DonorPerfect) will never share, sell, or rent individual personal information without your advance permission or unless ordered by a court of law. Information submitted to us is only available to employees managing this information for purposes of contacting you, sending materials based on your request for information, or providing SofterWare, Inc. news and promotions that match your interests.

 

 Security

This website takes every precaution to protect our users’ information. When users submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and off-line. SofterWare, Inc. takes care to reinforce the importance of our web site visitors’ security and privacy among our employees.


What About My Credit Card Information?

SoHumane does not store credit card or other financial account information in any of our databases (donor, adoption, retail, etc.). All credit card information received is a) run through our card processing center, if a one-time charge, and the information is then shredded or b) entered into a third party database, if it is a recurring donation, where only the last 4 digits are visible to any database user. All printed credit card information is shredded on-site. Credit card information collected at our annual auction event is also encoded so that only the last four digits are visible. No paper records of credit card information are generated from the auction event.