Donor Rights & Privacy

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 assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

• 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.
• 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.
• To have access to the organization's most recent financial statements.
• To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
• To receive appropriate acknowledgment and recognition.
• To be assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law. (See our Donor Privacy Policy below)
• To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
• To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
• To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share. Culver does not share mailing lists with any outside party unless for the specific purpose of enhancing the interests of The Culver Educational Foundation.
• To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

* The bulk of the text of this statement was developed by the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel (AAFRC), Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and adopted in November 1993.

The Culver Educational Foundation (CEF) maintains the highest level of respect for the privacy of its donors. In furtherance of our commitment to honor your rights, we have developed this Donor Privacy Policy to guide our volunteers and staff on how they may and may not use your personal information. This policy may be updated from time to time.

What Information We Collect

The CEF collects and uses various pieces of personal donor information from donors such as: amount donated, address, telephone number, donor comments and e-mail address. Tax laws in the United States and the State of Indiana require the CEF to keep contact information and contribution level of donors on file.

How We Use That Information

The CEF will never publish, sell, trade, rent or share names (unless released for publication), email or mail addresses, or telephone numbers of our donors. The CEF will use contact information (e-mail, telephone number and address) of donors for these purposes only:

• Distribute receipts for donations
• Thank donors for their donation
• Inform donors about upcoming fundraising and other activities of the CEF
• Internal analysis and record keeping
• Report to relevant U.S. and State agencies (these reports are not for public inspection)
• Contact donors about changes to this policy
• Confirm existing pledges as a part of CEF’s annual, external financial audit

We allow donors the option to have their name publicly associated with their donation unless the donor explicitly chooses the "anonymous" field when donating online, or so notifies CEF in writing or directly to a member of the development staff. Culver will recognize all donors in its Annual Report of Gifts in the appropriate categories, unless the donor has specifically requested that this donation and/or all donations remain anonymous. This Annual Report is not made available to the general public. In all other cases, Culver’s staff and volunteers will assume that all donations are not to be publicly announced (verbally or in writing) unless the donor explicitly indicates otherwise.

Financial Information

All access to donor financial information is strictly limited to professional staff members and selected volunteers on a very limited basis who need to use this data. No such data are given to any person, organization or group who does not need to access this data. The CEF only uses online payment processing services with world class security and strong reputations. The CEF does not store, nor does it have access to your credit card information, bank account numbers, or other account data sent to those processing services in its database. Account information from donors who wish to have gifts drawn monthly is stored in a secured vault until the time that funds need to be drawn each month. Donor banking account information used for the deposit of annuity payments are maintained in a secured file within the Accounting Office.