Wisdom of the Elders, Inc. ("Wisdom of the Elders," "we," "us," or "our") records, preserves, and shares the cultural heritage of Native American communities. We respect the privacy of everyone who visits wisdomoftheelders.org, subscribes to our newsletter, applies to our programs, or supports our work with a donation.
This policy explains what information we collect, why we collect it, who we share it with, and the choices you have. It applies to this website and to the email communications we send. It does not apply to third-party websites we link to, which have their own privacy practices.
Information we collect
Information you give us
We only collect personal information that you choose to provide. Depending on how you interact with us, that may include:
- Contact form submissions — your name, phone number, email address, the program or area of interest you select, and the content of your message.
- Newsletter subscriptions — your first name, last name, and email address.
- Program, internship, and job inquiries — any information you include in your message or application materials, such as your background, tribal affiliation if you choose to share it, resume, or work samples.
- Event registrations — your name, contact details, and any accessibility or attendance information you provide.
- Donations — your name, email address, mailing address, donation amount, and any dedication or comment you include.
Information collected automatically
Like most websites, ours automatically records limited technical information when you visit. This may include your IP address, browser type and version, device type, operating system, referring page, the pages you view, and the date and time of your visit. We use this information to keep the site secure, diagnose problems, and understand which content is useful to our community.
Information we do not collect
We do not receive or store your full payment card number, expiration date, or security code. Donations made through our website are processed directly by our payment partners on their own secure systems.
Cookies and similar technologies
Cookies are small text files placed on your device by a website. We use them for a limited set of purposes:
- Essential cookies keep the site functioning, remember your form progress, and protect against spam and abuse.
- Analytics cookies help us understand, in aggregate, how visitors find and use the site so we can improve it.
- Embedded content cookies may be set by third-party media players and services we embed, such as YouTube, Vimeo, or a donation form. These are governed by the privacy policies of those providers.
You can control cookies through your browser settings, including blocking or deleting them. Some parts of the site may not work as intended if you disable essential cookies. Most browsers also offer a "Do Not Track" or Global Privacy Control signal; we honor recognized opt-out preference signals where our systems can detect them.
How we use your information
We use the information we collect to:
- Respond to your questions, requests, and program inquiries.
- Send our newsletter, event announcements, and updates about our work, when you have asked to receive them.
- Review applications for internships, workforce programs, and job openings.
- Process donations, issue receipts and acknowledgments, and comply with charitable-giving reporting requirements.
- Operate, maintain, secure, and improve the website.
- Meet our legal, tax, grant-reporting, and recordkeeping obligations.
We do not sell your personal information. We do not rent, trade, or share our donor or subscriber lists with other organizations for their own marketing purposes.
Service providers we work with
We rely on a small number of trusted vendors to operate our website and programs. These providers may process your information only on our behalf and only as needed to deliver their service:
- Donorbox and Stripe — donation forms and secure payment processing.
- EarthGives — an alternative giving platform for supporters who prefer it.
- Email marketing provider — delivery of our newsletter and management of subscription preferences.
- Web hosting, security, and analytics providers — hosting the site, protecting it from attack, and reporting aggregate traffic.
- Embedded media platforms — YouTube and Vimeo for our film and radio content.
Each of these providers maintains its own privacy policy, and we encourage you to review the ones that matter to you.
When we disclose information
Beyond the service providers described above, we disclose personal information only in these circumstances:
- With your consent — for example, if you agree to be featured in a story, film, or public acknowledgment.
- To funders and partners — in aggregate or de-identified form for grant reporting, unless a program agreement you signed says otherwise.
- For legal reasons — when required by law, subpoena, or court order, or when necessary to protect the rights, safety, or property of Wisdom of the Elders, our community, or the public.
- In an organizational change — if our organization merges with or transfers assets to another nonprofit, your information may transfer as part of that change, subject to this policy.
Cultural knowledge and community materials
Much of our work involves oral history, traditional ecological knowledge, language, and cultural materials shared with us by tribal members, Elders, and community partners. We treat these materials with care and in accordance with the wishes of the people and communities they come from. Contributions to our archive, films, and radio programs are handled under separate release and permission agreements, and this website policy does not override the terms of those agreements. If you have questions about how a specific recording, story, or image is used, please contact us.
How long we keep information
We keep personal information only as long as we need it for the purpose it was collected, or as long as required by law, grant conditions, and nonprofit accounting rules. Donation records are typically retained for at least seven years for tax and audit purposes. Newsletter subscriptions are kept until you unsubscribe. General inquiries are retained only as long as needed to follow up.
How we protect information
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect the information we hold, including encrypted connections (HTTPS) across the site, limited staff access on a need-to-know basis, and reputable vendors for payment and email. No method of transmission or storage over the internet is completely secure, so we cannot guarantee absolute security. Please avoid sending sensitive information, such as government identification or financial account numbers, through our contact form or by email.
Your choices and rights
You are always in control of your relationship with us:
- Unsubscribe from our newsletter at any time using the link at the bottom of any email.
- Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
- Correct information that is inaccurate or out of date.
- Ask us to delete your information, subject to records we must keep for legal, tax, or grant-reporting reasons.
- Opt out of any use of your information for targeted advertising or profiling. We do not currently engage in either.
We honor these requests as a matter of practice for everyone who contacts us, regardless of where you live, and we aim to respond within 45 days. Residents of Oregon, California, and other states with comprehensive consumer privacy laws may have additional statutory rights; we will not discriminate against you for exercising any of them.
Visitors from the European Economic Area and the United Kingdom
If you are located in the EEA or the UK, we process your personal information on the basis of your consent (for example, when you subscribe to our newsletter), our legitimate interest in operating and improving our programs and website, or our need to comply with a legal obligation. You have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to our processing of your information, to request a portable copy, to withdraw consent at any time, and to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. Our website and email operations are based in the United States, so information you provide will be transferred to and stored in the United States.
Children's privacy
Our website is intended for a general audience and is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from them online. Our youth and education programs serve participants under 18; when a program requires information about a minor, we collect it through the program's enrollment process with parent or guardian consent, not through this website. If you believe a child has provided us personal information through the site, please contact us and we will delete it.
Links to other websites
Our site links to partner organizations, funders, tribal resources, media platforms, and giving platforms. We are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of those sites. We encourage you to read the privacy policy of any website you visit from ours.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or the law. When we do, we will revise the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. Material changes will be noted prominently on this page. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.
Contact us
If you have questions about this policy, want to know what information we hold about you, or would like to make a privacy request, please reach us through the form on our Contact page, or by mail or phone:
Wisdom of the Elders, Inc.
3917 NE Shaver Street
Portland, Oregon 97212
(503) 775-4014
Please include enough detail for us to locate your records and verify your identity before we act on a request.