PRIVACY POLICY

Organizing Empowerment Project Privacy Policy
Organizing Empowerment Project (“North Carolina Community Coalition”) is an organization that helps people reach out to friends and family about the issues that matter to them.  In order to do that, we need to collect some data, and this page, our privacy policy, talks about what kinds of data we use and how we handle it.  By using the Empower software, you agree that we can use your data in the ways we describe in this page. We might also change this policy from time to time.  To find out about those changes, check back on this page.

 

Your Data
Most of the data collected by the Empower software should be obvious to you as a user, and you should only share what you feel comfortable with.  For instance, because Empower is oriented around reaching out to friends and family, you'll probably enter personal data, such as the names of friends and family members that you want to talk to.  If you're worried about how those names will be used (for instance, if you're working with a vulnerable population), it's totally fine to use nicknames or pseudonyms.

 

The North Carolina Community Coalition might also ask you to provide different types of information.  For instance, if an organization is trying to get people to register to vote, they might ask you if you or your friends are registered to vote.  Because these organizations are managing their own outreach programs, we don't directly control what questions they ask you using Empower.

 

In some cases, we'll request other permissions from your phone.  How these permissions are used should also be clear within the app.  For instance, we use location permissions in order to show you a map when you're using the app to walk around and canvass people.

 

If you provide your email or phone number, we may send you messages, for instance, notifying you about actions to take.  We may also send you push notifications.  You can unsubscribe from these messages like you would normally (with a link at the bottom of the email, by replying STOP to a text message, and by disabling push messages from Empower in your phone).  Even if you unsubscribe, we may still send you a message if it's necessary for you to use Empower (for instance, if you're trying to login or if you send us a support request).

 

Some organizations might pay you for work you do through Empower.  In these cases, we might collect data necessary to pay you.  For instance, we may collect W9 tax information or bank account information.

 

We also collect some behind-the-scenes information.  For instance, in order to keep your login secure, we collect your internet address and other information about your computer or phone to make sure someone else isn't trying to break into your account.  We also collect performance data (so that we know if the app is being slow), crash data (so that we can fix bugs), and usage data (so that we know what features are being used the most and can spend our time making them better).

 

Some of your data will be stored on your device (e.g., in cookies) and other data will be stored on our servers.

 

Empower is designed for people in the United States over 18 years old.  We don't knowingly have data about any children or non-US people.

 

SMS Opt-In Data Usage

Text messaging originator opt-in data and consent will not be shared with any third parties, provided that the foregoing does not apply to sharing (1) with vendors, consultants and other service providers who need access to such information to carry out work on our behalf (and who will not use such information for their own purposes); (2) if we believe disclosure is required by any applicable law, rule, or regulation or to comply with law enforcement or legal process; and (3) if the user consents to our sharing of such information.
 

Third Parties
We never sell your data, but we do use some third parties to make our application work.  

Empower, like most modern websites and applications, runs on the cloud (third party servers that we pay to use). 

We use third party tools for performance, crash, and usage monitoring.  

We use third party tools to send emails, texts, and push notifications.  

We use third party tools to collect information for payments and to send payments.

We use third party tools to geocode addresses (figure out where they are on a map)

We use third party tools to figure out civic information relevant to a person (e.g., who their congressperson is)

 

North Carolina Community Coalition also has partnerships and data sharing agreements with other organizations, such as State Voices.  We may send data to organizations like these on behalf of the North Carolina Community Coalition.

 

When we're legally required to do so, we may also share your information with other organizations.

 

At North Carolina Community Coalition, we also do research.  For instance, we might use data in Empower to study different ways of reaching out to friends and family to see what's the most effective.  When we publish a study or do an analysis, that data will be aggregated or anonymized before being shared.
 

Security
The Empower Software uses industry-standard security practices such as encryption at rest, encryption in transit, automated security monitoring tools, and independent security testers.  However, no piece of technology is completely secure, so there is always some risk.
 

Direct Organizing
For our direct organizing programs,  we also use EveryAction / NGPVAN as described above.  We collect lists of personal information from EveryAction or other sources in order to do outreach to people who might be interested in our program and take note of their responses.  We meet with those people using tools like Zoom and track who attended these meetings.

 

In these organizing programs, North Carolina Community Coalition will ask you to take certain actions, such as talking to friends or family members about getting registered to vote or voting, doing other forms of outreach, taking actions yourself (e.g., showing up to an event), or providing information to us.  We will also ask you to provide information about how those conversations and actions went.  Taking these actions, having these conversations, and providing this information might be a requirement for participating in these programs and, in some cases, receiving payment.  We will primarily use this data for the sake of the program itself, but we may also use the data in other ways, including but not limited to doing research.  If a user acts in violation of provided instructions, engages in fraud, or otherwise acts contrary to organizational goals, North Carolina Community Coalition reserves the right to eject someone from participation in the program and ceasing payment.

 

We also subcontract with third parties who help us do organizing work (e.g., doing outreach and training) and administrative work (e.g., helping to process payments).  These other organizations will also have access to your data.
 

Other Ways We Use Your Data
In some cases, we may also modify your data.  For instance, if you enter the wrong email address and file a support request about not being able to log into your account, we may verify your identity and then edit the email address associated with your account.

 

In addition to providing technology, Empower also has in-house experts at community organizing.  Because of that, we work directly with organizations on their outreach programs, and in order to support organizations in that way, Empower staff may also see your data.
 

Questions
If you have any questions or requests around your data (e.g., a data deletion request), please e-mail us.North Carolina Community Coalition