Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy

TCS Foundation Website Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

Last modified: 3/28/2011

Acceptance of the Website Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

TCS Foundation respects your privacy and is committed to protecting it through our compliance with this policy. This Website Privacy Policy and these Terms of Use (hereinafter referred to collectively as "Privacy Policy"), and any other documents referred to in it, apply to your use of http://www.tcsfound.org, ("Website"), including any content, functionality and services offered on or through our website.

This policy does not apply to information we collect through any other means, or to information collected on any other Company, affiliate, or third-party site that may link to or be accessible from the Website.

Please read the following carefully to understand our policies and practices regarding your personal information and how we will treat it. By using or accessing our Website, you agree to our Website Privacy Policy and these Terms of Use. This policy may change from time to time and your continued use of the Website is deemed to be acceptance of such changes, so please check the policy periodically for updates. If you do not want to agree to this Privacy Policy, you must exit the Website.

Information We Collect About You

We collect several types of information from and about users of our Website, including information you provide to us, and information we collect as you navigate through the site, including usage details, IP addresses, and cookies, and web beacons.

Information You Provide to Us

We may collect and use the following information that you provide to us:

-        Information that you provide by filling in forms on our Website. This includes information provided at the time of making gifts. We may also ask you for information when you report a problem with our Website.

-        Records and copies of your correspondence (including e-mail addresses), if you contact us.

-        Your responses to surveys that we might ask you to complete for research purposes, although you do not have to respond to them.

-        Details of charitable contributions you carry out through our Website and of the fulfilment of your gifts. You may be required to provide financial information when making a gift(s) through our Website.

Usage Details, IP Addresses, Cookies and Web Beacons

  • Usage Details and IP Addresses. As you navigate through the Website, we may also collect details of your visits to our Website, including, but not limited to, traffic data, location data, logs and other communication data and the resources that you access, as well as information about your computer and internet connection, including your IP address, operating system and browser type, for system administration and to report aggregate information to our advertisers. This is statistical data about our users' equipment, browsing actions and patterns, and does not identify any individual.
  • Cookies. For the same reason, we may obtain information about your general internet usage by using cookies. A cookie is a small file stored on the hard drive of your computer. Use of cookies help us to improve our Website and to deliver a better and more personalized service by enabling us to: estimate our audience size and usage patterns; store information about your preferences, allowing us to customize our Website according to your individual interests; speed up your searches; and recognize you when you return to our Website. You may refuse to accept cookies by activating the appropriate setting on your browser. However, if you select this setting you may be unable to access certain parts of our Website. Unless you have adjusted your browser setting so that it will refuse cookies, our system will issue cookies when you direct your browser to our Website.
  • Web Beacons. Pages of the Website may contain electronic images known as web beacons (also referred to as single-pixel gifs) that permit TCS Foundation to count users who have visited those pages and for other related website statistics (for example, recording the popularity of certain website content and verifying system and server integrity). Web beacons are not used to access your personal information on the Website and are only used to compile aggregated statistics concerning use of the Website. Web beacons used by us on the Website collect only LIST INFORMATION COLLECTED BY WEB BEACONS.

We do not collect personally identifiable information automatically, but we may tie this information to your previously submitted personally identifiable information.

Uses Made of the Information

We use information that we collect about you or that you provide to us, including any personal information, in the following ways:

-        To present our Website and its contents in a suitable and effective manner for you and for your computer.

-        To provide you with information or services that you request from us.

-        To carry out our obligations and enforce our rights arising from any contracts entered into between you and us.

-        To notify you about changes to our service.

-        To allow you to participate in interactive features of our service, when you choose to do so.

We may also use your information, or permit selected third parties to use your information, to contact you about opportunities that may be of interest to you where you have consented to be contacted for such purposes.

We do not disclose your personally identifiable information to our advertisers, but we may provide them with aggregated information about our users within the scope of services agreed upon by TCS Foundation and the advertiser(s) (for example, we may report to them that 500 men aged under 30 clicked on their advertisement on a given day). Even though we only disclose aggregate information that is not personally-identifiable to advertisers without your consent, when you click on or otherwise interact with an advertisement there is a possibility that the advertiser may assume that you meet the target criteria they selected.

You may request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties in accordance with the applicable laws of your state of residence. To make such a request, please send an e-mail to skeene@tcsfound.org or write us at: 222 North LaSalle Street, Suite 1450, Chicago, IL 60601.

Disclosure of Your Information

We may disclose personal information that you provide via this Website to the following third parties:

-        Our subsidiaries and affiliates;

-        Contractors and service providers we use to support our business; and

-        In the event of merger, acquisition, or any form of sale of some or all of TCS Foundation's assets, in which case personal information held by TCS Foundation about its customers will be among the assets transferred to the buyer.

We may also disclose your personal information to third parties to:

-        Comply with any court order or other legal obligation;

-        Enforce or apply this policy and any modifications made thereto, and other agreements; and

-        Protect the rights, property, or safety of TCS Foundation, our customers, or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.

Choices About How We Use and Disclose Your Information

We strive to provide you with choices regarding the personal information you provide to us. If you do not wish us to collect cookies, you may set your browser to refuse cookies, or to alert you when cookies are being sent. If you do so, please note that some parts of this site may then be inaccessible or not function properly.

You should review this Privacy Policy carefully, because if you do not agree with our practices, your ultimate choice is not to use the Website. Remember, by using any part of the Website, you accept and agree to our privacy practices. If we update this Privacy Policy, your continued use of the Website (following the posting of the revised privacy policy) means that you accept and agree to the terms of the revised privacy policy.

Data Security

We have implemented measures designed to secure your personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration and disclosure. All information you provide to us is stored on our secure servers behind firewalls. All giving transactions and related information will be encrypted.

The safety and security of your information also depends on you. Where we have given you (or where you have chosen) a password for access to certain parts of our Website, you are responsible for keeping this password confidential. We ask you not to share your password with anyone. We urge you to be careful about giving out information in public areas of the Website like message boards. The information you share in public areas may be viewed by any user of the Website.

Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to our Website. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk.

Intellectual Property

The entire contents of the Website (including all information, software, text, displays, images, video and audio) and the design, selection and arrangement thereof, are owned by TCS Foundation or its licensors and are protected by United States and international laws regarding copyrights, trademarks, trade secrets and other intellectual property or proprietary rights.

You are permitted to use the Website for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not copy, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display or perform, republish, download or store, or transmit any of the material on our site without the prior written consent of TCS Foundation, except to: store copies of such materials temporarily in RAM; store files that are automatically cached by your Web browser for display enhancement purposes; or print a reasonable number of pages of the Website for a permitted use.

  • Copyright. TCS Foundation retains all right, title and interest on behalf of itself and, where applicable, its third party suppliers and/or business partners to the entire contents of the Website. You acknowledge and agree that ownership of Website's contents resides in TCS Foundation, and agree not to challenge, directly or indirectly, TCS Foundation's ownership (or that of its suppliers and/or business partners) in and to such contents. You agree to indemnify and hold TCS Foundation harmless from any unauthorized use of the Website's contents by you or caused by you. The entire contents of the Website are protected by copyright and/or other laws in both the United States and elsewhere.
  • Trademarks. You acknowledge and agree that any name, logo, trademark, or servicemark contained on this Website is owned or licensed by TCS Foundation or our suppliers and/or business partners and may not be used by you without prior written approval. Nothing contained on this Website should be construed as granting, by implication, estoppel, or otherwise, any license or right to use any trademark displayed on this Website without the written permission of TCS Foundation or such third party that may own the Trademark displayed on this Website. Your use of any of these materials is prohibited unless specifically provided for on this Website. Any unauthorized use of these materials may subject you to penalties or damages, including but not limited to those related to violation of trademarks, copyrights, privacy, and publicity rights.

Disclaimer of Warranties

You understand that we cannot and do not guarantee or warrant that files available for downloading from the internet or the Website will be free of viruses or other destructive code. You are responsible for implementing sufficient procedures and checkpoints to satisfy your particular requirements for anti-virus protection and accuracy of data input and output, and for maintaining a means external to our site for any reconstruction of any lost data. WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A DISTRIBUTED DENIAL-OF-SERVICE ATTACK, VIRUSES OR OTHER TECHNOLOGICALLY HARMFUL MATERIAL THAT MAY INFECT YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, DATA OR OTHER PROPRIETARY MATERIAL DUE TO YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR TO YOUR DOWNLOADING OF ANY MATERIAL POSTED ON IT, OR ON ANY WEBSITE LINKED TO IT.

YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. NEITHER THE COMPANY NOR ANY PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPANY MAKES ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE COMPLETENESS, SECURITY, RELIABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY OR AVAILABILITY OF THE WEBSITE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, NEITHER THE COMPANY NOR ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPANY REPRESENTS OR WARRANTS THAT THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL BE ACCURATE, RELIABLE, ERROR-FREE OR UNINTERRUPTED, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, THAT OUR SITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS OR THAT THE WEBSITE OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL OTHERWISE MEET YOUR NEEDS OR EXPECTATIONS.

THE COMPANY HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT AND FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY WARRANTIES WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

Limitation on Liability

IN NO EVENT WILL THE COLLECTIVE LIABILITY OF TCS FOUNDATION, ITS AFFILIATES AND ITS LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE WEBSITE, ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO IT, ANY CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES, INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, PAIN AND SUFFERING, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, AND WHETHER CAUSED BY TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF CONTRACT OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF FORESEEABLE.

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY LIABILITY WHICH CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify and hold harmless TCS Foundation, its affiliates and licensors and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors and suppliers from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses or fees (including reasonable attorneys' fees) resulting from your violation of this Privacy Policy or your use of the Website, including, without limitation, any use of the Website's content, services and products other than as expressly authorized in this Privacy Policy or your use of any information obtained from the Website.

Third Party Sites

If the Website contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties, these links are provided for your convenience only. This includes links from advertisers, including banner advertisements. We have no control over the contents of those sites or resources, and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them. If you decide to access any of the third party websites linked to this Website, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites.

Prohibited Uses

Except as permitted under this Privacy Policy or where a prohibition is contrary to applicable law, copying, storing, displaying, reproducing, distributing, marketing, selling, licensing, sublicensing, publishing or creating derivative works of any contents contained on this Website is expressly prohibited without the prior written permission from TCS Foundation or the copyright holder identified in the individual contents copyright notice. You agree that the Website's contents may not be reverse engineered, disassembled, decompiled, or retransmitted in any way through any medium or otherwise translated into any language or computer language. You will not use the Website's contents, or the Website, in any manner that violates the law or the rights of any other person. You agree that you will not use any robot, spider, or other such programmatic or automatic device, including but not limited to automated dial-in or inquiry devices, to obtain information from this Website or otherwise monitor or copy its contents. You are expressly prohibited from framing or linking or otherwise using or displaying the Website in such a manner so that it appears to be part of your own or someone else's website. You shall not deep link to any page on the Website or otherwise link in a manner that bypasses the Website home page. You agree not to propose ideas, concepts, methods or techniques for new or proposed services or products through the Website. By doing so, you hereby grant to TCS Foundation a perpetual, worldwide, irrevocable, unrestricted, non-exclusive, royalty free license to use the content of such communication in any manner whatsoever.

Termination

TCS Foundation has the right to terminate your access to all or part of the Website for any or no reason, including without limitation, any violation of this Privacy Policy.

Miscellaneous

  • Dispute Resolution. This Privacy Policy and any dispute or claim arising out of, or related thereto, shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of Illinois without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule (whether of the State of Illinois or any other jurisdiction). In the event of litigation, the parties agree to submit irrevocably to the state and federal courts located in Cook County, Illinois and to raise no objections to the venue of such courts. You agree to waive any and all objections to the exercise of jurisdiction over you by such courts and to venue in such courts.
  • Severability. If any provision of this Privacy Policy is held by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal or unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be eliminated or limited to the minimum extent such that the remaining provisions of the Terms of Use will continue in full force and effect.
  • Waiver. No waiver of this Privacy Policy by TCS Foundation shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or any other term or condition, and any failure of TCS Foundation to assert a right or provision under this Privacy Policy shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.
  • Assignment. TCS Foundation may assign its rights and duties under this Privacy Policy to any party at any time without notice to you. Your rights and duties under this Privacy Policy are not assignable by you without consent of TCS Foundation.
  • Entire Agreement. The Terms of Use and our Website Privacy Policy constitute the sole and entire agreement between you and TCS Foundation with respect to the Website and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations and warranties, both written and oral, with respect to the Website.

Changes to Our Privacy Policy and Terms of Use

It is our policy to post any changes we make to our Privacy Policy on this page. If we make material changes to this Privacy Policy, we will notify you through a notice on our home page. The date the Privacy Policy was last revised is identified at the top of the page.

Contact Information

To ask questions or comment about this Privacy Policy and our privacy practices, contact us at skeene@tcsfound.org.