Privacy Policy

Who we are

Wandering With Pride is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation incorporated in Washington, DC (EIN: 99-3467744). Our principal address is 1201 Connecticut Ave NW, Washington, DC 20036. We fund LGBTQ+ study-abroad scholarships, operate the Pride Ambassador creator program, and build community for LGBTQ+ travelers.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, and protect information you provide to us through this website and our programs. By submitting any form on this site, you agree to this policy.

Information we collect

Information you give us directly

When you submit a form on this site, we collect the information you enter. Depending on the form, this may include:

• Basic contact information: Name, email address, phone number, mailing address, city, state, ZIP code
• Identity information: How you self-identify as LGBTQ+ (collected only for scholarship and ambassador applications — you provide only what you choose to share)
• Financial information: Annual household income, household size (collected only for scholarship applications to evaluate financial need)
• Academic information: Current institution, GPA, enrollment status, expected graduation year (collected only for scholarship applications)
• Date of birth: Collected for scholarship applications to verify eligibility
• Citizenship status: Collected for scholarship applications (we serve U.S. citizens and eligible non-citizens including DACA recipients)
• Professional information: Employer, job title, LinkedIn profile, professional background (collected for board, advisor, and ambassador applications)
• Content and writing: Personal statements, essays, and other written responses submitted as part of an application
• Payment information: We do not collect or store payment card numbers. All payment processing is handled by Stripe (see Third-Party Services below)

Information collected automatically

When you visit our website, our infrastructure provider (Cloudflare) may automatically collect certain technical information including your IP address, browser type, pages visited, and time of visit. This is standard practice for website security and performance monitoring. We do not use this information to identify individuals.

How we use your information

We use the information you provide only for the purposes for which it was collected:

• Scholarship administration: Reviewing applications, communicating with applicants, selecting award recipients, disbursing funds, and maintaining records for IRS reporting
• Ambassador program: Reviewing applications, onboarding approved ambassadors, administering the revenue-sharing model, and communicating program updates
• Board and advisor recruitment: Reviewing applications and communicating with candidates
• Volunteer and reviewer coordination: Matching volunteers with opportunities and scheduling
• Organizational communications: Sending the newsletters, updates, and event announcements you sign up to receive
• Fundraising and donor acknowledgment: Processing donations, issuing tax acknowledgment letters, and communicating with donors
• Program inquiries: Responding to sponsorship, partnership, and grant-funder inquiries

How we protect sensitive information

We collect certain categories of information that require heightened protection:

• LGBTQ+ identity: Any information about your LGBTQ+ identity is used solely to determine eligibility for our programs. It is never shared with employers, family members, government agencies, or any third party not directly involved in administering our programs. It is never sold.
• Financial information: Household income and financial need information is used only for scholarship eligibility review. It is accessible only to staff and authorized reviewers directly involved in the selection process.
• Immigration status: Citizenship and DACA status information is used only to confirm eligibility. It is never shared with immigration authorities or any government agency.

We treat all personal information with care. We limit access to data on a need-to-know basis. We do not sell, rent, or trade personal information to any third party for commercial or marketing purposes.

Third-party services

We use a small number of trusted third-party services to operate this website and our programs:

• Stripe: All payment processing (donations, membership fees) is handled by Stripe, Inc. When you make a payment, you are submitting payment information directly to Stripe under their privacy policy. We receive confirmation of the transaction but never see or store full card numbers. Stripe's privacy policy is available at stripe.com/privacy.
• Cloudflare: Our website is served and protected by Cloudflare, Inc. Cloudflare may process technical data (IP addresses, request logs) as part of providing CDN and security services. Cloudflare's privacy policy is available at cloudflare.com/privacypolicy.
• CiviCRM (Oracle Cloud): We store contact and program data in CiviCRM, hosted on Oracle Cloud infrastructure. This is our primary constituent relationship management system. Data stored there is subject to our internal access controls and retention policies.

We do not use advertising networks, social media tracking pixels, or analytics services that share your data with third parties.

Data retention

We retain personal information for as long as it is needed to fulfill the purpose for which it was collected, or as required by law:

• Active relationships: While you are an active subscriber, donor, ambassador, or program participant, we retain your information to administer our relationship with you.
• Scholarship records: IRS regulations require nonprofit organizations to maintain records related to grants and scholarships. We retain scholarship application records (including awarded and non-awarded applications) for a minimum of seven years.
• Inactive contacts: If you have had no interaction with our organization for three or more years, we may anonymize or delete your personal information at our discretion.
• Deletion requests: You may request deletion of your information at any time (see Your Rights below). We will honor deletion requests except where retention is required by law.

Your rights

You have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access: You may request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction: You may request that we correct inaccurate information.
• Deletion: You may request that we delete your personal information, subject to legal retention requirements.
• Opt-out of communications: You may unsubscribe from email communications at any time using the unsubscribe link in any email, or by contacting us directly.
• Data portability: You may request a copy of your data in a machine-readable format.

To exercise any of these rights, email us at hello@wanderingwithpride.org with the subject line "Privacy Request." We will respond within 30 days.

Age restriction

This website and our programs are intended for individuals 18 years of age or older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe we have inadvertently collected information from a minor, please contact us immediately at hello@wanderingwithpride.org and we will delete it.

Cookies

This website does not use first-party tracking cookies. Cloudflare may set security cookies (such as __cf_bm) that are necessary for DDoS protection and bot mitigation. These are strictly functional and are not used for advertising or behavioral tracking.

Links to other websites

This website contains links to third-party websites (social media, program partners, payment processors). We are not responsible for the privacy practices of those sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing personal information.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will update the "Last updated" date at the top of this page. If changes are material, we will notify active subscribers by email. Continued use of our website after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact us

Questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices?

Wandering With Pride
1201 Connecticut Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
hello@wanderingwithpride.org