Privacy Policies

Effective February 27, 2024

This document describes Support the Helmet’s use of information regarding the firefighters and families we serve, financial supporters of our mission and general visitors to our website.

General User Privacy Policy

This privacy policy applies to general users of the Support the Helmet website and describes how Support the Helmet protects the information you provide when you use this website.

Although elements of this policy may apply to the firefighters and families we serve and our donors who visit our website, we do collect additional data from these groups of people. Please see those specific privacy policies below.

Support the Helmet is committed to ensuring that your privacy is protected. It is our goal that you fully understand how we collect information, how we use that information, and the steps we take to protect that information. We will update this policy from time to time, so make sure to check this page periodically.

If you have any questions about this policy, please email us at manny@supporthelmet.org.

What type of information does Support the Helmet collect?

There are two basic types of information that Support The Helmet might collect: personal and non-personal information.

Personal Information: As you browse the Support the Helmet website, you may opt to provide us with personal information such as your name, address, phone number, or email address. We may also collect information you communicate with us, including when you contact us through our various online, phone, chat, or application channels for information or assistance.

Non-Personal Information: Support the Helmet may collect non-personal information from you such as an internet protocol address (typically referred to as an “IP address,” and defined below) and browsing variables (like your web browser, referral links, or how much time you spent at our website). Although this information may be used to identify you, Support the Helmet typically uses this information to improve your experience and the experience of other visitors to our website. We may use cookies to collect this type of information.

What’s a cookie? A cookie is a small data file that individual websites store on your computer’s hard drive – if your web browser permits. The website can later retrieve that cookie to let us know you’ve been to our site before, among other things. Cookies typically make your use of the site easier, make the site run more smoothly, and help us to maintain a secure site. Many websites use cookies. You are free to decline our cookies if your browser permits, but some parts of our site may not work properly if you do that.

What’s an IP address? An IP address is a unique number, assigned to every computer and other device on the Internet. Your computer, your phone, your e-reader, and other electronic devices, are all assigned IP addresses.

When does Support the Helmet collect this information?

We collect non-personal information from you as you use any of the pages on our website. We collect personal information from you only when you specifically provide it to us or connect with us through one of our various online, phone, chat, or application channels for information or assistance.

How does Support the Helmet use the information we collect?

Support the Helmet uses information from different site visitors in different ways. We use information provided to us through the donation process in accordance with the Donor Privacy Policy; we use information provided to us by the firefighters and their families we serve in accordance with the General Privacy Policy.

We use personal information provided by general users of our website who are not firefighters or their families and are not engaging in the donation process.

We may also use your personal and non-personal information in the following ways:

Entering your information into our databases for internal recordkeeping, reporting, and data analysis.
Communicating with you to obtain your input, provide information about our programs and events, or request contributions (provided you have opted to receive such communications).
Improving our programs and services.
Customizing our website according to your interests.
Sharing information with third parties (as listed below) who help us manage our website and databases, and who assist us with our marketing efforts.
Sharing information with third parties as required by law, or as part of a legal process.

Third Parties: Support the Helmet uses third parties such as Google, Microsoft/Bing, Meta, and LinkedIn to monitor certain pages of our website for the purpose of reporting web traffic, statistics, advertisement “click-throughs,” and other activities on our website. No personally identifiable data is transferred to these third parties by us. Where authorized by us, these third parties may use cookies and/or other monitoring technologies to compile anonymous statistics about our website visitors.

Non-personal Information: We also reserve the right to use non-personal information, such as an IP address, to identify a user when we believe it is necessary to protect the compelling interests of our websites, the firefighters we serve, their families, our donors, our employees, or others, or to comply with laws, court orders, or law enforcement requests.

Does Support the Helmet share my information?

We may share your personal and non-personal information as discussed herein. We do not sell or rent the personal information of our general website users for profit. Additionally, we do not share mobile phone numbers unless you specifically authorize us to do so (or unless we are required to do so by applicable law or regulation).

Does Support the Helmet track my online activity while I’m not on the Support the Helmet site?

Cookies and other technology may be used to track non-personal information about your web-browsing habits. For example, if a significant portion of our visitors all browse to the same website immediately after visiting us, we may use this information to improve your experience at our site.

Support the Helmet respects web browser “do not track” signals and other mechanisms that provide you the ability to opt out of having your personal information or online activities collected. But remember, unless you have selected the “do not track” function in your web browser, third parties (not just Support the Helmet) may collect personal information about your online activities over time and across different websites.

How does Support the Helmet secure my personal information?

We are committed to ensuring that your personal information is secure. Your trust in us is important, so we have put in place physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect. Records containing personal information are stored at secure facilities; our websites use SSL (a tool used to verify the legitimacy of a website); and our employees are provided with training on how to treat your data securely.

Will Support the Helmet contact me?

If you provide us with your contact information, we may provide you with information about how you can help us advance our mission. However, if you would not like to receive these messages, you have the right to opt out of having your personal information used for certain purposes when we ask for your contact information. Information on how to opt out of having your personal information used for certain purposes is stated below.

Links to other websites and third-party services

Sometimes, we’ll provide you with a link to another website or service. We typically do this to provide you additional information about one of our sponsors or others who support the mission of Support the Helmet.

Support the Helmet may also include other electronic services on our website. For example, this could include a tool that allows you to contact your local politicians, or to create a custom message to send to firefighters. These services are typically provided by third parties and may require you to agree to that service provider’s own privacy statement and terms of use. This policy – the one you’re reading right now – does not cover third-party services or how those third parties may use the information you provide them. We encourage you to review those privacy policies and terms of use.

Do you collect information about minors?

We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 18. If you are a parent or guardian and you are aware that your child has provided us with personal data, please contact us. If we become aware that we have collected personal data from anyone under the age of 18 without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers.

If we need to rely on consent as a legal basis for processing your information and your country requires consent from a parent, we may require your parent’s consent before we collect and use that information.

Your Privacy Rights

Under some U.S. state laws, residents may have a right to the following:

Right of Portability: You may request that we disclose the categories and/or specific pieces of personal information that we collect, use, disclose, and may rent, and, in some circumstances, have that data provided to you so that you can provide or “port” that data to another provider.
Right to Opt Out: You have the right to opt out of having your personal information collected by Support the Helmet.
Right to Correction: You have the right to request that we correct any personal information that we have collected from you.
Right to Deletion: You have the right to ask Support the Helmet to delete any personal information from you.

In order to exercise these rights, please see below.

How long does Support the Helmet store my information?

The period during which Support the Helmet stores your personal information varies, depending on the purpose for the processing of the information, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, regulatory, tax, accounting, or reporting requirements. In all other cases, we store your personal information until you request that your information be partially or completely deleted, as stated below.

How do I opt out of receiving messages from Support the Helmet, or request that my personal information be corrected or deleted from Support the Helmet?

Opt out:

You can stop receiving messages by following the instructions included in the message, or by calling our Donor Care team at (615) 499-9045.

Corrections/ updates:

You can request corrections to your personal information by calling our Donor Care team at (615) 499-9045, or by sending a detailed email to manny@supporthelmet.org.

Deletion:

You can request that personal information be deleted from Support the Helmet by calling our Donor Care team at (615) 499-9045, or by sending a detailed email to manny@supporthelmet.org.

Please note that we are required to verify your identity to process your request, and we reserve the right to confirm your state residency. We may require you to provide additional information to verify your identity. We reserve the right to deny your request if we cannot verify your identity. You may designate an authorized agent to submit your verified request by providing written permission and verifying your identity, or through proof of power of attorney.

We will provide a response to your request within 45 calendar days of receiving your request or provide you with a reason for any potential need for an extension period in writing.

What if I have questions about this policy?

Please email us at manny@supporthelmet.org with any questions about this policy. You can also mail us a letter at Support the Helmet, Attention: Legal, 3003 Laurel Oak Lane, Winter Haven, Florida 33884.

Donor Policy

This privacy policy applies to Support the Helmet supporters and describes how we use information you provide when you make a donation to us or sign up to receive emails (the “Donation Process”). When you provide us with your information, rest assured that Support the Helmet uses industry-standard security measures, including encryption, firewalls, and physical security to protect your data.

Please remember that this policy applies to information provided by supporters during the Donation Process. Users of the website should review the General User Privacy Policy. (this policy can be found above.) Other information may be gathered in accordance with our General User Privacy Policy.

It is our goal that you fully understand how we collect information, how we use that information, and the steps we take to protect that information. We will update this policy from time to time, so make sure to check this page periodically. If you have any questions about this policy, please email us at manny@supporthelmet.org.

What type of information does Support the Helmet collect?

During the Donation Process, Support the Helmet will likely ask for information that could be used to identify you. This includes your contact information, such as your name, mailing address, phone number, and email address. If you donate via credit or debit card, we will also ask for your card number, expiration date, and other information necessary to process the transaction. If you donate via check, we may ask for limited bank information.

When does Support the Helmet collect this information?

We collect this information from you during the Donation Process. If you donate online, your donation will not be processed without certain required information. We may also collect information as we communicate with you after your donation is made. Third parties may also share your information with Support the Helmet, in accordance with applicable laws, rules, and standards. Rest assured that, no matter how we access your information, we’ll use it only in accordance with this policy.

How does Support the Helmet use the information we collect?

We generally use your information to process donations, send you periodic messages, and share with other parties for the purpose of furthering our mission, as required by law, or as part of a legal process. Support the Helmet uses donor information in multiple ways, including:

Entering your information into our databases for internal recordkeeping, reporting, and data analysis.
Communicating with you to obtain your input, provide you with information, or request contributions (provided you have not opted out of receiving such communications).
Providing you with necessary tax information regarding your donation.
Customizing our website according to your interests.
Sharing information with third parties who provide goods and services to Support the Helmet (e.g., parties who process donations or help us manage our website and databases.
Sharing information with third parties as required by law, or as part of a legal process.

Does Support the Helmet share my information?

Support the Helmet may share your personal information as discussed herein. When we share information with outside organizations, we do so subject to appropriate confidentiality rules or other state regulations designed to protect your information from unintentional disclosure.

Will you contact me if I give Support the Helmet my information?

Yes. Support the Helmet will send you messages about how we are serving injured firefighters and their families, and how you can help. You can opt out of receiving these messages as discussed below in the section titled “Can I opt out of receiving messages and sharing of my information?”

Can I opt out of receiving messages and sharing of my information?

Yes. We provide you with the opportunity to opt out of having your personal information used for certain purposes when we ask for this information.

If you would like to stop receiving communications from Support the Helmet, you may opt out of receiving such messages by following the instructions included in the message itself. This may include following the link contained in an email address (for example, an “unsubscribe” link at the bottom of the email), or texting “STOP” after receiving an automated text message from us. Alternatively, you can call our Donor Care team at (615) 499-9045.

If you would like to opt out of all communications, or if you would like to opt out of sharing personal information with other organizations, please contact us immediately.

How does Support the Helmet secure my personal information?

Support the Helmet strives to ensure the security of your personal information. Your trust in us is important, so we have put in place physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect. Records containing personal information are stored at secure facilities; our websites use SSL (a tool used to verify the legitimacy of a website); and we train our employees about how to treat your data securely.

If you make a donation over the phone or on our website, Support the Helmet utilizes industry-standard safeguards to protect your information, including encryption, network firewalls, and physical security.

How long does Support the Helmet store my information?

How do I update or delete my information?

You can request corrections to your personal information, or request that your information be deleted from our systems by contacting our Donor Care team at (615) 499=9045, or sending a detailed email to manny@supporthelmet.org.

Please note that we are required to verify your identity to process your request, and we reserve the right to confirm your state residency. We may require you to provide additional information in order to verify your identity. We reserve the right to deny your request if we cannot verify your identity. You may designate an authorized agent to submit your verified request by providing written permission and verifying your identity, or through proof of power of attorney.

We will provide a response to your request within 45 calendar days of receiving your request or provide you with a reason for any potential need for an extension period in writing.

Do you collect information about minors?

What if I have questions about this FAQ?

Please email us at manny@supporthelmet.org with any questions about this policy. You can also mail us a letter at Support The Helmet, Attention: Legal, 3003 Laurel Oak Lane, Winter Haven, Florida 33884.