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Privacy Policy

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Privacy Policy

Effective date: July 15, 2026

We at Water.org (hereinafter “we” or “us”) know that you care about how your personal information is treated, and your privacy is our priority. We aim to be as transparent as possible about the ways we use the personal information you provide us on www.water.org (hereinafter the “Website”) and otherwise through our work, on and offline, so we’ve created this Privacy Policy (the “Policy”), which focuses on how we collect, use, disclose, and process personal information about you.

1. Personal Information Collected

Personal information is any information relating to you that can be used to identify you, and we are the data controller for such processing under applicable United States law, the laws of the European Economic Area (EEA) and United Kingdom (UK), and other applicable law. When you use our Website or are involved in or beneficiaries of our initiatives, we may collect and use such information. Personal information that we may collect or process includes, but is not limited to, the following:

  • Contact and background information: We may process contact information received via contact forms, email subscriptions, donations, surveys, or other activities. Contact information may include name, title, address, phone number, email address, employment information, and other related information.
  • Financial information: In order to process donations, we may collect payment details (e.g., credit card number information, banking details, or other information relevant to your donation and payment), donation history and donation amounts, and other information needed to process and manage donations. Payment card information is generally processed by our third-party payment processors on our behalf.
  • Digital identifiers and information: To operate, improve, and secure our Website, as well as to facilitate marketing, we may use cookies, pixels, local storage objects, log files, and other mechanisms to automatically collect browsing, activity, device, and similar information within our Website. We may also engage third parties or service providers to do the same. Additional information about this processing can be found in our “Cookies and Other Tracking Mechanisms” section below.
  • Information received from vendors: To better support our mission, we may work with third parties to collect additional personal information from online and offline sources.
  • Borrower information: To track our initiatives and manage programs, we may receive information related to individuals impacted by Water.org initiatives. This information includes loan information, survey data, information received via our verification processes, project impact details, and information collected and processed to support our work. For additional information, please see the “Additional Information for Water.org Borrowers” below.
  • Other information: We may collect and process additional information received via surveys, communication with donors, vendor and partner assessments, and other individuals, as well as other sources.

We do not knowingly collect or process sensitive personal information except as permitted by applicable law.

2. Purposes for Processing Personal Information

We process your personal information as reasonably necessary and proportionate to provide and maintain the Website and our initiatives, to carry out the purposes described in this Policy, and as otherwise permitted by applicable law. These purposes generally include the following:

  • Facilitating and processing donations;
  • Operating and maintaining our Website and digital presence;
  • Communicating with and marketing to our donors or other individuals who have opted-in to such communication;
  • Conducting our business operations;
  • Conducting online marketing activities to spread awareness of our work;
  • Fulfilling contractual obligations and relationships;
  • Complying with legal requirements

When we request personal information in order to enter into a contract or engage related to our initiatives or information to you, your personal information is required, and if you do not provide such personal information, we will not be able to enter into a contract or provide services or information to you. When we request personal information from you as a donor, some of that information is required by law and we will not be able to process your donation without the required information.

3. Retention and Storage

We generally keep your personal information as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes described in this Policy. We typically retain personal information for a period of time corresponding to a statute of limitation, for example to maintain an accurate record of your dealings with us, such as pursuant to a contract so that we can raise or defend a legal claim. In some circumstances we may retain personal information for other periods of time, for instance where we are required or permitted to do so in accordance with legal requirements, or if required to do so by a legal process, legal authority, or other governmental entity having authority to make the request, for so long as required. We may also retain your personal information for a longer period in the event of a complaint, a judicial or similar request, or litigation.

4. Aggregated and De-Identified Information

We may use and disclose aggregate and other non-identifiable information for analytics, research, reporting, and operational improvement. Where we use, disclose, or otherwise process de‑identified data (data that is no longer reasonably linked or linkable to an identified or identifiable individual), we will maintain and use the information in de‑identified form and will not attempt to reidentify it, except as permitted by applicable law.

5. Security

Water.org is committed to protecting the safety and security of any personal information that we collect. We have implemented technical, administrative, and physical security measures to help protect against unauthorized access, use or disclosure of the personal information we collect or store. Please be aware that despite our efforts, no data security measures can guarantee security.

6. Disclosure of Personal Information

We disclose personal information to support the purposes described in this Policy and as reasonably necessary to operate our Website and initiatives. We may disclose the categories of personal information described in Section 1 (including contact and background information, financial information, digital identifiers and online activity information, information received from partners, beneficiary information, and other information) to the following categories of recipients for the purposes described in this Policy.

  • Vendors and service providers. We may disclose the personal information that we collect with our service providers, processors, and others who perform functions on our behalf or provide us services. These may include, for example, service providers that host or operate our website or other services, payment processors, analytics providers, information technology service providers, consultants, auditors, and legal counsel.
  • Our affiliates and subsidiaries. We may disclose the personal information that we collect with our affiliated organizations, which will use and share this personal information in accordance with this Policy.
  • Third-party platforms, providers, and networks. We may disclose personal information with the third-party platforms and vendors that we use to provide or make available certain features or portions of the website or other services, or as necessary to respond to your requests.
  • Others as permitted or required by applicable law. We may disclose personal information with third parties to the extent permitted or required by applicable law. This may include regulators, government entities, individuals and law enforcement; tax authorities; parties to dispute proceedings or litigation and their advisors; and courts and other dispute resolution bodies. This may for example be the case in connection with imminent or pending controls, investigations, legal proceedings or a statutory audit.
  • Security and protection of rights. We may disclose your personal information when we believe it is appropriate to do so to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal activities, suspected fraud, situations involving potential threats to the safety of any person, violations of applicable terms, other potential violations of our rights, or as evidence in litigation in which we are involved
  • Sale and Targeted Advertising. While we do not disclose personal information to third parties in exchange for monetary compensation, certain disclosures of personal information to analytics providers and advertising partners may be considered “selling” personal information or processing for “targeted advertising” under applicable U.S. state privacy laws. You may opt out of these disclosures as described in the “Your U.S. Rights” section below.

7. Cookies and Other Tracking Mechanisms

We use cookies, pixels, local storage objects, log files, and other mechanisms to automatically collect browsing, activity, device, and similar information within our Website. We may also engage third parties or service providers to do the same. We use this information to, for example, analyze and understand how users access, use, and interact with our Website, to identify and resolve bugs and errors in our Website, to assess secure, protect, optimize and improve the performance of our Website, as well as for marketing and analytics purposes, and to personalize content in our Website and services.

Cookies. Cookies are alphanumeric identifiers we transfer to your device’s hard drive through your web browser for record-keeping purposes. Some cookies allow us to make it easier for you to navigate our Website, while others are used to enable a faster log-in process, support the security and performance of the Website, or allow us to track activity and usage data within the Website.

Pixel Tags. Pixel tags (sometimes called web beacons or clear GIFs) are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies. While cookies are stored locally on your device, pixel tags are embedded invisibly within web pages and online content. We may use these, in connection with our Website to, among other things, track the activities of users, and help us manage content and compile usage statistics. We may also use these in our emails to let us know when they have been opened or forwarded, so we can track response rates and gauge the effectiveness of our communications.

Local Storage Objects. Local storage is a web storage mechanism that allows us to store data on a browser that persists even after the browser window is closed. Local storage may be used by our web servers to cache certain information in order to enable faster loading of pages and content when you return to our Website. You can clear data stored in local storage through your browser. Please consult your browser help menu for more information.

Third-Party Analytics and Tools. We use third-party tools, such as Google Analytics, which are operated by third-party companies. These third-party analytics companies may use cookies, pixels, and other similar tools to collect usage data about our Website in order to provide us with reports and metrics that help us evaluate usage of our Website and improve performance and user experiences. To learn more about Google’s privacy practices, please review the Google Privacy Policy at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/. You can also download the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on to prevent your data from being used by Google Analytics at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

Cross-Device Tracking. We and our third-party providers may use the information we collect about you within our Website and on other third-party sites and services to help us and these third parties to identify other devices that you use (e.g., a mobile phone, tablet, other computer, etc.).

Third-Party Advertising. We work with third parties, such as ad networks, analytics, marketing partners, and others (“third-party ad companies”) to manage our advertising on third-party sites. We and these third-party ad companies may use cookies, pixels tags, and other tools to collect browsing and activity information within our Website (as well as on third-party sites and services), as well as IP address, unique ID, cookie and advertising IDs, and other online identifiers. We and these third-party ad companies may use this information to provide you more relevant ads and content within our Website and on third-party websites, and to evaluate the success of such ads and content.

Custom Lists and Matching. We may share or make available certain customer list information (such as your name, email address and other contact information) with third parties (i) so that we can better target ads and content to you across third-party sites, platforms and services, and (ii) in some cases, these third parties may help us to enhance our customer lists with additional demographic or other information, so we can better target our advertising and marketing campaigns.

8. Information About Children

Our Website and initiatives are not designed for use by children under the age of 18. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 18. If you are under 18, do not use or provide any information on our Website, do not make any donations through our third-party vendors and don’t provide any information about yourself to us.

If we learn that we have collected or received personal information from a child under 18, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 18, please contact us as indicated in the Contact Us section below.

9. Changes to Our Policy

We may occasionally update this Policy. When we do, we will also revise the effective date on the top of this Policy. We encourage you to periodically review this Policy to stay informed about how we are protecting the personal information we collect.

10. Your U.S. Privacy Rights

This Section of the Policy provides additional information for certain U.S. residents under applicable state privacy laws.

Consumer Rights. Residents of certain U.S. states, including Colorado, Maryland, and New Jersey may have additional rights under applicable U.S. privacy laws, subject to certain limitations, which may include:

  • Access/Portability. To confirm whether we are processing their personal information and to obtain a copy of their personal information in a portable and, to the extent technically feasible, readily usable format.
  • Deletion. To delete their personal information provided to or obtained by us.
  • Correction. To correct inaccuracies in their personal information, taking into account the nature and purposes of the processing.
  • Opt-Out. To opt out of certain types of processing, including:
    • to opt out of the “sale” of their personal information (as defined under applicable law);
    • to opt out of the processing of personal information for targeted advertising; and
    • to opt out of any processing of personal information for purposes of making decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects.
  • Revoke Consent. If you have provided your consent for us to process your personal information, you may revoke such consent at any time.
  • Nondiscrimination. We will not discriminate against you for exercising any of your privacy rights under applicable U.S. privacy laws.

Residents of certain states may also contact us to request a list of third parties with whom we have disclosed their personal information. Please note, the categories of third parties that we disclose personal information to generally are listed in Section 6. Disclosures of Personal Information above.

You may submit a request to exercise most of your privacy rights under U.S. state privacy laws by emailing us at [email protected], by using our Contact Us form, or by contacting us as described in the “Contact Us” section below.

To opt out of the use of your online browsing information for purposes of “sales” or targeted advertising by us, you can adjust your cookie settings via our cookie preference manager by selecting “Cookie Preferences” in the footer of our website. See Section 7. Cookies and Other Tracking Mechanisms for more information. In addition, our Website recognizes opt out preference signals, including the global privacy control (“GPC”) signal, and other browser- or device-based opt-out preference signals where required by applicable law. If we detect such a signal, we will process it as a request to opt that particular browser and device out of “sale” and/or targeted advertising (i.e., via cookies and tracking tools) on our Website.

We will respond to your request as required under applicable U.S. privacy law(s). When you submit a request, we will take steps to verify your identity and your request by matching the information provided by you with the information we have in our records. In some cases, we may request additional information in order to verify your identity, or where necessary to process your request. If we are unable to verify your identity after a good faith attempt, we may deny the request and, if so, will explain the basis for the denial.

To the extent required under applicable U.S. privacy laws, if we deny your request, you may appeal our decision by following the instructions we provide in our response or by contacting us using the information provided in this Policy.

To the extent permitted under applicable U.S. privacy laws, you may also designate someone as an authorized agent to submit requests and act on your behalf. Authorized agents will be required to provide proof of their authorization, and we may also require the relevant consumer to directly verify the identity and authority of the authorized agent.

You may also unsubscribe from our communications by using the relevant unsubscribe link or submitting a request to us directly.

11. Additional Information for EEA/UK Residents

Your Rights. Applicable law gives you certain rights regarding your personal information that we hold, subject to any conditions or limitations set out in that law:

  • Access. You have the right to obtain information about our processing of your personal information and obtain access to and a copy of your personal information.
  • Rectification. You have the right to update, complete or correct inaccuracies in your personal information.
  • Erasure. You have the right to have your personal information deleted, under specific conditions set out in applicable law.
  • Portability. You have the right to obtain a machine-readable copy of your personal information or to have us transfer it to another controller of your choice, if our processing of your personal information is based on your consent, or performance of a contract.
  • Restriction. You have the right to restrict the processing of your personal information in specific circumstances, meaning that we will not further process your personal information except to store it.
  • Withdrawal of consent. You have the right to withdraw your consent to our processing of your personal information, at any time, but without affecting the lawfulness of processing up until withdrawal.
  • For persons in Italy: In case of death, the aforesaid rights relating to your personal information may be exercised by anyone who has a personal interest, or acts to protect you as your representative, or for family reasons worthy of protection pursuant to article 2-terdecies of the Legislative Decree no. 196/2003, as last amended (Privacy Code). You may expressly prohibit the exercise by your assignees of some of the rights above by written notice to be sent to us as indicated below, without prejudice to your right to withdraw or modify such expressed intention later using the same procedure.
  • For persons in France: You have the right to issue general or specific directives concerning the retention, erasure and communication of your personal information after your death.
  • Objection. You have the right to object, on grounds relating to your particular situation, to the processing of your personal information, where we rely on legitimate interests as the legal basis for processing your personal information. Where we use your personal information for direct marketing purposes, you have the right to object to our use of your personal information for those purposes (including profiling for those purposes) at any time.

To exercise any of your rights, please send an email to [email protected] or submit a request via our Contact Us form. You have the right to submit a complaint to a data protection authority, such as the authority of your habitual residence, your place of work, or the place of the alleged infringement of your rights. A list of all European Economic Area data protection authorities can be found here: https://edpb.europa.eu/about-edpb/board/members_en. The UK authority, the ICO, can be reached here: https://ico.org.uk/.

Personal Information Transfers. Water.org is headquartered in the United States, and has operations, affiliated companies, and service providers in the United States and throughout the world. We transfer personal information globally and outside the EEA and UK, including to the United States, which is not deemed by the European Commission or the UK government to provide an adequate level of personal information protection.

When transferring personal information across country borders we may use: Standard contractual clauses as approved by the European Commission or the ICO or other regulatory bodies; the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework and the UK Extension to the EU-U.S. Data Privacy Framework; existing adequacy decisions; or other acceptable transfer mechanisms as approved by the European Commission or the ICO, which may include the consent of the individual to whom the personal information pertains, as necessary to perform a contract with that individual or in the individual’s interest, or to carry out pre-contractual steps; or as otherwise permitted by applicable law. To obtain additional information regarding the mechanisms for transfers that we have in place for cross-border transfers of personal information, please contact us as described below.

12. Additional Information for Water.org Partners and Beneficiaries

For partners or beneficiaries of Water.org initiatives, you may have additional rights available to you based on your geography, including the rights described in Sections 10 and 11 as well as additional rights. These additional rights include the Right to Nomination under India’s Digital Personal Data Protection Act (“DPDPA”).

If you have obtained a loan from a financial institution as part of Water.org's WaterCredit Initiative and have questions or concerns regarding your personal information, please contact us using the contact information in the “Contact Us” section.

13. Contact Us

Our address is: 

Water.org
117 West 20th Street, Suite 203
Kansas City, MO 64108-1909 USA

For general inquiries, please contact [email protected]
For donor-related matters, please contact [email protected]
For privacy-related matters and privacy requests, please contact our DPO:
Name: Robyn Miller
Email: [email protected]