Approved by the Board of April 2006

Purpose

The Point Defiance Zoological Society (hereafter referred to as “Society”) is committed to the highest standards of integrity in all fundraising and membership efforts. We value our donors, members, prospects and affiliated agencies and organizations (hereafter collectively referred to as our “supporters”) and take their privacy seriously.

This policy articulates our firm commitment to the ethical collection, retention and use of all information we collect about our supporters. Such information includes:

How We Use Information

The Society uses information about our supporters to effectively process their contributions and to provide them with current information regarding Society activities and upcoming events. Information is kept on file for IRS purposes and also is used by the Society to analyze overall giving patterns and make accurate budget projections.

Our Commitment to Donor Privacy

All Society employees, contractors and authorized representatives will abide by the following principles:

We will not sell, rent or trade our supporters’ personal or contact information with anyone else; nor will we send mailings on behalf of other organizations. Supporter information will be used only to further the Society’s mission and purposes.

Any exceptions to this policy must be approved in writing by the Zoo Society executive committee. If an exception is made, data will be transferred to an independent third party such as a mail house and they will sign a confidentiality agreement that the information will be not be shared and this is a one time only use. Except for extraordinary circumstances the Executive Committee will not approve any request unless it comes from another Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium Department or Metro Parks Tacoma. All Executive Committee approved requests must be processed through the Information Technology Dept at the direction of the Executive Director.

Our Commitment to the Donor Bill of Rights

The Point Defiance Zoological Society subscribes to the ethical standards set forth in the “Donor Bill of Rights,” as recommended by the Association of Fundraising Professionals.

The Donor Bill of Rights

Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To ensure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

  1. To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.
  2. To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
  3. To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.
  4. To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
  5. To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.
  6. To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
  7. To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
  8. To be informed whether those seeking donations are employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
  9. To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.
  10. To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.