The Stories of Us - Privacy Policy

Updated 29 May, 2026

1. Introduction

The Stories of Us, together with its affiliated entities, (“we,” “us,” and “our”) strongly believes in protecting the integrity and privacy of the personal information we collect, and the protection of your privacy is very important to us. This Privacy Policy (the “Policy”) has been designed to answer your questions about your privacy rights while you engage with our website, any additional sites that we control, and mobile applications (each, a “Site,” and collectively, “Sites”), as well as when you participate in our programs and events, and receive any of our other services (collectively, “Services”). If you need more information, please refer to the Contact section of this Policy below.

2. Purpose

This Policy applies when you interact with us through our Sites and Services, and also applies anywhere it is linked. This Policy describes how The Stories of Us collects, uses, shares, and otherwise processes information, as defined in the section below, and the choices available to you regarding: (1) how we collect, use, and access your information; and (2) how to confirm your information is updated, corrected, and/or deleted.

Additional terms and information about our information handling practices may be provided in services descriptions, supplement statements, or contract terms, or notices provided prior to or at the time of information collection.

Our Sites may contain links to other websites, applications and services maintained by third parties. The information practices of such other services, or of social media networks that host our branded social media pages, are outside the scope of this Policy and are governed by third parties’ privacy statements, which we encourage you to review to better understand those third parties’ privacy practices. We have no control over such third parties’ privacy statements or practices.

3. Information We Collect

We may collect a variety of information about you as you use our Sites and Services and interact with us. A summary of what we collect and how we use the information associated with our Sites and Services is set forth below.

Information Collected on our Sites. We use common information-gathering tools, such as log files, embedded web links, web beacons, and cookies, to automatically collect certain standard information that your browser sends back to our Site(s). Examples include:

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• Browser type and version

• Address of the website from which you arrived at our Site

• Your Internet Protocol (IP) Address

• Clickstream behavior, meaning the pages you view and the links you click.

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These tools help make your visit to our Sites easier, more efficient, and more valuable by providing you with a customized experience and recognizing you when you return.
 

Cookies. Our Sites use cookies and similar technologies for various purposes including to distinguish you from other users of our Sites. Cookies are small amounts of data that are stored on your computer or device when you visit a Site. Your computer reaches us via a particular IP (Internet Protocol) address and indicates where you are connecting from and what service provider you are using; this IP address is considered information.

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More general information about cookies and how they work is available at www.allaboutcookies.org. The Stories of Us is not responsible for third parties’ cookies.

The cookies used on our Sites have been categorized based on function. Here are the main types of cookies we use, and why we use them:

Essential Cookies. These cookies are necessary in order to enable you to move around our Sites and use their features, such as accessing secure areas of our Sites. Without these cookie services, you may not have access to services you have asked for.

Functionality Cookies. These cookies allow our Sites to remember choices you make (such as your username, language, or the region you’re in) and provide enhanced, personalized features). These cookies can also be used to remember changes you have made to customizable parts of our Sites. The information these cookies collect may be anonymized and they cannot track your browsing activity on other websites.
 

Performance Cookies. These cookies collect information about how you use our Sites. For example, they tell us which pages you visit most often, and if you receive any error messages from our web pages. These cookies do not identify you. All information they collect is aggregated and is, therefore, anonymous. We use these cookies to measure and analyze how our customers use our Sites and to improve their functionality and the user experience.

Google Analytics. We use Google Analytics, a service that transmits our Site traffic to Google servers in the United States of America. Google Analytics does not identify individual users or associate your IP address with other data held by Google. We use reports and data provided by Google Analytics and other website traffic tracking services to help us understand our Site traffic trends and usage. For more information regarding how Google collects and processes data, please visit  www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners.

Information Provided at Programs and Events. These types of events include in-person and web-based programs and events and other in-person as well as virtual gatherings (collectively, “events”). If you register for one of our events, we will collect your name, organization name, telephone number, address, email address and select other information, which we will store in our database(s) and use to provide you with information and services associated with the current and future events, and our Sites and Services.

Information Provided in Correspondence with The Stories of Us. If you correspond with us by email, the postal service, or other form of communication, we may retain the correspondence and the information contained in it and use it to respond to your inquiry and to keep a record of the complaint, accommodation, or other request. You may also sign up to receive marketing communications via email or SMS. Please see below for more information on how to unsubscribe from marketing communications.

Information Provided to Process Payment. You may purchase Services or make a donation to The Stories of Us using a payment card. Payment card information may be provided via a Site or an authorized third-party payment site. We do not process or store the card information.

Information Provided when you participate in the Storytelling Experience. If you participate by sharing a story through our online storytelling platform (“Storytelling Experience”), we will receive the audiovisual content you share through the Storytelling Experience, your contact information, and any information contained in the story you share. We may also receive certain demographic information if you choose to share. We may use and share demographic information that we aggregate (compile to create statistics that cannot identify a particular individual) or de-identify (strip information of all unique identifiers such that it cannot be linked to a particular individual) at our discretion.

 

Stories shared through the Storytelling Experience may be used across our storytelling, civic engagement, educational, research, exhibition, publishing, and archival initiatives. This may include inclusion in digital storytelling galleries, public exhibitions, media partnerships, research summaries, community engagement initiatives, and curated printed publications or books that compile selected stories.

 

4. Information Use Summary

 

Information you provide to us is used either to respond to requests that you make or to aid us in serving you better. A summary of the ways we may use your information is set forth below:

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• To deliver the Services you request;

• To manage your accounts and maintain our operations;

• To identify you as a user and allow you access into our Sites;

• To optimize and improve our Sites and Services;

• To protect the security and effective functioning of our Sites and information technology systems;

• To send you administrative email notifications;

• To contact you, and to respond to and track progress of your inquiries;

• To detect, investigate, and prevent illegal or non-compliant activities;

• To address our compliance and legal obligations and exercise our legal rights;

• To administer contests (including by third parties), specifically, to sponsor, promote, and receive information, and to send marketing materials related to such contests;

• To make phone calls to you, from time to time, to solicit feedback or provide secondary fraud protection; and

• To send you marketing information, program and event recommendations, newsletters, and other non-transactional communications about us,      similar non-profit organizations, sponsors, and business partners (collectively, the “Partner Organizations”) for purposes of conducting direct marketing. Please see “Your Rights and Choices Regarding Your information” to learn how you can control the processing of your information by The Stories of Us for marketing purposes.

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5. Sharing Your Information with Third Parties
 

We may share your information with  Partner Organizations for the purposes of operating our organization, delivering, improving, and customizing our Sites and Services, sending marketing and other communications related to our business, and for other legitimate purposes permitted by applicable law or otherwise with your consent. We may share your information in the following ways:

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• With unaffiliated third parties to administer, sponsor, and promote contests, including sharing contest application information and marketing materials that may be relevant to contest applicants;

• With unaffiliated third parties when we transfer personal data to them in connection with business operations we jointly performed;

• Within The Stories of Us and with any of the Partner Organizations for purposes of data processing, research and development, storage, and/or marketing;

• With  Partner Organizations, service vendors, and/or contractors to provide requested Site content or enhancements, Services, or a transaction. Examples include, but are not limited to: processing of orders, donations, and credit card transactions, hosting websites, constituent relationship management, assisting with donation-related efforts or post-donation support, delivering Services or services, and providing customer support;

• With service vendors focused on the provision, payment, and auditing of employee, vendor, and contractor benefits;

• With search engine, web analytics, and survey providers engaged to track trends and other statistics to enhance the user experience;

• In connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, or combination of The Stories of Us with another organization;

• In response to a request for information by a competent authority if we believe disclosure is in accordance with, or is otherwise required by, any applicable law, regulation or legal process;

• With law enforcement officials, government authorities, or other third parties as necessary to comply with legal process or meet national security requirements; protect the rights, property, or safety of The Stories of Us, our Partner Organizations, you, or others; or as otherwise required by applicable law.

• In aggregated, anonymized, and/or de-identified form which cannot reasonably be used to identify you; and/or

• If we otherwise notify you and you consent to the sharing.

 

The Stories of Us Sites and select Services may, from time to time, use interfaces with social media sites such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and others. If you choose to “like” or share information from Sites or Services through these services, you should review the privacy policy of that service. If you are a member of a social media site, the interfaces may allow the social media site to connect your site visit to your information.

6. International Transfers of Your Information

 

The Stories of Us is headquartered in the United States and information we collect from you will be processed in the United States.

7. Your Rights and Choices Regarding Your Information

 

Unsubscribe. If you do not wish to receive marketing information from us or wish to opt out of future email or SMS promotions from us, please contact us. Please note that all promotional email or SMS messages you receive from us will include an option to opt out of future email communications.

 

Do Not Track. Your browser or device may include “Do Not Track” functionality. Our information collection and disclosure practices and the choices that we provide to you will continue to operate as described in this privacy policy regardless of whether a Do Not Track signal is received.

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Other rights. You may have certain rights with respect to your information depending on your location or residency. Please contact us to exercise your rights.

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Managing and Deleting Cookies. Most web browsers allow some control of most types of cookies through the browser settings. To find out more about cookies, including how to see what cookies have been set and how to manage and delete them, visit   www.aboutcookies.org  or  www.allaboutcookies.org.

 

Please note that these reference sites are not owned, managed, or controlled in any way by The Stories of Us, and that visiting these sites will not constitute an opt-out of cookie collection and storage for the Sites.

To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across all websites, visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

8. Security of Your Information

It is our goal to protect the information entrusted to us and treat it securely in accordance with this Policy. We implement various physical, administrative, and technical measures designed to protect your information from unauthorized access, use or disclosure. We contractually require our critical vendors to protect such information from unauthorized access, use and disclosure. We restrict access to your information to those who need to know that information to provide Services or other benefits to you. In addition, our employees are required to maintain the privacy and security of your information. We commit to taking appropriate disciplinary measures to enforce our employees’ privacy responsibilities.

9. Retention of Information

We will retain your information for the period required to fulfill the purposes for which it has been collected. These purposes may include the need to fulfill various commercial and legal requirements. Key requirements driving the need for collection, analysis and storage of information may include, for example:

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• Organization strategy;

• Resource planning;

• Legal compliance;

• Financial reporting;

• Dispute resolution; and/or

• Asset protection and agreement enforcement.

 
10. Children’s Privacy

Our Sites and Services are not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If a parent or guardian becomes aware that his or her child has provided us with information without their consent, they should contact us at  hello@thestoriesofus.org. If we become aware that a child under 13 has provided us with information, we will delete such information from our files.

11. Changes to this Policy

We may revise this Policy from time to time. If we make any material changes to the way we intend to use your information, we will notify you by prominently posting the changes on our Sites. Continued use of our Sites or Services following notice will indicate your acknowledgement of, and agreement to be bound by, the changes until such time as you have your information deleted as set forth in the “How to Contact Us” section of this Policy.

12. How to Contact Us

Should you have any questions regarding this Privacy Policy or how your information is collected, used and stored, or if you would like to make a request regarding your information, please contact us at hello@thestoriesofus.org.