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Privacy Policy

Policies and procedures of the Disability Inclusion Initiative

This Privacy Policy describes the policies and procedures of the Disability Inclusion Initiative (referred to as “DII,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) concerning the collection, use, and disclosure of your information when you use our website, engage with our advocacy campaigns, participate in our educational programs, or make donations. We are committed to championing the rights and opportunities for individuals with disabilities, and that commitment extends to rigorously protecting your privacy and personal data. Our mission to create empowering environments that promote accessibility is inseparable from our dedication to data security and transparency. We believe that fostering a culture of inclusion requires us to earn and maintain your trust, especially concerning the sensitive nature of the information we may collect.

Our full contact details are as follows: the Disability Inclusion Initiative can be reached via email at info@dii.lat. Our operational mailing address is 3512 204TH ST SW APT H201, LYNNWOOD, WA 98036-6888 US. This policy is designed to be comprehensive, ensuring compliance with relevant global data protection frameworks, including but not limited to, the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), and other international statutes governing the collection and processing of personal data.

1. Definitions and Scope of Personal Data Collection

For the purposes of this extensive Privacy Policy, “Personal Data” means any information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual. An identifiable person is one who can be identified, directly or indirectly, by reference to an identifier such as a name, an identification number, location data, an online identifier, or to one or more factors specific to the physical, physiological, genetic, mental, economic, cultural, or social identity of that person. Given our specific mission, we often handle what is defined as “Special Categories of Personal Data” or “Sensitive Personal Information,” which includes data revealing health information, specifically relating to disability status.

We act as the “Data Controller” for the Personal Data we process, meaning we determine the purposes and means of the processing of your data. We collect data primarily through two broad categories of interaction: Information You Voluntarily Provide and Information Collected Automatically.

Information You Voluntarily Provide

This is data you explicitly give us when you interact with us across various platforms and programs. The specific data points collected depend entirely on your form of engagement:

  • When making a Donation: We collect your full name, email address, physical mailing address (for tax receipt purposes), phone number, and payment information (processed securely through third-party processors, which we discuss further below). If you choose to make a dedicated donation in honor of someone, we collect the necessary information about that honored party to fulfill your request, but we do not use their data for marketing without explicit consent.
  • When signing up for our Newsletter or Updates: We collect your email address, and optionally, your name, geographic location, and preferred areas of interest (e.g., Inclusive Education, Digital Accessibility, Employment Advocacy) to tailor the content we send you.
  • When applying to Volunteer or for Employment: We collect comprehensive data, including your name, contact details, resume/CV (which may contain educational history and professional experience), references, and—critically for our mission—information regarding any required accommodations needed during the application or employment process. This specific accommodation data is considered Sensitive Personal Information and is processed under strict confidentiality only for the purpose of fulfilling our legal and organizational duty to provide an accessible and inclusive environment.
  • When Participating in Advocacy Campaigns (e.g., signing a petition or submitting a story): We collect your name, email, and often your zip code or jurisdiction to ensure your voice reaches the correct legislative representative. If you voluntarily submit a personal narrative or “Systemic Issue Submission” to our Advocacy Team, that information may contain explicit details about your disability or health status, which we use solely for the purpose of aggregating data and building momentum for systemic policy change. We never publish or share individual, identifiable stories without securing a separate, express written consent from you.
  • When registering for an Education Program or Webinar: We collect your name, organizational affiliation (if any), email address, and sometimes ask for information regarding communication preferences or accommodation needs (e.g., live captioning, ASL interpreter) to ensure the training is fully accessible, aligning directly with our core mission.

Information Collected Automatically

When you interact with our website or digital communications, we automatically collect certain non-personally identifiable information that helps us improve accessibility and user experience. This includes:

  • Usage Data: Information about how you access and use our service, such as the type of browser you use, the pages you visit, the time and date of your visit, the time spent on those pages, and other diagnostic data.
  • Technical Data: Internet Protocol (IP) address, device type, unique device identifiers, and operating system. We use this data to identify general geographic trends for localized advocacy focus (e.g., high traffic from a specific state indicates strong regional interest) and to diagnose server issues.
  • Tracking Technologies (Cookies): We use Cookies and similar tracking technologies (like web beacons and pixels) to track activity on our service and hold certain information. These technologies are primarily employed for security, authentication, and analysis of user engagement to ensure our content is reaching the target audience and is being consumed in an accessible manner. You have the right to instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to indicate when a cookie is being sent, but some parts of our service may not function correctly without them.

2. The Use of Your Personal Data and Legal Bases for Processing

The Disability Inclusion Initiative uses the collected data for various purposes, all of which are aligned with our nonprofit mission and based on clearly defined legal grounds.

Mission-Aligned Use

We use your data to:

  • Provide and maintain our service and monitor its usage, including ensuring our digital properties meet stringent accessibility standards.
  • Manage your account or your registration as a user, volunteer, or partner.
  • Perform contractual obligations, such as fulfilling your registration for an education course or processing your donation.
  • Contact you with newsletters, marketing, or promotional materials about our advocacy efforts and other information that may be of interest to you, based on your expressed communication preferences.
  • Provide you with news, special offers, and general information about events and services which we offer that are similar to those that you have already purchased or inquired about, unless you have opted not to receive such information.
  • Manage volunteer and employment relationships, including processing Sensitive Personal Information related to accommodations to comply with employment laws and internal inclusive policies.
  • Analyze and improve our advocacy strategies by aggregating geographic and interest-based data from petition sign-ups and survey responses to allocate resources where legislative action is most needed.
  • Conduct analysis for internal reporting to our Board of Directors, funders, and grant-making partners regarding the impact and reach of our programs, ensuring accountability and effective resource stewardship.

Legal Bases for Processing (Per GDPR)

We rely on the following legal bases for processing your Personal Data:

  • Consent: We process your data when you have given your explicit, unambiguous consent for a specific purpose, such as subscribing to a specific email list or submitting a personal story for a campaign. You have the right to withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us.
  • Contractual Necessity: The processing is necessary for the performance of a contract to which you are a party or in order to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract (e.g., processing an employment application or donation).
  • Legal Obligation: The processing is necessary for compliance with a legal obligation to which the Disability Inclusion Initiative is subject (e.g., mandatory reporting to tax authorities for donations or maintaining records for employment law compliance).
  • Legitimate Interests: The processing is necessary for the purposes of the legitimate interests pursued by the Disability Inclusion Initiative or by a third party, except where such interests are overridden by your interests or fundamental rights and freedoms. Our legitimate interests include improving our services, effective administrative management, and promoting our mission through targeted, relevant communications.

3. Disclosure and Sharing of Your Personal Data

We are committed to minimizing the sharing of your data. We only share Personal Data in the following scenarios and never sell your Personal Data to commercial third parties.

  • With Service Providers: We may share your Personal Data with trusted third-party service providers who assist us in operating our website, conducting our business, or serving our users. This includes payment processors (for donations), email service providers (for newsletters), and website hosting platforms. These third parties are bound by strict confidentiality obligations and are only permitted to use the data as necessary to perform the services for which they were hired.
  • For Advocacy and Policy Submissions: If you participate in an advocacy campaign (e.g., signing a petition to a specific politician), we will share the necessary contact information (typically name and jurisdiction) with the relevant government body or official. This is done to fulfill the explicit purpose for which you provided the data—to make your voice heard in the legislative process.
  • For Business Transfers: In the event of a merger, acquisition, or asset sale concerning the Disability Inclusion Initiative, your Personal Data may be transferred, subject to the new entity maintaining this Privacy Policy’s commitments.
  • Law Enforcement and Legal Requests: We may disclose your Personal Data if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a legal obligation, protect and defend the rights or property of the Disability Inclusion Initiative, prevent or investigate possible wrongdoing in connection with the Service, or protect the personal safety of users or the public.
  • With Affiliates and Partners: We may share your information with our non-profit affiliates and collaborative partners (such as other disability rights organizations) to support joint advocacy, education, or fundraising efforts, provided they adhere to privacy standards consistent with this policy and only when necessary to achieve the collaborative goal.

4. Security and Retention of Your Personal Data

Security

The security of your Personal Data is paramount to us. We have implemented technical, administrative, and physical security measures designed to protect your Personal Data from unauthorized access, use, alteration, and disclosure. This includes the use of Transport Layer Security (TLS) encryption for all data transmission and rigorous internal access control policies to limit data access only to employees who need it to perform their duties. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure, and while we strive to use commercially acceptable means to protect your Personal Data, we cannot guarantee its absolute security.

Retention

We will retain your Personal Data only for as long as is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Policy. This means:

  • Donation and Financial Data is retained for the legally mandated period required by tax and accounting laws in our primary operating jurisdiction (United States) and other jurisdictions where applicable.
  • Advocacy Data (e.g., petition sign-ups) is retained only for the duration of the campaign and a reasonable period thereafter for impact reporting, after which it is anonymized or securely deleted, unless you have consented to remain on a general interest list.
  • Employee and Volunteer Data is retained according to employment and organizational policies, and for required legal record-keeping periods.
  • Non-Personal Data (Usage Data and Tracking Data) is retained for as long as we deem necessary for internal analysis and accessibility improvement.

5. Your Data Protection Rights

Depending on your geographic location and jurisdiction, you may have specific, legally protected rights regarding your Personal Data. The Disability Inclusion Initiative is committed to upholding these rights globally.

Rights under GDPR (for EU Residents)

If you are a resident of the European Economic Area (EEA), you have the right to:

  1. The Right to Access: The right to request copies of your Personal Data held by us.
  2. The Right to Rectification: The right to request that we correct any information you believe is inaccurate or complete information you believe is incomplete.
  3. The Right to Erasure (Right to be Forgotten): The right to request that we erase your Personal Data, under certain conditions.
  4. The Right to Restrict Processing: The right to request that we restrict the processing of your Personal Data, under certain conditions.
  5. The Right to Object to Processing: The right to object to our processing of your Personal Data, under certain conditions, particularly where the processing is based on legitimate interests.
  6. The Right to Data Portability: The right to request that we transfer the data that we have collected to another organization, or directly to you, under certain conditions.

Rights under CCPA (for California Residents)

If you are a California resident, you have the right to:

  1. The Right to Know: The right to request disclosure of the Personal Information collected, used, disclosed, or sold about you over the past 12 months (we do not sell your data).
  2. The Right to Delete: The right to request the deletion of Personal Information collected from you, subject to certain exceptions.
  3. The Right to Opt-Out: The right to opt-out of the sale or sharing of Personal Information (again, we do not sell your data).
  4. The Right to Non-Discrimination: The right not to be discriminated against for exercising any of your CCPA rights.

Exercising Your Rights

To exercise any of these rights, please submit your request in writing to the Advocacy and Policy team via email at advocacy@dii.lat. We will respond to all legitimate requests within the legally required timeframe (e.g., one month for GDPR requests). We may need to verify your identity before granting access or fulfilling a request.

6. Children’s Privacy

Our Service is not directed to individuals under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13. 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 a child under the age of 13 without verification of parental consent, we take steps to remove that information from our servers immediately. In cases where our advocacy or education programs specifically target minors (e.g., inclusive education resources), we strictly follow all local laws regarding parental consent and data protection for those under the age of majority.

7. International Data Transfers

The Disability Inclusion Initiative is headquartered in the United States and operates internationally to fulfill our global mission of promoting disability rights. Therefore, your information, including Personal Data, may be transferred to and maintained on computers located outside of your state, province, country, or other governmental jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those of your jurisdiction. By submitting your Personal Data, you agree to this transfer. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy and that no transfer of your Personal Data will take place to an organization or a country unless there are adequate controls in place to protect the security of your data. When transferring data from the EEA, we utilize Standard Contractual Clauses (SCCs) or rely on other appropriate safeguards as required by GDPR.

8. Links to Other Websites and Changes to this Policy

Our Service may contain links to other websites that are not operated by us, particularly those of our partner advocacy organizations or government legislative portals. If you click on a third-party link, you will be directed to that third party’s site. We strongly advise you to review the Privacy Policy of every site you visit, as we have no control over and assume no responsibility for the content, privacy policies, or practices of any third-party sites or services. We may update our Privacy Policy from time to time. We will notify you of any changes by posting the new Privacy Policy on this page and updating the “Effective Date” at the top of this policy. You are advised to review this Privacy Policy periodically for any changes. Changes to this Privacy Policy are effective when they are posted on this page.

9. Contact Us

For any questions about this Privacy Policy, our data processing practices, or to exercise your data rights, please contact us via the following dedicated channels:

General Inquiries: info@dii.lat

Mailing Address (Data Controller): Disability Inclusion Initiative, 3512 204TH ST SW APT H201, LYNNWOOD, WA 98036-6888 US.

We value your trust and your commitment to a more inclusive world. Protecting your data is a vital part of our mission.