Privacy Policy

Wisconsin Hmong Association, Inc. (“WHA,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect when you visit whainc.org (the “Site”), how we use it, who we share it with, and the choices you have.

By using the Site, you agree to the practices described here. If you do not agree, please do not use the Site.

1. Who We Are

Wisconsin Hmong Association is a non-profit organization serving the Hmong community in Wisconsin through cultural, educational, and social programming.

• Address: 2810 Crossroads Dr, Suite 4000, Madison, WI 53718
• Email: wha@whainc.org
• Website: whainc.org

2. Information We Collect

Information You Provide Directly

We only receive this information when you choose to give it to us:

• Email correspondence. When you email us — including to ask a question, sign up for a program, or express interest in volunteering — we receive your email address, your name, and whatever you include in your message.
• Program registration. If you enroll in one of our programs (Hmong Language, Hmong Culture, Empowering Hmong Women, or others), we may collect your name, contact information, and details relevant to that program, such as the participant’s age or prior experience.
• Volunteer information. If you volunteer with us, we may collect your name, contact information, availability, and areas of interest.
• Event participation. If you register for or attend an event, we may collect your name and contact information.

Donations

Our donation form is provided by Zeffy, a third-party fundraising platform, and is embedded on our Donate page. This is important to understand:

• When you make a donation, your information is submitted directly to Zeffy and its payment processor — not to WHA’s website or servers.
• We never receive, see, or store your full credit card number, debit card number, bank account details, or security code. That information is handled entirely by Zeffy and its payment processor under their own security controls.
• We do receive donation records from Zeffy, which typically include your name, email address, mailing address, donation amount, and date — the information we need to acknowledge your gift and meet our recordkeeping and tax-receipting obligations.
• Zeffy’s handling of your information is governed by Zeffy’s own privacy policy, which we encourage you to read at zeffy.com. We do not control Zeffy’s practices.

Information Collected Automatically

Like most websites, our Site collects certain technical information automatically when you visit:

• IP address
• Browser type and version
• Device type and operating system
• Pages you view and the time and date of your visit
• The referring website or link that brought you to us

This information is collected through standard web server logs and cookies. We use it to keep the Site running properly, diagnose technical problems, protect against abuse, and understand general usage patterns. See our Cookies Policy for details on the cookies we use.

Comments

If you leave a comment on the Site, we collect the information shown in the comment form, plus your IP address and browser user agent string, to help with spam detection. Spam filtering is performed by Akismet, a service operated by Automattic Inc. Comments and their metadata may be retained indefinitely so that follow-up comments can be recognized and approved automatically.

3. How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect to:

• Respond to your questions, requests, and messages
• Register and enroll you in programs, classes, and events
• Coordinate volunteer participation
• Acknowledge donations, issue receipts, and maintain donor records
• Send you information about programs, events, or opportunities you have expressed interest in
• Operate, maintain, secure, and improve the Site
• Comply with legal, tax, accounting, and reporting obligations
• Report aggregate, non-identifying statistics to funders and grantmakers

4. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell your personal information. We do not rent, trade, or share our donor list with other organizations for their own marketing purposes.

We share information only in these limited circumstances:

• Service providers. We use third-party services to operate. These include our web host, our donation platform (Zeffy), our email provider, and spam-filtering services (Akismet). These providers may access your information only as needed to perform services for us.
• Legal requirements. We may disclose information if required by law, subpoena, court order, or other legal process, or where we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.
• With your consent. We may share information in other ways if you direct or permit us to.
• Organizational changes. If WHA merges with, or transfers its operations to, another organization, participant and donor records may transfer as part of that change.

5. Donor Privacy

We are committed to protecting the privacy of our donors. Specifically:

• We do not sell, trade, rent, or share donor names or contact information with other organizations.
• You may request that your donation be recognized anonymously in any public acknowledgment, or that it not be publicly acknowledged at all.
• You may ask to be removed from donor mailings at any time by emailing wha@whainc.org.

6. How Long We Keep Information

We keep personal information only as long as needed for the purpose it was collected, or as required by law. Donation and financial records are retained as long as required by applicable tax and nonprofit recordkeeping rules. Program and volunteer records are retained for the duration of participation and a reasonable period afterward. Email correspondence is retained as part of our ordinary business records. You may request deletion of your information as described in Section 9.

7. Security

We take reasonable measures to protect the information we hold, including using a secure (HTTPS) connection on our Site and limiting access to personal information to people who need it. However, no method of transmission over the Internet or method of electronic storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

8. Children’s Privacy

Many of our programs serve youth and families, and we welcome young participants. However, the Site itself is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13 through the Site.

When a child participates in one of our programs, we ask that a parent or legal guardian complete the registration and provide any information about the child. If you believe a child under 13 has provided us personal information through the Site without parental consent, please contact us at wha@whainc.org and we will delete it.

9. Your Choices and Rights

You may, at any time:

• Access or correct the personal information we hold about you
• Request deletion of your information, subject to records we are legally required to keep
• Opt out of emails by using the unsubscribe link in any message or by emailing us directly
• Control cookies through your browser settings — see our Cookies Policy

To make a request, email wha@whainc.org. We will respond within a reasonable time and may need to verify your identity first.

10. State Privacy Rights

Some U.S. states grant residents specific privacy rights. Note that several of these laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act, apply primarily to for-profit businesses and generally do not cover non-profit organizations like WHA. Regardless of whether these laws apply to us, we honor the access, correction, deletion, and opt-out requests described in Section 9 for anyone who asks.

11. Visitors From Outside the United States

We operate in the United States, and any information you provide is processed and stored in the United States. If you access the Site from outside the U.S., you understand that your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those in your country.

12. Third-Party Links and Embedded Content

Our Site contains links to other websites and embedded content from other services, including our Zeffy donation form and social media links. Embedded content from other sites behaves as if you had visited that site directly, and those sites may collect data about you, use cookies, and track your interaction with the embedded content. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of these third parties. We encourage you to read their privacy policies.

13. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page. Material changes will be noted more prominently on the Site. Your continued use of the Site after changes take effect means you accept the updated policy.

14. Contact Us

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or how we handle your information, please contact us:

Wisconsin Hmong Association
Wisconsin Hmong Association, Inc.
2921 Landmark Place, Ste 215-517
Madison, WI 53713
Email: wha@whainc.org