The Arthritis Foundation respects the privacy of each individual who contacts us. We are grateful for your support and the crucial role you play in helping us continue our valuable work. As part of our commitment to safeguarding your privacy we have adopted the online privacy policy outlined below.

Collection and use of information

We collect two kinds of information, site usage data, which is not individually identifiable, and individually identifiable information.

Site usage data

Our Web server automatically recognizes and collects the domain name of each visitor to our Web site. We collect information about visitors to our site, such as the number of visitors, what pages they access, and the length of their visit. This information is used in aggregate form in order to manage our Web site and improve its content.

Individually identifiable information

We collect individually identifiable information about you when you choose to share information about yourself, for example, when you make a donation, request information or sign up to be an advocate. This information may include your postal or e-mail address, your telephone number and the type of arthritis you have.
Individually identifiable information is used to provide you with information or to deliver the service you have requested. If you provide your postal address, telephone number or e-mail address to the Arthritis Foundation online, you may receive periodic contacts from us.

If you would like to change the way we contact you, please fill out the Privacy Preference Form.

At certain parts of some of our site, only persons who provide us with the requested personally identifiable information will be able to use tools or otherwise participate in the site's activities and offerings.
We also may collect certain non-personally identifiable information when you visit some Web pages or fill out forms such as the type of browser you are using (e.g., Netscape, Internet Explorer), the type of operating system you are using, (e.g., Windows '95 or Mac OS) and the domain name of your Internet service provider (e.g., America Online, Earthlink).

Community Tools

Some portions of our site provide special services and offer interactive tools that allow users to upload information for public consumption. In some cases, users can share experiences, give advice and connect with others. This privacy policy does not apply to RA Connect. Please remember that chat rooms, message boards and personal pages are public forums and personal information disclosed there will be seen by others. In addition, please exercise caution when posting information or providing information about yourself to others, especially contact information, such as street address, telephone number or email address. The Arthritis Foundation does not condone solicitations on the boards and anything posted there is not approved/sanctioned by the Arthritis Foundation. For more on the use of the RA Connect, please refer to the Frequently Asked Questions page for that section of the site.

Sharing Information with Others

From time to time, the Arthritis Foundation may make our constituent mailing addresses available to other worthy nonprofit and commercial organizations whose services may be of interest to our supporters. We carefully screen these organizations. If you do not want us to share your postal address with other companies or organizations, please fill out the Privacy Preference Form.

At times we may offer content (e.g., contests, sweepstakes, or promotions) that is sponsored by or co-branded with identified third parties. By virtue of these relationships, the third parties may obtain personally identifiable information that visitors voluntarily submit to participate in the site activity. The Arthritis Foundation has no control over the third-party's use of this information.

We will also share personal information when we believe release is appropriate to comply with the law, enforce our rights, or protect the safety of our users or others.

Email Communications

We occasionally send out an email newsletter and direct email communications to Arthritis Foundation site visitors to highlight news, information and opportunities available from the Arthritis Foundation. You can elect not to receive communications from us, either by completing our privacy preference form or by noting your preference in response to communications from us. In addition, all Arthritis Foundation e-newsletters and direct email communications have easy-to-follow unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of each email.

Links to Other Sites

Our site provides links to other Web sites where you can find out more about our parters, sponsors or products or services. Please note that the Foundation is not responsible for the information practices of linked sites. We encourage you to review the privacy policy of each site you visit.

Children online

Protecting the privacy of the very young is especially important. For that reason, we adhere to the Federal Trade Commission’s 1998 Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA). Whenever we collect or maintain information at our Web site from those we actually know are under 13, we obtain parental consent before any personally identifiable information is collected, used or disclosed. We also follow strict rules when sending email; and we provide parents reasonable access to information collected from their children, and the ability to correct or remove that information.

Security

In order to prevent unauthorized access and protect our users’ personal information, we strive to maintain physical, electronic and administrative safeguards to secure the information we collect online. For example, online shopping and contributions are processed using a secure server. This secure server software, SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), encrypts all information you input before it is sent to us. Furthermore, all of the customer transactional data we collect is protected against unauthorized access with the use of digital certificates.

Privacy Policy Changes

If we decide to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes here. We encourage you to review our policy from time to time.

Questions or Concerns

Whenever you have any questions or concerns, please contact us through any medium you prefer. Your complete satisfaction in dealing with the Arthritis Foundation is important to us. If you have questions about the Arthritis Foundation’s privacy practices described above, please send an e-mail message to our Customer Service Manager.
If you have general questions about arthritis, please send messages to Arthritis Answers.

The Arthritis Foundation follows the online Privacy Guidelines and the Guidelines on Ethical Business Practice of The Direct Marketing Association (DMA). For more information on these guidelines, visit the DMA at http://the-dma.org.