Privacy Policy

Effective Date: March 1, 2015

This Privacy Policy (“Privacy Policy”) applies to (1) the website located at www.healthforward.org (the “website”), which is owned and operated by the Health Forward Foundation (the “Foundation,” “we,” “us,” or “our”), and (2) any other websites, blogs, online communities, social media platforms, or other services that we may provide from time to time, whether on the website or otherwise (collectively, “Services”) and that link to this Privacy Policy. This Privacy Policy describes how the Foundation collects and uses personally identifiable information you provide on the Sites. Your use of the Services also is subject to any additional privacy policy that may be specified with respect to the Service at issue. As used in this Privacy Policy, the term “Sites” refers to the Website and the Services. It also describes the choices available to you regarding our use of your personally identifiable information and how you can access and update this information.

Information Collection

Unless otherwise disclosed, the Foundation is the sole owner of information collected on the Sites. The Foundation may collect information from our users at several different points on the Sites. For example, we may collect information you provide to us when you use the Sites or otherwise transact business with us, such as when you complete a form on the Sites, when you register for an account with us, and/or when you contact us to inquire about our services. More information is provided below.

Registration

In order to use some features of the Sites, a user must first complete the registration form. During registration a user may be required to provide personally identifiable information and contact information (such as name, email and postal address).

Grant Applicants

This Privacy Policy does not apply to the information collected through the grant application or review process.

Interests

Unless otherwise stated, it is optional to provide information about your interests to better facilitate your interaction with the Sites.

Surveys

We may request information from users via surveys or contests. The requested information typically includes contact information (such as name and shipping address), and demographic information (such as zip code). Participation in these surveys or contests is completely voluntary and users may therefore choose whether or not to disclose this information.

Cookies and Other Technologies

A cookie is a piece of data stored on the user’s computer tied to information about the user.  We may use cookies or other technologies (such as web beacons and pixel tags) to track site usage and trends, to improve the quality of our service, and to customize your experience on the Website. We may provide this statistical information to third parties. We may use session-based cookies for session navigation purposes. By setting a cookie on our Website, users would not have to log in a password more than once, thereby saving time while on our Website. We also use persistent cookies. A persistent cookie remains on your hard drive for an extended period of time. You can turn off the ability to receive cookies by adjusting the browser on your computer. If you refuse cookies, however, you may not be able to access or use some of the features we offer on our Website. Electronic images known as Web beacons (sometimes called single-pixel gifs) may be used along with cookies to compile aggregated statistics to analyze how our site is used and may be used in some of our emails to let us know which emails and links have been opened by recipients. This allows us to gauge the effectiveness of our customer communications and marketing campaigns.

Log Files

Like most standard website servers, we use log files, through which we may record Internet protocol (IP) addresses, browser type, Internet service provider (ISP), referring/exit pages, platform type, date/time stamp, and number of clicks to analyze trends, administer the Sites, track users’ movement in the aggregate, and gather broad demographic information for aggregate use. Such log file information is not linked to personally identifiable information.

Third-Party Cookies

The use of cookies by our tracking utility companies is not covered by this Privacy Policy. We do not have access or control over these cookies. Our tracking utility companies use session ID cookies to make it easier for you to navigate our site, and to compile aggregated statistics to help us analyze how our Sites are used.

Social Media Widgets

Our Sites often include Social Media Features, such as the Facebook “Like” button and Widgets, such as the “Share” this button or interactive mini-programs that run on our Sites. These features may collect your IP address, which page you are visiting on our site, and may set a cookie to enable the feature to function properly. Social Media Features and Widgets are either hosted by a third party or hosted directly on our Sites. Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy policy of the company providing it.

Information Use

The Foundation may use personally identifiable information collected from you for several general purposes:

  • to deliver the services that you have requested and respond to your inquiries;
  • to provide information about our services;
  • to conduct surveys relating to the development of our services and Sites;
  • to otherwise maintain and administer the Sites; and
  • for other purposes described to you at the time you provide information to us.
  • The examples below explain further how we may use information collected through the Sites.

Profile

We store information that we collect through log files, interest boxes, and/or third parties to create user profiles. User profile information is tied to the users’ personally identifiable information to provide services and improve the content of the Website for the user. User profiles are used to tailor a user’s visit to our Website and to direct pertinent communications to them.

We may share your user profile with others, such as grantees, co-funders and consultants.  We would do so because the Foundation aims to ensure that diverse points of view are represented in our work. We believe diverse perspectives and experiences can deepen our understanding of differences in health outcomes and health care delivery. Varied perspectives also can strengthen our capacity to develop effective solutions.

Communications

For new email subscribers, we use Single Opt-In. Unless otherwise stated, new registrants will be signed up to receive the foundation’s regular communications. Established registered users will occasionally receive information they have asked to receive such as information about products, services and/or alerts.

Out of respect for the privacy of our users we present the option not to receive newsletter communications. Please see the Choice/Opt-out section below.

Service Announcements

From time to time, it may be necessary for us to send out a service-related announcement. For instance, if our Website is temporarily suspended for maintenance, we might send users an email. Generally, users may not opt-out of these communications, though they can deactivate their account. These communications are not promotional in nature.

Information Sharing

Personally Identifiable Information

We may disclose your personally identifiable information to other companies or people as stated in this Privacy Policy, including under any of the following circumstances:

  • when we have your consent to share the information. You may grant such consent at the time you provide or transmit information to us;
  • to conform or comply with the law, or if we have a good-faith belief that such action is necessary to comply with a court order or subpoena, to cooperate with investigations by law enforcement or regulatory authorities or to participate or cooperate with a judicial proceeding, to enforce applicable terms and conditions of the Website, or in urgent circumstances, to protect the safety of persons or property, including the Website; or
  • in the event of a merger, consolidation or reorganization involving the Foundation or other similar transaction, your personal information will, in most instances, be transferred to the control of a third party. In addition, we may use third-party service providers (“Service Providers”) to provide certain services, such as hosting, software maintenance, or database maintenance, which are necessary for Foundation operations, including the operation of the Website. These Service Providers may be supplied with or have access to the information you provide through the Website, but only for the purpose of providing services to the Foundation or on our behalf. Third parties are prohibited by the Foundation from using your information for any secondary purposes.

Aggregate Information (non-personally identifiable)

We may share and disclose information in aggregate, without linking such information to any personally identifiable information.

Choice/Opt-out

In general, our users are given the opportunity to ‘opt-out’ of having their information used for purposes not directly related to our Sites at the point where we ask for information. In addition, users who no longer wish to receive our newsletter or secondary communications may opt-out of receiving these communications by clicking the unsubscribe link in all our enewsletter communications.

Blogs

Our Site may offer publicly accessible blogs or community forums. You should be aware that any information you provide in these areas may be read, collected, and used by others who access them. To request removal of your personally identifiable information from our blog, contact us. In some cases, we may not be able to remove your personally identifiable information, in which case we will let you know if we are unable to do so and why.

Links

The Sites may contain links to other websites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the privacy practices of such other sites. We encourage our users to be aware when they leave our Sites and to read the privacy statements of each and every website that collects personally identifiable information. This Privacy Policy applies solely to information collected on the Sites.

Security

We have put in place appropriate physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and secure the information we collect online.

Updating and Deleting Personally Identifiable Information

We do not collect personally identifiable information for email subscribers.

Data Retention

We will retain your information for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services. If you wish to cancel your account or request that we no longer use your information to provide you services, please contact us. We will retain and use your information as necessary to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.

Your California Privacy Rights

Pursuant to California Civil Code Section 1798.83, a California resident who has provided personal information to a business with whom he/she has established a business relationship has the right to request certain information regarding the disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please write to us at: Health Forward Foundation, 2700 East 18th Street, Suite 220, Kansas City, MO 64127, Attention: Health ForwardGKC Web Privacy.

Changes to this Privacy Policy

The Foundation may amend this Privacy Policy at any time in its sole discretion, subject to any applicable laws. Please review this Privacy Policy periodically to confirm your continued agreement with the terms contained herein, as the same may be amended from time to time.