Donor Privacy Policy

The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) is an independent, nonprofit organization. APH respects the privacy of its donors and has put in place a Donor Privacy Policy to honor these rights.

Donor Information

APH collects and maintains the following types of donor information when it is voluntarily provided to us:

• Contact information such as name, address, telephone number, and e-mail address
• Giving information
• Information on events attended, publications received and special requests for program information
• Information provided by the donor in the form of comments and suggestions
• How often the donor wishes to be contacted by APH

This confidential information is kept on file for IRS purposes. It is also used to analyze overall giving patterns in order to make more accurate budget projections, as well as to understand donors’ interests in our mission and to update them on the organization’s plans and activities. This information is shared with staff and board members, only on a confidential and need-to-know basis.

List Sharing

APH does not sell, rent, trade or share its donor list with any other organization. APH never sends out mailings on behalf of other organizations.

If you would like more information about APH’s donor policy, or to review personal information collected, please contact Lisa Echsner, Director of Advancement, at 502-899-2351 or lechsner@aph.org.

Discontinuing Contact Upon Request

It is the policy of APH to communicate with donors according to their expressed preferences whenever possible. APH will discontinue or change the method used to contact any person upon that person’s oral or written request directed to the organization.

Upon a person’s (or a person’s authorized representative’s) request that APH discontinue further contacts, the person’s name and address will be promptly modified in APH’s donor database to ensure that no further contact is made with the person.

Security Measures:  APH takes several precautions to protect Donor information. When you submit sensitive information via the website, your information is protected both online and offline.

Wherever we collect sensitive information (such as credit card data), that information is encrypted and transmitted to us in a secure way. You can verify this by looking for a lock icon in the address bar.

APH uses the most current antivirus software and firewall programs. All of our servers are kept in a locked secure environment with limited access by authorized personnel.

While we use encryption to protect sensitive information transmitted online, we also protect donor information offline. Only employees who need the information to perform a specific job (for example, billing or customer service) are granted access to personally identifiable information.

APH uses Donor Perfect as our CRM database for donor information. Donor Perfect and all electronic devises are password protected and are PCI Compliant. In order to ensure Donor Perfect is a secure database, they have partnered with Amazon Web Services (AWS), one of the largest and most respected server hosting facilities in the world. AWS brings a level of security, scalability, and redundancy, matched by few in their field. AWS is a fully accredited SSAE16, SOC, PCI-DSS level 1, and ISO-9001/27001 certified hosting facility.

All DonorPerfect Online communication is secured with 128-bit Secure Sockets Layer / Transport Layer Security (SSL/TLS) encryption, a PCI and industry-standard level of security and privacy for those wishing to conduct secure transactions over the internet. The SSL/TLS protocol protects HTTP transmissions over the internet by encrypting all data in transit, ensuring that your transactions are not subject to “sniffing” by a third party. Only users, with the right combination of a DonorPerfect Online ID and Password, can access data.

Hard copy donor records are stored in a locked room with key controls and limited Staff access. APH does not maintain the donor’s credit card information on file. All credit card information received, is destroyed after the donation is recorded in the donor’s file.  This is done through a two party verification system.

Donor Bill of Rights

The American Printing House for the Blind (APH) subscribes to the Donor Bill of Rights, which was created by the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), the Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the Giving Institute: Leading Consultants to Non-Profits.

Donor Bill of Rights

Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To ensure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the nonprofit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

I. To be informed of the organization’s mission, of the way the organization intends to use donated resources, and of its capacity to use donations effectively for their intended purposes.

II. To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization’s governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.

III. To have access to the organization’s most recent financial statements.

IV. To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.

V. To receive appropriate acknowledgement and recognition.

VI. To be assured that information about their donation is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.

VII. To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.

VIII. To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.

IX. To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.

X. To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.