Privacy Policy

Privacy Policy Updated: 12/13/19

At Start The Wave.org, Inc. (“Start the Wave”), we understand that privacy is important. We are strongly committed to protecting the privacy of visitors to our website. The following information is designed to help you better understand the information we gather from our website, how we protect the information once we gather it, and whether and how we disclose it to anyone. We may, from time to time, make changes to this policy. By visiting this website, you are accepting the practices described in the current version of this Privacy Policy (as indicated by the date above). If you do not agree to the terms of this Privacy Policy, your only option is to not use our website. Please note that this Privacy Policy applies only to this website (startthewave.org) and not to other companies’ or organizations’ websites, including any websites to which we link. You should consult the privacy policies of any other websites that you visit before sharing your personal information with them.


Information Collection and Use

Our primary goals in collecting personal information is to allow you to participate in the Start the Wave community, to let other visitors to the Start the Wave website (startthewave.org) read your contributions and to share the contributions of all contributors in other media beyond this website.


Aggregate Data

In general, we automatically gather certain usage information, such as the number and frequency of visitors to this website and what features of the website are most popular to our visitors. This information may include which URL you just came from, which URL you next go to, what browser you are using, and what features you click on and read (in whole or in part). This collective data helps us determine how much our visitors use parts of the website, and to do internal research on our users’ demographics, interests, and behavior, so as to better understand and serve you. In addition, we may aggregate data and disclose such information in a non-personally identifiable manner for research purposes only, and never for commercial gain.


Personally Identifiable Information

When you fill out any forms throughout the Start the Wave website or if you send us an email, you will need to provide a verifiable email address. By providing us contact information such as your name, email address, or phone number, you agree that we may use personal information to contact you and send you information, such e-mail updates and marketing material.


Disclosure of your Information

We will not disclose your personal information other than as described below. We may disclose aggregated, anonymized, and/or non-identifying information about our users without restriction. We may disclose personal information that we collect or that you provide:

  • To contractors, service providers and other third parties we use to support our mission, and who are bound by contractual obligations to keep personal information confidential and use it only for the purposes for which we disclose it to them and in accordance with applicable law.
  • To a successor in the event of a restructuring, reorganization, dissolution or other sale or transfer of some or all of Start the Wave’s assets, whether as a going concern or as part of liquidation or similar proceeding, in which personal information held by Start the Wave about our Website users is among the assets transferred.
  • To fulfill the purpose for which you provide it.
  • For any other purpose disclosed by us when you provide the information.
  • With your consent.

We may also disclose your personal information:

  • To comply with any court order, law or legal process, including to respond to any government or regulatory request.
  • To enforce or apply our Terms and Conditions of Use and other agreements (in accordance with data protection law when applicable).
  • If we believe disclosure is necessary or appropriate to protect the rights, property, or safety of Start the Wave, our customers, or others. This may include exchanging information with other companies and organizations for the purposes of fraud protection and credit risk reduction.


Social Network Sites

Start the Wave operates and maintains social networking pages and venues on websites such as Twitter, Youtube, and Instagram. Start the Wave will, from time to time, import user comments and posts from these third-party websites to this website in order to display them publicly. If you post to any of Start the Wave’s social networking pages on third-party websites, you understand that you are providing information to the public, and do so at your own risk. Further, Start the Wave may use these postings on its website and social channels without further notice or compensation to you. Please visit the privacy policies of any third party websites before posting to Start the Wave’s pages there.


Children Under the Age of 13

Our website is not intended for children under 13 years of age. No one under the age of 13 may provide any personal information to us through either startthewave.org, our contact email addresses, or our other networking pages and venues. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you are under 13, do not use or provide any information through our website, use any of the interactive or public comment features that may be available on our website, or provide any information about yourself to us, including your name, address, telephone number, e-mail address or any screen name or user name you may use.If we learn that we have received personal information from a child under 13 without verification of parental consent, we will delete that information. If you believe we might have any information from or about a child under 13, please contact us at [email protected].


Data Security

We have implemented measures designed to secure your personal information from accidental loss and from unauthorized access, use, alteration and disclosure. We limit access to our servers to ensure that your information is not viewable by any unauthorized parties. The safety and security of your information also depends on you. Any other User of the website may view the information you share in public areas. Unfortunately, the transmission of information via the Internet is not completely secure. Although we do our best to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee the security of your personal information transmitted to our Website. Any transmission of personal information is at your own risk. We are not responsible for circumvention of any privacy settings or security measures contained on the Website.


Notice to Users from the European Economic Area (“EEA”)

Where we are offering or providing services to you and you are resident in a member state of the European Union (“EU”) or European Economic Area (“EEA”), we will observe the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”) and other applicable data protection laws when we collect and handle personal information relating to you from which you can be identified. In these circumstances, the following additional provisions apply in relation to how we handle your personal information.


The lawful basis on which we collect personal information

The lawful grounds under which we collect and use this personal information are where:

  • You have freely provided your specific, informed, and unambiguous consent.
  • We have agreed to provide services to you, in order to take any pre-contract steps at your request and/or perform our contractual obligations to you.
  • Where we need to use your personal information for our legitimate interests in being able to manage our operations. We will always pursue these interests in a way that respects your legal rights or freedoms and, in particular, your privacy rights.
  • Where we need to use your personal information to comply with a legal obligation or for the purpose of us being able to establish, exercise or defend legal claims.
  • Where we need to use personal information to protect your vital interests or those of someone else (for example, in a medical emergency).


Transferring your personal information outside the EEA

The personal information that you contribute to this website or which we collect from you will be transferred to, and stored at, a destination outside the European Economic Area (“EEA”) where laws are currently not considered to meet the same legal standards of protection for personal information as set out under GDPR with your consent, or where necessary for the performance of a contract between you and us. That personal information may be processed by staff operating outside the EEA who work for us or for one of our suppliers. We will take all steps reasonably necessary to ensure that your personal information is treated securely and in accordance with this privacy policy.


Keeping your personal information

Start the Wave retains your personal information (as provided by you within our forms or email submissions) for as long as you have a relationship with us; as necessary to perform our obligations to you (or to enforce or defend legal claims); or as is required by applicable law. The criteria we use for determining personal information retention periods is based on various legislative requirements; the purposes for which we hold personal information and whether retaining the personal information is needed in connection with that purpose; and further specific guidance issued by relevant regulatory authorities on personal information retention/ erasure, including but not limited to, EU regulatory authorities.


Your personal information rights

Under the GDPR, those EU/EEA residents with whom we deal have various data protection rights, which are as follows:

  • Access: the right to be provided with a copy of your personal information (the right of access).
  • Rectification: the right to require us to correct any mistakes in your personal information.
  • To be forgotten: the right to require us to delete your personal information in certain situations.
  • Restriction of processing: the right to require us to restrict processing of your personal information – in certain circumstances, e.g. if you contest the accuracy of the information.
  • To object: the right to object at any time to your personal information being processed for direct marketing; and in certain other situations to our continued processing of your personal information.

If you would like to exercise any of the rights set out above, please contact us at [email protected]. We may need to ask for evidence to verify your identity before we can fully respond. If you make a request and are not satisfied with our response, or believe that we are illegally processing your personal information, you have the right to complain to a data protection supervisory authority in your EU country of residence.


Changes to our Privacy Policy

It is our policy to post any changes we make to our Privacy Policy on this page, with a notice that the Privacy Policy has been updated on the website home page. The date the Privacy Policy was last revised is identified at the top of the page. You are responsible for periodically visiting our Website and this privacy policy to check for any changes.


Contact Information

To ask questions or comment about this Privacy Policy and our privacy practices, contact us at: contact at startthewave dot org