Donor Privacy Policy


The Wikimedia Foundation (The Foundation) maintains the highest level of respect for the privacy of its donors. In furtherance of our commitment to honor your rights, we have developed this Donor Privacy Policy to guide our volunteers and staff on how they may and may not use your personal information. This policy may be updated from time to time.

Policy

What information we collect

The Foundation collects and uses various personal information from donors that includes: amount donated, address, telephone number, donor comments and e-mail address. Tax laws in the United States and the State of Florida require The Foundation to keep contact information and contribution level of donors on file.

How we use that information

The Foundation will never publish, sell, trade, rent or share names (unless released for publication), e-mail or mail addresses, or telephone numbers of our donors. The Foundation will use contact information (e-mail, telephone number and address) of donors for these purposes only:

  • Distribute receipts for donations
  • Thank donors for their donation
  • Inform donors about upcoming fundraising and other activities of The Foundation
  • Internal analysis and record keeping
  • Reporting to relevant U.S. and State agencies (these reports are not for public inspection)
  • Contact donors about changes to this policy

However, properly anonymized donor information is used for promotional and fundraising activities. We allow donors the option to have their name publicly associated with their donation unless the donor explicitly chooses the "anonymous" field when donating online. In all other cases the default is for staff and volunteers to assume all donations are not to be publicly announced unless the donor explicitly indicates otherwise. Comments given in donor forms are published in public lists and may be used in promotional materials while comments sent to us via email, fax or telephone are kept strictly confidential.

Financial information

All access to donor financial information is strictly limited to professional staff who need to process those data. No such data are given to any person, organization or group who does not need to access those data.

The Foundation only uses online payment processing services with world class security and strong reputations. The Wikimedia Foundation does not store, nor does it have access to, your credit card information, bank account numbers, or other account data sent to those processing services.

Donations to the Wikimedia Foundation go to a bank lockbox. This provides the highest possible level of security and confidentiality.

Contact us

If you have questions about this Donor Privacy Policy or if you wish to be removed from our e-mail/postal contact lists, then please email donate@wikimedia.org or write to:

Wikimedia Foundation Inc.
149 New Montgomery Street, 3rd Floor
San Francisco, CA 94105
USA

Please do not send donations to the address above. Donations may be sent to the lockbox at:

Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
P.O. Box 894879
Los Angeles, CA 90189-4879
USA

Donor Bill of Rights

The Foundation subscribes to the 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 assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

  1. 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.
  2. 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.
  3. To have access to the organization's most recent financial statements.
  4. To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
  5. To receive appropriate acknowledgment and recognition.
  6. To be assured that information about their donations is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
  7. To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
  8. To be informed whether those seeking donations are volunteers, employees of the organization or hired solicitors.
  9. To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.
  10. To feel free to ask questions when making a donation and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

The text of this statement in its entirety was developed by the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel (AAFRC), Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and National Society of Fund Raising Executives (NSFRE).