Donor Policy

Last updated September 2022

The mission of Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities (BBBS) is to create and support mentoring relationships that ignite the power and promise of youth. The BBBS vision is that all youth achieve their full potential. BBBS relies on donations from community members and other funding sources to support BBBS programs to achieve this mission and vision.

BBBS carefully protects the privacy of donor information in order to foster trust with donors and the public in general. The Donor Privacy Policy describes how BBBS collects, uses and shares personal information that it receives about donors when receiving, processing, and facilitating donations.

What Donor Information is Collected

  • BBBS collects and maintains the following types of donor information:
  • Contact information (name, organization/company, home address, mailing address, organization mailing address if applicable, phone number, email address, and/or other relevant contact information)
  • Donation information (such as amounts donated, date(s), method, and purpose of donation)
  • Financial data (payment card details and other payment information – BBBS uses best practices and technology that comply with the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard (PCI-DSS) to protect donor personal and financial information;)
  • Information about volunteering (such as how many hours donors have volunteered, volunteer dates, type of volunteering, and related notes)
  • Correspondence, communication and transaction data (dates of contact, call report notes, copies of emails or letters, details about events donors have attended, etc.)
  • Information about linked individuals or organizations (such as an employer who also provides matching donations, or a spouse or family member who also donates)
  • Generally available data and information (such as demographic and wealth-related information available through websites, third-party companies or other publicly available information and sources)
  • Marketing and communications information (details regarding newsletters donors have subscribed to, donor’s marketing and communication preferences, and click throughs)
  • Non-personally identifiable information (such as how many hits each CFS website page receives, and if the visitor is repeat or new; this requires that a ‘cookie’ be sent to your web browser)

How Donor Information is Collected

BBBS collects donor information when donors interact with BBBS in the following ways:

  • Contribute through the BBBS website or mobile applications, at a special event, over the phone, by mail or email, or through a third-party affiliate.
  • Provide the information to a third party who is facilitating the donor’s contribution to BBBS, whether that third party is a website operator (such as GiveMN or PayPal), a community foundation, a physical donation site, or a service that otherwise facilitates donations.
  • Sign up or opt out to receive emails, newsletters, or other communications related to giving at BBBS.
  • Communicate with BBBS directly or through a professional fundraiser, agent, or volunteer, by phone, email, social media or in person.
  • Make public comments, post, submit information or participate in other ways on the BBBS website, mobile application or social media pages.
  • BBBS may also receive personal information on donors or potential donors from third party organizations that collect or aggregate such information from publicly available sources.

How Donor information is Used

BBBS uses donor information to do the following:

  • Establish a relationship and communicate with donors about BBBS and its programs, events and funding needs.
  • Learn about donors and what matters to them, and recognize donors for their contributions.
  • Process donations and event registrations.
  • Issue tax receipts.
  • Comply with applicable laws and regulations, including reporting requirements.
  • Plan and implement fundraising activities, events, and services.
  • Create a list of donor names by giving amount categories for BBBS’ Annual Report.
  • Create and engage in digital and non-digital marketing efforts, including development and advertising campaigns (whether through social media, online, or offline).
  • Analyze giving trends and statistics to create strategies to help future fundraising.
  • Solicit feedback from donors through surveys or other methods.

BBBS does not sell, trade, or share donor’s private information with other organizations, except third-party fundraising vendors that support BBBS giving events, donations, and related activities. Third-party fundraising vendors do not retain donor information after the specific need or event has ended, and are prohibited from using it for any purpose other than that specified by BBBS.

BBBS may share donor information on a need-to-know basis with staff, Board or Committee members, and/or volunteers who support BBBS fundraising efforts.

How to Contact BBBS in order to Edit Donor Information

BBBS honors donor requests regarding how the organization uses their personal information. Donors can contact BBBS to edit their donor information, and/or opt out of making your private information publicly available, such as in the BBBS Annual Report. Donors can also contact BBBS to request that BBBS discontinue contact with them or specify the manner in which BBBS contacts them.

To make any of these requests, please contact BBBS in one of the following ways: development@bigstwincities.org / 651-789-2400 / Big Brothers Big Sisters Twin Cities, Development Department, 3110 Washington Avenue North, Minneapolis, MN 55411.