Donor Privacy Policy

Kohl Children’s Museum is an independent, nonprofit organization and is committed to protecting all donors’ privacy. Contributions from individual donors, corporations, foundations, and government entities make up approximately 50% of Kohl Children’s Museum’s base of support. We value our donors’ trust and recognize that maintaining this trust requires transparency with our supporters and the public.

Kohl Children’s Museum respects the privacy of its donors and has put in place a Donor Privacy Policy to honor these rights. This policy ensures that personal information is properly collected, used only for the purposes for which it is collected, and is irretrievably disposed of in a secure and timely manner when it is no longer needed.


DONOR INFORMATION

We collect donor information for internal use only. We obtain relevant information about donors lawfully and fairly. Access to donor files containing personal information is restricted to Museum employees and authorized service providers. Kohl Children’s Museum will not share specific donation amounts with anyone, unless a donor consents. Donor gift amounts and identities, however, can be required as part of government regulation and the Museum’s annual accounting practices. If a donor requests their gift be kept confidential, this request will be honored.

Kohl Children’s Museum collects and maintains the following types of donor information when it is provided to us:

  • Contact information such as name, address, telephone number and e-mail address
  • Giving information
  • Information on attendance, publications sent and special requests
  • Information provided by the donor in the form of comments and suggestions

Confidential information is kept on file for IRS purposes. Kohl Children’s Museum will keep donors’ personal information only as long as it is necessary to satisfy the purposes for which it was obtained, or as legally required.

LIST SHARING

Kohl Children’s Museum does not sell, rent, trade or share its donor list. The Museum does not send out mailings on behalf of other organizations.

DONOR BILL OF RIGHTS
Kohl Children’s Museum 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.

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 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.

DISCONTINUING CONTACT UPON REQUEST

It is the practice of Kohl Children’s Museum to communicate with donors according to their expressed preferences whenever possible. The Museum will discontinue or change the method used to contact any person upon that person’s oral or written request directed to the organization, its professional fundraisers, or other agent.

Kohl Children’s Museum shall maintain a record of requests by persons who indicate to the Museum, its professional fundraiser, or other agents, that they do not wish to be contacted by or on behalf of Kohl Children’s Museum. This policy does not prohibit contact by an individual or group soliciting on behalf of Kohl Children’s Museum when independent and outside of the Museum’s control, even if the person being contacted has requested to be placed on the “do not contact” list.

Upon a donor’s (or a donor’s authorized representative) request that Kohl Children’s Museum discontinue further contact, the donor’s name and address will be promptly modified in the Museum’s donor database to ensure that no further contact is made. The Museum will ensure that the donor’s name is appropriately marked in database or records in Kohl Children’s Museum’s control.

Kohl Children’s Museum will maintain a record of requests for discontinuance of contact, effective with the adoption of this policy by Kohl Children’s Museum’s Board of Trustees. Oral requests will be noted in writing and recorded in the database. These records will be maintained by the Museum to the extent necessary for legal or liability purposes.