Privacy Policy

Who we are

The Institute of FAME, Inc. (“FAME,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a Georgia nonprofit corporation classified by the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 81-4374785). Our principal address is 541 10th Street NW, Suite 177, Atlanta, GA 30318, United States. This Privacy Policy applies to information we collect through our website at institutefame.org.

What we collect

We collect only what we need to operate the institute and to communicate with people who choose to engage with us. Specifically:

• Information you give us directly. If you email an inbox listed on our Contact page, your email address and the content of your message reach the institute. If you subscribe to our newsletter, you provide your email address (and optionally your name). When you make a donation through our Donate page, the payment processor (Stripe) collects payment information directly. We receive your name, email address, billing country and postal code, donation amount, transaction ID and, for monthly gifts, whether and how you would like to be recognized as a founding supporter — never your full card number, CVV, or bank account number.
• Information collected automatically. When you visit this site, basic technical information is recorded by our hosting provider (Vercel) in standard server logs: your IP address, browser user-agent, the pages you requested, and the referring URL. We also use Google Analytics 4, a service from Google, to understand how visitors use the site: which pages are viewed, how visitors arrived, and general information about their device, browser and approximate location. Google Analytics uses cookies and similar technologies, and Google processes this information under its own privacy policy. You can block Google Analytics with your browser's cookie settings or with Google's opt-out browser add-on.
• Cookies. Google Analytics sets cookies in your browser to distinguish visits and measure site use, as described above. Your browser may also receive transient session cookies from the hosting provider during a request. We do not sell, rent or trade the information these cookies collect.

Why we collect it

We use the information described above only for the purposes for which you provided it: to respond to your inquiry, to send you the newsletter you subscribed to, to acknowledge and report your donation in compliance with IRS substantiation requirements, to understand and improve how the website is used, or to keep the website operating securely. We do not sell, rent, or trade your information.

Who else sees it

We share information with a small number of service providers strictly to operate the site and the institute's functions:

• Vercel hosts the website and produces the server logs described above.
• Mailchimp, our email provider, stores newsletter-subscriber email addresses and delivers messages on our behalf.
• Stripe processes online donations. Stripe maintains its own privacy policy at stripe.com/privacy.
• Government agencies when required by law — for example, the IRS for Form 990 reporting, the Georgia Secretary of State for nonprofit-corporation filings, or a court under valid legal process.

We do not share your information with foundation partners, commercial affiliates of FAME's directors, or any third party for marketing purposes.

How long we keep it

Server logs are retained by our hosting provider for the period specified in their policy (typically a few weeks). Email correspondence is retained for as long as our records-retention schedule requires for institutional correspondence. Newsletter subscriptions are retained until you unsubscribe. Donor records are retained for the period required by IRS recordkeeping rules (currently six years from the close of the relevant fiscal year).

Your choices

• Newsletter. Every newsletter we send includes a one-click unsubscribe link. You can also email info@institutefame.org and we will remove you from the list.
• Access, correction, or deletion. If you want to know what information we hold about you, ask us to correct it, or ask us to delete it, email info@institutefame.org. We respond to verified requests within 45 days. We may need to retain donor records to satisfy IRS recordkeeping rules even after a deletion request — we will tell you if that applies.
• California residents (CCPA / CPRA). California residents have the right to know what personal information we have collected, to request deletion, and to be free from discrimination for exercising these rights. We do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. To exercise a right, email the address above.
• Residents of the European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, or Switzerland (GDPR / UK GDPR). You have the rights of access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, and objection with respect to your personal data, as well as the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. To exercise a right, email the address above. Our lawful basis for processing newsletter and inquiry correspondence is consent (Article 6(1)(a)); for donor records, compliance with our legal obligations under U.S. tax law (Article 6(1)(c)).

Children

This site is not directed to children under 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe we have inadvertently done so, contact us and we will delete the information.

Security

We use commercially reasonable safeguards to protect the information we hold, including encrypted connections (HTTPS) for all site traffic and reputable third-party providers for hosting, email, and payment processing. No system on the public internet is perfectly secure; if we ever experience a breach affecting personal information, we will notify affected individuals as required by applicable law.

Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the effective date at the top of the page and, for material changes, post a brief notice on the site or notify subscribers by email.

How to contact us

Privacy questions, requests, and complaints can be sent to:

Institute of FAME, Inc.
Attn: Privacy
541 10th Street NW, Suite 177
Atlanta, GA 30318
info@institutefame.org