Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy describes how National Collaboration for Infants & Toddlers (“NCIT”) collects, uses, and shares information with respect to your use of its website located at https://www.ncit.org/, as well as other websites owned and/or operated by NCIT that link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Website”). NCIT is a coalition of thousands of organizations and individuals that are working together to educate and advocate for policies and communities that support babies, toddlers, and families. Voices for Healthy Kids, a project of the American Heart Association (“AHA”), provides staff and support to NCIT and also manages the Website on behalf of NCIT. The data collected through the Website is kept completely separate from other data belonging to Voices for Healthy Kids and/or AHA, and is used only as set forth in this Privacy Policy, and not for Voices for Healthy Kids’ and/or AHA’s own benefit.

Before you use or submit any information in connection with the Website, carefully review this Privacy Policy. By using the Website, you consent to the collection, use, and disclosure of your information as outlined below. The terms “you” or “user” refer to all individuals and entities accessing the Website for any reason. The terms “us” or “we” refer to NCIT.

Information We Collect
The information we collect from you and about you depends on how you use the Website and the information you provide to NCIT. We collect information in three main ways: (1) information you choose to provide to us; (2) information we collect automatically when you use the Website; and (3) information we collect from others.

Information You Provide To Us
We collect information about our users when users choose to provide that information to us. Examples of such information collection include, for example, when you sign up to receive emails from us, when a news media professional submits a question through the Website, when you send a message to public officials through the Website, or when you otherwise communicate or interact with us through the Website. The kinds of information we may collect include your first and last name, your email address, your mailing address, your zip code, your phone number, and, if you are a news media professional, information about where you work and the story you are working on. We also collect any other information you provide to us in connection with your use of the Website. Sometimes you may provide the information to a trusted third party on our behalf instead of directly to us, but that third party uses your information only for the purpose for which it was provided or otherwise in accordance with applicable law.

Information that Is Passively or Automatically Collected
When you visit the Website, we may automatically receive and record information from your computer or mobile device. This information allows us to understand how people are navigating and using our Website, and how we can improve your experience based on the information we collect. The types of information we may collect include, by way of example only, your IP address, browser type, browser language, operating system, state or country from which you accessed the Website, software and hardware attributes (including device IDs), referring and exit pages and URLs, platform type, the number of clicks, files you download, pages viewed, the amount of time spent on particular pages, the date and time you used the Website, error logs and other similar information. From your IP address, we may be able to infer your general location (e.g., city and state or postal code).

We may use third-party analytics providers and technologies, such as cookies, web beacons, tracking pixels, or gifs, to help us collect the data described above. We use the term “cookie” in the broad sense to include all similar techniques and technologies. A cookie is a small text file that is placed on your computer or device when you visit a website that stores certain information about your website usage. For example, cookies enable us to recognize your computer; store your preferences and settings; enhance your user experience by delivering content specific to your interests; perform searches and analytics; and assist with security administrative functions.

You can change your settings to notify you when a cookie is being set or updated, or to block cookies altogether. If you disable cookies, some functionality of the Website may be impaired.

Information We Collect from Others
We may receive additional information about you from third parties and other sources, such as from public records, marketers, researchers, analysts, social network services, and other organizations. We use this information to supplement the information that we collect directly from you to derive your possible interests and to provide a more relevant experience for you and to improve the Website, analytics, and advertising.

How We Use Your Information
We may use the information we collect for the following purposes:

For the purposes for which you provided the information, including:
- To add you to our email list;
- To distribute your comment or signature to the appropriate agency or official;
- To provide you, as a news media professional, with information to assist with your research or story.
To maintain and improve the Website, including:
- To provide the features and services available through the Website;
- To improve the content and features of the Website or to develop new services;
- To administer and troubleshoot the Website.
To communicate with you, including:
- To send you information about your relationship with us;
- To contact you with information that we believe may be of interest to you;
- To process and respond to your inquiries or to request your feedback.
For internal research and reporting.
For our business operations, including for security, fraud prevention, and legal compliance.
To comply with laws and regulations for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of others.
For other purposes for which we seek your consent in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

If you provide us with your email address, we may add you to our email distribution list. If you wish to stop receiving emails from us, please email [email protected] or click the unsubscribe link in the footer of an email from us. Please note that opting out or unsubscribing will not prevent you from receiving communications that are not marketing in nature, such as important notices about changes to our terms and policies.

If you provide us with your mobile number, you consent to receiving calls and messages from NCIT. Message and data rates may apply. If you wish to stop receiving calls and messages from us, please text STOP in response to any text message you receive from us.

We may also aggregate or de-identify information we collect from you so that it is no longer linked to you or your computer or device, or we may collect information that is already in de-identified form. Our use and disclosure of aggregated or de-identified information is not subject to any restrictions under this Privacy Policy, and we may, in our sole discretion, use and disclose such information for any purpose, without limitation.

When We Disclose Your Information
We may disclose and/or share your information to or with third parties under the following circumstances:

With Consent. We may share your information with your consent.
Service Providers. We may provide access to or share your information with select third parties that perform services on our behalf. These include, for example, Voices for Healthy Kids, which manages our Website and NationBuilder that sends emails on our behalf.
With Collaborators and Other Select Entities. We may share your information (except for text messaging opt-in data and consent information or your credit card information) with other organizations with whom we may collaborate, with companies whose products, offerings, or services we believe may be of interest to you, and with select marketing companies and data co-op firms. If you do not want NCIT to share information about you with these entities, please email us at [email protected].
Protection of NCIT and Others. NCIT may access, preserve, and disclose your information if required to do so by law or in a good faith belief that such access, preservation, or disclosure is permitted by this Privacy Policy or reasonably necessary or appropriate for any of the following reasons:
- to comply with legal process;
- to enforce this Policy, including investigation of potential violations thereof;
- to respond to your requests for customer service; and/or
- to protect the rights, property, or personal safety of NCIT, its members, agents and affiliates, users, and the public. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection, and spam/malware prevention, and similar purposes.
Organizational Transfers. We may share your information if we acquire, merge or partner with other organizations. In such transactions (including in contemplation of such transactions, e.g., due diligence) user information may be among the transferred assets. If any of NCIT’s assets are sold or transferred to a third party, information collected through the Website would likely be one of the transferred business assets.
Aggregated Data. We may share aggregated and de-identified information.

How We Protect Your Information
We have implemented administrative, technical, and physical security measures to protect against the loss, misuse, and/or alteration of your information. These safeguards vary based on the sensitivity of the information that we collect and store. However, we cannot and do not guarantee that these measures will prevent every unauthorized attempt to access, use, or disclose your information because, despite our efforts, no Internet and/or other electronic transmissions can be completely secure.

Legal Basis for Processing Personal Data
The laws in some jurisdictions require that website operators tell you about the legal grounds they rely on to use or disclose your information. To the extent those laws apply, our legal grounds for processing your information are as follows:

Where use of your information is necessary to perform our obligations to you;
Where use of your information is necessary for our legitimate interests or the legitimate interests of others (for example, to provide security for our Website; to provide the services we provide through our Website; to defend our legal rights; to analyze the use of our Website; to improve our services);
Where we have a reason to process the information in accordance with applicable law;
Where we have your consent to engage in a particular type of processing activity.

Online Analytics
We may use third-party web analytics services (such as those of Google Analytics) in connection with our Services to collect and analyze the information discussed above, and to engage in auditing, research, or reporting. The information (including your IP address) collected by various analytics technologies described in the “Information that Is Passively or Automatically Collected” section will be disclosed to or collected directly by these service providers, who use the information to evaluate your use of the Website, including by noting the third party website from which you arrive, analyzing usage trends, assisting with fraud prevention, and providing certain features to you. Find information about how Google uses information collected from sites that use its services. To prevent Google Analytics from using your information for analytics, you may install the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on.

If you receive an email from us, we may use certain analytics tools, such as clear GIFs, to capture data such as when you open our message or click on any links or banners our email contains. This data allows us to assess the effectiveness of our communications and marketing campaigns to help us grow.

Non-U.S. Visitors
The Website is not intended for individuals located outside of the U.S. If you are a non-U.S. resident, you acknowledge that our collection and processing of personal information is subject to United States law, and that any personal information you provide to us shall be processed in the United States, where the laws and regulations may not provide the same level of data protection rights as in the jurisdiction in which you are located.

Children’s Privacy
The Website is intended for general audiences and is not directed at children. If we become aware that we have collected information without legally valid parental consent from children under an age where such consent is required under applicable law, we will take reasonable steps to delete it as soon as possible.

Third-Party Links and Websites
The Website may contain links to third party websites. Please be aware that we are not responsible for the content or privacy practices of such other sites. The collection, use and disclosure of your information will be subject to the privacy policies of those third party websites, not this Privacy Policy. Therefore, we encourage our users to be aware when they leave our Website and to read the privacy policies of every site they visit that collects their information.

Revisions to Privacy Policy
We will continue to review this Privacy Policy and we may make changes to the Policy from time to time. The date at the bottom of this page indicates the last time changes were made. You should check this page periodically for updates. If we make material changes to this Policy, we will provide you with notice as required by law. Your continued use of the Website will signify that you have read, understood, and accepted the terms of the updated Privacy Policy.

Contact Us
If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, you can contact us by emailing us at [email protected].

Last Updated: March 20, 2023