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Last Updated: September 16th, 2022

 

Privacy Policy

 

At Mountaintop International, we value your support and respect your privacy rights. To demonstrate our commitment to protecting your rights, we created this privacy policy ("Privacy Policy"), which explains how we treat the information collected and received from your use of our website mountaintopfellows.org. This Privacy Policy applies only to the Website, and we are not responsible for the practices of persons, companies, or websites that Mountaintop does not control, manage, or employ. Except as set forth in this Privacy Policy, our Terms of Use Agreement ("Terms of Use") and other published guidelines, we do not release personal information about our users without obtaining their written permission.

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What Information this Privacy Policy Covers

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Most of our Website's features can be used without revealing any personal information, though, for some specific features or services, personal information, such as your email address will be required. If you do not use these specific features or services on the Website, then the only information we collect will be "Non-Personal Information" (i.e., information that is not traceable back to you and cannot be used to identify you). Non-Personal Information includes information such as the web pages that you have viewed. In order to access certain features and benefits on our Website, you may need to submit "Personally Identifiable Information" (i.e., information that can be traced back to you). Personally Identifiable Information can include information such as your name, home address, telephone number, and email address. You are responsible for ensuring the accuracy of the Personally Identifiable Information you submit to Mountaintop. Inaccurate information may affect your ability to use the Website, the information you receive when using the Website, and our ability to contact you. For example, your email address should be kept current because that is one of the main ways in which we communicate with you.

 

What You Consent to by Using Our Website

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By using the website you are accepting the practices described in this privacy policy. Please understand that by submitting any Personally Identifiable Information to us, and/or by using our Website, you consent and agree that we may collect, use, and disclose such Personally Identifiable Information in accordance with this Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use, and as permitted or required by law. If you do not agree with these terms, then please do not provide any Personally Identifiable Information to us. If you refuse or withdraw your consent, or if you choose not to provide us with any required Personally Identifiable Information, we may not be able to provide you with the products or services that can be offered on our Website.

 

What Information We Collect

 

We gather two types of information about users through the Website – non-personal and personal information. All information is stored within Mountaintop accounts on Wix, Google Analytics, and AirTable.

  1. Non-Personal Information. When users come to our Website, we may track, collect, and aggregate Non-Personal Information indicating, among other things, which pages of our Website were visited, the order in which they were visited, and which hyperlinks were "clicked." Collecting such information may involve logging the IP address, operating system, and browser software used by each user of the Website. Although such information is not Personally Identifiable Information, we may be able to determine from an IP address a user's Internet Service Provider and the geographic location of his or her point of connectivity. At no time do we disclose information pertaining to site usage or individual IP addresses to third parties.

  2. We also use or may use Cookies, which are electronic identifiers that are transferred automatically to your computer through your browser that allow our computers to save certain information you provide us and store information about you so we can recognize you when you visit our Website in the future. Cookies help us determine, without limitation, the type of content and sites to which a user of our Website links, the length of time each user spends at any particular area of our Website, and the specific features that users choose to use. Essentially, Cookies are a user's identification card for the Mountaintop servers. Cookies allow Mountaintop to serve you better and more efficiently, and to customize your visit to our Website. Cookies are not used to retain Personally Identifiable Information.

  3. Our website uses Google Analytics, a service that transmits website traffic data to Google servers in the United States. Google Analytics does not identify individual users or associate your IP address with any other data held by Google. We use reports provided by Google Analytics to help us understand website traffic and webpage usage.

  4. You should be able to control how and whether Cookies will be accepted by your web browser. Most browsers offer instructions on how to reset the browser to reject Cookies in the "Help" section of the toolbar. If you reject our Cookies, certain features and conveniences of this Website may not work properly, but you do not have to accept our Cookies in order to productively use many features of the Website.

  5. Personally Identifiable Information. We collect Personally Identifiable Information that you provide us when you sign up for newsletters and email messages, register for certain special features of our Website, send us email messages, participate in surveys, apply for the Fellowship, employment with Mountaintop, or an internship opportunity, or purchase products and/or make donations on our Website. Among other things, we may use the Personally Identifiable Information that you provide to respond to your questions, provide you with the specific services you select, send you the products that you order, send you newsletters about topics that you choose, send you email messages about Website maintenance and updates, and inform you of significant changes to this Privacy Policy.

    1. Newsletters and Updates. In order to subscribe to our newsletter or email updates, you will need to input your name, email address, and undergraduate education information in the "Newsletter Signup" link ("Newsletter Link"). During this process, you may also provide other Personally Identifiable Information, such as your ethnicity and an alternate email address. At any time, you can choose to opt out of receiving additional newsletters or updates from us by clicking the "unsubscribe" option when updating your contact information in the Newsletter Link.

    2. Communications with Mountaintop. We may receive Personally Identifiable Information when you send us an email message or otherwise contact us.

    3. Surveys. From time to time, Mountaintop sends surveys that ask for your feedback so we may improve our services. Information we collect may include Personally Identifiable Information and Non-Personal Information. (Information includes optional data on race, high school education of parents, and receipt of a Pell Grant.) Other information collected relates to applicants’ perceptions of Mountaintop and their other job offers.

    4. Applications. In order to apply for the Fellowship, employment with Mountaintop, or to receive other specific benefits, you will need to provide us with Personally Identifiable Information, such as your name, home address, phone number, and resume. If you apply for employment with Mountaintop, you will need to provide additional Personally Identifiable Information, such as your educational background, first available date, and most recent salary/salary requirements, professional references, and EEO information.

    5. Donations When making donations on our Website, you are required to provide us with Personally Identifiable Information such as your name, address, Billing Information, and email address. Visit our Donor Privacy Policy to learn more about how we collect and use our donors' Personal Information.

 

How We Use the Information

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Please take some time to familiarize yourself with the different ways Mountaintop uses the information that we gather.

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  1. Non-Personal Information. We use Non-Personal Information in aggregate form to build higher quality and more useful services by performing statistical analyses of the collective characteristics and behavior of our users, and by measuring demographics and interests regarding specific areas of our Website.

  2. Personally Identifiable Information. This Privacy Policy serves as notice that we collect Personally Identifiable Information in the manners described herein. Except as set forth in this Privacy Policy or as specifically agreed to by you, whether by explicit consent or implicit consent of participating in certain special features that require disclosure of certain personally identifiable information Mountaintop will not disclose any Personally Identifiable Information we gather from you on the Website. In addition to the other uses set forth in this Privacy Policy, we may disclose and otherwise use Personally Identifiable Information as described below.

    1. Newsletters and Email to You. We use contact information input through the Newsletter Link to send you the newsletters and email messages that you request us to send.

    2. Communications with Mountaintop. When you send us an email message or otherwise contact us, we may use the information provided by you to respond to your communication and/or as described in this Privacy Policy. Also, we may archive this information and/or use it for future communications with you.

    3. Applications. When you complete our on-line application for the Fellowship or employment with Mountaintop, we may use the information provided by you to respond to your communication and/or as described in this Privacy Policy. Also, we may archive this information and/or use it for future communication with you. When you submit your application, you authorize Mountaintop to release your application to district personnel for placement purposes and grant Mountaintop permission to publicize anonymous group biographical data taken from your application. Mountaintop may also use the information to contact references or conduct a background check. If you provide family contact information, we may use such information to send periodic newsletters and organizational updates.

    4. Donations. We use Personally Identifiable Information collected when you make a donation on our Website to process your donation (either directly or through our providers), and we may also archive this information and/or use it for future communications with you. Visit our Donor Privacy Policy to learn more about how we collect and use our donors' Personal Information.

    5. Social Networks. Mountaintop has or will have a searchable database/social network of Fellows and eventually, Fellow alumni. Information provided by matriculated Fellows and alumni will pre-populate fields including name, current location, and Fellow region and year. As discussed above, certain special features of the portal will require you to register with your email as your username, which will then be viewable by all other participants of such special features.

    6. Government Authorities, Legal Rights and Actions. Mountaintop may share your Personally Identifiable Information with various government authorities in response to subpoenas, court orders, or other legal process; to establish or exercise our legal rights or to protect our property; to defend against legal claims; or as otherwise required by law. In such cases we reserve the right to raise or waive any legal objection or right available to us. We also may share your Personally Identifiable Information when we believe it is appropriate to investigate, prevent, or take action regarding illegal or suspected illegal activities; to protect and defend the rights, property, or safety of Mountaintop, the Website, our users, Fellows, or others; and in connection with our Terms of Use and other agreements.

    7. Your Personally Identifiable Information is not collected for commercial purposes and Mountaintop does not sell or otherwise distribute the information collected from the website for commercial purposes.

 

External Links

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For your convenience we may provide links to websites operated, controlled, managed, or employed by companies other than Mountaintop ("Third Party Sites") that we believe may be of interest to you. We do not disclose your Personally Identifiable Information to these Third Party Sites without obtaining your consent. We do not endorse and are not responsible for the privacy practices of these Third Party Sites. If you choose to link to one of these Third Party Sites, you should review the privacy policy posted on the other website to understand how that Third Party Site collects and uses your Personally Identifiable Information.

 

Confidentiality & Security of Personally Identifiable Information

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We consider the confidentiality and security of your information to be of the utmost importance. We will keep your Personally Identifiable Information private and will not share it with third parties, except as otherwise provided in this Privacy Policy, or unless we have a good-faith belief that such disclosure is necessary in special cases, such as a physical threat to you or others. Mountaintop takes reasonable measures to protect your Personally Identifiable Information from disclosure to or access by third parties. Please note that we do not guarantee the security of Personally Identifiable Information, and there is some risk that an unauthorized third party may find a way to circumvent our security systems or that transmissions of your information over the internet will be intercepted.

 

Updating or Deleting Your Personally Identifiable Information

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We maintain a procedure to help you confirm that your Personally Identifiable Information remains correct and up-to-date. At any time, you may review and update your Personally Identifiable Information [by submitting a written request. You may also unsubscribe from certain email communications by clicking on the applicable link in those emails.

 

You may also email us at info@mountaintop.international in order to delete or update your Personally Identifiable Information on our systems or to opt out of further communications with us. We try to answer every email promptly, but may not always be able to do so. Keep in mind, however, that there will be residual information that will remain within our databases, access logs, and other records, which may or may not contain your Personally Identifiable Information.

 

If you have any privacy-related questions or unresolved problems, you may contact Mountaintop using the information provided below.

 

Changing Our Privacy Policy

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Please note that we review our privacy practices from time to time, and that these practices are subject to change. Any change, update, or modification will be effective immediately upon posting on our Website. We will notify you of any material change to this Privacy Policy by posting a notice on the first page of our Website's homepage for a reasonable period of time following such update, and by changing the effective date (located at the bottom of this page). Be sure to return to this page periodically to ensure familiarity with the most current version of this Privacy Policy.

 

International Users

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Our Website is hosted in the United States and is intended for and directed to users in the United States. If you access the Website from any region or country with laws or regulations governing personal data collection, use, and disclosure, that differ from United States laws, please be advised that through your continued use of the Website, which is governed by U.S. law, this Privacy Policy, and our Terms of Use, you are transferring your personal information to the United States and you consent to that transfer.

 

Protecting Children's Privacy

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Mountaintop strongly believes in protecting the privacy of children. In line with this belief, we do not knowingly collect or maintain Personally Identifiable Information on our Website from persons under 13 years of age, and no part of our Website is directed to persons under 13 years of age. If you are under 13 years of age, then please do not use or access this Website at any time or in any manner. We will take appropriate steps to delete any Personally Identifiable Information of persons less than 13 years of age that has been collected on our Website without verified parental consent upon learning of the existence of such Personally Identifiable Information.

 

California Privacy Rights

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Under California Law, California residents may have the right to request in writing from businesses with whom they have an established business relationship: (a) a list of the categories of Personally Identifiable Information and the type of services provided to the customer, that a business has disclosed to third parties (including affiliates that are separate legal entities) during the immediately preceding calendar year for the third parties' direct marketing purposes; and (b) the names and addresses of all such third parties. To make such requests, if entitled, please use the contact information listed below.

 

Contacting Mountaintop

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If you have any questions, comments or complaints about this Privacy Policy or our Website, please contact us:

Email:       info@mountaintop.international

Phone:      ‪+1-202-417-7171

Address:   Mountaintop, PO Box 73341 Washington, DC 20056

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