WEBSITE POLICIES

PEN America understands that you may have questions about the information you provide on this website and your use of this website. We do not configure our website to collect personal information from your computer when browsing this site. The personal information we receive depends on the information you voluntarily provide when you visit our site.

HOW WE USE “COOKIES” AND “ACTION TAGS”

A cookie is a small data file sent to your browser and stored on your computer. Cookies are used on our site to facilitate the ordering process and aid in analysis of site usage, and can be used by other websites to present advertising which may be of interest to you based on your behavior on our site.

We may also use action tags (also known as “web beacons” or “single-pixel gifs”).  When you access pages with action tags, a generic notice of that page visit is generated. This may be used to allow third-parties to set cookies in order to present advertising on other sites based on your behavior on our site.

However, we do not use cookies or action tags to collect or transfer personal information.

If you have concerns about the use of these methods you should adjust your browser settings to restrict or block cookies.

GOOGLE ANALYTICS

PEN America uses Google Analytics to track usage statistics. These features do not use personally identifiable information, but do collect information about your computer. This allows us to analyze data about visits to our site, and is another tool used by other websites to present advertising which may be of interest to you based on your behavior on our site. If you do not wish to participate, you can use Google’s opt out link: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/. You may also be interested in the National Advertising Institute’s opt out tool: http://optout.networkadvertising.org/#!/.

PAYMENTS

When you engage in an online monetary transaction, we utilize standard techniques, including “cookies,” secure online sessions, online accounts, and other industry standard practices to process your order without you having to re-enter information multiple times.

CREDIT CARD TRANSACTIONS

Our website secures your private information using modern LetsEncrypt SSL/TLS certificates. These certificates (a) encrypt all data transmission between your computer and our website, and, (b) verify PEN America as the owner or operator of the website located at www.pen.org. LetsEncrypt certificates are deployed and trusted by a majority of e-commerce website operators worldwide.

Our website is also compliant with the rigorous standards established by the Payment Card Industry (“PCI”), a cooperative group comprised of all major credit card issuers. E-commerce transactions are handled by Stripe. PEN America does not keep a record of your credit card information within our own systems. You can view Stripe’s privacy policy and terms here.

DONOR POLICY

PEN America values and respects its donors’ right to privacy. We utilize donors’ personal information such as names, mailing addresses, and email addresses only for purposes of engagement or acknowledgement and/or when we have your consent to share the information; we need to share your information to provide the product or service you have requested; we need to send the information to companies who work on behalf of PEN America to provide a product or service to you. PEN America does not sell, rent, trade, or share its donor list with any other organization and does not send out mass mailings on behalf of other organizations. PEN America takes every reasonable precaution to protect and preserve the confidentiality of all personal information. We reserve the right to disclose your personally identifiable information as required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights and/or comply with a court order or judicial process served on us.

MEMBER POLICY

PEN America values and respects its members’ right to privacy. We utilize members’ personal information such as names, mailing addresses, and email addresses only for purposes of engagement or acknowledgement and/or when we have your consent to share the information; we need to share your information to provide the product or service you have requested; we need to send the information to companies who work on behalf of PEN America to provide a product or service to you. PEN America does not sell, rent, trade, or share its member list with any other organization and does not send out mass mailings on behalf of other organizations. PEN America takes every reasonable precaution to protect and preserve the confidentiality of all personal information. We reserve the right to disclose your personally identifiable information as required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights and/or comply with a court order or judicial process served on us.

DIGITAL POLICIES

INFORMATION SHARING AND DISCLOSURE

PEN America will not sell or rent your email address or telephone number to anyone. PEN America may send your contact information to other companies when: We have your consent to share the information; we need to share your information to provide the product or service you have requested; we need to send the information to companies who work on behalf of PEN America to provide a product or service to you. These companies provide services to us, such as hosting our communications systems, providing hosting for streaming media content, and the backup of our data. If you have opted in to receive text messages from PEN America by giving us your personal telephone number, we will limit communication to no more than four messages per month. Unless we tell you otherwise, these companies do not have any right to use the contact information we provide to them beyond what is necessary to assist us in providing our service to you.

We reserve the right to disclose your personally identifiable information as required by law and when we believe that disclosure is necessary to protect our rights and/or comply with a court order or judicial process served on us.

COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE SITE | E-NEWSLETTERS

If you wish to subscribe to our electronic communications, we will use your name and email address to send them to you. Out of respect for your privacy, we provide a way to unsubscribe within each electronic communication. Our electronic communications are powered by Mailchimp. You can view Mailchimp’s privacy policy here.

DISCLAIMERS

PEN America exercises reasonable care in mitigating any potential issues associated with the operation of our website, including, but not limited to, utilizing security software applications and employing computer consultants. We realize, however, that a multitude of technical issues can arise in our website operations.

To this effect, PEN America does not warrant that the functions contained on the website, will be uninterrupted or error free, that defects will be corrected, or that PEN America’s web pages or ISP or server operations that host or transmit any web page or content contained therein is free of viruses or other harmful defects.

In the event that there exists a conflict between posted materials, policies, or any other terms on the website and any executed agreements, such as subscription policies, donor agreements, or any other arrangements, the executed agreement and its terms will prevail and will be given full force and effect without modification.

PEN America’s website and its materials are provided on an “AS IS” basis without any kind of warranties or representations, either express or implied, regarding, among other things, the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of text, graphics, opinions (direct or indirect implications thereof), and other items accessed from or via this website.

PEN America or any other third parties mentioned on this website shall not be liable, under any circumstances, for direct, indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages, including, but not limited to, costs associated with servicing, repairing and/or replacing equipment, lost data, lost profits, or business interruptions, resulting from the use or inability to use this website and its materials, whether or not PEN America is advised of the possibility of such damages.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

This website’s design and content are the property of PEN America and are protected by copyright, trademark, and other intellectual property laws. PEN America authorizes you to view and download the content portion of this website only for your personal, non-commercial use, provided that you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices contained on the original materials. You may not otherwise copy, reproduce, modify, perform, publish, transmit, display, participate in the transfer or sale, create derivative works, or in any way commercially exploit or provide to a third party the content or any other portion of the website without the prior written consent of PEN America.  No license is granted or implied based on the display of any trade names, trademarks, service marks, logos, or domain names on this website.

If you post content or submit material to this website, such content will not be acknowledged or returned, and you grant PEN America a nonexclusive, royalty-free, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable right to use, reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from, distribute, and display such content throughout the world in any media. You represent and warrant that you own or otherwise control all of the rights to the content that you post, that the content is accurate, that use of the content does not violate this policy and will not cause injury to any person or entity, and that you will defend, indemnify PEN America and/or its associates for all claims resulting from content you supply.  PEN America has the right but not the obligation to monitor and edit or remove any activity or content. PEN America takes no responsibility and assumes no liability for any content posted by you or any third party.

LINKS ON THIS WEBSITE TO THIRD PARTY SITES

This website may contain hyperlinks to websites and Internet resources operated by persons or entities other than PEN America. Links from this website to other third-party sites do not constitute an endorsement by PEN America or its associates of any third-party resources or their contents.  Such hyperlinks to other web resources are provided for your reference only and on an “as is” basis. You acknowledge and agree that PEN America is not responsible for the availability of linked sites and does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, privacy policies, or other materials on or available from such sites or any damages caused by them. You are solely responsible for determining the extent to which any content or resource is appropriate to use at any other websites to which you might link from this website.

LINKS TO THIS WEBSITE ON THIRD PARTY SITES

Websites operated by persons or entities other than PEN America may contain hyperlinks to this website. Links to this website to other third-party sites do not constitute an endorsement by PEN America or its associates of any third-party resources or their contents.  You acknowledge and agree that PEN America does not endorse and is not responsible or liable for any content, advertising, products, privacy policies, or other materials on or available from such sites or any damages caused by them. You are solely responsible for determining the extent to which any content or resource is appropriate to use at any other websites which might link to this website.

Last Updated: October 2018