Privacy Policy

American Battlefield Trust’s Privacy Policy

Last updated: August, 2023

This Privacy Policy describes how American Battlefield Trust ("American Battlefield Trust," "we" or "us") may collect, use and share information about you. This policy applies to information we collect when you use our websites, software and mobile applications, communicate with us through other information and distribution channels (collectively, “channels”), or otherwise interact with us. 

We may change this Privacy Policy from time to time. If we make changes, we will notify you by revising the date at the top of this policy and we may provide you with additional notice through one or more of our channels. We encourage you to review the Privacy Policy whenever you interact with us to stay informed about our information practices. 

Notice to EU Individuals and Individuals Residing in the UK: this Privacy Policy and its enumerated policies are intended to comply with Regulation (EU) 2016/679 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 27 April 2016 (as further updated and amended including through the UK General Data Protection Regulation of 2021, the “General Data Protection Regulation” or “GDPR”) and provide appropriate protection and care with respect to the treatment of your personal data in accordance with the GDPR. If you are located in the EU or the UK, you will also be asked to provide clear and unequivocal affirmative consent to the collection, processing, and sharing of your user information via cookies and similar technologies. We collect your user information only with your consent or otherwise in connection with a business legitimate purpose, as described in more detail below. This website and other channels are owned and operated by American Battlefield Trust and we are the controller of your personal data.

Information Collected

The American Battlefield Trust's online and offline resources are intended to supply our members, followers and website visitors with information about battlefield preservation and the American Battlefield Trust's mission. In the course of providing these services, for some materials, services or transactions, you may be asked to provide your name, address and additional information. The American Battlefield Trust will only collect personal information, which you knowingly and voluntarily provide by, for example, sending queries via email, completing membership forms, or responding to surveys. 

Interactions requiring personal information include:

• Becoming a Member
• Donating to our organization
• Signing petitions for political outreach
• Signing up for email updates/newsletters
• Entering a contest
• Registering for an event
• Purchasing items from our online store

Certain of our mobile applications permit the use of camera devices in connection with your use of the apps. When utilized, images of individuals may also be captured. You are responsible for ensuring that the subjects of any photographs or video captured in connection with your use of such apps have consented to the collection of their images and other personal data.

In some cases, we may also collect information you provide about others, such as in giving a gift membership. We will use this information to fulfill your request and will provide the recipient our standard opportunity to opt out of further communications.

In addition, we automatically collect certain information when you access or use our websites or transact with us, including:

• Log Information: We collect information such as the browser type and version, access time, pages viewed, IP address and the referring website.
• Information Collected by Cookies and Other Tracking Technologies: We utilize cookies, web beacons (also known as "tracking pixels") and other tracking technologies to collect information about audience interactions with our website and email communications, including information about traffic to the site and browsing behavior. We use this information in aggregate for various purposes, such as improving our visitors’ online experience, understanding which areas and features of our sites and mobile apps are popular, understanding how visitors navigate our site, understanding campaign effectiveness, tailoring our communications, and other internal business purposes. See below for additional information regarding Cookies.

How We Use Information

We use information about you, the Customer, for various purposes, including to:

• Provide the services you request, process transactions (including fulfilling orders) and send you related information, including confirmations and receipts;
• Respond to your comments, questions and requests;
• Communicate with you about the American Battlefield Trust, including our events, news and information we think will be of interest to you. 
• Personalize your online experience;
• Monitor and analyze trends, usage and activities; and
• Carry out any other purpose for which the information was collected, consistent with the commitments made in this Privacy Policy.  

Sharing of Information

We may share information:

• With contractors, consultants and other service providers who need access to such information to carry out work on our behalf. Our contractors, consultants and service providers are contractually obligated to comply with their obligations under applicable data privacy laws, including with their obligations as data processors. Orders are processed through our third party payment processor, which will receive personal information, including credit card information, in order to facilitate the fulfillment process. When you initiate the payment process, you will be directed to the website of our third party processor and the privacy policies of the processor shall govern the collection and handling of information that you provide to them. With respect to credit card processing, we do not directly collect, store, or process any credit card information.
• When we believe release is appropriate to comply with applicable laws, regulations, or legal processes; enforce or apply this Privacy Policy and other agreements; or protect the rights, property or safety of our organization, our members or others. This includes exchanging information with other companies and organizations for fraud protection and credit risk reduction.  This does not include selling, renting, sharing or otherwise disclosing personally identifiable information for commercial purposes (in a way that is contrary to the commitments made in this Privacy Policy). 
• In connection with, or during negotiations of, any merger, sale of company assets, financing or transfer of all or a portion of our operations. If we are acquired by or merged with or into another entity, or if we or our assets are sold or transferred to another entity, your personal information may be transferred to such entity as part of the transaction, and that entity and its affiliates may use your personal information under the terms of their own privacy policies which may differ from this Privacy Policy.

We emphasize that the American Battlefield Trust will not provide any of your personal information to other organizations when you inform us that you have elected to opt out.  Opt Out Procedures are described below.

You may update, correct or delete your account information at any time by contacting us as described below.  Note that we may retain certain information as required by law or for legitimate business purposes. We may also retain cached or archived copies of information about you for a certain period of time.

Website visitors who don’t want their visit data reported by Google Analytics can install the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on. This add-on instructs the Google Analytics JavaScript running on battlefields.org (and other websites) to prohibit sending visit information to Google Analytics. Additionally, visitors that have installed the opt-out browser add-on are not exposed to Content Experiments.

If you want to opt-out of Analytics for the web, visit the Google Analytics opt-out page and install the add-on for your browser. For more details on installing and uninstalling the add-on, please see the relevant help resources for your specific browser.

The Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on does not prevent data from being sent to the website itself or in other ways to web analytics services.

Opt Out Policy

The American Battlefield Trust provides three easy ways for you to opt-out of having any of your personal information shared or sold to other organizations: 

1. Email: info@battlefields.org with the subject heading "Membership Confidentiality." 
2. Call: 202-367-1861, or toll-free at 800-298-7878, and request that you would like your information to be confidential.
3. Mail: You may also write us at: American Battlefield Trust, 1156 15th Street NW, Suite 900, Washington, DC 20005 

When contacting us please provide your full name, membership ID number (if you have one), and address.

Information Security 

We take our users' privacy very seriously. When users submit personal information to the American Battlefield Trust, we take steps designed to ensure the information remains secure both during transmission and while stored. Some of these measures include an enterprise grade firewall and a secured environment for the data storage. All sensitive donor information is stored in this manner and only accessed by authorized American Battlefield Trust staff through a monitored and recorded login process using secure communication and password protection.

For our users' protection, this website uses Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), the standard of World Wide Web security, whenever financial transactions are being conducted.

However, like other companies, American Battlefield Trust cannot guarantee 100% the security or confidentiality of the information you provide to us. Consequently, while we endeavor to safeguard your personal information against unauthorized access and disclosure, we do not warrant or guarantee the absolute security of any personal information you transmit to, from or through the websites. If you share your computer or use a computer that is accessed by the general public, remember to sign off and close your browser window when you have finished your session. This will help to ensure that others cannot access your personally identifiable information.  In the event of a breach of the confidentiality or security of your personal information, we will notify you as required by law, if reasonably possible and as reasonably necessary, so that you can take appropriate protective steps. We may notify you under such circumstances using the e-mail address(es) we have on record for you or through alternative means. Please note that once you leave our websites, whether independently or via links from the websites, the privacy policies of the site to which you migrate will apply.  This Privacy Policy applies to your interactions with us only.

Children and Privacy

The American Battlefield Trust websites and other online resources are intended to be enjoyed by a general audience. We do not knowingly permit children under age 13 (in the United States) or age 16 (in the EEA) to register for any content, product, or service. We will not knowingly collect, use, or disclose personally identifiable information about people under age 13 (in the United States) or age 16 (in the EEA), except as permitted by law.

If children under 13 want to register with the American Battlefield Trust, they will need the consent of a parent or guardian. Our online registration process requires a confirmation via email, which provides the parent or legal guardian to give verifiable consent. 

Links to Third Party Sites

While the American Battlefield Trust is highly selective about which sites we provide links to or from our websites, we do not control those websites. We encourage you to review the privacy policies posted on these third party sites, as these policies will govern treatment of your personal information on those websites.

Cookies

In addition to information collected automatically, we use cookies, which are small pieces of information sent to your browser. These cookies do not collect personally identifiable information. Cookies are used to track usage patterns, traffic trends, and customer behavior, as well as to record other information from the website.

For EU and UK individuals, essential cookies also help inform the Trust whether you require, or have already been served, an affirmative consent request in connection with the GDPR. Essential cookies include analytics cookies, which provide us data that allows the Trust to better understand its users and improve the website based on what we have learned from that data.

Please note that if you choose to remove or reject cookies, this could affect the availability and functionality of some areas of our website. 

Managing Cookies in Your Browser
To reject cookies on your first visit to the battlefields.org, click “Reject cookies” in the red bar that appears at the bottom of the browser window. In addition, most browsers allow you to manage how cookies are set and used as you’re browsing, and to clear cookies and browsing data. Your browser may have settings letting you manage cookies on a site-by-site basis. For example, These settings allow you to delete existing cookies, allow or block all cookies, and set cookie preferences for websites. In “Private” or “Incognito” mode, your browser deletes your history and clears cookies on your device after you close your Private or Incognito windows. For additional information on how to opt-out of cookie-based advertising visit: http://optout.networkadvertising.org and https://www.neustar.biz/privacy/opt-out.

International Users

Our operations are conducted within the United States. If you access our websites from outside the United States, your connection may be through and to servers located in your country or the United States. Any personal information you provide may be processed and maintained in the United States on servers and/or other network systems operated by or for American Battlefield Trust’s benefit. The following explains our collection and processing policies with respect to the personal data of EU and UK residents.

Our legal ground for processing: For every specific processing of personal data we collect from you, to the extent, not expressly detailed in our Privacy Policy, we will inform you whether the provision of personal data is statutory or required to enter a contract and whether it is an obligation for you to provide the personal data and possible consequences if you choose not to. As outlined in this Privacy Policy, we will not process your user information without a lawful basis to do so, as such bases are defined in Article 6 of the GDPR. In general, we will process your user information on the legal bases of consent, contract (if you have entered into an agreement with us and such processing is a necessary part thereof), or legal obligation. We may also process certain user information on the basis of the following legitimate interests, provided that such interests are not overridden by your privacy rights and interests: delivering and continuing to develop and improve the website and other channels, learning from your behavior on the website and other channels (e.g., analyzing traffic) to better serve you and other visitor, helping us modify or enhance the websites and other channels and their content, receiving insight as to what users do (and don't) like about our website and other channels or aspects thereof, and providing a stable, consistent, and secure user experience. Where applicable, we will use standard contractual clauses as a safeguard for transferring your user information.

Your Rights:

Right to access: You have the right to request information about the personal data we hold on you at any time. You can contact us and we will provide you with your personal data via e-mail.

Right to portability: Whenever we process your personal data by automated means based on your consent or based on an agreement you have the right to get a copy of your data in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format transferred to you or to another party. This only includes the personal data you have submitted to us.

Right to rectification: You have the right to request rectification of your personal data if they are incorrect, including the right to have incomplete personal data completed. If you have an account you can edit your personal data under your account and membership pages.

Right to erasure: You have the right to erase any personal data processed by us at any time except for the following situations:

• you have an ongoing customer service matter with the Trust.
• you have an open order which has not yet been shipped or partially shipped.
• you have an unsettled debt with us, regardless of the payment method.
• if you are suspected or have misused our services within the last four years.
• your debt has been sold to a third party within the last three years or one year for deceased customers.
• if you have made any purchase, we will keep your personal data in connection to your transaction for bookkeeping rules.

Your right to object to processing based on legitimate interest: You have the right to object to processing of your personal data that you believe is not based on our legitimate interest. We will suspend processing of the personal data unless we can demonstrate a legitimate ground for the process which overrides your interest and rights or due to legal claims.

Your right to object to direct marketing, for example, direct mail pieces and email: You have the right to object to direct marketing, including profiling analysis made for direct marketing purposes. You can opt out from direct marketing by the following means:

• following the instruction in each marketing mails.
• by editing the settings of your account.

Right to restriction: You have the right to request that we restrict the processing of your personal data under the following circumstances:

• if you object to a processing based on our legitimate interest, we shall suspend all processing of such data pending the verification of the legitimate interest.
• if you claim that your personal data is incorrect, we will restrict all processing of such data pending the verification of the accuracy of the personal data.
• if the processing is unlawful you can oppose the erasure of personal data and instead request the restriction of the use of your personal data instead
• if we no longer need the personal data but it is required for you to make of defending legal claims.

How can you exercise your rights? We take data protection very seriously and therefore we have dedicated customer service personnel who handle your requests in relation to your rights stated above. You can reach them by email at: web@battlefields.org.

Right to complain to a supervisory authority: If you believe we are processing your personal data in an incorrect way you can contact us. You also have the right to turn in a complaint to a supervisory authority.

Notice to United States Consumers

The American Battlefield Trust is a not-for-profit business and, as such, is not subject to the provisions of most state privacy laws currently enacted in the United States (and is not otherwise under the jurisdiction of individual privacy laws, due to the nature of our business and interactions with consumers located in such states). While not currently subject to the express provisions of such laws, The American Battlefield Trust takes your privacy seriously and our privacy practices are designed to protect your information. You may contact us with requests to access your personal data or would like to make corrections or deletions of your personal data, in accordance with the “Your Rights” section above. In addition and for added clarity, while we may disclose personal information for the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy, we do not sell or share the personal information of individuals, except as disclosed in this Privacy Policy. Please review the remainder of our Privacy Policy for additional information regarding our practices.

Governing Law

Unless expressly prohibited by applicable law, the website and other channels and this Privacy Policy are governed by the laws of Virginia and all disputes shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the state and federal courts serving the Eastern District of the Commonwealth of Virginia.  You agree to waive all right to a jury trial in connection with disputes arising under this Privacy Policy.  In no event shall American Battlefield Trust ever be liable to you for indirect, consequential, or punitive damages and American Battlefield Trust’s maximum liability to you in connection with this Privacy Policy shall be $100.  The laws of some jurisdictions may make the foregoing inapplicable to you.

Contact Us

If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, please contact us by: 

• Phone: 202-367-1861 or 800-298-7878
• Email: web@battlefields.org
• U.S. Mail: 1156 15th Street NW, Suite 900, Washington, D.C. 20005

This Privacy Policy has been prepared using the English language. In the event that the terms of any translated version conflict with the terms of this English version, the terms of the English version of this Privacy Statement will control in all instances.