Privacy Policy

Summary

We do not run behavioral advertising or sell visitor profiles. When you browse, you are generally viewing public program information. When you take an action—submit a form, RSVP to an event, or run an address check—we may store or route the information you provide as described below.

Program forms and event RSVPs are saved so our team can respond and coordinate events. Selected submissions may also generate an email notification to staff. Many forms offer optional drafts on your device, a copy for your records, or a mailto option when online submission is unavailable. Address checks send your typed query to a third-party geocoding service only when you click the check button. Donations use Givebutter; their privacy terms apply when you engage there.

Who this applies to

Visitors, residents, partners, donors, job applicants, Digital Navigator applicants, and event attendees using pages on this domain to learn about Connect Buffalo, sign up for updates, express interest, use affordable-access planning tools, apply for roles, RSVP to community events, or navigate to giving options.

Aggregate and anonymized operational data

When we operate, coordinate, or report on pilot connectivity programs, we may process technical or usage information in aggregate or de-identified form—for example to troubleshoot outages, plan capacity, publish high-level stewardship metrics, and improve reliability. That work is aligned with our nonprofit mission, not with building individual marketing profiles or selling access to resident behavior.

During maintenance or incident response, limited technical signals may be reviewed only as long as necessary to restore service, verify a fix, or protect the integrity of the pilot. We avoid keeping identifiable content longer than needed for those purposes.

Traffic that leaves pilot infrastructure—or that depends on upstream internet providers, institutional networks, schools, libraries, or municipal partners—may be subject to those operators’ own policies and monitoring at or beyond their network boundaries. That is outside Connect Buffalo’s control in the same way community networks describe for upstream paths.

Voluntary submissions and operational sharing

When you voluntarily provide contact or logistics details (forms, email, applications, event RSVPs), we use them for the stated purpose you chose—coordinating a visit, supporting a resident, running a cohort, staffing an event, routing a donation handoff, and similar program operations.

Where reasonably necessary to deliver that purpose, we may share relevant information with vetted volunteers, supervised Digital Navigators, or institutional partners (for example, confirming a window for equipment delivery, event logistics, or follow-up support). We do not sell contact lists or rent identifiers to unrelated third parties.

Public-facing maps, partner highlights, or coverage storytelling use de-identified, aggregated, or permissioned information consistent with how those pages are written—not raw household identifiers dropped into marketing graphics.

Third-party services and legal requests

We do not partner with third parties to collect or monetize personal data from casual browsing on this site, and we do not maintain data-brokerage-style sharing agreements. Service providers we use—such as web hosting, secure storage for submissions, email delivery, geocoding, and payment processing—handle data only to provide the service you invoked, under their own terms and our instructions.

We comply with applicable law. Because we intentionally collect limited categories of information—and retain it only as described—we may be unable to produce detailed non-anonymized historical records that were never stored, or we may only have what remains in operational records subject to retention limits.

Information we collect

You provide directly

• Program forms — fields such as name, organization, email, address snippets, notes, and application answers when you inquire about partnerships, sponsorship, careers, Digital Navigator training, resident programs, or similar offerings.
• Event RSVPs — name, email, optional phone, guest count, and optional notes when you register for a community event. We use these to manage capacity, send logistics updates, and coordinate the event.
• Email you send yourself — content of messages you send via mailto links is handled by your email provider and the recipient inbox we publish for that program (for example, when you prefer email over an online form).

Automatically or through tools

• Hosting: Our site is served over HTTPS. Like most websites, hosting infrastructure may log basic technical data such as IP address, browser type, and requested page for security and reliability—we do not use those logs to build marketing profiles on our side.
• Geocoding: When you run an address eligibility preview, the address string you entered is sent to a third-party geocoding service to resolve coordinates. Do not paste sensitive information unrelated to that check.

Local storage (“drafts on this device”)

Some forms save drafts in your browser so you can return later. That data stays on your device unless you submit or clear site data. Others using the same browser profile could see those drafts—use a private window on shared computers.

How we use information

• Respond to partnership, resident, career, and program inquiries.
• Review applications for roles and Digital Navigator cohorts.
• Coordinate pilots, events, volunteer orientation, and community programs.
• Manage event capacity and send logistics updates to registrants.
• Improve site clarity (aggregate feedback), not behavioral advertising across the web.

Internal access

Only authorized Connect Buffalo staff and volunteers with a program need may access submitted information. Submission and RSVP data are not published on the public site and are not available for casual browsing.

Donations and Givebutter

Donation buttons load Givebutter’s widget or take you to their experience. Payment and donor recordkeeping happen under Givebutter’s privacy policy, not through our program forms. Review their terms before completing a transaction.

Sharing

We do not sell your personal information. We share information only as needed to operate the site and programs, when you choose to email us, when required by law, or when partner listings are published with explicit permission.

Retention

Form submissions and event RSVPs are kept for as long as needed to operate the relevant program, respond to you, and meet ordinary nonprofit recordkeeping expectations, then deleted or archived when no longer required. Local drafts on your device remain until you clear them.

Security

We use encrypted connections for the public site and work with reputable providers for stored submissions. No security practice is perfect—avoid submitting secrets or full financial details through channels not intended for them.

Children’s privacy

This site is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. If you believe we have received such information inadvertently, contact us and we will delete it where appropriate.

Your choices

• Clear browser storage or use incognito mode if you do not want local drafts.
• Contact us to ask about correcting or deleting a submission or RSVP where we can verify your request.
• Contact us for an alternate submission method if online forms or email do not work for you.
• Use transparency and FAQ pages to understand programs before sharing identifiers.

Changes

We will revise this policy when our practices change materially. Continued use after updates means you accept the revised page.

Contact

Questions about this policy or your information: reach out through Get involved, or use the privacy question form below.