LEAD Privacy Policy

Effective Date: November 15, 2025  |  Last Updated: November 15, 2025

Introduction

LEAD Philanthropy (“LEAD,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you share with us. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, and safeguard information when you visit our website (leadphilanthropy.com) or engage with our fundraising consulting services.

Our Role: Business vs. Service Provider

LEAD operates in two distinct capacities depending on the context:

As a Business (Data Controller): When we collect information about prospective clients, website visitors, and business contacts for our own marketing and operations, LEAD acts as a “Business” under California privacy law. We control how this information is used.

As a Service Provider (Data Processor): When nonprofit clients engage us for fundraising consulting and share their donor information with us, LEAD acts as a “Service Provider” under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA). This means we process donor data solely according to our clients’ instructions and do not sell or share donor information for our own commercial purposes.

Important for Donors: If you are a donor to one of our nonprofit clients, your privacy rights are exercised through that organization, not through LEAD directly. Please contact the nonprofit organization where you made your donation to exercise your privacy rights.

Information We Collect

Information You Provide Directly

  • Contact Information: Name, email address, phone number, organization name, and job title when you contact us or request our services
  • Professional Information: Details about your fundraising programs and objectives shared during consultations
  • Communications: Content of emails, phone calls, and other communications with our team

Information Collected Automatically

When you visit our website, we automatically collect:

  • Log Data: IP address, browser type, operating system, referring URLs, pages viewed, and access times
  • Cookies: We use essential cookies to enhance your browsing experience. See our Cookie Policy below

Information from Clients (Service Provider Role)

When providing fundraising consulting services as a Service Provider, our nonprofit clients may share:

  • Donor Information: Names, contact details, giving history, philanthropic interests, and engagement data
  • Institutional Data: Fundraising goals, campaign information, and organizational priorities
  • Training Data: Administrative staff names, email addresses, and training progress when we deliver professional development programs
  • Campaign Participation Data: Donor opt-in consent and phone numbers for SMS fundraising campaigns

How We Use Your Information

We use collected information to:

  • Provide and improve our fundraising consulting services
  • Respond to inquiries and communicate about our services
  • Deliver training programs to nonprofit administrative staff
  • Support SMS fundraising campaigns (with donor consent)
  • Analyze website usage to improve user experience
  • Send marketing communications (with your consent)
  • Comply with legal obligations
  • Protect against fraudulent or illegal activity

Service Provider Processing: When processing donor information on behalf of our nonprofit clients, we use this data solely to fulfill the services requested by the client (such as campaign planning, donor research, or SMS outreach) and do not use donor information for LEAD’s own marketing or business purposes.

Information Sharing and Disclosure

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information. We may share information with the following service providers who assist us in delivering our services:

Service Providers

  • Google Workspace: For email communication and document collaboration (internal use only)
  • Box.net: For secure file sharing and storage with clients. Data stored in Box.net is encrypted at rest and in transit, with access restricted to authorized client personnel. Clients maintain control over their data and may request deletion at any time.
  • Absorb LMS: For delivering online training programs to nonprofit administrative and development office staff. Training covers fundraising best practices, donor engagement, and compliance topics. Does not process student educational records.
  • The Campaign Registry: For 10DLC SMS campaign registration and compliance. The Campaign Registry processes LEAD’s business information and campaign metadata only—not individual donor phone numbers.
  • Blue Ridge Data: For data enrichment services when authorized by clients (see detailed disclosure below)

Data Enrichment Services

When authorized by our nonprofit clients, LEAD may use Blue Ridge Data to append additional information to donor records as part of prospect research and capacity analysis. This process, known as “data enrichment,” helps nonprofit organizations identify donors with the greatest capacity and affinity for giving.

What information may be enriched:

  • Wealth indicators and capacity scores
  • Property ownership and real estate records
  • Professional affiliations and board memberships
  • Philanthropic footprint and charitable giving patterns
  • Updated contact information

Data sources: Blue Ridge Data aggregates information from publicly available sources including property records, SEC filings, and professional associations. No credit bureau data is used, and the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) does not apply to this enrichment.

Data retention: Blue Ridge Data retains enriched donor data for a maximum of 30 days as required by our Data Processing Agreement, after which it is securely deleted from their systems.

Your rights: Donors who wish to opt-out of data enrichment activities or correct inaccurate enriched data should contact the nonprofit organization where they made their donation. The organization will forward the request to LEAD for processing.

SMS Campaign Compliance

LEAD uses peer-to-peer (P2P) texting only, where staff manually send individual messages to donors. We do not use automated broadcast texting systems. When LEAD supports SMS campaigns on behalf of nonprofit clients, we comply with the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA) and CTIA Messaging Principles:

  • Prior express consent: Nonprofit clients obtain consent from donors before SMS campaigns begin. Consent may be oral (documented via survey checkbox) or written.
  • Opt-out mechanisms: All messages include STOP keyword functionality, and opt-outs are processed immediately
  • Timing restrictions: Messages are sent only between 8:00 AM and 9:00 PM in the recipient’s local time zone
  • Consent record retention: We maintain consent records for a minimum of 4 years after campaign completion

Legal Requirements

We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or government request, or to protect our rights, property, or safety.

Business Transfers

If LEAD is involved in a merger, acquisition, or sale of assets, your information may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such change.

Data Security

We implement appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your information, including:

  • Encryption of data in transit (TLS 1.2+) and at rest (AES-256)
  • Access controls and multi-factor authentication for administrative accounts
  • Regular security training for our team
  • Data Loss Prevention (DLP) rules to prevent unauthorized sharing
  • Incident response procedures with 72-hour breach notification to clients

While we strive to protect your information, no method of transmission over the internet is 100% secure.

Data Retention

We retain information for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this policy:

  • LEAD business data (marketing contacts, prospective clients): Duration of business relationship plus 2 years, or until opt-out
  • Client donor data (Service Provider role): Duration of client engagement plus 90 days, or as directed by client. Upon contract termination, client data is securely deleted or returned to the client.
  • Training records (Absorb LMS): Retained per client agreement, deleted via API upon contract termination
  • SMS opt-out lists: Minimum 4 years (TCPA requirement)
  • Enriched donor data (Blue Ridge Data): Maximum 30 days in Blue Ridge’s systems, then securely deleted
  • Website analytics: 24 months

Your Rights and Choices

If You Are a Prospective Client or Business Contact

You have the right to:

  • Access: Request a copy of your personal information
  • Correct: Update inaccurate information
  • Delete: Request deletion of your information (subject to legal requirements)
  • Opt-out: Unsubscribe from marketing communications

To exercise these rights, contact us at privacy@leadphilanthropy.com.

If You Are a Donor to a Nonprofit Client

LEAD processes your information as a Service Provider on behalf of the nonprofit organization. Your privacy rights under CCPA and other laws are exercised through the nonprofit organization, not through LEAD directly.

To exercise your rights (access, deletion, correction, or opt-out of data enrichment):

  • Contact the nonprofit organization where you made your donation. The organization will verify your identity and forward your request to LEAD for processing. LEAD will respond within 45 days as required by CCPA.

California Privacy Rights

California residents have additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) and California Privacy Rights Act (CPRA):

  • Right to know: Request disclosure of the categories and specific pieces of personal information we collect
  • Right to delete: Request deletion of personal information (subject to exceptions)
  • Right to correct: Request correction of inaccurate personal information
  • Right to opt-out of sale: LEAD does not sell personal information
  • Right to non-discrimination: We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights

CCPA Service Provider Status: When LEAD processes donor information on behalf of nonprofit clients, we operate as a “Service Provider” under CCPA § 1798.140(ag). We do not sell or share this information and use it solely to perform services for our clients as instructed.

Cookie Policy

We use essential cookies to:

  • Maintain session security
  • Remember your preferences
  • Analyze website traffic (anonymous)

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Disabling cookies may affect website functionality.

Children’s Privacy

Our services are not directed to individuals under 18. We do not knowingly collect information from children.

International Users

Our services are intended for users in the United States and Canada. If you access our services from outside these countries, your information will be transferred to and processed in the United States.

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy periodically. We will notify you of material changes by posting the new policy on our website and updating the “Last Updated” date. Continued use of our services after changes constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Contact Us

For questions about this Privacy Policy or to exercise your privacy rights, contact:

LEAD Philanthropy

Email: privacy@leadphilanthropy.com

Privacy Inquiries

For complex privacy matters, LEAD works with Cybermata.com: dpo@cybermata.com

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Testimonials

“…a cheerful and positive fundraising guru who can pivot quickly according to changing team needs and priorities. We are grateful…”

The University of Alabama at Birmingham, AL
“…an absolute joy to work with, so supportive and constantly seeing how to be helpful. The guidance and wisdom makes all the difference…”

University of Utah, UT
“…a valuable investment for our Annual Giving program, and I highly recommend them to any institution looking to achieve phenomenal fundraising results…”
Georgia Southern University, GA
“LEAD was instrumental in managing our reorientation into a monthly giving first model, which proved to be a successful way to engage alumni while increasing donor retention. They supported all of this change with a smile and consummate professionalism.”
Muhlenberg College, PA
“…I thank the LEAD team for their partnership over the past few years of transitions, challenges and changes for Tulane University. They have been instrumental in ensuring that business continues without a hitch, even in the midst of adversity. We are so grateful to have the support of a team who above all, puts clients first. We are continuing to adapt and improve how we conduct our business with the backing of our dedicated LEAD team.”
Tulane University, LA
“Engaging with LEAD has been integral to our success in relaunching our phonathon program. Their decades of experience means their advice and expertise in the phonathon space is second to none. They are responsive and helpful to a fault.”
Miami University, OH
“…It is clear the company truly cares about the universities they work with.”
Central Methodist University, MO

“LEAD is a fantastic team to work with! I am part of a very small shop, and the LEAD team feels like another staff member. They bring a variety of experience and expertise. They are timely, professional, and fun to work with!”

Avila University, MO

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