Full Privacy Notice | Congaree Foundation

Effective: August 1, 2025

Your privacy concerns and trust are important to us. This Privacy Notice has been prepared to help you understand what information is collected through your interactions with the Congaree Foundation (“Congaree Foundation”, “we”, “us”, or “our”) or anywhere this Privacy Notice is posted, and how this information is used. If you have questions about this Privacy Notice, you may contact us at privacy@congareefoundation.org.

To the extent permitted by applicable jurisdiction, by accessing the website for Congaree Foundation where this notice is posted, you consent to this Privacy Notice.

If you reside in the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland (collectively, “EEA Residents”), you have additional rights with respect to your personal data, which include rights under the EU’s General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”).

If you reside in California, USA, you have additional rights with respect to your personal information as granted by the California Consumer Privacy Act (“CCPA”). However, this Privacy Notice does not apply to employment-related personal information collected from California-based employees, job applicants, contractors, or similar individuals. See here for California Employee Privacy Notice.

This Privacy Notice describes privacy practices for data that is collected through the following means:

Through websites owned and operated by Congaree Foundation including https://congareefoundation.org/ (collectively, the “Websites”). Through social media pages of Congaree Foundation (collectively, the “Social Media Pages”). Through email messages of Congaree Foundation and through your communications with Congaree Foundation.
Collectively, Congaree Foundation refers to the Websites and the Social Media Pages, as the “Online Interactions” and, together with the interactions, the “Services.” By using or continuing to use the Services, you agree to the terms and conditions of this Privacy Statement. Please also review the Terms of Usebelow. By accessing Services via Online Interactions, you acknowledge that you have read and you agree to the Terms of Use.

Changes to this Privacy Notice

Congaree Foundation reserves the right to modify this Privacy Notice at any time or when required by law. You will be notified of changes to this Privacy Notice and you are encouraged to review such changes. If any material changes are made, you will be notified by email (sent to the e-mail address provided by you and specified in your account) or by means of a notice accompanied by Services prior to the change becoming effective. You are hereby requested to keep your account email address up to date at all times. By using an accurate, up-to-date email address to access our Services, you acknowledge that you will be notified of any material changes to this Privacy Notice, and that it will be your responsibility to review said changes.

You may be provided with additional “just-in-time” disclosures or additional information about the data collection, use and sharing practices of specific Services. These notices may supplement or clarify Congaree Foundation’s privacy practices or may provide you with additional choices about how personal information is processed.

COLLECTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Personal information is data that identifies an individual or relates to an identifiable individual. This includes information provided by you, information that is collected about you automatically, and information obtained from third parties.

When you interact with us, at various points, your personal information will be collected in accordance with law. You may choose not to provide certain personal information; however, you may be unable to use certain products or services or will be unable to access certain functionalities of the Service. Please find below a list of the categories of personal information that may be collected from you.

Contact Information. Your first and last name, email address, postal address, phone number, user name, social media handle or other similar contact information. Your signature and employer information may also be collected.
Customer Services Information. Information related to products or Services you use.
Survey Information. The information you provide in response to a survey that you choose to respond to, and other such comments and suggestions.
Demographic Information. Demographic information, such as your geographic location, date of birth, or any other significant date.
Protected or Sensitive Information. Unless specifically requested, you are requested not to send, disclose, or provide your protected or sensitive personal information (e.g., social security number, taxpayer identification number, passport number, driver’s license number or other government-issued identification number; credit or debit card details or financial account number, with or without any code or password that would permit access to the account, credit history; or information on race, religion, ethnicity, sex life or practices or sexual orientation, medical or health information, genetic or biometric information, biometric templates, political or philosophical beliefs, political party or trade union membership, background check information, judicial data such as criminal records or information on other judicial or administrative proceedings). Some protected or sensitive information, such as social security number or driver’s license number, credit or debit card details or other financial information may be required to fulfill our obligations to you.
Online Interactions. Aggregated analytics data about Website visitors, such as your internet protocol (IP) address, location information, when you use the Website or interact through social media, may be collected.
Personal Information Received From Third Parties. Congaree Foundation may receive some of the above stated personal information about you from third parties, such as from recruiting agencies, social media sites, through technology such as cookies, and when you use third party agents or third party services.

HOW YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IS COLLECTED

Your Personal Information is collected in the following manner:

Personal Information that you provide:

Online Interactions. Your Personal Information is collected when you visit the Website, establish an account, interact with on the Social Media, or send requests over emails.
Direct Interactions. Your Personal Information is collected when you visit our locations, tell us your preferences, or schedule an appointment.
Congaree Foundation and related entities. Congaree Foundation collects Personal Information from our related entities, and our related entities collect Personal Information from Congaree Foundation. From time-to-time, a related entity may share Personal Information with other related entities.
Security Systems. Your Personal Information may be collected from audio or video located in public areas on our property.
Other Sources. Your Personal Information may be collected from other sources, such as public databases, joint marketing partners and other third parties.

Personal Information that is collected from you automatically

We use certain tracking technologies to improve the functionality of the website and your experience when you access it. We also keep a record of third party websites accessed when you are on our website and click on a hyperlink. However, we do not track users to subsequent sites and do not serve targeted advertising to them. We do not, therefore, respond to Do Not Track (DNT) signals. If you connect to our site using a mobile device, we may collect device information, including the device ID, model and manufacturer; the operating system; the location (to the city level), and the IP address. We also use Google Analytics, a web analytics services provided by Google, Inc. (“Google”) to track how often people gain access to or read our content. We use this information in the aggregate to understand what content our site visitors find useful or interesting, so we can produce the most valuable content to meet their needs.

Information collected through automatic data collection, such as Google Analytics. As you navigate through and interact with the Website, automatic data collection technologies on the Website may be used to collect certain information about your equipment, browsing actions and patterns, including:
- Non-personal details of your visits to the Website, including traffic data, location data, logs, and other communication data, and the resources that you access and use on the Website.
- Information about your computer and internet connection, including your IP address, operating system, and browser type.
- You can learn more about Google Analytics at https://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/, and you may choose to opt-out by visiting https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES

Your Personal Information may also be collected through cookies and similar technologies. Cookies are small text files, typically of letters and numbers, downloaded onto your computer or mobile device when you visit certain websites. When you access the Services through Online Interactions, cookies may be placed on your computer or other devices. These technologies help in understanding user behavior and inform about the parts that you have visited on the website.

For more information on cookies and similar technologies used or to learn about how you can change your cookie preferences, please review the Cookie Policy. By participating in Online Interactions, you acknowledge that you have read and understood the terms of our Cookie Policy.

ANONYMIZED AND AGGREGATED DATA

Anonymization is a data processing technique that removes or modifies personal information so that it cannot be associated with a specific individual. Except for this section, none of the other provisions of this Privacy Notice applies to anonymized or aggregated customer data (i.e. information about the customers (i.e., you) that when combined together no longer identifies or references an individual customer).

The anonymized or aggregate customer data may be used for any business purpose, such as to better understand customer needs and behaviors, improve the Services, conduct business intelligence and marketing, and detect security threats. Analytics may be performed on anonymized data or enable analytics provided by third parties.

Types of data that may be anonymized include, contact information, survey information, and demographic information.

HOW YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION IS PROCESSED

Personal Information is used to communicate with you and to provide the products or services you have requested. It is also used to conduct business operations, to improve products and Services offered by Congaree Foundation, and to send you marketing offers that may interest you.

Your Personal information may be processed in the following ways:

To conduct transactions you request.
To respond to your questions and to contact you, and to provide notice about the status of our Website or the specific services you have requested.
To provide you with personalized service. Personal Information is used to improve and tailor the Services to your preferences. Personalized Services may not be available without such information.
To communicate with you. Your Personal Information is used to respond to you or to communicate with you about the Services. The types of communications that are sent depend on your use of the Services and can include:

Text Alerts.You may receive text message alerts related to information, services, marketing, or special offers that you have requested
- Marketing and Targeted Advertising.Personal information is used to communicate with you about promotions and marketing offers that may be of interest to you. Cookies and other similar technology are also used to learn about your interests and to send you more relevant advertising

If Personal Information is not processed for such purposes then the response to your requests may not be possible, which may interrupt your enjoyment of the Services. While you may be able to opt-out of marketing-related communications, you may not be able to opt-out of receiving critical Service-related communications.

To ensure quality. Your Personal Information is processed for quality control and for staff training to enhance quality of Services. If your Personal Information is not processed for quality control purposes, you may experience issues with the Services, such as not considering the implementation of your suggestions.
To maintain security. By collecting audio and visual images from cameras in public areas such information can help securing public areas of Congaree Foundation.
To enhance your experience. Your Personal Information is also processed to provide a personalized experience and implement the preferences you request. Without such processing, the assurance of your continued enjoyment of part or all of the personalized Services may not be possible.
To facilitate corporate acquisition, mergers, or transactions. Any information that you have provided may be disclosed, as necessary, in the context of corporate acquisitions, mergers, or other corporate transactions. You have the option of asking us to delete your information if you do not wish to have your Personal Information processed for such purposes.
To engage in marketing activities. Based on your communication preferences, marketing communications (e.g., emails or mobile notifications) may be sent to you to inform you about the offers, events, or partner events; to deliver targeted marketing; and to provide you with promotional offers. Marketing will be conducted in accordance with your advertising marketing preferences and as permitted by applicable law.
For the purpose that you have consented to. Your Personal Information may be disclosed for any purpose you consent to.

Your personal information will not be used for any other purposes without your permission, other than for those purposes disclosed herein. From time to time, and as required under the applicable law, your permission may be requested to share your Personal Information with third parties. You may opt-out of having your Personal Information shared with third parties or allowing the use of your Personal Information for any purpose that is incompatible with the purposes for which the Personal Information was collected or subsequently obtained through your authorization. If you choose to limit the use of your Personal Information, certain features of the Services may not be available to you.

EEA Data Subjects

Legal Basis for Processing your Information

For individuals who are EEA Residents at the time their personal data is collected, Congaree Foundation relies on the legal basis for processing your information under Article 6 of the EU General Data Protection Regulation (“GDPR”). Generally, your data is processed only where there is a legal requirement to process such information, where processing is necessary to perform any contracts that you have entered for the Services (or steps taken at your request prior to entering into the contract), for the legitimate interests in operating the business or to protect Congaree Foundation, or your, property, rights, or safety, or where you have given your consent to do so. The below list describes the purpose of processing with the corresponding legal basis for processing.

(1) To provide you Services (2) To respond to you effectively (3) To personalize your experience (4) To communicate with you (5) To ensure quality (6) To ensure security	Based on Congaree Foundation’s contract with you or to take steps at your request prior to entering into a contract with Congaree Foundation to provide you the Services.
(7) To enhance your experience (8) To facilitate corporate acquisitions, mergers, or transactions	Based on legitimate interests. When your personal data is processed for legitimate interests, Congaree Foundation considers and balances any potential impact on you and your rights under data protection laws.
(6) To ensure security	Based on the legal obligations of Congaree Foundation. Obligations, the public interest, or in your vital interests.
(7) To enhance your experience (9) To engage in marketing activities (10) For any purpose	Based on your consent.

RIGHT TO WITHDRAW CONSENT

If you have given your consent in relation to particular processing or activities, you can withdraw your consent at any time by e-mailing privacy@congareefoundation.org.

SHARING YOUR PERSONAL INFORMATION WITH OTHER PARTIES

Your personal information is allowed to be only accessed by those who require access to perform their tasks and duties, and is only shared with third parties in accordance with your consent or to complete the transaction of a service you have requested or authorized. Personal information is also shared with Congaree Foundation’s affiliates, vendors and third party service providers to process on behalf of Congaree Foundation. Your Personal Information to third parties is never rented or sold without your explicit written consent. Your Personal Information is shared with third parties in the following circumstances:

With service providers under contract who help with parts of the business operations. The agreements with such service providers require these service providers to only use your Personal Information in connection with the services they perform for Congaree Foundation and prohibit them from selling your information to anyone else. Examples of the types of service providers with whom your Personal Information may be shared include (other than those mentioned above):
- Cloud storage
- Customer Support
- Data analytics
- Document repository services
- Information Technology
- Internet (e.g. ISPs)
- Network infrastructure
- Revenue Management
- Sales
- Social Media
- Website Management
With companies or other entities that could merge or acquire Congaree Foundation. If there is going to be a change in how your Personal Information is going to be processed, you will receive prior notice of any such change.
With companies or other entities that purchase Congaree Foundation pursuant to a court-approved sale or where we are required to share your information pursuant to insolvency law in any applicable jurisdiction.
With professional advisors who provide banking, legal, compliance, insurance, accounting, or other consulting services in order to complete third party financial, technical, compliance and legal audits of operations or otherwise comply with the legal obligations of Congaree Foundation.

OTHER USES OF DISCLOSURES OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Your Personal Information may be used or disclosed as necessary or appropriate, such as: (a) to comply with applicable law, including laws outside your country of residence; (b) to comply with legal process; (c) to respond to requests from public and government authorities, including authorities outside your country of residence and to meet national security or law enforcement requirements; (d) to enforce Congaree Foundation’s terms and conditions; (e) to protect Congaree Foundation’s operations; (f) to protect the rights, privacy, safety or property of Congaree Foundation, you or others; and (g) to allow Congaree Foundation to pursue available remedies or limit the damages that Congaree Foundation may sustain.

THIRD PARTY LINKS AND SERVICES

If you authorize third parties to act on your behalf, then the information that you have provided to Congaree Foundation may be shared with those third parties.

Please note that Congaree Foundation is not the owner, developer, sponsor, or sales or marketing agent of affiliated third-party websites, is not responsible for the content of affiliated third-party websites and cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of information of any information displayed on third party sites.

HOW YOUR INFORMATION IS KEPT SECURE

Physical, administrative and electronic safeguards are used to secure the confidentiality and integrity of personal data. While no method of data transmission or storage is 100% secure, and it is not possible to guarantee that a system or network will never be compromised, reasonable measures are taken to protect your personal data against loss, destruction, alteration, or unauthorized access or disclosure. It is your responsibility to keep your passwords confidential.

DATA TRANSFERS AND PROCESSING

Congaree Foundation is headquartered and operates in the United States. To provide services, you acknowledge that your personal data may be shared with other entities or with third parties in locations around the world for the purposes described in this Privacy Notice. Congaree Foundation stores and processes data both inside and outside of the United States. Countries where data is processed may have data protection laws that differ from those in your own country.

Congaree Foundation uses the approved Standard Contractual Clauses (“SCC”) for the international transfer of personal information collected in the EEA and Switzerland or require that any third-party located in the US receiving your personal information is certified under the EU-US and/or the Swiss-US Privacy Shield Frameworks (“Privacy Shield Framework”) and require that the third party agree to at least the same level of privacy safeguards as required under applicable data protection laws.

In a limited number of situations where personal information collected in the EEA and Switzerland cannot be transferred under SCC or the Privacy Shield Framework, then Congaree Foundation relies on derogations for specific situations as set forth in Article 49 of the GDPR. Particularly, Congaree Foundation collects and transfers the personal information out of the EEA and Switzerland only: with your consent; to perform a contract with you; or to fulfill a compelling legitimate interest of Congaree Foundation in a manner that does not outweigh your rights and freedoms. Congaree Foundation endeavors to apply suitable safeguards to protect the privacy and security of your personal data and to use it only consistent with your relationship with Congaree Foundation and the practices described in this Privacy Notice.

Congaree Foundation has also entered into data processing agreements and SCCs with their vendors whenever feasible and appropriate.

YOUR PRIVACY RIGHTS

Depending on applicable law where you reside, you may be able to assert certain rights related to your personal information identified below. If any of the rights listed below are not provided under law for your jurisdiction, Congaree Foundation has absolute discretion in providing you with those rights.

Your rights to personal information are not absolute. Depending upon the applicable law, access may be denied: (a) when denial of access is required or authorized by law; (b) when granting access would have a negative impact on another’s privacy; (c) to protect our rights; (d) where the request is frivolous or vexatious, or for other reasons.

Access and portability. You may request to have provided to you a copy of your personal information held by Congaree Foundation. This information will be provided without undue delay. In certain circumstances, you may request to receive your personal information in a structured, commonly used and machine-readable format, and to have us transfer your personal information directly to another data controller.
Rectification of incomplete or inaccurate personal information. You may request us to rectify or update any of your personal information that Congaree Foundation has. You may do this at any time by email.
Erasure. You may request to erase your personal information, subject to applicable law by email.
Withdraw consent. To the extent the processing of your personal information is based on your consent, you may withdraw your consent at any time. Your withdrawal will not affect the lawfulness of Congaree Foundation’s processing based on consent before your withdrawal.
Restriction of processing. In some jurisdictions, applicable law may give you the right to restrict or object to Congaree Foundation processing your personal information under certain circumstances. Congaree Foundation may continue to process your personal information if it is necessary for the defense of legal claims, or for any other exceptions permitted by applicable law.

How to make a privacy request

To make a privacy request, you can contact Congaree Foundation at:

Email:privacy@congareefoundation.org

Toll Free Via Phone: (713) 580-3300

Postal Mail:

Attention: Privacy

c/o Legal Department

Congaree Foundation

1375 Enclave Parkway

Houston, TX 77077

How to lodge a complaint

If you believe that Congaree Foundation has infringed your rights, we encourage you to submit a request by sending us an email at the above email address, so that the Privacy Manager of Congaree Foundation can work with you to resolve the issue dispute informally.

If you reside in the EEA, you can file a complaint with your relevant data protection authority.

Response to your request. The endeavor is to respond to consumer’s requests for access or deletion within 30-45 days of receiving the request, based on your jurisdiction. If more time is required, you will be appropriately informed in writing with the reason and extension period.

California Privacy Rights

In addition to the rights provided for above, if you are a California resident, the California Consumer Privacy Act (the “CCPA”) provides some California residents with the additional rights listed below. To exercise these rights please see the below.

Right to Know. You, upon a verified consumer request, (“VCR”) have the right to know and see what data is collected about you over the 12-month period, including:
The categories of personal information that have been collected about you;
The categories of sources from which the personal information is collected;
The business or commercial purpose for collecting your personal information;
The categories of third parties with whom Congaree Foundation has shared your personal information; and
The specific pieces of personal information collected about you.
Right to Delete. You have the right to request the deletion of the Personal Information collected from you (and direct the service providers to do the same). There are a number of exceptions, however, that include, but are not limited to, when the information is necessary for the following:
Complete your transaction;
Provide you a good or service;
Perform a contract between Congaree Foundation and you;
Protect your security and prosecute those responsible for breaching it;
Fix our system in the case of a bug;
Protect the free speech rights of you or other users;
Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act (Cal. Penal Code § 1546 et seq.);
Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interests that adhere to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws;
Comply with a legal obligation; or
Make other internal and lawful uses of the information that are compatible with the context in which you provided it.
Other Rights. Congaree Foundation does not sell your Personal Information in our ordinary course of business and will never sell your Personal Information to third parties without your explicit consent.

If your Personal Information is sold to third parties, you also have the right to request that such information is disclosed to you: (i) the categories of your Personal Information sold, and (ii) the categories of third parties to whom your Personal Information was sold. You have the right to direct Congaree Foundation to not to sell your Personal Information.

How to Make California Privacy Request. To request access to or deletion of Personal Information upon a VCR, or to exercise any other data rights under California law, please make the request using one of the following methods. Congaree Foundation is not required to respond to your VCR’s more than twice in a 12-month period. You can make VCR as follows:
- Email: You may send an e-mail to exercise rights. Please include your full name, email address, along with why you are writing, for processing your request in an efficient manner.
- Toll-Free Number: Please call us at (713) 580-3300. Please leave a detailed message and don’t forget to include your name and email address.
- California Authorized Agent: If you are a California resident, you may designate an authorized agent to make a request to access or a request to delete on your behalf. A response will be furnished to your authorized agent’s request if they submit proof that they are registered with the California Secretary of State to be able to act on your behalf, or submit evidence you have provided them with power of attorney pursuant to California Probate Code section 4000 to 4465. Authorized agents may not be provided with the response pertaining to the request if the authorized agents fail to submit a proof of authorization or are unable to verify their identity.
Response Timing and Format. The endeavor is to respond to California consumer’s verified request for access or deletion within 45 days of receiving the request. If more time is required, you will be appropriately informed in writing with the reason and extension period. The confirmation of receipt of a request to a verified customer shall be made within 10 days of receiving the same.

RETENTION OF PERSONAL INFORMATION

Your Personal Information is securely stored. Your Personal Information is retained for as long as necessary to fulfill the purposes for which it is collected, including for the purposes of satisfying any legal, accounting, or reporting obligations or to resolve disputes. While retention requirements vary by jurisdiction, information about the typical retention periods for different aspects of your Personal Information is described below.

Personal information collected to comply with the legal obligations may be retained for as long as required under such laws.
Contact Information such as your name, email address, and telephone number for marketing purposes is retained for not more than 5 years from the date of your last interaction with Congaree Foundation. Thereafter, your details will be added to the suppression list to ensure that there is no inadvertent marketing email sent to you unless you reach out to Congaree Foundation.
Record of your request for information under California Privacy Request is kept for twenty-four months.
Information collected via technical means such as cookies, webpage counters, and other analytics tools is kept for a period of 30 days to up to one year from the expiry of the cookie.

CHILDREN’S ONLINE PRIVACY

The websites are general audience sites and are not intended for use by children under 18. If you become aware that a child under 18 years of age has provided personal data through the Sites, notify Congaree Foundation at the email address below. If Congaree Foundation becomes aware that a child under age 18 years of age has provided personal information through the website(s), steps will be taken to delete it.

HOW TO OPT-OUT OF MARKETING COMMUNICATIONS

You have choices about how to manage your personal data and what types of communications you receive from Congaree Foundation. Please contact Congaree Foundation to exercise these choices. Please note that there may be a legal obligation to preserve certain data and that additional information may be requested from you in order to confirm your identity. This is to ensure that your personal data is not disclosed to a person who does not have a right to receive it.

Email Communications: You may choose to opt-out of receiving certain email communications by following the instructions in the email to unsubscribe.

Text Messaging: You may choose to opt-out of receiving text messaging from Congaree Foundation by following the option to unsubscribe in the text message

Access To Your Personal Data: You may contact us directly by email or postal mail to request access to, correct, change or delete your personal data.

Questions or Concerns

If you have any questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or would like to contact us for any reason, including the possibility of submitting a claim, you can write to privacy@congareefoundation.org.

CONTACT US

Email: privacy@congareefoundation.org

Postal Mail:

Attention: Privacy

c/o Legal Department
Congaree Foundation
1375 Enclave Parkway
Houston, TX 77077

Version 1.2, Last Updated August 1, 2025