Privacy Policy

1. Introduction

Oston Charity Foundation (“Oston,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the information entrusted to us.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, store, disclose, and protect information when you visit oston.org, make a donation, submit an assistance application, contact us, participate in a campaign, or otherwise interact with Oston.

2. Information We Collect

Website Visitors

We may collect:

• IP address
• Browser and device information
• Pages visited
• Referring pages
• Approximate location
• Cookie and analytics information
• Date and time of access

Donors

We may collect:

• Name
• Email
• Phone number
• Billing or mailing address
• Donation amount
• Campaign selection
• Recurring donation status
• Transaction identifiers
• Information required for receipts
• Communication preferences

Assistance Applicants

We may collect:

• Name
• Date of birth where necessary
• Contact information
• Address
• Identification documents
• Household information
• Explanation of hardship
• Financial information
• Bills and invoices
• Medical-related documents
• Housing documents
• Photographs and videos
• References
• Information needed to verify eligibility

Contact and Volunteer Information

We may collect information submitted through contact, partnership, volunteer, or community forms.

3. Payment Information

Payment transactions may be processed by third-party payment providers, including Stripe.

Oston does not intentionally store complete payment-card numbers, CVV codes, or complete banking credentials on its own servers.

Payment providers process payment information according to their own privacy and security policies.

4. How We Use Information

We may use information to:

• Process donations
• Issue donation receipts
• Manage recurring donations
• Communicate with donors
• Review assistance applications
• Verify identity and eligibility
• Prevent fraud and misuse
• Administer approved campaigns
• Provide charitable assistance
• Comply with legal and accounting obligations
• Maintain website security
• Respond to inquiries
• Improve Oston's services
• Protect Oston, applicants, donors, and the public

5. Applicant Confidentiality

Identification documents, medical records, financial records, housing documents, and other verification materials are not published publicly as campaign content.

Access is limited to authorized representatives who need the information for verification, compliance, administration, legal review, or charitable decision-making.

Approved portions of an applicant's story or selected photographs may be published only after appropriate authorization.

6. Children's Information

Oston's website is not intended for independent use by children under 13.

Applications involving a child must be submitted by a parent, legal guardian, or person with documented authority.

Oston does not knowingly request personal information directly from a child under 13 without appropriate parental or guardian involvement.

A child's story or photograph will not be intentionally published without appropriate authorization from the parent, legal guardian, or person with documented legal authority.

If Oston learns that children's information was submitted without appropriate authorization, Oston may restrict, remove, or delete the information.

7. How We Share Information

We may share limited information with:

• Payment processors
• Hosting and technology providers
• Professional advisors
• Accountants or auditors
• Verification providers
• Approved vendors or service providers
• Government or law-enforcement authorities when legally required
• Other parties necessary to prevent fraud, protect safety, or administer approved charitable assistance

Oston does not sell applicant or donor personal information.

8. Public Campaign Information

An approved campaign may display:

• Beneficiary's first name or approved display name
• General location
• Approved description of need
• Fundraising goal
• Approved photographs
• Campaign updates

Oston will not intentionally publish passports, identification numbers, complete addresses, complete medical files, payment credentials, or other confidential verification documents.

9. Cookies and Analytics

Oston may use essential cookies, analytics, fraud-prevention tools, and similar technologies to operate and improve the website.

Where required, visitors may be given available cookie choices.

10. Data Retention

Oston retains information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and to satisfy legal, accounting, tax, fraud-prevention, dispute-resolution, and recordkeeping obligations.

Retention periods may differ depending on the type of information.

11. Security

Oston uses reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards to protect information.

However, no website, storage system, or internet transmission can be guaranteed to be completely secure.

12. Your Choices and Requests

Depending on applicable law, an individual may request access, correction, deletion, or restriction of certain personal information.

Some information may need to be retained for tax, accounting, legal, fraud-prevention, or charitable recordkeeping purposes.

Privacy requests may be submitted through the Contact Us page.

13. Third-Party Links

Oston may link to third-party services. Oston is not responsible for the privacy practices of independent third-party websites or services.

14. Policy Changes

Oston may update this Privacy Policy. The updated version will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date.

15. Contact

For privacy-related questions, please contact us:

Oston Charity Foundation
Email: help@oston.org
New York, NY, United States