Privacy Policy

Effective date: January 1, 2026  ·  Last updated: May 2026

1. About This Organization

Common Cause Community ("we," "us") is a 501(c)(3) public charity. This Privacy Policy describes how we collect, use, and protect information submitted through this website. This site operates as part of the Ascend Web Platform drill program for development and demonstration purposes.

2. Information We Collect

Intake Form Submissions

When you submit our form, we collect: your name, email address, phone number (optional), organization (optional), how you are connected to us, program area of interest, primary request, household size (if you share it), preferred contact method, volunteer availability, and the narrative summary you provide.

Automatically Collected Data

We collect standard server logs and page-level analytics events (page views, form submission attempts). We do not use behavioral tracking, advertising pixels, or fingerprinting.

3. How We Use Your Information

No decisions are made automatically by AI. All substantive responses — enrollment confirmations, volunteer placements, service referrals — are made by human staff.

4. Service Request Privacy

Information shared in connection with requests for food assistance, housing referrals, or other direct services is handled with heightened confidentiality. This information is shared only with the program staff member responsible for your case. It is not shared with donors, volunteers, or partner organizations without your explicit consent.

5. Donation Records

Donation information submitted through this form is retained for IRS compliance purposes as required by law. We may be required to report certain gifts to the IRS. Your name will not be shared with other donors or the public without your permission. We do not sell donor lists.

6. Volunteer Records

Volunteer application information — including background screening results — is retained in our volunteer management system. Background screening results are kept confidential and used solely for placement decisions. Screening is performed by a third-party service under its own privacy policy.

7. Governed Intake & Legal Screening

All submissions are screened for content that belongs in legal, medical, financial, or insurance channels. Flagged submissions are routed to appropriate specialists. This is a safety control, not a substantive determination.

8. Data Retention

General inquiry submissions are retained under a short retention / human review label. Volunteer records are retained for the duration of the volunteer relationship plus one year. Donation records are retained for seven years per IRS requirements.

9. Data Sharing

We do not sell personal information. We may share data with: (a) program staff for follow-up; (b) the Ascend Nexus platform for intake routing and audit; (c) regulators when required by law. We do not share service-recipient information with donors, the public, or partner organizations without explicit consent.

10. Your Rights

You may request access to, correction of, or deletion of your submitted data by contacting us. California residents have additional rights under CCPA.

11. 501(c)(3) Tax Disclosure

Common Cause Community is a tax-exempt organization under IRS Code Section 501(c)(3). Contributions may be deductible to the extent allowed by law. We provide written acknowledgment of donations as required by IRS regulations. Our Form 990 is publicly available. EIN and determination letter available upon written request.

12. Contact

Privacy questions may be directed to our office via the Get Involved page. This site is a demonstration property of the Ascend Web Platform, Drill 013.