Privacy Policy

Rhode Island Education Center for H.O.P.E., Inc. (“RIEC,” “we,” “our,” or “us”) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN: 99-3099438) headquartered at 75 Commerce Dr., Warwick, RI 02886. We are committed to protecting the privacy and personal information of everyone who interacts with our website, programs, and donation platform. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, and your rights regarding that information.

By using rieducationcenter.org, you agree to the practices described in this policy.

Section 1

Information We Collect

We collect information in the following ways:

Program Applications

When you submit an application for RIEC training programs, we collect your name, date of birth, address, phone number, email address, household income, employment status, housing situation, and Rhode Island residency status. This information is transmitted securely via Formspree and used exclusively to assess your eligibility for grant-funded programs.

Donations and Payment Processing

When you make a donation through Donorbox or the Stripe Buy Button embedded on our site, your name, email address, and payment information are processed by those third-party platforms. RIEC does not store or have access to your full payment card number. We receive a transaction confirmation and your name and email for tax receipt purposes.

Contact and Correspondence

If you email or call us directly, we retain that correspondence to respond to your inquiry and to follow up as needed.

Website Analytics

We use Google Analytics 4 (GA4) to collect anonymized data about how visitors use our site — including pages viewed, time spent on each page, the type of device used, and approximate geographic location (city or region level). GA4 anonymizes IP addresses and does not collect personally identifiable information unless you provide it through a form.

Section 2

How We Use Your Information

• Evaluate your eligibility for grant-funded healthcare training programs.
• Enroll, support, and communicate with program participants.
• Process and acknowledge charitable donations; issue IRS-compliant gift receipts.
• Respond to inquiries submitted by phone, email, or web form.
• Analyze aggregate website usage to improve our content and user experience.
• Fulfill grant reporting obligations to public and private funders.
• Comply with applicable state and federal laws and regulations.

We do not use your information for advertising, profiling, or any purpose unrelated to RIEC's mission as a nonprofit healthcare workforce training provider.

Section 3

Third-Party Service Providers

We use the following third-party platforms to operate our website and programs. Each has its own privacy policy governing how they handle data on our behalf:

We share personal information with these providers only to the extent necessary to deliver our services. We do not sell, lease, or trade your information to any third party.

Section 4

Cookies and Analytics

Google Analytics 4 uses cookies — small text files stored in your browser — to track sessions and aggregate usage patterns. No personally identifiable information is stored in these cookies. You may opt out of Google Analytics tracking at any time using the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on ↗.

Donorbox and Stripe may set their own session cookies when you interact with the donation widget. These are strictly functional — they maintain your session during the donation process and do not track you across unrelated websites.

Section 5

Donor Privacy

RIEC is committed to protecting the privacy of our donors. We adhere to the following donor privacy principles:

• We do not sell, rent, or trade our donor list with any other organization.
• We do not share individual donor names, amounts, or contact information with other nonprofits, commercial entities, or third parties for marketing purposes.
• We disclose giving information only in aggregate, anonymized form (e.g., "we received X total donations this year").
• Donors who wish to remain anonymous may contact us at info@rieducationcenter.org to have their names omitted from any public recognition.
• Donation records are retained as required by IRS regulations governing 501(c)(3) organizations.

Section 6

Data Retention

We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy:

• Application data — retained for a minimum of seven (7) years to satisfy grant reporting and audit requirements imposed by public and private funders.
• Donation records — retained in accordance with IRS recordkeeping requirements for tax-exempt organizations (generally seven years).
• Analytics data — governed by Google Analytics retention settings (currently 14 months of individual event data).
• Email correspondence — retained for up to three (3) years unless related to an ongoing program or legal matter.

Section 7

Your Rights

You have the right to:

• Request access to the personal information we hold about you.
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete information.
• Request deletion of your personal information, subject to our legal retention obligations.
• Opt out of Google Analytics data collection via the browser add-on linked above.
• Withdraw consent for any non-essential data processing at any time.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at info@rieducationcenter.org. We will respond within 30 days.

Section 8

Children's Privacy

Our website is not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately at info@rieducationcenter.org and we will delete it promptly.

Section 9

Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, technology, or legal requirements. When we make material changes, we will update the effective date at the top of this page. Your continued use of our website after the effective date constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

Section 10

Contact Us

Questions, concerns, or requests regarding this Privacy Policy should be directed to: