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Privacy Notice

Last Modified: January 20, 2025

Table of Contents

We have updated our Privacy Notice, effective from January 20 2025, to:

  • Clarify how we collect, use, disclose and otherwise process personal information in connection with our services; and
  • Identify state-specific rights and disclosures. If appropriate.

If you have any questions about these changes, do not hesitate to contact us at chf@akcchf.org.

Prior versions of this Privacy Notice are available here.

Welcome

Welcome! We are American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation, Inc. (“AKC Canine Health Foundation”, “we”, “us” or “our”), a not-for-profit organization that is dedicated to advancing the health of all dogs and their owners and their owners by funding scientific research and supporting the dissemination of health information to prevent, treat and cure canine disease. This Privacy Notice explains how AKC Canine Health Foundation collects, uses, discloses, and otherwise processes personal information (as defined below) in connection with our websites (the “Sites”) and other websites we own and operate that link to this Privacy Notice, and the related content, platform, services, products, and other functionality offered on or through our online services (collectively, the “Services”). It does not address our privacy practices relating to AKC Canine Health Foundation employees and other personnel. 

Our Collection of Personal Information

When we use the term “personal information” in this Privacy Notice, we mean information that identifies, relates to, describes, is reasonably capable of being associated with, or could reasonably be linked, directly or indirectly, to an individual. It does not include aggregated or deidentified information that is maintained in a form that is not reasonably capable of being associated with or linked to an individual.

We collect personal information in a variety of ways. For example, we may link or combine your activities and information collected from you on our Services or that we receive from third parties, as well as information we collect automatically through tracking technologies (defined below). This allows us to provide you with a personalized experience regardless of how you interact with us.

Personal Information Collected from Individuals

We may collect the following personal information submitted to us by individuals through the Services:

  • Contact Information, including first and last name, middle initial, suffixes and prefixes, email address, mailing address and phone number and communication preferences.
  • Inquiry and Communications Information, including information provided in custom messages sent through the forms, to one of our email addresses, or via phone as well as information about how we can assist you. This also includes information provided in order to subscribe to our newsletters (such as email address and communication preferences), contact information provided on our Services, and your personal information you provide if you sign up for or engage in specific programs.
  • Membership, Sponsorship, and Donation Information, including first and last name, organization name (if applicable), donation type, donation amount, phone number, email address, mailing address, billing information and any other information you choose to provide to us. For research sponsorships, we may also collect the name and contact information of the sponsoring party. If you choose to donate with cryptocurrency, our payment provider may also collect cryptocurrency-related information such as the type of coin you wish to contribute and the public blockchain address associated with your self-hosted crypto wallet. Please note that we use third party payment processors to process payments made to us. As such, we do not retain any personally identifiable financial information in connection with your donation, such as credit card numbers. Rather, all such information is provided directly by you to our third-party processor. The payment processor’s use of your personal information is governed by their privacy notice.
  • Grant Information. If you apply for a grant, we may collect certain information about you including first and last name, suffixes and prefixes, educational and work history, mailing address, phone number, email address, employer or organization information, previous grant or funding agency information, and any other information you provide to us.
  • Account Information. If you choose to register for an account, we may collect certain information about you and your club/organization (if applicable), including your name, address, phone number, and club or organization information such as the representative and entity name and contact information, payment-related information, and any other information you choose to provide to us.
  • Event and Webcast Information, including registration information, call-in details, attendee badge information, contact information, email address, and payment information. We use this information to administer and facilitate the Services and improve and grow our business. Please note that we use third party payment processors to process payments made to us. As such, we do not retain any personally identifiable financial information in connection with your donation, such as credit card numbers. Rather, all such information is provided directly by you to our third-party processor. The payment processor’s use of your personal information is governed by their privacy notice.
  • Contest, Sweepstakes, and Survey Information, including information provided when you enter a contest or sweepstakes, or information included in any questions submitted through surveys or content of any testimonials.
  • Employment Application Information, including your contact and demographic information, educational and work history, employment interests, information obtained during interviews and any other information you choose to provide, if you apply for employment.

Personal Information Automatically Collected

We, and our third-party partners, automatically collect information you provide to us and information about how you access and use the Services when you visit our services, read our emails, or otherwise engage with us. We typically collect this information through a variety of tracking technologies, including (i) cookies or small data files that are stored on an individual’s computer and (ii) other, related technologies, such as web beacons, pixels, embedded scripts, mobile SDKs, location-identifying technologies and logging technologies (collectively, “tracking technologies”) and we may use third-party partners or technologies to collect this information.  Information we collect automatically about you may be combined with other personal information we collect directly from you or receive from other sources.

We, and our third-party partners, use tracking technologies to automatically collect usage and device information, such as:

  • Information the computer, tablet, smartphone or other device you use, such as your IP address, browser type, Internet service provider, device type/model/manufacturer, operating system, date and time stamp, and a unique ID that allows us to uniquely identify your browser, mobile device, or your account (including, for example, a persistent device identifier or an Ad ID), and other such information. We may also work with third-party partners to employ technologies, including the application of statistical modeling tools, which permit us to recognize and contact you across multiple devices.
  • Information about the way you access and use our services, for example, the site from which you came and the site to which you are going when you leave our services, how frequently you access the Service, whether you open emails or click the links contained in emails, whether you access the services from multiple devices, and other browsing behavior and actions you take on the Sites.
  • Information about how you use the Service, such as the pages you visit, the links you click, the ads you view and click on, videos you watch, and other similar actions. We may also use third-party tools to collect information you provide to us or information about how you use the Service and may record your mouse movements, scrolling, clicks and keystroke activity on the Service and other browsing or search behavior.
  • Information about your location, such as general geographic location that we or our third-party providers may derive from your IP address.
  • Analytics information. We may collect analytics data or use third-party analytics tools such as Google Analytics to help us measure traffic and usage trends for the services and to understand more about the demographics of our users. You can learn more about Google’s practices at http://www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners and view its opt-out options at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

All of the information collected automatically through these tools allows us to improve your customer experience. For example, we may use this information to enhance and personalize your user experience, to monitor and improve our Sites and Services, and to improve the effectiveness of our Service, offers, advertising, communications and customer service.  We may also use this information the data collected through tracking technologies to:  (a) remember information so that you will not have to re-enter it during your visit or the next time you visit the site; (b) provide custom, personalized content and information, including targeted content and advertising; (c) identify you across multiple devices; (d) provide and monitor the effectiveness of our services; (e) monitor aggregate metrics such as total number of visitors, traffic, usage, and demographic patterns on our website; (f) diagnose or fix technology problems; and (g) otherwise to plan for and enhance our services.

If you would prefer not to accept cookies, most browsers will allow you to: (i) change your browser settings to notify you when you receive a cookie, which lets you choose whether or not to accept it; (ii) disable existing cookies; or (iii) set your browser to automatically reject cookies; however, doing so may negatively impact your experience using the services, as some features and services may not work properly. You may also set your email options to prevent the automatic downloading of images that may contain technologies that would allow us to know whether you have accessed our email and performed certain functions with it.

We and our third-party partners may also use cookies and tracking technologies for advertising purposes.  For more information about tracking technologies, please see Third-Party Data Collection and Online Advertising below.

Personal Information from Third Parties

We also obtain personal information from third parties, which we often combine with personal information we collect either automatically or directly from an individual.

We may receive the same categories of personal information as described above from the following third parties:

  • Partner Relationships: We may receive your information from our relationships with our partner organizations, such as organizations that offer their products and/or services on our Services.
  • Social Media: When an individual interacts with our Services through various social media networks, such as when someone “Likes” us on Facebook or follows us or shares our content on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or other social networks, we may receive some information about individuals that they permit the social network to share with third parties. The data we receive is dependent upon an individual’s privacy settings with the social network, and may include your profile information, profile picture, gender, username, user ID associated with your social media account, age range, language, country, and any other information you permit the social network to share with third parties. Individuals should always review and, if necessary, adjust their privacy settings on third-party websites and social media networks and services before sharing information and/or linking or connecting them to other services.
  • Service Providers: Our service providers that perform services solely on our behalf, such as survey and marketing providers and payment processors, collect personal information and often share some or all of this information with us.
  • Third Parties Related to Employment Applications: If you apply for a job with AKC Canine Health Foundation, we may receive information from your current or past employers, recruiters, third-party social media platforms and other third parties we use to obtain information about job applicants.
  • Information from Other Sources: We may also collect personal information about individuals that we do not otherwise have from, for example, publicly available sources, third-party data providers, customers, or through transactions such as mergers and acquisitions. Such information may include contact information, employment-related information, and interest-in-services information. We may combine this information with the information we collect from an individual directly. We use this information to contact individuals, to process employment applications and job applicant screening, to send advertising or promotional materials or to personalize our Services and to better understand the demographics of the individuals with whom we interact.

Our Use of Personal Information

We use personal information we collect to:

  • Fulfill or meet the reason the information was provided, such as to fulfill our contractual obligations, to deliver the Services you have requested and to process donations;
  • Facilitate customer benefits and services;
  • Manage our organization and its day-to-day operations;
  • Communicate with individuals, including via email, phone, direct mail, or social media;
  • Request individuals to complete surveys about our organization, organizations we work with, and Services;
  • For marketing and advertising purposes, including to market to you or offer you through email or direct mail information and updates on products or services we think that you may be interested in;
  • Administer, improve and personalize our Services, including by recognizing an individual and remembering their information when they return to our Services;
  • Identify and analyze how individuals use our Services;
  • Conduct research and analytics on our user base and our Services;  
  • Test, enhance, update and monitor the Services, or diagnose or fix technology problems;
  • Help maintain the safety, security and integrity of our property and Services, technology assets and business;
  • Evaluate your candidacy for employment, to communicate with you during the application process and to facilitate the onboarding process, if you are applying for employment;
  • To enforce our Terms of Service, to resolve disputes, to carry out our obligations and enforce our rights, and to protect our business interests and the interests and rights of third parties;
  • Prevent, investigate or provide notice of fraud or unlawful or criminal activity;
  • Comply with contractual and legal obligations and requirements;
  • To fulfill any other purpose for which you provide personal information; and
  • For any other lawful purpose, or other purpose that you consent to.

Where you choose to contact us, we may need additional information to fulfill the request or respond to inquiries. We may provide you with additional privacy-related information where the scope of the inquiry/request and/or personal information we require fall outside the scope of this Privacy Notice. In that case, the additional privacy notice will govern how we may process the information provided at that time.

Our Disclosure of Personal Information

We disclose personal information in the following ways:

  • Contests, Sweepstakes, and Survey Providers. We share personal information with third parties who assist us in delivering our contests, sweepstakes, or survey offerings and processing the responses.
  • Marketing Providers. We coordinate and share personal information with our marketing providers in order to communicate with individuals about the Services we make available.
  • Customer Service and Communication Providers. We share personal information with third parties who assist us in providing our customer services and facilitating our communications with individuals that submit inquiries.
  • Other Service Providers. In addition to the third parties identified above, we engage other third-party service providers that perform business or operational services for us or on our behalf, such as website hosting, infrastructure provisioning, IT services, analytics services, employment application-related services, payment processing services and administrative services.
  • Your Employer / Company. If you interact with our Services through your employer or company, we may disclose your information to your employer or company, including another representative of your employer or company.
  • Business Transaction or Reorganization. We may take part in or be involved with a corporate business transaction, such as a merger, acquisition, joint venture, or financing or sale of company assets. We may disclose personal information to a third party during negotiation of, in connection with or as an asset in such a corporate business transaction. Personal information may also be disclosed in the event of insolvency, bankruptcy or receivership.
  • Legal Obligations and Rights. We may disclose personal information to third parties, such as legal advisors and law enforcement:
    1. In connection with the establishment, exercise, or defense of legal claims;
    2. To comply with laws or to respond to lawful requests and legal process;
    3. To protect our rights and property and the rights and property of others, including to enforce our agreements and policies;
    4. To detect, suppress, or prevent fraud;
    5. To protect the health and safety of us and others; or
    6. As otherwise required by applicable law.
  • With Your Consent. We may disclose personal information about an individual to certain other third parties or publicly with their consent or direction. For example, with an individual’s consent or direction we may post their testimonial on our Sites or service-related publications.

Third-Party Data Collection and Online Advertising

Typically, though not always, the information used by us is collected through tracking technologies, such as cookies, web beacons, embedded scripts, location-identifying technologies, and similar technology, which recognize the device you are using and collect information, including click stream information, browser type, time and date you visited the Sites, AdID, and other similar information. If permitted by your device settings, they may also collect location data through GPS, Wi-Fi or other methods. We may share a common account identifier (such as a hashed email address or user ID) with our third-party ad networks and advertising providers to help identify you across devices. Please see Online Ads of the Control Over Your Information section below, to learn how you can opt out of interest-based advertising.

Social Media Widgets and Advertising

Our Services may include social media features, such as the Facebook “Like” button, Instagram, LinkedIn, or other widgets. These social media companies may recognize you and collect information about your visit to our Services, and they may set a cookie or employ other tracking technologies. Your interactions with those features are governed by the privacy notices of those companies.

We display targeted advertising to you through social media platforms, such as Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn and other social media forums. These companies have interest-based advertising programs that allow us to direct advertisements to users who have shown interest in our services while those users are on the social media platform, or to groups of other users who share similar traits, such as likely commercial interests and demographics. We may share a unique identifier, such as a user ID or hashed email address, with these platform providers or they may collect information from our website visitors through a first-party pixel, in order to direct targeted advertising to you or to a custom audience on the social media platform. These advertisements are governed by the privacy notices of those social media companies that provide them. If you do not want to receive targeted ads on your social networks, you may be able to adjust your advertising preferences through your settings on those networks.

Third Party Relationships

We work with a variety of third-party ad networks and advertising organizations to provide advertising services. For example, we use Google Analytics to recognize you and link the devices you use when you visit our Services on your browser or mobile device, log in to your account on our Services, or otherwise engage with us.  We share a unique identifier, like a user ID or hashed email address, with Google to facilitate the service. Google Analytics allows us to better understand how our users interact with our Services and to tailor our advertisements and content to you.  For information on how Google Analytics collects and processes data, as well as how you can control information sent to Google, review Google’s website, “How Google uses data when you use our partners’ sites or apps” located at www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/. You can learn about Google Analytics’ currently available opt-outs, including the Google Analytics Browser Ad-On here: https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout/.

We may also utilize certain forms of display advertising and other advanced features through Google Analytics. These features enable us to use first-party cookies (such as the Google Analytics cookie) or other third-party cookies together to inform, optimize, and display ads based on your past visits to the Services.  You may control your advertising preferences or opt-out of certain Google advertising products by visiting the Google Ads Preferences Manager, currently available at  https://google.com/ads/preferences, or by visiting NAI’s online resources at  http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices.

Control Over Your Information

You may control your information in the following ways:

  • Communications Preferences. You can stop receiving promotional email communications from us by clicking on the “unsubscribe” link provided in such communications, or by sending your request to chf@akcchf.org.  You may not opt-out of service-related communications (e.g., account verification, transactional communications, changes/updates to features of the Services, technical and security notices).
  • Modifying or Deleting Your Information. If you have any questions about reviewing, modifying, or deleting your information, you can contact us directly at chf@akcchf.org. We may not be able to modify or delete your information in all circumstances.
  • Cookies. For information about our and third parties’ use of cookies and related technologies to collect information automatically, and any choices you may have in relation to cookies, please see the Personal Information Automatically Collected section above.
  • Online Ads. To learn more about interest-based advertising and how you may be able to opt-out of some of this advertising, you may wish to visit the Digital Advertising Alliance’s (DAA) resources and/or the Network Advertising Initiative’s (NAI) online resources, at www.aboutads.info/choices or http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/ and you can opt-out of receiving some interest-based advertisements on mobile apps by visiting http://www.aboutads.info/appchoices. You may also be able to limit interest-based advertising through the settings menu on your mobile device by selecting “limit ad tracking” (iOS) or “opt-out of interest-based ads” (Android).  You may also be able to opt-out of some — but not all — interest-based advertising served by mobile ad networks by visiting http://youradchoices.com/appchoices and downloading the mobile AppChoices app

If you want to opt out of receiving online interest-based advertisements on mobile apps, please follow the instructions at http://www.aboutads.info/appchoices.

Please note that when you opt out of receiving interest-based advertisements, this does not mean you will no longer see advertisements from us or on our online services.  It means that the online ads that you do see from DAA program participants should not be based on your interests.  We are not responsible for the effectiveness of, or compliance with, any third-parties’ opt-out options or programs or the accuracy of their statements regarding their programs. In addition, third parties may still use cookies to collect information about your use of our online services, including for analytics and fraud prevention as well as any other purpose permitted under the DAA’s Principles.

Children’s Personal Information

Our Services are not directed to, and we do not intend to, or knowingly, collect or solicit personal information from children under the age of 13. If an individual is under the age of 13, they should not use our Services or otherwise provide us with any personal information either directly or by other means. If a child under the age of 13 has provided personal information to us, we encourage the child’s parent or guardian to contact us to request that we remove the personal information from our systems. If we learn that any personal information we collect has been provided by a child under the age of 13, we will promptly delete that personal information.

Links to Third-Party Websites or Services

Our Services may include links to third-party websites, plug-ins and applications. Except where we post, link to or expressly adopt or refer to this Privacy Notice, this Privacy Notice does not apply to, and we are not responsible for, any personal information practices of third-party websites and online services or the practices of other third parties. To learn about the personal information practices of third parties, please visit their respective privacy notices.

State-Specific Disclosures

  • California: Your California Privacy Rights: If you are a California resident, California Civil Code Section 1798.83 – also known as California’s “Shine the Light” – permits you to request information regarding the disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes during the immediately preceding calendar year.  We do not share your personal information with third parties for the third party’s own direct marketing purposes.
  • Nevada: If you are a resident of the State of Nevada, Chapter 603A of the Nevada Revised Statutes permits a Nevada resident to opt out of future sales of certain covered information that a website operator has collected or will collect about the resident. Although we do not currently sell covered information, please contact us at chf@akcchf.org to submit such a request.
  • Colorado: If you are a resident of the State of Colorado, please see our Additional Colorado Disclosures for additional Colorado-Specific information.

Updates to This Privacy Notice

We will update this Privacy Notice from time to time. When we make changes to this Privacy Notice, we will change the date at the beginning of this Privacy Notice. If we make material changes to this Privacy Notice, we will notify individuals by email to their registered email address, by prominent posting on our Services, or through other appropriate communication channels. All changes shall be effective from the date of publication unless otherwise provided.

Contact Us

If you have any questions or requests in connection with this Privacy Notice or other privacy-related matters, please send an email to chf@akcchf.org. 


 

Alternatively, inquiries may be addressed to:
8051 Arco Corporate Dr.
Suite 300
Raleigh, NC 27617