Privacy & Nondiscrimination Policies / Terms of Service

This Privacy Policy applies to information we collect from persons, either electronically, via postal mail, in-person or over the phone, in connection with their relationship with ARI whether it be for a donation, a survey, registrants or participants in ARI webinars or any other ARI sponsored event, and users of any related services, applications or sites that link to this Privacy Policy (the “Services”). The Policy describes ARI’s collection and use of users’ Personal Information (e.g., information that identifies a specific person, including name, postal address, phone, email address, or payment information where that information is not otherwise publicly available.)   It also describes generally ARI’s  practices for handling additional information (e.g., interests, demographics and site usage) you submit through us or from a third party to the extent it is associated with a specific user or user account or device. By using this Site and/or the Services, you agree to the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy.  If you do not agree to the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy, do not use the Site or the Services. Services offered by the Autism Research Institute (“ARI” “us” or “we”) include all officially maintained and managed ARI websites (“the Site”), including  a variety of sub-sites and micro-sites such as  “AutismConference.com,” “Autismdonations.com” and a variety of other surveys, websites and sub-sites.

Nondiscrimination Policy: The Autism Research Institute does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, religion, gender identity or expression, sex, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, age, marital status or genetic information in its programs, awarding of grants, and/or other activities.

ARI is a non-profit 501(c)3 entity. It is among the oldest autism science and research organizations in the world and is dedicated to funding research that makes a difference for individuals with autism and their families. ARI maintains strict donor information privacy policies. We take great care to ensure that unauthorized persons do not compromise your information whether it is submitted by phone, mail or online. Under no circumstances will we share or sell a donor’s personal information (see “Types of Information Collected,” below) with anyone else, nor will we send donor mailings on behalf of other organizations. ARI protects all personal information and will not share with any other organization or individual beyond the extent necessary to complete authorized online donations you have initiated.  ARI will not share information with telemarketers, nor do we use telephone marketing to solicit funds.  Phone numbers are only used when necessary to verify information.

ARI will never knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under age 13.

Personal Information
“Personal Information” is the information that identifies you as an individual, e.g., name, mailing address, phone number, email address and credit or debit card number.

Personal Information You Submit
We collect Personal Information when you voluntarily submit it to us, including but not limited to when you submit a donation, register for or subscribe to certain events, participate in a contest, take a survey or participate in an online webinar.

Additional Information
“Additional Information” is any information that does not reveal your specific identity, such as browser information, information collected through Google Analytics, demographic information, and aggregated information; it may be combined with your Personal Information, and when we do, we treat the combined information as Personal Information.

Other Information You Submit
ARI collects Other Information when you submit it to us. It may include your age, gender, education, occupation, financial information, interests, photos, connections, and comments.
Other Information We Collect Automatically When You are Online

Personal Data
Personal data is collected when users provide personal information that is not publically available to ARI, for example by completing a survey or donating funds. The personal information that you provide must be true, accurate and complete and all registration details (where applicable) must contain your real name, address and other requested details.
Aggregated information, such as information on traffic patterns within the Site, is collected by ARI through various methods:

• IP Addresses: We collect IP addresses through the Site. An IP address is a number that is automatically assigned to your computer whenever you’re surfing the web. Web servers, the computers that “serve up” web pages, automatically identify your computer by its IP address, and when you request a page from the Site, our servers log your IP address. The Site does not link IP addresses to anything personally identifiable, so although your session will be logged, you will remain anonymous to us.
• Use of Cookies:  ARI may use cookies and other tracking technologies (including browser cookies, pixels, beacons, and Adobe Flash technology including cookies), which are comprised of small bits of data that often include an anonymous unique identifier.  A cookie is a small data file that most major web sites write to your hard drive for record keeping purposes when you visit them. Cookies allow us to measure activity on the Site and to improve your user experience, for example by remembering your passwords and viewing preferences. Cookies are used by ARI to measure activity on the Site and make improvements and updates based on which areas are popular and which are not. We will make available cookies, containing non-personally identifiable information such as IP address and pages viewed, regarding your activity on the Site to certain third party providers with whom we work.
• Most browsers are initially set to accept cookies. If you’d prefer, you can set yours to refuse cookies or to alert you when cookies are being sent. However, it is possible that some parts of the Site – particularly online surveys – will not function properly if you do so.

ARI uses the Personal Information collected from and about you for the purposes set forth below. Please note that we may use and disclose Other Information for any purpose, except where we are required to do otherwise under applicable law. If ARI is required to treat Other Information as Personal Information under applicable law, then we may use and disclose it for all the purposes for which we use and disclose Personal Information.

• To improve the quality of  services, ARI may combine the Personal and Other Information collected with information that you provide to us in connection with ARI
• To provide and manage our relationship and/or services. We use the Personal Information we collect from and about you to provide our products and services and features to you and to improve upon our services, including, without limitation: to process and fulfill your donation,  to send you information about your relationship or transactions with us, to measure and improve those services and features, to personalize your experience;  to allow you to comment on content, participate in online games, contests, promotions or rewards programs, to provide you with customer support, and to respond to inquiries.
• To contact you. ARI may periodically send promotional materials or notifications related to our services to the email or postal address you provided. To help make these promotional materials more relevant to you, we may use and combine any of the Personal and Other Information we collect to assist us in sending you promotional materials. If you want to stop receiving promotional materials from us, please let us know by contacting us as described in the “Opting Out” section below or follow the unsubscribe instructions at the bottom of each email. There are certain service transactional notifications that you may not opt-out, such as billing and receipt notices, and notifications of date, locations, times and/or other changes to any ARI sponsored event to which you are registered. We may also use your email address to respond to inquiries or requests you make to us.

Information Made Public Through Use of Our Services and User Privacy Settings
Certain features on our website or other online services give you an opportunity to interact with us and others – for example: message boards, chats, and social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc). When you use these features, you should be aware that any information you submit, including your name, location and email address, may be publicly available to anyone, including other users, search engines, advertisers, third party application developers, and anyone else with access to our Online Services. We are not responsible for any information you choose to submit and make public through these interactive features.

ARI will never share, sell or trade your Personal and Other Information with other third party companies, groups, or non-profit organizations to directly market offers to you.
We only share your Personal and Other Information in these cases:

• To allow third-party service providers to assist us in providing and managing Our Services. We may make your Personal and Other Information available to certain third-party service providers, such as contractors, who help us manage or provide our services by, for example: developing and verifying online surveys, technical support for online webinars.
• To protect the rights of ARI and our users. There may be instances when ARI may disclose your Personal and Other Information, including situations where we have a good faith belief that such disclosure is necessary in order to: (i) protect or defend the legal rights or property of ARI or its affiliates, or their employees, agents and contractors (including enforcement of our agreements); (ii) protect the safety and security of users of our products and services or members of the public; (iii) protect against fraud or for risk management purposes; (iv) comply with the law or legal process, including laws outside your country of residence; or (v) to respond to requests from public and government authorities including public and government authorities outside your country of residence.
• To complete a merger or sale of assets. If ARI sells all or part of its organization makes a sale or transfer of its assets or is otherwise involved in a merger or transfer of all or a material part of its business, ARI may transfer your Personal and Other Information to the party or parties involved in the transaction as part of that transaction.

California Residents: If you do not want your Personal and Other Information shared with these third parties for marketing purposes, please let us know by contacting as described in the Contact Us section below.

Privacy Policy Changes. ARI may modify this Privacy Policy as necessary.

Means of Notice and Choice
This Privacy Policy is the primary means by which we provide you with notice and choice about our collection and use of your Personal Information. If we ask for specific Personal Information that will be used in a manner different from what is described in this Privacy Policy, we will inform you at the time of collection.

International Transfer
Your Personal Information may be stored and processed in any country where we have facilities or in which we engage service providers, and by using our products and services, you consent to the transfer of information to countries outside of your country of residence, including the United States, which may have different data protection rules than in your country.
Data Retention
We will retain your Personal Information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy unless a longer retention period is required or allowed by law.

Linked Websites
Our Online Services may also be linked to sites operated by third parties (for example, YouTube), and may carry advertisements or offer content, functionality, games or applications developed and maintained by third parties. Some of these third party sites may be co-branded with an ARI logo, even though they are not operated or maintained by us. ARI is not responsible for the privacy practices of any such third parties, and once you leave our Site via a link, enable a third-party service, or click an advertisement, you should check the applicable privacy policy of the third-party site.

ARI uses industry standard administrative, technical, personnel and physical third-party measures to safeguard Personal Information in its possession against loss, theft and unauthorized use, disclosure or modification. No data transmitted over the Internet is guaranteed to be completely secure. It may be possible for hackers or other third parties not under the control of ARI to intercept or access transmissions or private communications unlawfully.

ARI cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us. Any such transmission is done at your own risk.

To access or modify your information and update your preferences simply contact us. (see below)

It is our desire to not send unwanted mail or email to our contacts and donors. Please contact us if you wish to be removed from our mailing list.

If you have comments or questions about our donor privacy policy, please call or write us.

Autism Research Institute
4182 Adams Avenue
San Diego, CA 92116 USA
833-281-7165 ext. 2 (office)
833-281-7165 (fax)