Semaformfoundation Privacy & Cookies Notice
Last updated: October 2025
The Semaform Foundation and our affiliates (“we” or “us”) are committed to the lawful, fair, and transparent processing of personal data.
This notice is intended to help you understand what personal data we collect, why, when we share it, and how we store and protect it, as well as how to manage communications from us and exercise other rights you may have to your personal data. We may update this notice to reflect changes in our practices and applicable law. If we make a substantial or material update, we will post a notice on our sites and tools.
When this notice applies
Our sites and tools
This notice applies to personal data we collect through this website and any of our other websites, portals, platforms, repositories, electronic forms and surveys, online forums and interactive community sites, events and other interactions, interactive exhibits, channels used to support philanthropic goals, and mobile apps that link to or reference this notice (collectively, “our sites and tools”). With respect to personal data processed through our sites and tools, we are the controller responsible for your personal data.
Supplemental privacy notices
This notice may be supplemented by a supplemental privacy notice applicable to a particular interaction with us, which may be either embedded in this notice or made available to you separately. We will tell you when a supplemental privacy notice applies.
Links to third-party sites
This notice does not apply to any third-party applications, integrations, or websites that may link to, or be accessible from, our sites and tools. We are not responsible for any of the content, features, functionality, or privacy practices of such linked third-party applications, integrations, or websites. The data collection and use practices of any linked third-party application, integration, or website will be governed by that third party’s applicable privacy notice, statement, or policy, and its terms of use. We encourage you to read them.
What data we collect about you
Data you provide about yourself
We collect your personal data when you voluntarily provide it to us. For example, you may give us: your email address, country of residence, and areas of interest if you choose to receive newsletters, updates, or other information from us; your contact information, and any other personal data you choose to include, if you email, text, instant message us, engage at events or other engagements, or contact us through our sites and tools; and any personal data contained in, or included with, any proposal documents, social media posts, articles, feedback, comments, responses, messages, chats, photos, videos, or other data or content you submit via our sites and tools. Please do not disclose more personal data than is necessary.
It is always your choice whether to provide this personal data. However, some personal data must be provided to enable certain functions of our sites and tools or enable you to participate in certain programs, activities, or events (such as to sign up for a newsletter, apply for a job, or register to participate in one of our events), so the decision not to provide such personal data might limit or eliminate such functions or your ability to participate in those programs, activities, or events.
Personal data you provide about others
Do not provide personal data about others unless you are authorized or required to do so by contract or applicable law. You may provide personal data on behalf of another person if you have provided them with a copy of this notice, and any applicable supplemental privacy notice, and obtained their explicit or express consent. We may ask you to provide evidence of that notice and consent.
Data we obtain from third parties and other sources
We may obtain personal data about you from other sources, including your company/organization, professional references, publicly available sources, third-party analytics providers, our service providers, and other third parties. For example, we may obtain your personal data if: another person designates you as a contact person for your company/organization or includes information about you in proposal documents, social media posts, articles, feedback, comments, responses, messages, chats, photos, videos, or other data or content submitted through our sites and tools; or one of our employees or service providers or a third party acting on apparent authority provides it to us (for example, when registering you to access one of our sites and tools, access our facilities, apply for a job, or participate in one of our activities or events).
Payment processors
We may engage third parties to process donations or other payments you make to us (“Payment Processors”). In some cases, such donations or payments are made directly through one of our sites and tools. If so, we may ask you to provide payment, credit card, or other credit-related information, which we will share with the Payment Processor for the purpose of processing your payment. In other cases, you may be redirected to the Payment Processor’s site to make your donation or other payment. If so, the data collection and use practices of the Payment Processor’s site will be governed by that site’s privacy notice, statement, or policy, and its terms of use. We encourage you to read them.
Interest-based advertising
We may engage third parties to place our interest-based advertisements across the internet for the purpose of engaging and informing you about our organization, activities we fund, and the issues we care about. These third parties may use tracking technologies to collect information about your visits to our sites and tools and other websites and your interaction with our advertising and other communications. Some advertisements may be personalized, meaning that they are intended to be relevant to you based on information collected about your visits to our sites and tools and elsewhere over time.
You may opt out of our collection and use of this information at any time and, in some jurisdictions, we will only engage in interest-based advertising if you have opted in. If you would like more information about this practice and to know your choices concerning interest-based advertisements, please contact us
Data we collect automatically, including cookies, pixels, and similar technologies
We may collect some personal data automatically. For example, when you visit our sites and tools, we may collect your internet protocol (“IP”) address, internet service provider (“ISP”) information, and browser type and language. We also may use cookies, pixels, and similar technologies to collect data about your interaction with our sites and tools, including, for example, referring webpage, pages visited on our sites and tools, and crash data. In addition, we may link the information we collect automatically or the information from any cookie or pixel with the information you provide in other contexts on our sites and tools (newsletters, etc.) to personalize, connect and streamline your experience when visiting our sites and tools. For example, this may include connecting your use of our sites and tools from your desktop, mobile, or other device. Please see Cookies & Similar Technologies for more information, including how to manage cookies, pixels, and similar technologies.
Sensitive personal data
We will not intentionally collect any sensitive personal data (or equivalent concept under applicable law) without your explicit or express consent for one or more specified purposes unless otherwise permitted or required by applicable law.
Minors
Our sites and tools are not intended for minors (individuals under the age of 13, or equivalent minimum age depending on jurisdiction), and we do not knowingly collect personal data from minors through our sites and tools. If you become aware of any personal data we have collected from a minor through our sites and tools, please contact us. If we learn that we have collected personal data from a minor through our sites and tools, we will take steps to delete the data without notice as soon as possible.
How we use your data
Purposes
Generally, we may use your personal data to:
- send you information about our organization, activities we fund, and the issues we care about related to your interactions with us or our sites and tools [for our legitimate interests];
- send you publications, newsletters, and updates that you have explicitly or expressly chosen to receive [with your consent];
- review and respond to any proposal documents, reports, deliverables, comments, responses, messages, chats, or other data or content you submit when applying for funding, performing a project, or providing services [for our legitimate interests and/or to enter/perform a contract with you];
- review, analyze, and respond to any feedback, comments, responses, messages, chats, photos, videos, or other data or content you submit via our sites and tools [for our legitimate interests and/or with your consent];
- administer and inform our program strategies and charitable activities [for our legitimate interests];
- administer, safeguard, and improve our sites and tools, systems, facilities, events, and other business operations [for our legitimate interests];
- protect our rights and the safety of others [for our legitimate interests];
- contribute to our archive of information in the public interest [for our legitimate interests]; and/or
- comply with applicable law, court order, subpoena, or legal process served on us [to comply with legal obligations].
Additional purposes
Additional purposes for using your personal data are, or will be, described in a supplemental privacy notice applicable to our engagement with you.
Legal bases under applicable law
We may collect and use your personal data only if we have one or more legal bases for doing so under applicable law. The legal basis or bases will depend on your relationship to us and/or your interaction with our sites and tools. Examples of legal bases on which we rely include where processing is necessary to:
- enter or perform a contract with you;
- comply with a legal obligation;
- pursue our legitimate interests or those of a third party (provided your interests and fundamental rights do not override those interests);
- maintain an archive in the public interest; or
- protect the vital interests of you or another natural person.
If the legal basis is consent, we will notify you in clear and plain language. We will seek additional consent before using your personal data for a new purpose that is inconsistent with the purpose for which it was collected. Your consent is voluntary and may be withdrawn at any time.
When we share your data
Employees, agents, affiliates, service providers, and partners
We may share your personal data with our: (a) employees, agents, and affiliates who have a business need to know; (b) our services providers (including supplemental staff, project workers, inbound secondees, and outsourced service workers) to process it for us based on our instructions and for no other purpose; and (c) with third-party partners that are collaborating with us to fund or conduct projects or host events. We do not share your personal data with any third party (including our service providers) for marketing purposes unless you have provided consent for us to do so. If you believe personal data you provided to us is being misused by a third party, please contact us right away.
Other visitors to our sites and tools
Any personal data you include in feedback, comments, responses, messages, chats, photos, videos, or other data or content you submit to interactive portions of our sites and tools (such as comment sections, online forums, and interactive communities) may be viewed by other visitors to those portions of our sites and tools. Other visitors may access, re-post, or use such submission. In some interactive portions of our sites, you may have the ability to adjust various privacy settings to control who may see your submission. Even if you remove or delete your submission, copies may remain in cached or archived areas of our sites and tools or be retained by other participants or visitors.
Law enforcement
We may share your personal data with law enforcement, other government agencies or authorities, or third parties as required by applicable law, court order, subpoena, or legal process served on us.
Transfer of control
We will not transfer control over personal data to any third party unless such transfer is expressly consented to by you or required to comply with applicable law, court order, subpoena, or legal process served on us.
How we store and protect your data
Storage and transfers
Your personal data may be stored in your region or in any other country where we or our service providers have facilities. We may also allow employees and service providers located around the world to access personal data as provided in this notice. We will ensure your legal rights and protections travel with any such “transfer” of your personal data as required by applicable law. We do this by signing agreements containing appropriate data protection terms (including “standard contractual clauses,” “standard contracts,” or other terms as may be required by applicable law) and requiring that our employees and service providers protect personal data in accordance with applicable law.
Storage period
We will store your personal data until it is no longer needed to fulfill the purpose(s) for which it was collected or as otherwise required or permitted by law. After such time, we will either delete or anonymize your personal data or, if this is not possible, we will securely store your personal data and isolate it from any further use until deletion is possible. We may dispose of any data at our discretion without notice, subject to applicable law. Please contact us if you would like more details regarding our retention periods for different categories of personal data.
Protection
As the transmission of data via the internet is not completely secure, we cannot guarantee the security of your information transmitted to our sites and tools and any such transmission is at your own risk. However, we maintain appropriate technical and organizational measures, including performing regular self-assessments, to prevent unauthorized disclosure of, or access to, personal data. We limit access to personal data and require that employees authorized to access personal data maintain the confidentiality of that data. We hold our service providers to at least the same data privacy and security standards to which we hold ourselves.
How you can manage communications from us and exercise other rights you may have to your personal data
Manage communications from us
Generally, newsletters, updates, and other bulk or auto-generated emails from us will include a link to unsubscribe or manage your subscription preferences directly. If you do not wish to receive such promotional communications from us, you can opt out at any time by following the instructions contained in the communications themselves. If you opt out of receiving these promotional communications, please note that we reserve the right to send you certain communications relating to our sites and tools, including administrative messages. Unless otherwise required by applicable laws, we do not offer you the opportunity to opt out of receiving those communications.
Exercise your rights
To the extent provided by applicable laws, you may have the right to obtain confirmation that we hold personal data about you; access, correct, or delete your personal data; withdraw any consent you previously provided to us; object to or restrict our processing of your personal data in any other context; deactivate, block, anonymize, or delete personal data as appropriate; or request and receive a copy of the personal data you have provided us and to transmit this data to a third party. To exercise any of these rights that you are not able to do directly, please contact us.