Privacy Policy

The Upstate Education & Opportunity Foundation (“the Foundation,” “we,” “us”) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit supporting the students, teachers and families of the School District of Pickens County. This policy explains what information we collect through scupstatefoundation.org, how we use it, and the choices you have. We collect only what we need to respond to you, steward your generosity and keep our community informed.

Information you give us

When you fill out a form on this site, we receive the details you choose to share. Depending on the form, that can include:

• Your name, email address and phone number
• Your mailing address
• Your business or organization, if you reach out about a corporate partnership
• How you would like to give, volunteer, mentor or tutor, and whether you are a Pickens County Schools alum
• Any questions, comments or messages you write to us

Signing up for the Building Bridges newsletter asks only for your name and email address.

Donations

Gifts made through this site are processed securely by Givebutter. Your payment details go directly to Givebutter and its payment processors; the Foundation never receives or stores your full card or bank account number. We do receive your name, contact details, gift amount and any dedication or note you include, so we can thank you, send your tax receipt and keep accurate records. Givebutter’s handling of your information is described in its privacy policy.

Information collected automatically

Like most websites, this site collects some technical information when you visit:

• Analytics. We use Google Analytics to understand which pages are helpful and how visitors find us. It uses cookies to record pages viewed, time on site, the site that referred you, your browser and device type, and your approximate location (city or region). We do not use this information to identify you personally. You can opt out with the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on.
• Hosting logs. Our hosting provider, Vercel, keeps standard server logs, such as IP address, browser type and the time of each request, to deliver the site and protect it from abuse.
• Spam protection. Our forms use Cloudflare Turnstile to tell people apart from automated bots. It checks basic browser signals and does not ask you to solve puzzles.

Videos, maps and translation

The video playing behind our homepage is served by Vimeo with its “do not track” setting turned on. Other videos on the site come from YouTube and load only after you press play; once they do, YouTube may set its own cookies under Google’s privacy policy.

The school map on our homepage uses map images from OpenStreetMap. We fetch and cache those images through our own website host, so your browser never contacts OpenStreetMap directly and it does not receive your IP address.

If you choose a language from the language menu, the page is translated through GTranslate and Google Translate, which means the text of the page is sent to those services. A small cookie named “googtrans” remembers the language you picked.

How we use your information

• To respond to your questions and partnership inquiries
• To match volunteers, mentors and tutors with opportunities in our schools
• To process gifts, send receipts and thank our donors
• To send the Building Bridges newsletter and updates you asked for
• To improve this website and understand which programs resonate with our community
• To meet our legal and accounting obligations as a nonprofit

How we share it

We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information, and we never share your phone number or email address with other organizations for their marketing. We share information only:

• With service providers who help us run the Foundation, such as our donor and contact management platform (HighLevel), our donation processor (Givebutter), our website host (Vercel), our web partner (Take Part) and Google Analytics. They may use your information only to provide services to us.
• With the School District of Pickens County when needed to coordinate volunteering, mentoring or tutoring you signed up for.
• When required by law, or to protect the safety of students, staff, volunteers or the public.

Email preferences

Every newsletter includes an unsubscribe link, and you can opt out at any time. You can also email us at connect@scUpstateFoundation.org and we will remove you from our mailing list. Even after you unsubscribe, we may still send messages related to a gift you made, such as a tax receipt.

Your choices and rights

You can ask us to show you the personal information we hold about you, correct it, or delete it. Email connect@scUpstateFoundation.org or call 864-397-1000 and we will respond within 30 days. We may need to keep some donation records to meet tax and accounting requirements. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings; the site will still work without them.

How long we keep information

We keep contact and volunteer details for as long as you stay connected with the Foundation, or until you ask us to delete them. Donation records are kept as long as required for tax and audit purposes.

Keeping your information safe

This site is served over an encrypted (HTTPS) connection, and access to the information you share is limited to Foundation staff and board members who need it. No method of sending or storing data online is completely secure, but we take reasonable steps to protect what you entrust to us.

Children’s privacy

Although our work serves students, this website is meant for parents, educators, donors, volunteers and community partners. We do not knowingly collect personal information online from children under 13. If you believe a child has sent us information, contact us and we will delete it.

Links to other websites

This site links to school pages, partner organizations and other websites we do not control. Their privacy practices are their own, so we encourage you to review their policies.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy as our programs and tools change. When we do, we will post the new version here and update the date at the top of this page.

Contact us

Questions about this policy or your information are always welcome.

Upstate Education & Opportunity Foundation
1348 Griffin Mill Rd, Easley, SC 29640, USA
864-397-1000
connect@scUpstateFoundation.org