VIST & Foundation Privacy Policy

Institute & Foundation Privacy Policy

At the Virginia Institute of Science & Technology (VIST) and VIST Foundation, protecting the privacy and confidentiality of personal information of our donors, friends, alumni, students, faculty, and staff is of vital importance. Personal information includes, without limitation, any records, notes, documentation, or any other related information, whether written or in any other form, maintained by the VIST Foundation on donors, friends, alumni, students, faculty, and staff (“Personal Information”). To that end, the following policies apply:

Sharing Personal Information with Third Parties

Under written agreement between the VIST Foundation and The Institute (VIST) agreed that:

All records, notes, documentation, including records relating in any manner to expenditures made or gifts, bequests, donations received, or donors or any other matters of fundraising shall be and remain the sole property of the VIST Foundation. Unless otherwise required by law, the Institute agrees not to make any VIST Foundation documents, records, or other information (whether written or in any other form) available to a third party without the VIST Foundation’s written consent.

It is the general policy of the VIST Foundation to make every reasonable effort to respect and protect the privacy of our donors, friends, alumni, students, faculty, and staff.

The VIST & Foundation shall not sell Personal Information.

The VIST & Foundation shall not share Personal Information with third parties or affiliates, except as is reasonably necessary in the conduct of the business and affairs of the VIST Foundation, and then only after appropriate safeguards are taken to preserve the confidentiality of the Personal Information in the hands of said third parties or affiliates.

The VIST & Foundation shall disclose Personal Information in response to a subpoena, court order, or other legal process, to the extent required by law.

The VIST & Foundation may provide aggregate statistics and related information about our donors, friends, alumni, students, faculty, and staff to reputable third parties, but said statistics and related information will not include any personal identifying information.

The VIST & Foundation houses, in a single secure central location, bankcard and EFT files in accordance with applicable law and its Document Retention Policy.

Personal Information Security

The VIST & Foundation strives to maintain the highest standards for the protection of Personal Information, which currently includes:

Maintaining physical, electronic, and procedural safeguards to protect Personal Information.

Maintaining quality control procedures to ensure that information compiled is as accurate and complete as possible.

Committing to privacy education of staff, affiliates, and certain vendors on an ongoing basis about the issues and laws surrounding individual privacy and confidentiality of Personal Information.

Limiting the Sharing of Personal Information

If a donor, friend, alumni, student, faculty, or staff does not wish for VIST &  Foundation to share their Personal Information, they can request to opt-out of any or all releases of information by contacting the VIST Foundation at 703-298-5852.

Period of Retention

Personnel Information shall be maintained according to the applicable Document  Retention Policy of the VIST & Foundation.

Changes to the Privacy Policy

The VIST & Foundation reserves the right to change the terms of this Privacy Policy from time to time.

Effective Date

The Effective Date of this Privacy Policy is September 16, 2016