Legal
Your privacy matters to us.
We handle sensitive data — background checks, personal information, organizational records. Here's exactly what we collect, how we use it, and how we protect it.
1. Information We Collect
Account information: When you sign in with Google, we receive your name, email address, and profile photo. We use this to create and maintain your account.
Volunteer application data: When you apply to volunteer, you provide information such as your name, contact details, availability, skills, and qualifications. Organizations you apply to can see this data.
Background check information: If an organization requires a background check, you may provide sensitive personal information including your Social Security number, date of birth, and address. This data is sent directly to our background check provider (Checkr) and is not stored on our servers.
Organization and billing data: Organizations provide their name, contact details, and payment information (processed by Stripe). We store organization profiles but do not store credit card numbers.
Usage data: We collect anonymous usage analytics (pages visited, features used) to improve the platform. This data does not identify you personally.
2. How We Use Your Data
We use the information we collect to:
- Authenticate your identity and manage your account
- Process volunteer applications and match you with opportunities
- Facilitate background checks on behalf of requesting organizations
- Send transactional emails (application updates, account notifications)
- Process billing and subscription payments for organizations
- Monitor and fix errors to keep the platform reliable (via Sentry)
- Analyze anonymous usage patterns to improve the product (via Vercel Analytics, only with your consent)
- Enforce rate limits to prevent abuse
We do not sell your personal data. We do not use your data for advertising. We do not build profiles for ad targeting.
4. Data Storage & Security
Your data is stored in PostgreSQL databases hosted on secure, SOC 2-compliant infrastructure. We implement the following safeguards:
- Encryption in transit: All connections use TLS 1.3.
- Encryption at rest: Database storage is encrypted with AES-256.
- Multi-tenant isolation: Every database query is scoped to the requesting organization. Organizations cannot access each other's data.
- Access control: Role-based permissions ensure team members see only what they need.
- Audit logging: Every significant action is logged with timestamps and attribution.
- No password storage: We use OAuth (Google) for authentication — we never see or store your password.
Background check data (SSN, DOB) is sent directly to Checkr and is not stored on our servers.
5. Data Retention & Deletion
We retain your personal data for as long as your account is active or as needed to provide you services. Specifically:
- Account data is retained until you request deletion.
- Volunteer application records are retained as long as the associated organization account is active, or as required by law.
- Background check results are retained according to FCRA requirements and Checkr's data retention policies.
- Billing records are retained as required by tax and financial regulations.
To request deletion of your data, email privacy@volunteerready.org. We will process your request within 30 days. When we delete your account, we anonymize your personal information (name, email, profile photo) and retain only anonymized records needed for audit compliance.
7. Your Rights
Depending on your location, you may have the following rights regarding your personal data:
- Access: Request a copy of the personal data we hold about you.
- Correction: Request that we correct inaccurate or incomplete data.
- Deletion: Request that we delete your personal data.
- Portability: Request a machine-readable export of your data.
- Withdraw consent: Opt out of analytics cookies at any time.
To exercise any of these rights, contact us at privacy@volunteerready.org. We will respond within 30 days.
8. Children's Privacy
VolunteerReady is not intended for use by individuals under the age of 16. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If we become aware that we have collected data from a child under 16, we will delete it promptly. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at privacy@volunteerready.org.
9. Changes to This Policy
We may update this privacy policy from time to time. When we make significant changes, we will notify you by email or by posting a notice on our platform. The "Last updated" date at the top of this page reflects the most recent revision.
Version History
| Date | Version | Changes |
|---|---|---|
| March 19, 2026 | 1.0 | Initial privacy policy published |
10. Contact Us
If you have questions about this privacy policy or our data practices, contact us at:
This privacy policy is effective as of March 19, 2026 (Version 1.0).