Donor Rights and Privacy

You get to choose how your generosity is recognized. To change your name, update your contact information, request that you remain anonymous as a donor, or request no fundraising contact, please email us or add these notes to your gift.

We are committed to protect your privacy. We do not collect personal information such as names and email addresses unless you knowingly provide that information.

We collect personal information for web transactions, newsletters and emails, and general inquiries. We only use this information for the intended services. For some services, we may request information about background, occupation, demographics, and interests.

We may collect information about computer hardware and software such as IP addresses, browser types, domain names, access times, and the referring websites that visitors use to access web pages. We use this information to maintain the quality of the service and to collect general statistics.

We collect personal information to deliver the services you request and to understand our audience so that we can better meet their needs. We do not sell, trade, or rent any personal information. We may compile aggregate statistics and provide them to third parties, but we do not include information that identifies individual website users.

We may save personal information to comply with federal and state policies, but we do not disclose this information to third parties or government agencies unless state or federal law requires us to do so or exigent circumstances require us to protect the safety of our users or the public.

We may revise this privacy policy at any time in response to changes in the law or other factors. We encourage you to periodically visit this page to review the most current policy.

Visit Alumni Relations to learn more about alumni data privacy.

Philanthropy is based on voluntary action for the common good. It is a tradition of giving and sharing that is primary to the quality of life. To assure that philanthropy merits the respect and trust of the general public, and that donors and prospective donors can have full confidence in the not-for-profit organizations and causes they are asked to support, we declare that all donors have these rights:

• To be informed of the organization's mission, of the way the organization intends to use gifted resources, and of its capacity to use gifts effectively for their intended purposes.
• To be informed of the identity of those serving on the organization's governing board, and to expect the board to exercise prudent judgment in its stewardship responsibilities.
• To have access to the organization's most recent financial statements.
• To be assured their gifts will be used for the purposes for which they were given.
• To receive appropriate acknowledgment and recognition.
• To be assured that information about their gifts is handled with respect and with confidentiality to the extent provided by law.
• To expect that all relationships with individuals representing organizations of interest to the donor will be professional in nature.
• To be informed whether those seeking gifts are volunteers, employees of the organization, or hired solicitors.
• To have the opportunity for their names to be deleted from mailing lists that an organization may intend to share.
• To feel free to ask questions when making a gift and to receive prompt, truthful and forthright answers.

The text of this statement in its entirety was developed by the American Association of Fund-Raising Counsel (AAFRC), Association for Healthcare Philanthropy (AHP), Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), and the Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP), and adopted in November 1993.

As alumni and supporters of the Metropolitan State University Foundation, we want you to know about an incident that may have involved your personal contact information. In July 2020, we were notified by Blackbaud, a company that provides Metro State Foundation with data management and software services, that they had experienced a data security incident. You may have already received a notification about this incident from other nonprofits you support, as Blackbaud’s fundraising and database services are used by thousands of nonprofit organizations worldwide and 15 of the 37 institutions of higher education in the Minnesota State System.

No credit card, bank account, or other unique and sensitive information, such as social security number, was compromised.

Blackbaud was the target of a ransomware attack sometime between February 7, 2020, and intermittently until May 20, 2020. The hackers attempted to disrupt business by locking users out of their own data and in the process, accessed personally identifying information about Blackbaud's nonprofit clients, including those of the Metro State Foundation. Blackbaud informed us of the breach on July 16, 2020. After discovering the attack in May 2020, Blackbaud’s Cyber Security team—together with independent forensics experts and law enforcement—retrieved the stolen data and successfully prevented the cybercriminal from blocking their system access and fully encrypting files, and ultimately expelled them from the system. The Minn State system IT and legal team launched an independent investigation on July16 and sent us their confirmation of Blackbaud’s findings. We took the time to verify Blackbaud’s findings through the independent investigation before sending this message to our supporters.

Metropolitan State University Foundation does not store social security numbers or any banking account information within the Blackbaud system. Therefore, we can confirm that your social security number, credit card or bank account information were not breached. However, it is possible that contact information for some individuals may have been compromised. The information obtained by the intruders could include: name, address, phone number, email address, and if applicable, date of birth. Blackbaud believes they have addressed this incident and are taking steps to ensure its security system is not compromised again. Read a full description of the incident from Blackbaud.

We sincerely apologize for this incident and regret any inconvenience it may cause. We take data security very seriously, along with the trust you place in us. We are confident in Metropolitan State University Foundation’s internal data security and privacy practices and will continue to work with Blackbaud to ensure your privacy and security is not compromised.

As a best practice, we recommend you remain vigilant and promptly report any suspicious activity or suspected identity theft to us and to the proper law enforcement authorities such as the Federal Trade Commission, and the Office of the Minnesota State Attorney General.

If you have questions, concerns or would like specific information about your personal data please contact Missi Worthington, Prospect Development Manager.