Legal & Privacy

Last updated March 08, 2026

This Privacy Notice for Beacon Initiative, Inc. ("we," "us," or "our"), describes how and why we might access, collect, store, use, and/or share ("process") your personal information when you use our services ("Services"), including when you:

Visit our website at www.beacon-initiative.org or any website of ours that links to this Privacy Notice
Engage with us in other related ways, including any marketing communications or events

Reading this Privacy Notice will help you understand your privacy rights and choices. If you still have any questions or concerns, please contact us at info@beacon-initiative.org.

Contents

1. What information do we collect?

Personal information you disclose to us

We collect personal information that you voluntarily provide to us when you express an interest in obtaining information about our initiatives, when you participate in activities on our website, or otherwise when you contact us.

Personal Information Provided by You. The personal information that we collect depends on the context of your interactions with us and the Services, the choices you make, and the features you use. The personal information we collect may include the following:

names
email addresses

Sensitive Information. We do not process sensitive information.

All personal information that you provide to us must be true, complete, and accurate, and you must notify us of any changes to such personal information.

Information automatically collected

We automatically collect certain information when you visit, use, or navigate the Services. This information does not reveal your specific identity (like your name or contact information) but may include device and usage information, such as your IP address, browser and device characteristics, operating system, language preferences, referring URLs, device name, country, location, information about how and when you use our Services, and other technical information. This information is primarily needed to maintain the security and operation of our Services, and for our internal analytics and reporting purposes.

Like many organizations, we also collect information through cookies and similar technologies.

The information we collect includes:

Log and Usage Data. Log and usage data is service-related, diagnostic, usage, and performance information our servers automatically collect when you access or use our Services and which we record in log files. Depending on how you interact with us, this log data may include your IP address, device information, browser type, and settings and information about your activity in the Services (such as the date/time stamps associated with your usage, pages and files viewed, searches, and other actions you take such as which features you use), device event information (such as system activity, error reports (sometimes called "crash dumps"), and hardware settings).
Location Data. We collect location data such as information about your device's location, which can be either precise or imprecise. How much information we collect depends on the type and settings of the device you use to access the Services. For example, we may use GPS and other technologies to collect geolocation data that tells us your current location (based on your IP address). You can opt out of allowing us to collect this information either by refusing access to the information or by disabling your Location setting on your device.

2. How do we process your information?

We process your personal information for a variety of reasons, depending on how you interact with our Services, including:

To send you marketing communications. We may process the personal information you provide us (such as your email address) to send newsletters and organizational updates, including announcements about programs, events, and open calls, if this is in accordance with your marketing preferences. You can opt out of our marketing emails at any time.
To understand what information is useful to our community. We may use analytics to understand how people engage with our website and communications so we can improve clarity, accessibility, and relevance.
To save or protect vital interests. We may process your information when necessary to save or protect an individual’s vital interest, such as to prevent harm.

3. What legal basis do we rely on to process your information?

If you are located in the EU or UK, this section applies to you.

The General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and UK GDPR require us to explain the valid legal bases we rely on in order to process your personal information. As such, we may rely on the following legal bases to process your personal information:

Consent. We may process your information if you have given us permission (i.e., consent) to use your personal information for a specific purpose. You can withdraw your consent at any time.
Legitimate Interests. We may process your information when we believe it is reasonably necessary to achieve our legitimate business interests and those interests do not outweigh your interests and fundamental rights and freedoms. For example, we may process your personal information for some of the purposes described in order to:
Send users information about special offers and discounts on our products and services
Support our marketing activities
Understand how our users use our products and services so we can improve user experience
Legal Obligations. We may process your information where we believe it is necessary for compliance with our legal obligations, such as to cooperate with a law enforcement body or regulatory agency, exercise or defend our legal rights, or disclose your information as evidence in litigation in which we are involved.
Vital Interests. We may process your information where we believe it is necessary to protect your vital interests or the vital interests of a third party, such as situations involving potential threats to the safety of any person.

If you are located in Canada, this section applies to you.

We may process your information if you have given us specific permission (i.e., express consent) to use your personal information for a specific purpose, or in situations where your permission can be inferred (i.e., implied consent). You can withdraw your consent at any time.

In some exceptional cases, we may be legally permitted under applicable law to process your information without your consent, including, for example:

If collection is clearly in the interests of an individual and consent cannot be obtained in a timely way
For investigations and fraud detection and prevention
For business transactions provided certain conditions are met
If it is contained in a witness statement and the collection is necessary to assess, process, or settle an insurance claim
For identifying injured, ill, or deceased persons and communicating with next of kin
If we have reasonable grounds to believe an individual has been, is, or may be victim of financial abuse
If it is reasonable to expect collection and use with consent would compromise the availability or the accuracy of the information and the collection is reasonable for purposes related to investigating a breach of an agreement or a contravention of the laws of Canada or a province
If disclosure is required to comply with a subpoena, warrant, court order, or rules of the court relating to the production of records
If it was produced by an individual in the course of their employment, business, or profession and the collection is consistent with the purposes for which the information was produced
If the collection is solely for journalistic, artistic, or literary purposes
If the information is publicly available and is specified by the regulations
We may disclose de-identified information for approved research or statistics projects, subject to ethics oversight and confidentiality commitments

4. When and with whom do we share your personal information?

We may need to share your personal information in the following situations:

Service Providers. We may share information with vendors who help us operate our website and communications, such as website hosting, email/newsletter delivery, and analytics. They may access information only to perform services for us and are required to protect it.
Legal and Safety. We may disclose information if required to comply with applicable law, respond to lawful requests, or protect the rights, safety, and security of Beacon Initiative, Inc. and others.
Organizational Changes. In the event of a merger, dissolution, restructuring, or similar organizational change, information may be transferred as part of that process, subject to applicable law.

5. Do we use cookies and other tracking technologies?

We may use cookies and similar tracking technologies to collect information when you interact with our Services. These technologies are used to operate and secure the Services, prevent crashes, fix bugs, remember preferences, support basic site functionality, and measure site traffic and usage patterns through analytics tools (including Google Analytics) so we can improve our website and communications. Analytics providers may set or read cookies and collect information such as device and browser data, IP address, and on-site interactions.

We do not currently use cookies or similar technologies for targeted advertising or remarketing, and we do not sell personal information. Any material changes to our practices will be reflected in an updated Privacy Notice.

You may control cookies through your browser settings. You may also contact us at info@beacon-initiative.org with questions regarding tracking technologies.

Google Analytics

We use Google Analytics to understand how visitors interact with our website. For more information on the privacy practices of Google, please visit the Google Privacy & Terms page. To opt out of being tracked by Google Analytics across our website, visit https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.

6. Is your information transferred internationally?

Our servers are located in the United States. Regardless of your location, please be aware that your information may be transferred to, stored by, and processed by us in our facilities and in the facilities of the third parties with whom we may share your personal information, including facilities in the United States and other countries.

If you are a resident in the European Economic Area (EEA), United Kingdom (UK), or Switzerland, then these countries may not necessarily have data protection laws or other similar laws as comprehensive as those in your country. However, we will take all necessary measures to protect your personal information in accordance with this Privacy Notice and applicable law.

European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses:

We have implemented measures to protect your personal information, including by using the European Commission's Standard Contractual Clauses for transfers of personal information between our group companies and between us and our third-party providers. These clauses require all recipients to protect all personal information that they process originating from the EEA or UK in accordance with European data protection laws and regulations. Our Standard Contractual Clauses can be provided upon request. We have implemented similar appropriate safeguards with our third-party service providers and partners and further details can be provided upon request.

7. How long do we keep your information?

We will only keep your personal information for as long as it is necessary for the purposes set out in this Privacy Notice, unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law (such as tax, accounting, or other legal requirements).

When we have no ongoing legitimate operational need to process your personal information, we will either delete or anonymize such information, or, if this is not possible (for example, because your personal information has been stored in backup archives), then we will securely store your personal information and isolate it from any further processing until deletion is possible.

8. What are your privacy rights?

In some regions (like the EEA, UK, Switzerland, and Canada), you have certain rights under applicable data protection laws. These may include the right (i) to request access and obtain a copy of your personal information, (ii) to request rectification or erasure; (iii) to restrict the processing of your personal information; (iv) if applicable, to data portability; and (v) not to be subject to automated decision-making. If a decision that produces legal or similarly significant effects is made solely by automated means, we will inform you, explain the main factors, and offer a simple way to request human review. In certain circumstances, you may also have the right to object to the processing of your personal information. You can make such a request by contacting us. We will consider and act upon any request in accordance with applicable data protection laws.

If you are located in the EEA or UK and you believe we are unlawfully processing your personal information, you also have the right to complain to your Member State data protection authority or UK data protection authority.

If you are located in Switzerland, you may contact the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner.

Withdrawing your consent: If we are relying on your consent to process your personal information, which may be express and/or implied consent depending on the applicable law, you have the right to withdraw your consent at any time. You can withdraw your consent at any time by contacting us.

However, please note that this will not affect the lawfulness of the processing before its withdrawal nor, when applicable law allows, will it affect the processing of your personal information conducted in reliance on lawful processing grounds other than consent.

Opting out of marketing and promotional communications: You can unsubscribe from our marketing and promotional communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the emails that we send. You will then be removed from the marketing lists. However, we may still communicate with you, for example, to respond to inquiries you may have about our initiatives, or for other non-marketing purposes.

Cookies and similar technologies: Most Web browsers are set to accept cookies by default. If you prefer, you can usually choose to set your browser to remove cookies and to reject cookies.

If you have questions or comments about your privacy rights, you may email us at info@beacon-initiative.org.

9. Controls for Do-Not-Track features

Most web browsers and some mobile operating systems and mobile applications include a Do-Not-Track ("DNT") feature or setting you can activate to signal your privacy preference not to have data about your online browsing activities monitored and collected. At this stage, no uniform technology standard for recognizing and implementing DNT signals has been finalized. As such, we do not currently respond to DNT browser signals or any other mechanism that automatically communicates your choice not to be tracked online. If a standard for online tracking is adopted that we must follow in the future, we will inform you about that practice in a revised version of this Privacy Notice.

California law requires us to let you know how we respond to web browser DNT signals. Because there currently is not an industry or legal standard for recognizing or honoring DNT signals, we do not respond to them at this time.

10. Do United States residents have specific privacy rights?

In the United States, if you are a resident of California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, New Jersey, Oregon, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, or Virginia, you may have the right to request access to and receive details about the personal information we maintain about you and how we have processed it, correct inaccuracies, get a copy of, or delete your personal information. You may also have the right to withdraw your consent to our processing of your personal information. These rights may be limited in some circumstances by applicable law.

We may disclose your personal information with our service providers pursuant to a written contract between us and each service provider.

We have not disclosed, sold, or shared any personal information to third parties for a business or commercial purpose in the preceding twelve (12) months. We will not sell or share personal information in the future belonging to website visitors, users, and other stakeholders.

Your Rights

You have rights under certain US state data protection laws. However, these rights are not absolute, and in certain cases, we may decline your request as permitted by law. These rights include:

Right to know whether or not we are processing your personal data
Right to access your personal data
Right to correct inaccuracies in your personal data
Right to request the deletion of your personal data
Right to obtain a copy of the personal data you previously shared with us
Right to non-discrimination for exercising your rights
Right to opt out of the processing of your personal data if it is used for targeted advertising (or sharing as defined under California’s privacy law), the sale of personal data, or profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects ("profiling")

Depending upon the state where you live, you may also have the following rights:

Right to access the categories of personal data being processed (as permitted by applicable law, including the privacy law in Minnesota)
Right to obtain a list of the categories of third parties to which we have disclosed personal data (as permitted by applicable law, including the privacy law in California, Delaware, and Maryland)
Right to obtain a list of specific third parties to which we have disclosed personal data (as permitted by applicable law, including the privacy law in Minnesota and Oregon)
Right to obtain a list of third parties to which we have sold personal data (as permitted by applicable law, including the privacy law in Connecticut)
Right to review, understand, question, and depending on where you live, correct how personal data has been profiled (as permitted by applicable law, including the privacy law in Connecticut and Minnesota)
Right to limit use and disclosure of sensitive personal data (as permitted by applicable law, including the privacy law in California)
Right to opt out of the collection of sensitive data and personal data collected through the operation of a voice or facial recognition feature (as permitted by applicable law, including the privacy law in Florida)

How to Exercise Your Rights

To make a request, you can contact us at info@beacon-initiative.org.

Request Verification

Upon receiving your request, we will need to verify your identity to determine you are the same person about whom we have the information in our system. We will only use personal information provided in your request to verify your identity or authority to make the request. However, if we cannot verify your identity from the information already maintained by us, we may request that you provide additional information for the purposes of verifying your identity and for security or fraud-prevention purposes.

Appeals

Under certain US state data protection laws, if we decline to take action regarding your request, you may appeal our decision by emailing us at info@beacon-initiative.org. We will respond in accordance with applicable law.

California "Shine The Light" Law

California Civil Code Section 1798.83, also known as the "Shine The Light" law, permits our users who are California residents to request and obtain from us, once a year and free of charge, information about categories of personal information (if any) we disclosed to third parties for direct marketing purposes and the names and addresses of all third parties with which we shared personal information in the immediately preceding calendar year. If you are a California resident and would like to make such a request, please submit your request in writing to us.

12. Do we make updates to this Notice?

We may update this Privacy Notice from time to time. The updated version will be indicated by an updated "Revised" date at the top of this Privacy Notice. We encourage you to review this Privacy Notice frequently to be informed of how we are protecting your information.

13. How can you contact us about this Notice?

If you have questions or comments about this notice, you may email us at info@beacon-initiative.org or contact us by post at:

Beacon Initiative, Inc.
888 8th Ave
20G
New York, NY 10019
United States

14. How can you review, update, or delete the data we collect from you?

You have the right to request access to the personal information we collect from you, details about how we have processed it, correct inaccuracies, or delete your personal information. You may also have the right to withdraw your consent to our processing of your personal information. These rights may be limited in some circumstances by applicable law. To request to review, update, or delete your personal information, please contact us: info@beacon-initiative.org.