Privacy Policy

The Tai Sophia relationship with its donors is uniquely personal. We help you with important financial matters such as providing examples for Planned Gifts, tax deductions and you trust us with important information about you. The steps we have taken to keep that information secure and confidential, along with the choices you have about information sharing, are outlined in this Privacy Policy.

Tai Sophia Institute considers the security and maintenance of Confidential Information a matter of high priority. The Tai Sophia Institute Community is committed to honoring the relationships it has one to another and upholding the expectations of confidentiality within those relationships. We are committed to complying with laws governing Confidential Information, including the federal Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act, requiring financial institutions (including educational institutions) to ensure the security and confidentiality of customer records and information; the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) governing Protected Health Information; and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA), governing Educational Records. And we respect the need to maintain as Confidential Information corporate information.

We are committed to protecting your privacy. We will not sell, share, trade, or give away your name, purchase, or donor history to other organizations without your specific consent. We use the information we collect about you to process orders and to provide a more personalized shopping web experience. Please read on for more details about our privacy policy.

What information do we collect? How do we use it?

We collect the domain name of e-mail addresses of visitors to our site and aggregate (not personally identifiable) information on what pages visitors access. We use this information to monitor the use of the site and to improve its performance and usefulness. We also collect information you volunteer, such as survey responses, comments, purchasing and billing information, and your requests.

When you order, we need to know your name, e-mail address, mailing address, credit card number, CVC code (on the back of your card) and expiration date. This allows us to process and fulfill your order and to notify you of your order status.

We may also use the information we collect to occasionally notify you about important functionality changes to the Web site, new services, and special offers we think you'll find valuable.

Collecting and keeping donor information makes it possible for us to provide the Internal Revenue Service with proof of donations made to Tai Sophia Institute. We are required to keep donation records for seven years. The information takes various forms and is gathered from various sources: Your pledge and gift payment history. Additional information is retained if gifts of appreciated assets are involved with your contribution.

We do not share your information with outside companies. It is important to note that if you select Tai Sophia Institute to act as a trustee, fiduciary information about your trust account(s) is safeguarded. This information is kept completely confidential.

How do we protect customer information?

When you place orders or access your account information, we offer the use of a secure server. The secure server software (SSL) encrypts all information you input before it is sent to us. Furthermore, all of the customer data we collect is protected against unauthorized access.

How do we allow customers to update or change the information we collect?

You may update or change information related to your account by updating your profile, accessible via the home page once you are logged in, or by sending us email. Yes, we do use cookies, but we do not overuse them! We use cookies to enhance your shopping and browsing experience. The text in a cookie, by itself, only tells us that you have visited our site before. It does not store any personal information such as your name, e-mail address, street address, or phone number. Cookies are also used to maintain your shopping basket. All data contained in the shopping basked is kept on our server and not in the cookie your machine is assigned.

Your consent

By using our website, you consent to the collection and use of this information. If we find it necessary to change our privacy policy, we will post those changes on this page so that you are always aware of what information we collect, how we use it, and under what circumstances we disclose it.

Tell us what you think

We welcome your questions and comments about privacy. If you have any questions, please email us.

Additional Considerations

Companies We Partner With to Serve Our Donors

Companies who perform vital business operations for Tai Sophia Institute such as Bank Trustee for Charitable Remainder Trusts must have access to your information in order to be effective and operate within the State of Maryland Banking Laws.

Guidelines for Donors Regarding Do Not Mail and Do Not Call

When it comes to keeping you informed our Marketing Department may contact you in one of three ways: direct mail, telemarketing or Email. If you prefer not to be contacted by one or more of these methods, or if you prefer not to be contacted at all, please notify us. Whatever your preference we will honor it for a period of three years.

When it comes to donation reminders, Development may contact you in one of three ways: direct mail, telemarketing or Email. If you prefer not to be contacted by one or more of these methods, or if you prefer not to be contacted at all, please notify us. We will honor your request for three years but do reenter your name at the end of three years since it is virtually impossible to earn your support and keep you informed regarding the strength of Tai Sophia Institute if you are never asked for funds.