PRIVACY POLICY

We collect different types of information depending on how you interact with our Platform. This section distinguishes between information collected from general website visitors and information collected from members of The Ranks.

Information you provide directly. When you fill out a contact form, register for an event, sign up for our newsletter, make a donation, or submit a volunteer application, we may collect your name, email address, phone number, mailing address, military service branch or status, and any other information you choose to provide.

Information collected automatically. When you visit our website, we may automatically collect certain technical information, including your IP address, browser type and version, operating system, referring URL, pages visited, time spent on pages, and general geographic location.

Donation information. When you make a donation, payment details are collected and processed by our third-party donation platform. We do not store credit card numbers or full payment details on our servers.

The Ranks is EDC’s private member portal. When you create an account, you provide information that forms your public profile visible to other authenticated members. This includes:

• Account information — First name, last name, email address, and password. Accounts are currently created with email and password authentication. Google Single Sign-On (SSO) is planned for a future release.
• Profile details — Avatar photo, cover photo, bio, badge type, tier level, and state-level location. Your zip code is never displayed publicly on your profile; only your state is shown to other members.
• Verified member details — If you are a verified member (veteran, nonprofit leader, veteran service organization representative, or professional), your profile may also display your business name, business type, website URL, and a description of your organization or practice.

In addition to your public profile, we collect certain private data that is never displayed publicly on your profile or shared with other members. This data is used exclusively for internal nonprofit operations, including grant applications, demographic reporting, program development, and measuring community impact. Private data categories include:

• Personal demographics — Date of birth, gender, phone number, and full mailing address (including zip code)
• Military service details — Service era, years served, rank, Military Occupational Specialty (MOS), duty stations, deployments, discharge type, VA disability rating, and service-connected disability status
• Family information — Marital status, number of dependents, and emergency contact details
• Education and employment — Education level, employment status, and income range

This information is provided voluntarily and is not required to use The Ranks. When shared in aggregate with funding partners or in grant applications, it is always presented in de-identified, non-personally-identifiable form.

Members may apply for verified status as a veteran, nonprofit leader, veteran service organization (VSO) representative, or professional. The verification process may require you to upload supporting documents such as DD-214 forms, business licenses, professional certifications, or organizational letters.

Verification documents are stored securely using Supabase Storage with restricted access. They are reviewed solely by authorized EDC administrators for the purpose of evaluating your verification request. Verification documents are not displayed publicly, shared with other members, or used for any purpose beyond the verification review process.

Important: Verification by EDC confirms identity or organizational affiliation only. It does not constitute a professional endorsement, certification, or guarantee of qualifications.

When you participate in The Ranks community, we collect and store data related to your activity, including:

• Posts and content — Text posts, images, hashtags, and @mentions you create in the social feed. You may also pin posts to your profile.
• Comments and reactions — Comments you leave on other members’ posts and reactions (such as likes) you apply to content
• Community boards — Discussions and replies you post in community discussion forums
• Friend connections — Friend requests you send or receive, and your list of accepted connections
• Event participation — Events you RSVP to, attend, or interact with through The Ranks
• Volunteer opportunities — Volunteer activities you express interest in or sign up for
• Notifications — We generate and store notifications related to your activity, such as friend requests, post interactions, event reminders, and messages
• Board membership and participation in public and private community boards
• Content reporting activity (reporter identity kept confidential)

The Ranks includes a direct messaging system that allows members to communicate privately with one another. Messages are stored securely and are only visible to the participants in each conversation.

EDC does not proactively monitor or access private message content. However, we reserve the right to review message content if a report is filed by a participant alleging harassment, threats, or other violations of our community guidelines. Any such review is limited to the specific messages relevant to the report.

The Platform uses real-time data technology to deliver messages, notifications, and feed updates instantly. This real-time functionality requires maintaining active data connections while you are using the Platform, but no additional personal data is collected beyond what is described in this Privacy Policy.

Members may upload files to the Platform, including:

• Profile avatar photos and cover photos
• Images attached to posts in the social feed
• Verification documents submitted during the verification process

All uploaded files are stored using Supabase Storage. Avatar and cover photos are visible to other authenticated members. Post images are visible to members who can see the associated post. Verification documents have restricted access and are only viewable by authorized EDC administrators.

EDC captures photos and videos at its events, including but not limited to MURPH Festival, EDC Outdoors, Back to School initiatives, volunteer activities, and community gatherings. These photos and videos may feature attendees and are used for promotional and organizational purposes in furtherance of EDC’s mission.

Event images and recordings may appear on the EDC website, social media accounts, The Ranks member portal, newsletters, grant applications, print materials, and other organizational communications.

You may appear in group photos, crowd shots, or background footage even if you are not the primary subject of a photograph or video. EDC retains full editorial discretion over all event media and reserves the right to publish, use, and remove images and videos as it determines appropriate in support of its mission.

Image Removal Requests: If you would like to request the removal of a specific image or video in which you appear, please contact us at info@espritdcf.org. To help us locate and process your request, please include:

• The event name and approximate date the photo or video was taken
• A detailed description of the image or video (e.g., location within the event, clothing worn, people nearby)
• A screenshot or link to the image or video, if available
• An explanation of why you are requesting removal

EDC will make reasonable and good-faith efforts to honor removal requests. However, we cannot guarantee removal from all platforms, third-party websites, cached versions, or materials where the content may have already been published, distributed, or shared. Removal of one image does not constitute an obligation to locate and remove all images in which you may appear across our media library.

For more information about your rights regarding event photography and media, please refer to the Event Photography and Media Release section of our Terms of Service.

The Ranks includes an invite and referral system. Each member receives a unique invite code that they can share with others. When a new member joins using your invite code, you earn points toward your tier progression.

We track referral data including the invite code used during registration and the relationship between the referring member and the new member. This data is used to award points and track community growth. We do not share individual referral data with third parties.

We track your engagement within The Ranks through a points system that determines your membership tier. Points are earned through activities such as posting, commenting, completing your profile, attending events, referring new members (10 points per successful referral), and other forms of community participation. Your current tier is displayed on your public profile.

The Ranks includes a searchable member directory that allows authenticated members to find other members by name, profession, or business. Only information you have made part of your public profile (name, avatar, badge, tier, state, bio, and verified business details) is visible in directory search results. Private data such as your address, phone number, military service details, and family information is never exposed through the directory.

We use the information we collect to:

• Provide, maintain, and improve the Platform and The Ranks member portal
• Authenticate your identity and manage your account
• Display your public profile to other authenticated members
• Facilitate social features including posts, comments, reactions, messaging, friend connections, community boards, and notifications
• Process verification requests and display verification status
• Track points, tier progression, and referral activity
• Manage events, volunteer opportunities, and RSVPs
• Respond to your inquiries and provide support
• Process donations and send tax-deductible receipts
• Send newsletters, updates, and information about our mission and activities (with your consent)
• Support internal nonprofit operations including grant applications, program development, and demographic reporting (using private data in aggregate, de-identified form only)
• Enforce our community guidelines and Terms of Service through content moderation and the report system
• Improve our website, content, and user experience
• Comply with legal obligations and protect our rights

We will never sell, rent, or trade your personal information to third parties for advertising or marketing purposes. EDC does not run advertisements on the Platform and does not monetize user data in any way.

We use trusted third-party services to operate our Platform and fulfill our mission. These services may collect or process information as described in their own privacy policies:

• Supabase — Authentication, database, real-time data subscriptions, messaging, file storage (avatars, cover photos, post images, verification documents), member profiles, and all community features within The Ranks
• Vercel — Website hosting, deployment, and content delivery. Vercel may collect standard web server logs including IP addresses and request metadata.
• Google Analytics — Website analytics to understand how visitors use our site
• Mailchimp — Email marketing and newsletter distribution
• Givebutter — Online donation processing and fundraising
• Fourthwall — Online merchandise store and shop operations
• Resend — Transactional email delivery for account verification, password resets, and system notifications

Each of these providers maintains their own privacy policies, and we encourage you to review them. We only share the minimum information necessary for these services to function on our behalf.

To sustain Platform operations and further our mission, EDC may display sponsored content, mission-aligned advertisements, and partner promotions on the website and within The Ranks member portal. These may include content from veteran-serving organizations, government programs, educational institutions, employers, and other entities whose services align with EDC’s charitable purpose.

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information to advertisers, sponsors, or any third party. Sponsored content and advertisements displayed on the Platform are selected and managed by EDC based on mission alignment, not individual user data profiling.

If EDC partners with third-party advertising networks or platforms in the future, those partners may use standard web technologies (such as cookies or pixels) to measure ad performance. Any such partnerships will be disclosed in this Privacy Policy and in the Third-Party Services section above. You will always have the ability to manage cookie preferences through your browser settings.

Aggregate, de-identified usage data (such as total page views or general demographic trends) may be shared with sponsors and partners to demonstrate Platform reach and impact. This data cannot be used to identify any individual member.

Our Platform uses cookies and similar technologies to provide core functionality and enhance your experience. Cookies are small text files stored on your device by your browser.

We use the following types of cookies:

• Essential / authentication cookies — Required for the Platform to function properly, including session management, authentication tokens, and login state for The Ranks member portal. These cookies are necessary for you to remain logged in and access protected areas of the Platform.
• Analytics cookies — Help us understand how visitors interact with our site (via Google Analytics)
• Functional cookies — Remember your preferences and settings

You can control or disable cookies through your browser settings. Please note that disabling essential cookies will prevent you from logging in to The Ranks and may affect core Platform functionality.

Depending on your location, you may have certain rights regarding your personal information, including the right to:

• Access the personal information we hold about you
• Request correction of inaccurate or incomplete data
• Request deletion of your personal information
• Opt out of marketing communications at any time
• Withdraw consent where processing is based on consent
• Request a copy of your data in a portable format

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us using the information provided below. We will respond to your request within a reasonable timeframe.

Your account data is retained for as long as your account remains active. If you do not log in for an extended period, your account will remain in its current state but we reserve the right to remove inactive accounts after providing reasonable notice.

Account deletion. You may request deletion of your account at any time through your account settings or by contacting us at info@espritdcf.org. Deletion requests are processed within 30 days. Upon deletion, your profile, posts, comments, messages, verification documents, uploaded files, friend connections, referral data, points, and all associated data will be permanently removed.

We may retain certain de-identified, aggregate data derived from your information (such as demographic statistics used in previously submitted grant applications) even after account deletion, as this data cannot be used to identify you.

EDC is committed to protecting the privacy of our donors. All online donations are processed by Givebutter, a third-party donation platform. EDC does not collect, store, or have access to credit card numbers, bank account details, or other payment instrument information on our servers. All payment data is handled entirely by Givebutter’s PCI-compliant payment processing infrastructure.

When you make a donation, we may receive and retain the following information from Givebutter for the purposes of issuing tax receipts, donor acknowledgment, and internal record-keeping:

• Your name and email address
• Donation amount, date, and frequency
• Mailing address (if provided for receipt purposes)
• Whether the donation was designated for a specific fund or purpose
• Any comments or messages you include with your donation

Your rights as a donor:

• You may request to view, correct, or delete your donor records at any time by contacting us at info@espritdcf.org
• You may opt out of donor communications (newsletters, event invitations, fundraising appeals) at any time by unsubscribing from our mailing list or contacting us directly
• We will never sell, trade, or share your donor information with third parties for their marketing purposes
• Anonymous donations are respected — if you choose to donate anonymously through Givebutter, your name will not be publicly displayed

Donor information may be shared in aggregate, de-identified form in grant applications, annual reports, or organizational communications (for example, reporting total funds raised or number of donors). Individual donor identities are never disclosed without explicit consent.

All data transmitted between your browser and our Platform is encrypted using HTTPS/TLS (Transport Layer Security) encryption. This ensures that information you submit — including login credentials, profile data, messages, and any other personal information — cannot be intercepted or read by unauthorized third parties during transmission.

Our database infrastructure, hosted by Supabase, encrypts all data at rest using AES-256 encryption. This means your stored personal information, profile data, messages, and uploaded files are protected by industry-standard encryption even when not actively being transmitted.

While we employ these security measures to protect your data, no system is completely immune to all threats. We continuously review and update our security practices to maintain the integrity and confidentiality of your information.

We implement reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. All data stored in Supabase is encrypted at rest and in transit using industry-standard encryption protocols. Authentication tokens are handled securely, and passwords are hashed and never stored in plain text.

However, no method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is 100% secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials.

Members can report users, posts, comments, or messages that violate community guidelines. Reports are submitted confidentially and reviewed by EDC administrators through our admin panel. The identity of reporters is kept confidential and is not disclosed to the reported party.

When a report is filed, EDC administrators may review the reported content and, if applicable, associated messages or account information to assess the situation and take appropriate action. Actions may include content removal, warnings, temporary suspension, or permanent account termination.

Reports may be filed under specific categories including but not limited to: Harassment, Hate Speech, Spam, Solicitation / Self-Promotion, Recruiting Off-Platform, Inappropriate Content, Impersonation, Threats, and Misinformation. These categories help EDC leadership prioritize and route reports appropriately.

Our Platform is not directed at children under the age of 13. You must be at least 13 years of age to create an account on The Ranks. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If we become aware that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under 13, we will take steps to delete that information and terminate the associated account as promptly as possible.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe your child has created an account or provided us with personal information, please contact us immediately at the address below.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, features, or applicable laws. When we make changes, we will update the “Effective Date” at the top of this page. For material changes, we may also notify registered members through The Ranks notification system or via email. We encourage you to review this policy periodically.

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy or our data practices, please contact us: