CHARM Rescue Privacy Policy

Effective Date: March 12, 2025
Last Updated: August 6, 2025

CHARM Rescue (formerly the Animal Welfare Society of Howard County), referred to as “CHARM,” values and respects your privacy. This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, and safeguard your information across our websites, email communications, online platforms, and offline interactions.

We collect personal information you voluntarily provide when you:

• Make a donation
   
• Adopt an animal
   
• Purchase tickets to a CHARM event
   
• Sign up to volunteer
   
• Subscribe to our newsletters or other communications
   

This information may include:

• Full name
   
• Mailing address
   
• Email address
   
• Phone number
   
• Payment information (processed securely via third-party providers)
   
• Other details you submit through forms or surveys
   

We also collect non-personal information through automated tools such as Google Analytics (see below).

We use your information to:

• Process donations, adoptions, or event registrations
   
• Communicate with you about your involvement or interest in CHARM
   
• Send updates, newsletters, and fundraising appeals
   
• Manage volunteer and adopter communications
   
• Improve our website, services, and community outreach efforts
   

Our websites use Google Analytics, a web analytics service provided by Google, Inc., to help us understand how visitors interact with our site. Google Analytics collects information such as your IP address, browser type, pages visited, time spent on pages, and referring websites.

This data helps us improve our content and better serve our community. Google Analytics may use cookies to collect this data, but no personally identifiable information (PII) is stored or shared through these analytics tools.

You can learn more about how Google uses data here:
https://policies.google.com/technologies/partner-sites

You can opt out of Google Analytics tracking by installing the Google Analytics Opt-Out Browser Add-on:
https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout

CHARM is committed to securing your personal information. Our donation, eCommerce, and event registration pages use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) encryption (256-bit), providing privacy and data integrity between your browser and our web servers. All transactions are processed securely through trusted third-party providers.

We will never sell, rent, or trade your personal information with other organizations. We only share data when required by law or with trusted service providers who process data on our behalf under strict confidentiality agreements.

You have the right to:

• Request access to the personal information we have about you
   
• Correct or update your information
   
• Opt out of future communications
   
• Request deletion of your data (subject to legal or transactional retention requirements)
   

To exercise any of these rights, email us at:
📧 info@charmrescue.org

To unsubscribe from emails, you can also email:
📧 hello@charmrescue.org
Please include your full name, mailing address, and email.

Our websites and services are not directed to children under the age of 13. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe we have collected information from a child, please contact us immediately.

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the "Last Updated" date at the top of this page. Significant changes will be announced on our website or in email communications.

If you have questions or concerns about this Privacy Policy, please reach out:
📧 info@charmrescue.org