Privacy Policy

This policy governs information processed by IT Girls through the two properties named above. It does not apply to third-party services operated independently of us, including any external site reached through a link on our pages. Those services are governed by their own policies.

By using our website or the family portal, you acknowledge the practices described here.

The website may be read without providing any information. Information reaches us only when you choose to submit it.

• Mentor applications. Name, date of birth, address, telephone number, email address, emergency contact, prior experience working with young people, your reasons for applying, professional references, and your authorization for a background check. The form also asks whether you have been convicted of a crime, and invites you to provide race or ethnicity. The demographic question is voluntary, is used only to understand the composition of our mentor pool, and plays no part in whether an application is accepted.
• Newsletter registration. Your email address.
• Contact and enquiry forms. The content of your message and the contact details you supply.
• Security and operational logs. Technical records generated automatically for every visitor in order to maintain the availability and integrity of the service.

We do not operate advertising trackers or profiling analytics on the website.

The portal exists so that programs can be administered safely. Accounts are created and controlled exclusively by a parent or legal guardian. Participants are not issued their own logins.

• Parent or guardian details. Name, email address, account credentials, telephone number, residential address, and an emergency contact with name, relationship, and telephone number.
• Participant details. Name, date of birth and age, school and grade, telephone number and email address where provided, shirt size, how you heard about us, transportation arrangements, and any comments you choose to add.
• Health and accessibility information. Allergies, medical conditions, dietary requirements, and accommodation needs. This is collected for one purpose, which is to keep a participant safe and properly supported at an event, and is made available only to the personnel responsible for delivering that event.
• Demographic information. Race and ethnicity, collected for program reporting and for funding applications that require it. It has no bearing on whether a participant is accepted.
• Consents and authorizations. Media consent, newsletter preference, and acceptance of the event waiver, recorded with the date and time of acceptance.
• Participation records. Event registrations, attendance, withdrawals and the reason provided, and membership status.
• Images. A profile photograph where you upload one, and event photography where media consent has been granted.

IT Girls complies with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA) and its implementing regulations in respect of participants under the age of 13.

Accounts are held by adults. Every portal account is created and controlled by a parent or legal guardian. Participants are not issued logins, are not invited to register themselves, and cannot submit information to us directly.

Notice and verifiable parental consent. Before information relating to a participant under 13 is collected, the parent or legal guardian is informed of what is collected and the purposes for which it will be used, and provides consent through the enrollment process. Information about a child is obtained from the parent or guardian rather than from the child.

No conditioning of participation. We do not require a parent to disclose more information about a child than is reasonably necessary for that child to take part. Optional and demographic questions are identified as voluntary and may be declined without affecting eligibility.

No marketing directed at children. We do not send marketing communications to participants, do not use their information for targeted or behavioral advertising, and do not authorize any third party to do so. We do not sell or rent information relating to a child under any circumstances.

Parental rights. A parent or legal guardian may at any time review the information held about their child, correct or update it, refuse to permit its further collection or use, and request its deletion. Requests should be directed to info@intelligentandtalentedgirls.com. We will confirm that a request originates from the parent or guardian of record before acting on it.

Effect of withdrawal. Where consent is withdrawn, we cease further collection and use and delete the information held, except where a limited record must be retained to satisfy a legal, insurance, or safeguarding obligation, such as a signed waiver relating to an event already attended.

Disclosure to third parties. Information relating to a child is disclosed only to the categories of recipient identified below, each engaged to support program delivery, and none of which is authorized to use it for its own purposes.

Membership and event payments are processed by PayPal. Card details are entered on PayPal’s systems and are never received or stored by us. Our records retain the transaction reference, amount, currency, status, and date, which is sufficient to confirm a payment and insufficient to initiate one.

We maintain administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect information against unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and loss. These controls are reviewed periodically and are proportionate to the sensitivity of the information involved.

Described in general terms:

• Account credentials are stored using industry-standard, non-reversible cryptographic protection. They cannot be read by anyone at IT Girls, including administrators.
• Information exchanged between your browser and our systems is protected in transit using current encryption standards.
• Access is granted on a least-privilege basis and restricted to the staff, board members, and vetted volunteers whose duties require it.
• Administrative activity affecting family records is logged for accountability.
• Authentication is monitored and subject to automated abuse controls.
• Session handling and browser-level protections are configured in line with prevailing security guidance.

We do not publish detailed descriptions of our security configuration, as doing so would assist those seeking to circumvent it.

No system can be guaranteed to be entirely secure and we make no representation to the contrary. In the event of a security incident affecting personal information, we will notify affected families and the relevant authorities as required by applicable law.

We do not sell your information and we do not disclose it for advertising purposes. Information is shared only with the following categories of recipient:

• Staff, board members, and vetted volunteers who require it to deliver a program
• Our payment processor, in order to complete a transaction you initiate
• Our email delivery provider, in order to send communications you have requested
• Our hosting and infrastructure providers, who store information on our behalf under contract
• Emergency medical personnel, where a participant requires care at an event
• Any party to whom disclosure is legally required, including in response to lawful process or a mandatory report concerning the welfare of a child

Funders periodically receive statistical information about the population we serve. Such reporting is presented in aggregate and contains no names, contact details, or other information identifying an individual participant.

The portal sets a single session cookie so that you remain signed in. It is strictly necessary for the service to function and is not used for tracking.

Our website loads typefaces from a third-party font service, which receives your IP address when a page is requested. We operate no advertising or social media tracking pixels.

Information is retained for the period necessary to fulfil the purposes described in this policy and to satisfy legal, funding, insurance, and nonprofit record-keeping obligations.

Family and participation records are retained while a participant remains involved with IT Girls and for a defined period thereafter. Transient security, verification, and password-reset records expire and are purged automatically on a short cycle. Where you ask us to close an account, it is removed from active use and the remaining records are cleared in accordance with our retention schedule.

Subject to verification of your identity, you may at any time:

• Request access to the information we hold about you and your daughter
• Request correction of anything inaccurate or incomplete
• Withdraw media consent, so that her photograph is no longer used
• Unsubscribe from the newsletter using the link in any message
• Request closure of an account and deletion of the associated records
• Decline any optional or demographic question

Write to info@intelligentandtalentedgirls.com. We will acknowledge and respond to requests within 30 days. Depending on your place of residence, additional rights may be available to you under applicable law.

If our practices change, this page will be updated and the date at the top revised accordingly. Where a change materially affects families already enrolled, we will notify you by email rather than rely on you noticing.

Questions about this policy, about the information we hold, or requests made on behalf of a child should be directed to:

Intelligent & Talented Girls, Inc.
info@intelligentandtalentedgirls.com