Privacy Policy
Effective October 18, 2026
This Privacy Policy governs the handling of personal information collected by Odysseus Foundation ("Odysseus," "we," "us," or "our") from people who access or use the content, forms, and services offered on www.odysseusfoundation.org (the "Site"). By providing personal information to us, you acknowledge and consent to the practices described here regarding the collection, use, and handling of your information.
01Commitment to privacy
We recognize the importance of your privacy, and we collect as little as we can. This policy describes the types of information we collect from visitors to the Site, how we collect and use it, and the options available to you to control or limit its use and disclosure. We do not sell personal information, and we never share it with political campaigns, parties, or committees.
02Information you give us
The personal information we collect is that which you voluntarily provide. The Site has no user accounts; information arrives through its forms and through your correspondence with us. Depending on the form, that is:
- Join / "Find your crew": your name, email address, school, year, how you heard about us, and any note you add.
- Campus request: your school and email address.
- Email, phone, or mail you send us: whatever you choose to include.
If you make a gift, our payment processor collects your payment details under its own privacy policy; we receive your name, contact details, the amount, and a transaction reference, not your full card number. Providing accurate information helps us respond to you properly.
03Automatic information gathering
Like most websites, our servers and our content delivery network (Cloudflare) automatically log certain information during your visit, including Internet protocol (IP) address, browser type, Internet service provider, referring and exit pages, operating system, date and time stamp, and the pages requested. We record the IP address and browser type with each form submission. We use this information only for security, abuse prevention (for example, rate limiting), and diagnosing problems with the Site.
04Cookies and similar technologies
The Site does not use advertising cookies, tracking pixels, web beacons, or third-party analytics, and we do not partner with advertising networks. Cloudflare may set a strictly necessary cookie for security purposes. The Site loads typefaces from Google Fonts; when your browser requests a font, Google receives your IP address and the page you are viewing, subject to Google’s privacy policy. You can control cookies at the browser level; disabling them will not materially affect the Site.
05How we use information
We use the information described above to:
- respond to you and send you what you asked for (dinner details, campus updates, confirmation of a gift);
- operate, secure, and improve the Site;
- keep records of gifts as required by law and for acknowledgment letters;
- comply with legal obligations and enforce our Terms of Service.
We do not send marketing newsletters from this Site, and we do not use your information to build advertising profiles.
06How we share information
We will not share, sell, rent, or transfer your personal information to third parties except as described in this policy or with your explicit consent. We share personal information only with:
- service providers that host and deliver the Site and our email (currently Amazon Web Services and Cloudflare), under contracts that limit their use of the data to providing those services;
- a payment processor, if you make a gift online;
- our directors, staff, host families, and volunteers who need it to respond to you or to run the program at your campus;
- a successor nonprofit, in connection with a merger or transfer of the organization’s assets.
07Legal compliance and disclosure
In certain circumstances, Odysseus may need to disclose personal information in response to lawful requests from public authorities. We may also disclose your personal information where required by law, such as in response to a subpoena or other legal process, or where we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, to ensure your safety or the safety of others, to investigate fraud or misuse of the Site, or to respond to a government request.
08Where information is stored and how we protect it
Form submissions are stored on servers in the United States operated for us by Amazon Web Services, encrypted at rest and in transit, and a copy is emailed to our staff inbox. Access is limited to people who need it, and those people are obligated to keep it confidential. We follow accepted standards to protect personal information both during transmission and after receipt, including HTTPS everywhere, encryption at rest, restricted access, and rate limiting on forms. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
09How long we keep it
We keep interest and campus-request submissions while they are useful for contacting you about the program, and no longer than three years after your last interaction with us, unless you ask us to delete them sooner. Gift records are kept as long as required for tax and accounting purposes, generally seven years. Server logs are kept for up to 90 days. Information is otherwise retained as needed to comply with our legal obligations, resolve disputes, and enforce our agreements.
10Access, correction, and deletion
Because the Site has no user accounts, you cannot edit your information online; instead, write to hello@odysseusfoundation.org from the email address you used with us, or to the mailing address below. You may ask us at any time to tell you what personal information we hold about you, to correct it, to delete it (except records we are required to keep), or to stop contacting you. We will respond within a reasonable time and in any case within 30 days.
11Email choices
We email you only about the subject of your submission. You may unsubscribe or opt out of further email from Odysseus at any time by replying to any message or by contacting us as described above. Please allow several business days for the change to take effect.
12State privacy rights, including California
Residents of California and other states with consumer privacy laws have additional rights regarding their personal information, which we honor where they apply. Depending on your state, these may include:
- Right to know: the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected about you, the sources, the purpose for collecting it, and the categories of third parties with whom it is shared;
- Right to delete: deletion of personal information we have collected from you, subject to certain exceptions;
- Right to correct: correction of inaccurate personal information;
- Right to opt out: of the sale or sharing of personal information and of targeted advertising. Odysseus does not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising and does not engage in targeted advertising, so there is nothing to opt out of in that respect;
- Right to non-discrimination: we will not discriminate against you for exercising any of these rights.
You, or an authorized agent acting on your behalf, may submit a request by contacting us as described above. We will verify your identity before responding, generally by confirming control of the email address associated with your information.
13Protection of minors’ information
In compliance with federal law and Federal Trade Commission guidelines on youth privacy, Odysseus does not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under 13 years of age, and children under 13 may not submit forms on the Site. If you believe a child under 13 has provided information to us, contact us and we will delete it. Students under 18 should use the Site with a parent’s or guardian’s knowledge.
14Testimonials
The testimonials currently displayed on the Site are illustrative and do not represent real people. If we display real testimonials in the future, they will include only information volunteered by the person, such as first name, last initial, and school, and we will obtain consent before posting them. Questions about testimonials may be directed to the contact address below.
15Notification of changes
If we change how we use personally identifiable information from what was stated when it was collected, we will notify you by email and give you a choice as to whether we use your information in the new manner. For material changes to this Privacy Policy that do not affect information already stored, we will post a prominent notice on this page. The effective date at the top of the page reflects the latest version.
16Contact
Questions about this Privacy Policy, the Site’s practices, or your dealings with Odysseus: hello@odysseusfoundation.org, (432) 242-6397, or Odysseus Foundation, 223 West Wall Street, Suite 299, Midland, Texas 79701.