Privacy Policy

1. Who we are

Power A Family ("Power A Family", "we", "us", or "our") connects donors with verified rural Filipino families to fund solar power and food support. This Policy explains how we collect, use, share, and protect personal information across our operations in the United States and the Philippines.

The data controller is [registered legal entity name], organized in [State], United States, together with its Philippine operations [registered Philippine entity / SEC registration no., if any]. For data-protection matters in the Philippines, our Data Protection Officer can be reached at [DPO name / email].

2. Scope

This Policy applies to information we collect through powerafamily.org and related services, from donors, prospective donors, partner organizations, and families who apply for support ("applicants" or "recipients").

3. Information we collect

From donors and partners:

• Identity and contact details you provide (name, email address, and, for partners, organization and phone).
• Payment information, which is collected and processed by our third-party payment processor — we do not store full card numbers on our systems.
• Records of your donations, communications with us, and account details if you create one.

From families who apply for support:

• Name, household size, province and municipality, and a description of your situation.
• Contact details: phone number, address (at least barangay level), Facebook profile, and email — provided so our team can verify and reach you.
• Photographs and update notes created by our ground team during verification and deployment.

Automatically:

• Standard technical data such as device/browser type, IP address, and pages visited, collected through our hosting provider and any analytics tools.
• Cookies and similar technologies necessary to operate the site and remember preferences.

4. How we use information

• To verify applicant families and coordinate the delivery of solar kits and food support.
• To process donations, send receipts and acknowledgements, and administer recurring gifts.
• To communicate with you about your donation, application, or our work.
• To operate, secure, and improve the website and our programs.
• To comply with legal, accounting, audit, and charitable-reporting obligations.

5. Legal bases for processing

Where the Philippine Data Privacy Act of 2012 (Republic Act No. 10173) applies, we process personal data on the bases of your consent, the performance of services you request, our legitimate interests in operating the organization, and compliance with law. Sensitive personal information is processed only with consent or as otherwise permitted by law.

Where U.S. state privacy laws apply (for example, the California Consumer Privacy Act, as amended), we process personal information for the business and commercial purposes described in this Policy.

6. How we share information

We do not sell your personal information. We share it only as follows:

• Service providers who help us operate — including our payment processor, email delivery provider, website host, and database/storage provider — under agreements that limit their use of the data.
• Our verified ground team in the Philippines, who use applicant contact details solely to verify and reach families.
• Legal and safety disclosures where required by law or to protect rights, property, or safety.
• Successors in the event of a merger, reorganization, or transfer of our programs.

7. Recipient data and public display

We treat recipient information with particular care. A family’s contact details — phone, address, Facebook, and email — are stored as administrator-only data and are never displayed publicly or made available through our public interfaces.

Only limited, non-identifying information about an approved family (such as a first name or family descriptor, province, a general description of their situation, and photos or updates the family has agreed to share) may appear publicly, and only for families marked as publicly visible. Exact locations are withheld for safety. Families may decline or withdraw public sharing at any time.

8. International data transfers

Because we operate in both the United States and the Philippines, personal information may be transferred to and processed in either country and by service providers located elsewhere. We take steps intended to ensure such transfers are subject to appropriate safeguards consistent with applicable law, including the Philippine Data Privacy Act.

9. Data retention

We keep personal information for as long as needed for the purposes described here — including donation records for the period required by tax, accounting, and audit rules — and then delete or anonymize it. Applicant data for families that are not selected is retained for [retention period] and then deleted.

10. How we protect information

We use technical and organizational measures to protect personal information, including encryption in transit, role-based access controls, row-level security on our database, and column-level restrictions that make recipient contact details readable only by authorized administrators. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.

11. Your rights

Subject to applicable law, you may request to access, correct, update, or delete your personal information, object to or restrict certain processing, and withdraw consent. Under the Philippine Data Privacy Act you also have the rights to be informed, to data portability, to file a complaint with the National Privacy Commission, and to damages. Under California law, eligible residents may request access to and deletion of personal information and may opt out of any "sale" or "sharing" (we do not sell or share personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising), without discrimination for exercising these rights.

To exercise any of these rights, contact us at hello@powerafamily.org. We will respond within the timeframes required by applicable law.

12. Children

Our website is intended for adults. We do not knowingly collect personal information from children for the purpose of marketing. Where information about minors within a recipient household is provided for verification, it is handled as administrator-only data with the consent of a parent or guardian.

13. Cookies and analytics

We use cookies and similar technologies that are necessary to run the site and, where applicable, to understand site usage. You can control cookies through your browser settings; disabling some may affect functionality.

14. Changes to this Policy

We may update this Policy from time to time. We will post the updated version here and revise the date above. Material changes will be communicated as required by law.

15. Contact and complaints

For privacy questions or requests, contact hello@powerafamily.org or our Data Protection Officer at [DPO name / email]. Individuals in the Philippines may also lodge a complaint with the National Privacy Commission (privacy.gov.ph).