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Privacy Policy & Terms of Use

PRIVACY POLICY

Updated August 28, 2020

Introduction

The Student Borrower Protection Center, a project of Shared Ascent Fund (“we” or “us”), is committed to protecting the privacy and confidentiality of personal information entrusted to us.

This privacy policy sets forth the standards we will follow regarding information collected at https://protectborrowers.org/ and other related sites controlled by us now or in the future (together, the “Website”).

We are providing this Website as a service, and users using this service therefore agree to be bound by this privacy policy. This policy addresses only activities connected with the Website. Other sites we link to and third-party sites or services may have their own policies. We do not control those sites and they are not addressed or controlled by this privacy policy.

We collect information about Website users (“users”) to provide secure and personalized services and for informational purposes.

We collect the following types of information.

Personal information

“Personal information” is information that would allow someone to identify or contact users including users’ names, organizations, addresses, and email addresses. We collect personal information when users subscribe to electronic information services or send communications to us.

We may offer you the option to sign up for email communications, which may provide updates from us, invitations to events, or periodic newsletters. These communications are entirely voluntary and only serve to enhance our service. Users may limit the collection and use of their personal information by not participating in activities in which we collect personal information. We will give you opportunities to unsubscribe from these communications. Additionally, users may choose to discontinue the collection, use, and disclosure of their personal information by using the Website by not registering or by discontinuing use of the Website. You may email admin@protectborrowers.org to find out what information we have collected about you, and to request any changes.

We will not disclose users’ personal information to third parties without users’ prior permission. Users’ email addresses or other personal information will not be sold to marketers.

Your personal information may be disclosed if we are required to do so by law, or if we believe in good-faith that such action is necessary to: (a) comply with legal process or conform with applicable law; (b) defend and protect our legal rights, or the rights of our users; and (c) act under emergency circumstances to protect the safety of ourselves, our agents and affiliates, users of the Website, or the public.

Non-personally identifiable information

“Non-personally identifiable information” does not include users’ names or contact information and is anonymous information about users including IP addresses, browser types, and access times. This information may be used to customize our Website for users and will not include or reference personally identifiable information.

We may disclose non-personally identifiable information about its users. For instance, we may use third-party vendors (such as Google Analytics) to analyze how users use our Website. To learn more about how Google uses data when you use our Website, see www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/, or any other URL Google may provide from time to time.

Non-personally identifiable information includes comments submitted in response to surveys and other narrative information collected in connection with the Website. We may publish these comments or narratives in their entirety where they do not contain personal information and we may redact or anonymize personal information prior to publication.

Security procedures

We occasionally use independent contractors and third-party agents, affiliates, and partners to conduct marketing, analytics, customer service or other services, on our behalf. These entities have access to the personal information needed to perform their functions, but are contractually obligated to maintain the confidentiality and security of any personal information collected from the Website. Furthermore, they are restricted from using, selling, or distributing personal information other than to provide services to us.

Assumption of risk

Although we strive to protect the transmission and storage of any information submitted by visitors to the Website, no transmission and storage of data is completely secure. Your submissions are solely at your risk.

Under no circumstance, to the extent permitted by law, will we be liable for damages resulting from use of information collected from visitors to the Website.

Cookies

The Website may use standard technology called “cookies.” Cookies are small pieces of information stored on a user’s hard drive, not on the Website. Cookies allow users to log in without re-entering information each time users visit the Website. Cookies help us understand how users in general use the Website, which allows us to continually improve the Website and tailor the user’s experience. If cookies are disabled, some parts of the Website may not work properly. Additional information on cookies and how to disable them is provided by the Interactive Advertising Bureau at www.allaboutcookies.org.

The Website may also use web beacons or flash cookies to allow us and our technology providers to analyze usage patterns. Personally identifiable information collected by web beacons will not be shared without your express permission.

Notification of changes

We reserve the right, in our discretion, to change, modify, add or remove portions of this privacy policy at any time. If, at some point in the future, there is a material change to our information usage practices that affects your personal information, we shall attempt to notify users via email. We may also email users who have opted to receive communications from us, notifying them of changes to this policy.

Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act

In compliance with the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act, we do not knowingly collect personally identifiable information about children. If you believe that we have information from or about anyone under 13 years of age, please notify us by email at  info@sharedascentfund.org or write to the address provided below. We will take appropriate steps to remove that user’s information from the database and restrict that user’s access to the Website.

California Do Not Track Disclosure

Do Not Track is a privacy setting users can set in their web browsers. When a user turns on the Do Not Track signal, the browser sends a message to websites requesting them not to track the user. For information about Do Not Track, visit www.allaboutdnt.org, which includes information on how to turn on Do Not Track in your browser. At this time, the Website does not respond to Do Not Track browser settings or signals.

Applicable laws

The Website is published in the United States and is intended for, and directed to, users in the United States. If you are accessing the Website from any other region with laws or regulations governing personal data collection, use, and disclosure that differ from United States laws, please be advised that through your continued use of the Website, which is governed by United States law, this privacy policy, and our terms of use, you are transferring your personal information to the United States and you consent to that transfer.

This policy is part of and supplemented by our terms of use, which together with any supplemental privacy policy form a contract. If there is a conflict between the terms of use and this policy, the latest version of this policy will control. If you have any questions, contact us.

Shared Ascent Fund
555 Capitol Mall, Suite 1095
Sacramento, CA 95814

916.442.5057 (voice)
916.624.2259 (fax)

info@sharedascentfund.org

TERMS OF USE  

Updated August 28, 2020

These terms of use apply to the Student Borrower Protection Center, a project of Shared Ascent Fund (“we” and “us”), website located at https://protectborrowers.org/ and any other websites controlled by us (the “Website”), however the Website is accessed and/or used.

By using our Website, you are accepting these terms of use. We reserve the right to modify or amend these terms without notice, and your continued use of the Website following the posting of changes to these terms of use will mean you accept those changes.

Third-party posts

Website users are prohibited from posting or submitting any unlawful or tortious material, or any other material that could be considered a criminal offense or give rise to civil liability. If we, in our sole discretion, determine that postings or submissions violate this term, they may be removed. We will fully cooperate with any lawful court order or subpoena requesting or directing us to disclose the identity of the user posting or submitting such materials.

Third-party links

This Website may contain links to third-party websites that are not controlled by us. These links are provided solely for your convenience. By clicking on these links, you will be directed away from this Website, and we are not responsible for any content, materials, or other information located on or accessible from any other web address. We are also not responsible for donations you make or any products or services that you purchase from external websites. No material found within any linked website is endorsed or guaranteed by us. If you choose to access any other websites linked to or from this Website, you do so entirely at your own risk.

Website access and restrictions on use

You acknowledge that the site is for personal use only and agree that you will not use the site for any commercial purposes. We hereby grant you permission to make copies of any part of the Website in any medium to use for noncommercial purposes, provided that your copy retains our marks and copyright notices. Our prior consent is required if you wish to use any of the content on the Website for any other purpose.

You further agree not to use or launch any automated system, including without limitation, “robots,” “spiders,” “offline readers,” etc., that accesses the Website in a manner that sends more request messages to our servers in a given period of time than a human can reasonably produce in the same period by using a conventional online web browser. You may not circumvent, disable or otherwise interfere with security related features of the Website or features that prevent or restrict use or copying of any content or enforce limitations on use of the Website or the content therein.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, we grant the operators of public search engines permission to use spiders to copy materials from the Website for the sole purpose of creating publicly available searchable indices of the materials. We reserve the right to revoke these exceptions either generally or in specific cases. You agree not to collect or harvest any personally identifiable information from the Website, nor to use the communication systems provided by the Website for any commercial solicitation purposes. You further agree not to solicit any users of the Website for any commercial purposes.

Your permission to use this Website is conditioned on your compliance with these terms of use.

Disclaimers

Your use of this Website is at your risk. Any content and services provided on or through this Website are provided “as is” and without any warranties of any kind, including warranties of fitness for a particular purpose, merchantability, or noninfringement of intellectual property. We do not warrant the accuracy or completeness of any information, materials, or services provided on or through this Website, to the extent permitted by law.

Limitations of liability

We do not assume any responsibility, and will not be liable, for any damages to your electronic equipment used to access, browse, or download materials from this this Website, including viruses. Continuous, uninterrupted, or secure access to our Website is not guaranteed, and operation of the Website may be impacted by a variety of external factors beyond our control.

Under no circumstance will we, or any of our officers, directors, trustees, employees, attorneys, agents, sponsors, successors, and/or assigns, nor any party involved in the creation or transmission of this Website, be liable for any indirect, special, punitive, incidental or consequential damages, such as lost profits, lost data or business interruption, arising out of or resulting from the use or inability to use this Website, any linked websites, or any materials, information, or services found on any or all such websites, whether based on contract, tort, warranty or any other legal theory, regardless of being advised of the potential for such damages, to the extent permitted by law.

The content on the Site is informational only and does not convey legal, accounting, tax, career or other professional advice of any kind. Your use of the Site does not create a lawyer-client, or any other type of, between you and the Student Borrower Protection Center, Shared Ascent Fund, or any of its officers, agents, or employees, nor will any information you submit to us via this Site or by electronic mail be considered a lawyer-client communication or otherwise be treated as confidential or privileged in the absence of a pre-existing express agreement by us to the contrary. We expressly disclaim all liability in respect to actions taken based on any content of this site and no individual viewing the Site should act on the basis of any content herein included without seeking the appropriate legal advice from counsel.

Some of the content on this site may be considered Attorney Advertising under the applicable rules of certain states. Prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

Ethical constraints prevent us from identifying some of our client relationships. Any clients identified on this website in connection with our representation of them in general or on a particular matter only if the fact of such representation is not sensitive or confidential, or if client consent has been obtained.

Indemnity

You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless us, our officers, directors, trustees, employees, attorneys, agents, sponsors, successors, and/or assigns, from and against all losses, expenses, damages and costs, including reasonable attorneys’ fees, resulting from any violation by you of these terms of use or any breach by you of your representations and warranties hereunder. We reserve the right to take over the exclusive defense of any claim for which we are entitled to indemnification.

General

These terms of use shall be governed by the laws of the State of California, Any claim or dispute that arises in whole or in part from the Website shall be decided exclusively by a court of competent jurisdiction located in the State of California. Venue for any action shall be in Sacramento County, California. These terms of use, together with the privacy policy and any other legal notices we publish on the Website, shall constitute the entire agreement between us concerning the Website. If any provision of these terms of use is deemed invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, the invalidity of such provision shall not affect the validity of the remaining provisions of these terms of use, which shall remain in full force and effect. No waiver of any term of this these terms of use shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or any other term, and our failure to assert any right or provision under these terms of use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

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