Operation Santa’s Sleigh

Privacy Policy

Effective date: August 26, 2026
Last updated: August 26, 2026

Operation Santa’s Sleigh (“Operation Santa’s Sleigh,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects the privacy and dignity of the people we serve, our volunteers, donors, supporters, story participants, and visitors to our website.

This Privacy Policy explains how we collect, use, disclose, retain, and protect personal information through https://operationsantassleigh.org, our communications, and our related activities.

1. Who we are

Operation Santa’s Sleigh is a nonprofit organization based in Long Beach, California. Our mission is to provide compassionate support, comfort, and hope to people experiencing homelessness, preserve human dignity, and improve public understanding of homelessness.

Questions or requests concerning this Privacy Policy may be sent to:

Operation Santa’s Sleigh
Long Beach, California
Email: admin@operationsantassleigh.org

2. Information we collect

Depending on how you interact with us, we may collect the following information.

Information you provide directly

This may include:

• Your name and email address.
• Your telephone number or mailing address, if you choose to provide them.
• Messages and information submitted through our contact forms.
• Newsletter subscription information.
• Volunteer interests, availability, qualifications, and related communications.
• Donation information, donation amount, transaction details, and information needed to issue acknowledgments or maintain financial records.
• Event registrations or participation information.
• Photographs, videos, audio recordings, artwork, poetry, written stories, interviews, and other material you submit or authorize us to use.
• Consent forms, media releases, identity preferences, publication restrictions, and withdrawal or removal requests.
• Correspondence you send to us by email, mail, social media, or other means.

Please do not send sensitive medical, financial, immigration, legal, identification, or account information through a general contact form unless we specifically request it and provide an appropriate method.

Information collected automatically

When you visit our website, our website host, security tools, consent system, and authorized service providers may automatically receive information such as:

• Internet Protocol address.
• Browser and device type.
• Operating system.
• Pages visited and referring page.
• Approximate location derived from an IP address.
• Date and time of a visit.
• Website-performance and security information.
• Cookie and consent selections.

The specific information collected depends on the features enabled and the choices you make through our consent banner.

3. How we use information

We may use personal information to:

• Respond to questions and requests.
• Communicate with volunteers, donors, supporters, and community partners.
• Send newsletters and organizational updates to people who subscribe.
• Process and acknowledge donations.
• Coordinate programs, events, and volunteer activities.
• Review and publish authorized stories, artwork, photographs, audio, and videos.
• Respect and document participant identity, privacy, review, and publication choices.
• Maintain nonprofit, accounting, tax, consent, and organizational records.
• Operate, secure, troubleshoot, and improve the website.
• Detect spam, fraud, misuse, and security threats.
• Comply with legal obligations and protect the rights and safety of participants, volunteers, visitors, and the organization.
• Establish, exercise, or defend legal claims.

We will not use a participant’s personal story or image for a materially different purpose without obtaining any additional permission required by the participant’s consent agreement or applicable law.

4. Contact forms and correspondence

When you use our contact form, we collect the information you enter, which may include your name, email address, and message.

We use this information to respond to you, maintain appropriate records of the communication, and take requested or appropriate follow-up action.

Submitting a contact form does not automatically subscribe you to marketing email. If you wish to receive newsletters, you must subscribe separately.

5. Newsletter subscriptions

If you subscribe to our newsletter, we collect your email address and any other information requested on the subscription form.

We use this information to send organizational news, event announcements, volunteer opportunities, fundraising information, and related updates.

You may unsubscribe at any time by using the unsubscribe link in an email or contacting us at admin@operationsantassleigh.org. We may retain limited information on a suppression list so that we can honor your request not to receive additional subscription email.

Our newsletter system may record delivery, opening, and link-interaction information where that feature is enabled and permitted by applicable law. Where consent is required, these functions will be subject to the choices provided through our consent system or subscription process.

6. Donations and payment processing

When you make a donation, we or our payment processor may collect information needed to complete the transaction, including your name, contact information, donation amount, payment details, and transaction identifiers.

Complete payment-card or financial-account information is generally submitted directly to the payment processor and is governed by that provider’s privacy policy and security practices. Operation Santa’s Sleigh generally receives transaction confirmation and donor information rather than complete payment credentials.

We use donation information to:

• Process and document donations.
• Provide receipts or acknowledgments.
• Communicate with donors.
• Maintain accounting, tax, fraud-prevention, and legal records.
• Administer fundraising campaigns and organizational programs.

The identity and policies of the applicable payment provider should be displayed during the donation process.

7. Volunteers and events

If you inquire about volunteering or participating in an event, we may collect information needed to evaluate and coordinate your involvement.

Depending on the activity, this may include contact information, age or eligibility information, availability, interests, experience, emergency contact information, safety information, and signed acknowledgments or releases.

Additional privacy notices or consent forms may apply to particular events or activities.

8. Participant stories, photographs, and recordings

Operation Santa’s Sleigh may publish voluntary stories, artwork, poetry, photographs, audio recordings, and videos to educate the public and share the experiences of community members.

Because this content may involve people experiencing homelessness or other vulnerable circumstances, we seek to use it with care and respect.

Participation in an interview, photograph, or recording is voluntary. Receiving assistance, services, donated goods, or participation in a program is not conditioned on agreeing to be interviewed, photographed, recorded, or publicly identified.

Before publishing identifiable participant material, we may use a separate consent or media-release process addressing matters such as:

• Whether the participant’s name, face, or voice may be used.
• Whether identifying locations or personal details may be disclosed.
• The subjects the participant agrees to discuss.
• The websites, social-media platforms, video services, or other destinations where material may appear.
• Editing and prepublication review arrangements.
• Future reuse of the material.
• Requests for correction, restriction, withdrawal, or removal.

A request to remove or change published material will be evaluated under the applicable consent agreement, the participant’s safety and dignity, applicable law, copies already distributed by others, and legitimate archival or legal needs.

Information published online may be copied, downloaded, indexed, archived, or redistributed by third parties. We cannot guarantee removal of copies outside our possession or control.

9. Cookies and consent choices

Our website uses cookies and similar technologies for functions such as:

• Remembering consent choices.
• Operating and securing the website.
• Preventing spam and abuse.
• Measuring website traffic and performance, when permitted.
• Displaying embedded content, when permitted.
• Supporting newsletter and donation functions.

Our consent banner allows visitors to accept, deny, or manage categories of nonessential technologies. Withholding or withdrawing consent does not affect the lawfulness of processing that occurred before withdrawal.

For a current description of cookies, services, purposes, and retention periods, see our Cookie Policy.

You may reopen the consent settings through the Website’s cookie-management control.

10. Analytics and website performance

Where enabled and permitted by your consent choices, we may use Jetpack Stats or similar tools to understand page visits, referring sources, general geographic information, and website performance.

Jetpack Stats is operated by Automattic. According to Automattic, the service may process information such as IP address, browser information, visited and referring URLs, timestamps, browser language, country code, page views, and outbound-link activity.

Statistics presented to us are generally aggregated. The fact that identifying information is not displayed to us does not necessarily mean that the service provider does not temporarily process that information.

11. Spam prevention

Our website forms use internal spam-prevention measures to distinguish human visitors from automated submissions and prevent spam or abuse. These measures may include form validation, hidden honeypot fields, and simple question-and-answer challenges.

These measures operate through our website and form software without using Google reCAPTCHA or Cloudflare Turnstile. Information submitted through a form is handled as described elsewhere in this Privacy Policy.

12. Embedded content and external services

Pages may contain content or links from outside services, such as YouTube, social-media platforms, payment providers, mapping services, or other websites.

Embedded content can behave as though you visited the provider’s website directly. The provider may collect information, use cookies, or monitor interaction with its content.

Where appropriate, embedded services will be blocked or replaced with a click-to-load placeholder until you provide the required consent.

Following a link to another website subjects you to that website’s own terms and privacy practices. We are not responsible for the privacy practices of independent third parties.

13. Service providers and information disclosures

We may disclose personal information to service providers that help us operate the organization and website, including providers of:

• Website hosting and server services.
• Website security, backup, and performance services.
• Consent and cookie management.
• Contact-form and spam-prevention services.
• Newsletter delivery.
• Donation and payment processing.
• Accounting and record keeping.
• Video hosting, social media, and embedded content.
• Technical support and website administration.

These providers receive information only as reasonably necessary for their services, subject to their agreements, policies, and applicable law.

We may also disclose information:

• When required by law, subpoena, court order, or valid governmental request.
• To protect a person’s safety or the rights and security of participants, volunteers, visitors, or the organization.
• To investigate fraud, abuse, or security incidents.
• In connection with a reorganization, merger, transfer, or dissolution of the organization, subject to applicable legal protections.
• With your direction or consent.

We do not sell personal information for money. We do not knowingly disclose personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. If our practices change, we will update this policy and provide any choices required by law.

14. Retention

We retain personal information only as long as reasonably necessary for the purposes described in this policy, including legal, accounting, safety, consent, and record keeping obligations.

Our general retention practices are:

• Contact inquiries: ordinarily up to two years after the last substantive communication, unless longer retention is needed.
• Newsletter information: until you unsubscribe or the subscription becomes inactive, with limited suppression information retained as necessary to honor an opt-out.
• Donation and accounting records: generally seven years or as otherwise required for tax, accounting, fraud-prevention, or legal purposes.
• Volunteer and event records: generally up to three years after the last activity, unless a longer period is needed for safety, insurance, legal, or program purposes.
• Consent and media-release records: for as long as the related material is used, plus any period reasonably necessary to document authorization or respond to claims.
• Published stories and media: until removed under our editorial process, an applicable agreement, or legal obligation.
• Security and server records: according to the retention settings of our hosting and security providers and for as long as reasonably necessary to investigate security incidents.

We may retain information longer when required by law, reasonably necessary to protect a participant, or needed to establish, exercise, or defend a legal claim.

15. Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and organizational safeguards intended to protect personal information.

No website, email system, transmission method, or storage system can be guaranteed completely secure. Please use care when deciding what information to send electronically.

If you believe personal information has been improperly accessed, used, or disclosed, contact us at admin@operationsantassleigh.org.

16. Children’s privacy

Our website is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information online directly from a child under 13 without appropriate parental or legal authorization.

If you believe a child has submitted personal information without appropriate authorization, contact us so that we can evaluate and, where appropriate, remove it.

Participation by minors in events, photographs, interviews, or recordings may require consent from a parent or legal guardian and any additional safeguards appropriate to the activity.

17. Your privacy choices

Depending on the information involved and applicable law, you may ask us to:

• Confirm whether we hold personal information about you.
• Provide access to information you submitted.
• Correct inaccurate information.
• Delete information that we are not required or permitted to retain.
• Withdraw consent for future uses based on consent.
• Unsubscribe you from newsletters.
• Review a concern about a published story, photograph, or recording.

To make a request, email admin@operationsantassleigh.org with the subject line Privacy Request.

We may need to verify your identity and authority before fulfilling a request. We will use information submitted for verification only to evaluate and respond to the request.

Some requests may be limited by legal, accounting, safety, free-expression, archival, or other legitimate obligations. We will explain any material limitation when appropriate.

We will not unlawfully discriminate against a person for exercising an applicable privacy right.

18. California privacy information

California residents may have rights under applicable California privacy laws. Whether a particular law applies can depend on the organization, the information, and the circumstances.

The categories of information we may collect are described in Section 2. The sources of that information include you, your browser or device, our website, authorized service providers, public sources, and people acting with your authorization.

We use and disclose this information for the purposes described in Sections 3 and 13.

California residents may contact us to request access, correction, or deletion where provided by applicable law. An authorized agent may submit a request where legally permitted, but we may require proof of authorization and verification of the individual’s identity.

Our disclosure that we do not sell information does not prevent us from using service providers that process information on our behalf for website operation, security, communications, donations, or other purposes described in this policy.

19. Changes to this policy

We may update this Privacy Policy when our services, technology, or legal obligations change.

The updated policy will be posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. Material changes will apply prospectively unless applicable law requires otherwise.

20. Contact us

Questions, concerns, or privacy requests may be directed to:

Operation Santa’s Sleigh
Long Beach, California
Email: info@operationsantassleigh.org

Please use the subject line Privacy Request for requests involving access, correction, deletion, consent, or published participant material.