Privacy Statement

Effective date: June 4, 2026

1. Personal Information We Collect

A. Information You Provide to Us

We collect information you give us when you:

• Contact or communicate with us. Fill out a contact, partner, employer, or funder inquiry form (name, email, phone number, organization name, and message content).
• Submit a participant form. Submit a participant interest or intake form (name, contact information, age, city, disability-related information, education history, and employment history that you choose to share).
• Make a donation. Make a donation (name, email, billing address, and payment details). Payment card data is processed by our payment processor, Stripe, and is not stored on our servers.
• Subscribe to newsletters or updates. Subscribe to our newsletter or event communications (name and email address).
• Opt in to messages. Opt in to our SMS program (mobile phone number and consent record). See Section 5 (SMS/Text Messaging) for details.
• Apply to work with us. Apply for a position through our Careers page (résumé, work history, and any other information you include in your application).

Some of the information we collect may be considered “sensitive” under applicable law, including disability-related information submitted by program participants. We collect and use sensitive information only as necessary to provide our services, to comply with legal obligations, and as otherwise described in this Statement. We do not use sensitive personal information for the purpose of inferring characteristics unrelated to our services.

B. Information We Collect Automatically

When you visit our website, our servers and analytics tools automatically collect certain technical information about your device and usage, including:

• Device and browsing information. IP address, approximate geographic location, and device type, browser type, language, and operating system
• Usage information. Pages visited on our website, referring URL, and time spent on pages
• Online identifiers. Cookies and similar technologies used for analytics and essential site functionality
• Location information. General location information derived from IP address (e.g., city or country)

We use this information to operate the website, understand how our website is used, measure engagement, diagnose technical problems, and improve our services. Please see section 4 below for more information on cookies and similar tracking technologies.

C. Information from Third Party Sources

We may collect personal information about you from third parties, such as:

• Partner Organizations. We may receive your information from partner organizations such as nonprofit organizations, such as when you participate in a joint event or campaign, or from partner schools.
• Public sources, social media, and third-party partners. We may collect information you have made publicly available or when you interact with us on social media. We may also receive information from trusted partners who support our fundraising activities and provide you with relevant communications and information.
• Donation platforms or fundraisers. If you donate to Bridges through a third-party platform (such as an employer’s matching gift program, a social media fundraising tool, or similar), those third parties may share your name, contact information, donation amount, and any messages associated with your donation to allow us to properly record and acknowledge your contribution.
• Analytics providers. We may collect analytics data from providers such as Google Analytics, as described in section 4 below.

2. How We Use Personal Information

We use the personal information we collect for the following purposes:

• To respond to your inquiry and connect you with the right team or local program.
• To evaluate eligibility and match prospective participants with their local Bridges program.
• To deliver program services to enrolled participants.
• To process donations and issue tax receipts and acknowledgment letters.
• To send newsletters, event invitations, program updates, and other communications you have requested (you may unsubscribe at any time).
• To send SMS messages to mobile numbers that have opted in.
• To evaluate job applications.
• To operate, maintain, and improve our website and programs.
• To personalize your experience.
• To detect, prevent, and respond to fraud, abuse, and security incidents.
• To comply with applicable legal and regulatory obligations.
• For other purposes that are compatible with the purposes described above and disclosed to you at the time of collection or with your consent.

3. How We Share Your Information

A. General

We share personal information only as described in this Section. We do not sell your personal information to third parties, and we do not share it for third-party advertising or cross-context behavioral advertising.

B. Service Providers

We use trusted vendors who may process personal information on our behalf under contracts that restrict their use of it to providing services to Bridges. These include:

• Donation processing: We use third-party payment processors including Stripe to process online donations.
• Email and communications service providers: We may use an email or newsletter service to send you newsletters, event communications, and other messages you have opted into.
• Website hosting, cloud storage, and IT support: We may use cloud-based service providers such as Microsoft Azure and Salesforce to host our website, databases, and systems.
• Website content provider: We may use a third party website content management provider such as Sanity to provide and manage content on our website.
• Website analytics: We use third-party analytics tools such as Google Analytics (via Google Tag Manager) to help us operate, maintain, and improve our website, and provide traffic measurement and analytics.
• SMS and text service platforms: We partner with third-party SMS platform providers to send you SMS/text messages if you have opted in.
• Professional service providers: We work with professional service firms, including auditors, law firms, and accounting firms.
• With our affiliates.

C. Local Bridges Programs

When you submit an interest form or inquiry, we share the information you provided with the Bridges program in your area so they can follow up with you directly.

D. Legal and Safety

We may disclose personal information when we reasonably believe disclosure is required by law, court order, subpoena, or other legal process, or when necessary to protect the rights, property, or safety of Bridges, our participants, staff, donors, or the public.

E. Business Transfers

If Bridges is involved in a merger, acquisition, reorganization, asset sale, or similar transaction, personal information we hold may be transferred as part of that transaction. We will notify you of any such transfer and any choices you may have as required by applicable law.

4. Cookies and Online Analytics

We use cookies, web beacons, and similar tracking technologies for two purposes: (1) essential site functionality, and (2) analytics. Cookies, web beacons, and web pixels are small text or image files that are stored on and uniquely identify your browser or device. They help us recognize you when you visit our website again, remember your preferences, and allow us to personalize your experience. Analytics cookies are set by Google Analytics through Google Tag Manager and help us understand how visitors use and interact with our website so we can improve it.

You can opt out of Google Analytics data collection by installing the Google Analytics Opt-out Browser Add-on (available at tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout). You can also configure your browser to block or delete cookies, though doing so may affect some website features.

5. SMS/Text Messaging

Program Name: Bridges from School to Work SMS Alerts

If you opt in to Bridges from School to Work SMS Alerts, you will receive text messages from Bridges about program updates, appointment reminders, job opportunity notifications, and other information relevant to your participation in our programs. Message and data rates may apply. Message frequency varies. To stop receiving messages, you can reply STOP to any Bridges text message. For assistance, simply reply HELP or contact us at info@bridgestowork.org.

We share your phone number and SMS opt-in status with vendors that support our messaging services (such as SMS platform providers and wireless carriers). We do not share this information with third parties for marketing or advertising purposes.

6. Your Privacy Rights and Choices

Depending on where you live, you may have the following rights regarding your personal information:

• Access: Request a copy of the personal information we hold about you.
• Correction: Ask us to correct personal information about you that is inaccurate or incomplete.
• Deletion: Ask us to delete your personal information we no longer have a legal obligation or legitimate need to retain.
• Opt out of communications: Unsubscribe from email newsletters using the unsubscribe link in any email, or reply STOP to any SMS message.
• Opt out of analytics: Use the Google Analytics opt-out tool linked in Section 4, or configure your browser to block cookies.

To exercise any of these rights, follow the instructions above or email us at info@bridgestowork.org. We may need to verify your identity before processing your request, and we may decline requests where fulfillment would violate applicable law or the rights of another person. We will not discriminate against you for exercising your privacy rights.

A. California Residents (CCPA/CPRA)

California residents have the rights described in Section 6 above, plus the following additional rights under the California Consumer Privacy Act:

• The right to know the categories of personal information collected, the sources of that information, the purposes for which it is used, and the categories of third parties with whom it is shared. This information is provided throughout this Statement.
• The right to limit use and disclosure of sensitive personal information to purposes permitted by law. We do not use sensitive personal information except as describing in this Statement.
• The right to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information for cross-context behavioral advertising. We do not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under California law.
• The right to a copy of your data in a portable format.

To submit a request, contact us at info@bridgestowork.org or (301) 941-3689.

Authorized agents: A California resident may designate an authorized agent to submit a rights request on their behalf. We may take steps to verify the agent’s identity and to confirm with you directly that you gave permission in order to protect against fraud.

7. Children’s Privacy

Our programs serve young adults, ages 17 to 26, including some participants who are minors under applicable state law. Our website is not directed to children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 13. If we learn that we have inadvertently collected personal information from a child under 13, we will delete it promptly.

If you believe a child under 13 has provided information to us through our website, please contact us at info@bridgestowork.org.

8. Data Security

We use a range of administrative, technical, and physical safeguards designed to protect personal information from unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration, and destruction.

No method of transmission over the internet or electronic storage is completely secure. While we work to protect your personal information, we cannot guarantee absolute security.

9. Data Retention

We retain personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this Statement or as required by applicable law. For example:

• Donation records are retained for at least seven years for auditing purposes. We rely on payment processors to process your payment details and we do not store that information.
• Program participant records are retained for the duration of participation and for a period thereafter as required, for example by applicable law or grant requirements.

When personal information is no longer needed, we delete or anonymize it in accordance with our records retention policy.

10. International Visitors

Bridges is a U.S.-based organization. All personal information we collect is processed and stored in the United States. If you access our website from outside the United States, please be aware that your information will be transferred to, stored in, and processed in the United States, where data protection laws may differ from those in your country.

11. Links to Other Websites

Our website may link to websites operated by third parties (such as donor portals, partner organizations, or government resources). We are not responsible for the privacy practices or content of those websites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies before providing any personal information.

12. Changes to This Statement

We may update this Privacy Statement from time to time. When we do, we will revise the effective date at the top of this Statement. For material changes, we will provide additional notice, which may include a banner on our website or an email notice to subscribers. Your continued use of our website after changes take effect constitutes your acceptance of the updated Statement. If you do not agree to any updates to this Privacy Policy, please do not access or continue to use the website.

13. Contact Us

If you have questions about this Statement or want to exercise any of your privacy rights, please contact us at the address below: