Privacy Policy For Twin Cities Public Television Donors and Website Visitors

We have created this privacy statement in order to demonstrate our commitment to the privacy of any information you may provide to us. This Privacy Policy discloses our information gathering and dissemination practices for our entire organization, including the website www.tpt.org as well as any other websites owned or operated by Twin Cities Public Television (tpt).

We are committed to ensure the privacy of any identifiable information (such as name, address, e-mail address, and telephone number) you may provide to us.

Information We May Gather On Our Websites

1. Our web servers will create log files which contain some or all of the following information:
1. The Internet Protocol Address (IP Address) of the computer accessing our website
2. The date, time and length of each visit from each IP Address
3. Certain technical information such as the browser being used
4. The path taken through our website
5. Clicks to links on our site that lead to other sites
6. A record of files downloaded and/or the amount of time spent viewing any video or audio files
7. Any errors encountered.
2. We will not collect personally identifiable information from you, other than what you supply to us on a voluntary basis. However, in order to participate in some activities, you might be asked to provide personally identifiable information. For example, this could be in connection with such things as:
1. making pledges/donations
2. requests from you which require our direct response
3. subscription registration for sites or services which require subscription (such as e-mail newsletters)
4. contest registration
5. purchases of merchandise
6. gathering your comments and feedback
7. content submissions and suggestions
8. participation in community postings, bulletin boards or "chat rooms"
9. participation in surveys.

Except in the event that you violate the Terms of Use Agreement, tpt nor our third-party vendors acting on our behalf to help deliver the services and operate the Site, will not willfully disclose your personal information to any non-affiliated third party, other than as noted in the Member List Exchange Policy described below. Tpt’s affiliates include our local and national productions, PBS, and other public broadcasting stations or programming. Tpt may use your personally identifiable information for its own fundraising and marketing efforts.

Credit Card Information

Your credit card information is considered completely confidential. We seek full compliance with the Data Security Standard as prescribed by the Payment Card Industry when credit card information is provided by phone or mail correspondence. All online transactions take place only on secure servers, and electronic communication of credit card information is sent only in a secured or encrypted format. You must be 18 years of age to engage in money-related transactions on tpt’s website and when utilizing a credit card to make a contribution.

Security and Confidentiality of Donor Information

When you make a contribution to tpt through the secure online form, mail correspondence or by phone, your name, contact information, and all contribution information is maintained in secure physical locations and/or on secure servers.

From time to time, tpt may publish a list of donors (for example, as part of our Annual Report.) This listing may indicate a monetary range into which each donor's gift falls. If you wish to be excluded from any such listing, contact us as indicated below.

Except as required by law or regulation, in no event will tpt provide specific donation information to any third party without the donor's consent. Note that tpt is required to disclose the identity of all donors who provide direct funding for any television program produced by tpt.

Information on specific donations to tpt from institutions who themselves publicly disclose such information (for instance, foundations reporting on IRS Form 990) may be provided by tpt to third parties as a matter of convenience.

Member List Exchange Policy

Long-term support from our individual members is critical to fulfilling Twin Cities Public Television’s mission of community service. Maintaining and preserving a strong, trusting relationship with our members is key to this vital source of support.

Finding more individuals to join in supporting our services is also vital to the long-term success of our organization. Individuals who have contributed to organizations similar to ours are among the most likely to also be loyal supporters of tpt. Access to lists of donors to these community organizations is also an important element of our efforts to raise the money needed to provide our services.

Balancing the needs and desires of our contributors along with meeting the need for efficient and effective fundraising practices are the principles that serve as the underpinning of our list exchange policy. The purpose of this policy is to ensure that we conduct our fundraising in compliance with nationally established guidelines while ensuring that our member’s trust and faith in us is well placed and deserved.

Twin Cities Public Television will, on occasion, exchange membership lists with other well-established charitable, cultural non-profit organizations. We believe that the opportunities for increased financial support and the cost reductions resulting from list exchanges conducted within the guidelines of this policy will help us deliver more and higher quality mission-related services to the public.

In exchanging lists, the following principles will always apply:

1. We will not sell, rent, give or exchange member’s names to, with or from any candidate for public office, committees or organizations supporting a candidate, political parties, or organizations that solicit funds for use in political campaigns for any purpose.
2. We will respect the privacy of all members by offering a means by which their names may be suppressed upon their request and we will honor their requests. We will provide notice of this option in our magazine and in other mailings to members. Also, we will endeavor to provide additional notices of this option throughout the year in other ways including our website. Members are encouraged to contact our Customer Service department at 651-229-1330 if they wish to be removed from any list.
3. We will maintain active control of our membership lists by informing others, including any list brokers we may hire, of this policy and by taking steps to enforce this policy. We will have a written agreement, which contains provisions consistent with this policy, with all list brokers we hire.
4. We will maintain complete and accurate records of all uses of membership and donor lists for at least such time as required by law or regulation.
5. When we use a list broker to facilitate a list exchange we will ensure that the list is only for specifically approved uses and the only information provided will be the member’s name, address and/or telephone number.
6. We may enter into agreements with outside companies in fulfillment of member premiums or an "affinity" program which would use our donor list for marketing such program. We will only enter into an "affinity" program which would offer our members a quality product at or below market price and which would provide revenue to tpt.
7. Occasionally, we may rent or purchases lists from other organizations in order to reach prospective members. We will not rent or purchase lists which are generated by political parties or political candidates. Additionally, we will not rent lists from any organization if we believe doing so may endanger the trust between tpt and its members.
8. We will comply with the laws and regulations of the Internal Revenue Service, the State of Minnesota, the United States Postal Service, and the certification requirements of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. We will meet the accountability standards for the charitable sector as outlined by the Minnesota Charities Review Council.

You Should Also Know

Websites operated by tpt may contain links to other sites. Twin Cities Public Television is not responsible for the privacy practices or the content of such other websites.

Websites operated by tpt may include chat rooms, forums, message boards and/or other interactive elements where users can post information. Please remember that any information that is disclosed in these areas becomes public information and you should exercise caution when deciding to disclose your personal information in these areas. Also, please note that we do not accept any responsibility for the information or content presented in such areas by users.

By using websites operated by tpt, you signify your agreement to the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy. If you do not agree to these terms and conditions, please do not use the site. We reserve the right, at our sole discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of this policy at any time. Please check www.tpt.org periodically for any changes. Your continued use of www.tpt.org or any of our other websites following the posting of any changes to these terms shall mean that you have accepted those changes.

Twin Cities Public Television supports the Consumer Reports WebWatch guidelines to promote credible information practices on the Web and www.tpt.org is listed as a "Praise Worthy" site by WebWatch. (Click here for more information on Consumer Reports WebWatch. The appearance of our site on the "Praise Worthy" list does not count as a certification or an endorsement by Consumer Reports.)

Effective Date

This policy was last updated on February 23, 2012.

Contact Us

If you have questions regarding this policy, please contact Customer Service at 651-229-1330 or email at viewerservices@tpt.org or by mail to Member Services, Twin Cities Public Television, 172 E. 4th St., St. Paul, MN 55101.