Privacy Policy
Effective date: October 21, 2026
Last updated: October 21, 2026
This Privacy Policy explains how Prepare Your Community ("PYC," "we," "us," or "our") collects, uses, shares, and protects personal information when you use the Prepare Your Community website at prepareyourcommunity.org, the platform at app.prepareyourcommunity.org, our emails, and related services (together, the "Services"). PYC is a Washington nonprofit corporation recognized as tax-exempt under Section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.
This policy is part of our Terms of Service. If you have questions, contact our Privacy Officer using the details in Section 16.
## 1. Our Approach
We collect only what we need to help households, streets, neighborhoods, and communities prepare for disasters. We do not sell personal information. We do not use advertising pixels or share personal information for targeted advertising.
## 2. Information You Give Us
Account information. Your email address and ZIP or postal code when you sign up, and your agreement to our Terms and this policy. You may also choose to add your name, a profile photo, your organization, and your role (for example, Community Champion or emergency manager).
Planning and community content. Plans, maps, checklists, forum posts, comments, files, and other content you create or share on the Services.
Information about others. Preparedness planning sometimes involves neighbors' contact details, skills, or a need for a check-in during an emergency. Our Terms ask you to get a person's permission before entering information about them, to share only what preparedness planning requires, and not to enter medical diagnoses, medications, or other health details.
Payments and orders. When you buy a paid plan, printed materials, or consulting services, or make a donation, our payment processor, Stripe, collects your payment card details. We do not receive or store full card numbers. We receive your name, billing details, the amount, and the transaction record. For printed materials, we collect a shipping address and share it with our print partner.
Communications and feedback. Messages you send us, survey responses, beta feedback, and requests you make through hello@prepareyourcommunity.org.
AI assistant questions. The questions you type into our AI assistant and the answers it returns.
Email preferences. Whether you have agreed to receive newsletters and updates. This choice is separate from creating an account.
## 3. Information We Collect Automatically
Device and log information. IP address, browser and device type, operating system, pages visited, referring pages, and the date and time of visits. We use IP addresses to estimate a general location (such as city or region) and to protect the Services.
Usage analytics. We use analytics tools to understand which pages and features people use, so we can improve the Services. These tools measure activity such as page views, clicks, and feature use. We do not use analytics to build advertising profiles.
Cookies and similar technologies. We use:
+ Essential cookies to keep you signed in, remember your settings, and keep the Services secure. The Services cannot work without them.
+ Analytics technologies to measure how the Services are used. Some of our analytics tools work without cookies; others use cookies or similar browser storage.
+ Affiliate cookies set by retailers and affiliate networks when you click a gear link on our site. These cookies let the retailer tell us that a purchase came through our link, so we can earn a commission. We receive commission reports, not your name or what else you bought.
Where the law requires your consent for non-essential cookies, we will ask for it before setting them, and you can change your choice at any time. You can also block or delete cookies in your browser settings, though some features may not work without essential cookies. We honor Global Privacy Control signals as a request to opt out of any data sharing that the law treats as a sale or targeted advertising.
## 4. How We Use Information
We use personal information to:
+ Create and manage your account
+ Show preparedness content and data relevant to your ZIP or postal code, such as local hazards and census information
+ Run shared community spaces and the forum, and show your content to the people you choose
+ Provide the AI assistant
+ Process payments, donations, and print orders, and send receipts
+ Send service emails, such as account notices, renewal reminders, and security alerts
+ Send newsletters and updates, only if you have agreed to receive them
+ Respond to questions and requests
+ Understand use of the Services and improve them
+ Protect the Services, our users, and PYC against fraud, abuse, and security threats
+ Prepare de-identified, aggregated reports on our impact, such as the number of active neighborhoods in a region
+ Meet legal, tax, and accounting obligations
## 5. How We Share Information
With the people you choose. Content you post in a shared space or the forum is visible to the members of that space or forum. Administrators of a shared space can see members' information within that space.
With service providers. We use trusted providers to run the Services. They may process personal information only on our behalf and under contracts that require them to protect it. Our providers currently include:
+ Vercel (website and platform hosting; analytics)
+ Neon (database hosting)
+ PostHog (product analytics)
+ Anthropic (AI assistant)
+ Stripe (payments, receipts, and subscription emails)
+ Lulu (printing and shipping of printed materials)
+ Mailchimp (newsletters and member emails)
+ Google Workspace (email and support)
+ Mapping providers (maps within the Services)
+ Geniuslink and affiliate networks, including Amazon Associates, Impact.com, AvantLink, Partnerize, and CJ Affiliate (gear links)
We may change providers over time and will keep this list current.
AI assistant. When you use the AI assistant, your question and related PYC content are sent to our AI provider to generate an answer. Under our agreement, the provider does not use your questions to train its models.
For legal reasons. We may share information if required by law or legal process, or when we believe in good faith it is needed to protect the safety, rights, or property of our users, the public, or PYC.
In an organizational change. If PYC merges with or transfers its assets to another nonprofit, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, subject to this policy.
De-identified information. We may share de-identified, aggregated information that cannot reasonably be used to identify you, for example with funders or research partners.
We do not sell personal information, and we do not share it for targeted advertising.
## 6. Email
Service emails, such as account notices, receipts, renewal reminders, and security alerts, are part of using the Services. Newsletters and updates are sent only with your consent. Every newsletter includes an unsubscribe link, and we process unsubscribe requests within 10 business days.
## 7. How Long We Keep Information
+ Account information: while your account is open. When you close your account, we delete or de-identify your personal information within 30 days, except as listed below.
+ Backups: deleted information is removed from backups as they expire on their regular schedule.
+ Shared community spaces: when you leave a space or close your account, we delete your personal information from it. Shared planning content you contributed stays with the space, as described in Section 6 of our Terms of Service.
+ Payment, donation, and tax records: kept for at least 7 years, as required for nonprofit accounting and tax purposes.
+ Consent records: records of your agreement to our Terms, this policy, auto-renewal terms, and email consent are kept for at least 3 years, or longer if the law requires.
+ Security logs: kept as long as needed to protect the Services.
## 8. How We Protect Information
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards, including encrypted connections (HTTPS), encryption of stored data by our hosting providers, and access limited to the people who need it to run the Services. No system is completely secure. If a security incident affects your personal information, we will notify you and the appropriate authorities as the law requires.
## 9. Your Rights and Choices
Wherever you live, you can:
+ See and update your account information in your account settings
+ Ask for a copy of the personal information we hold about you
+ Ask us to correct inaccurate information
+ Ask us to delete your personal information, subject to the records we must keep (Section 7)
+ Export your content
+ Withdraw consent to newsletters or non-essential cookies at any time
+ Close your account at any time
To make a request, use your account settings or email hello@prepareyourcommunity.org. We may need to verify your identity before acting on a request. We respond within 30 days, and will tell you if we need more time where the law allows it. We will not treat you differently for exercising your privacy rights.
If we decline your request, you may appeal by replying to our decision or emailing hello@prepareyourcommunity.org with "Privacy Appeal" in the subject line. We will respond to appeals within 45 days.
## 10. Additional Information for U.S. State Residents
Several U.S. states give residents specific privacy rights, including the rights described in Section 9 and the right to opt out of the sale of personal information, targeted advertising, and certain profiling. PYC does not sell personal information, does not engage in targeted advertising, and does not use personal information for profiling that produces legal or similarly significant effects. We do not knowingly collect sensitive personal information, as defined by state law, except account login credentials and information you choose to provide.
Washington residents. We do not intend to collect consumer health data. Our Terms ask users not to enter medical diagnoses, medications, or other health details. If you believe health information about you has been entered on the Services, contact us and we will delete it.
## 11. Additional Information for Canadian Residents
PYC handles personal information of people in Canada in accordance with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) and applicable provincial privacy laws, including Quebec's Act respecting the protection of personal information in the private sector.
+ Accountability. Our Privacy Officer, named in Section 16, is responsible for our compliance with this policy and with Canadian privacy law.
+ Consent. We collect, use, and share personal information with your consent, which you give by creating an account and agreeing to this policy, except where the law allows otherwise. You may withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual limits, by contacting us; some features may not work without it.
+ Access and correction. You may ask to see the personal information we hold about you and to correct it. We will respond within 30 days.
+ Storage outside Canada. Personal information is stored and processed in the United States and in other countries where our service providers operate. While there, it may be accessible to courts, law enforcement, and national security authorities under the laws of those countries.
+ Tracking technologies. For residents of Quebec, analytics technologies that can identify, locate, or profile you are turned off by default unless you choose to turn them on.
+ Commercial email. We send newsletters and updates only with your express consent, as required by Canada's Anti-Spam Legislation (CASL), and every message includes an unsubscribe link.
+ Complaints. If you have a concern, please contact our Privacy Officer first. You may also contact the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada (priv.gc.ca) or, in Quebec, the Commission d'accès à l'information (cai.gouv.qc.ca).
## 12. International Users
PYC is based in the United States, and the Services are operated from the United States. If you use the Services from outside the United States, your information will be transferred to, stored, and processed in the United States, where privacy laws may differ from those in your country.
## 13. Age Requirement
The Services are intended for people 18 and older. We do not knowingly collect personal information from anyone under 18. If you believe someone under 18 has created an account, contact us and we will delete it.
## 14. Third-Party Websites
The Services link to websites run by others, including government agencies and retailers. This policy does not cover those websites. Please review their privacy policies before sharing information with them.
## 15. Changes to This Policy
We may update this policy as the Services change. For material changes, we will notify you by email or on the Services at least 30 days before the changes take effect. The "Last updated" date at the top shows when this policy last changed.
## 16. Contact Us
Privacy Officer: Scott James, Executive Director
Prepare Your Community
321 High School Rd NE, Suite D3, Box 275
Bainbridge Island, WA 98110
USA
Email: hello@prepareyourcommunity.org
Phone: (360) 207-5586