1. Introduction
The International Research Foundation for English Language Education (“TIRF,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects your privacy and is committed to protecting the personal information you share with us. TIRF is a nonprofit foundation that generates and disseminates knowledge about English language teaching and learning, funds research, and provides related professional services.
This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect through our website, tirfonline.org (the “Site”), how we use and share that information, the choices you have, and the rights you may have under applicable privacy laws, including the California Consumer Privacy Act as amended by the California Privacy Rights Act (together, the “CCPA”). Because TIRF supports an international community of researchers, educators, and supporters, this policy also addresses rights that may apply to individuals located outside the United States.
By using the Site, you acknowledge that you have read and understood this Privacy Policy.
2. Who We Are
The International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF)PO Box 332
Interlochen, MI 49643-0332
USA
Email: [email protected]
TIRF is the party responsible for the personal information collected through the Site.
3. Information We Collect
a. Information you provide directly
- Newsletter and email sign-up: your name and email address when you subscribe to TIRF communications.
- Donations and financial support: your name, email address, mailing address, donation amount, and related details when you give to TIRF. Payment card details are collected and processed directly by our payment processors (PayPal and Stripe) and are not stored on TIRF’s own servers.
- Grant, prize, fellowship, and scholarship applications: the information you submit in an application, which may include your name, contact details, institutional affiliation, academic and professional background, research proposals, references, and supporting documents.
- Contact and inquiry forms: your name, email address, and the contents of your message when you contact us or inquire about events, professional services, or partnerships.
- Accounts and portals: if you register for an account or access a restricted area such as the trustee portal, we collect your login credentials and associated profile information.
- Volunteer and partnership inquiries: information you provide when expressing interest in volunteering or partnering with TIRF.
b. Information collected automatically
When you visit the Site, we and our service providers may automatically collect certain technical information through cookies and similar technologies, including:
- IP address and approximate location
- Browser type and settings, device type, and operating system
- Pages viewed, links clicked, referring/exit pages, and dates/times of visits
- Aggregated usage and analytics data
See Section 5 (Cookies and Tracking Technologies) for details and your choices.
c. Information from third parties
We may receive information about you from the service providers that help us operate — for example, our donor-management platform (Keela), email platform (Mailchimp), and payment processors (PayPal, Stripe) — in order to process your donation, manage your subscription, or maintain our records.
4. How We Use Your Information
We use personal information to:
- Send newsletters, updates, and communications you have requested, and allow you to manage your preferences or unsubscribe;
- Process and acknowledge donations and issue receipts;
- Receive, evaluate, and administer grant, prize, fellowship, and scholarship applications;
- Respond to your inquiries and provide professional services;
- Operate, maintain, secure, and improve the Site;
- Protect our forms against spam and abuse (via Google reCAPTCHA);
- Understand how visitors use the Site through analytics;
- Comply with legal, tax, accounting, and reporting obligations; and
- Protect the rights, property, and safety of TIRF, our community, and others.
We do not use your personal information for automated decision-making that produces legal or similarly significant effects about you.
5. Cookies and Tracking Technologies
The Site uses cookies and similar technologies to function properly, remember your preferences, and understand how the Site is used.
| Category | Purpose | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Strictly necessary | Enable core site functions and remember your consent choices | CookieYes consent record |
| Analytics / performance | Help us understand how visitors use the Site, in aggregate | Google Analytics |
| Security | Protect forms from spam and abuse | Google reCAPTCHA |
Consent management. We use the CookieYes consent tool to present a cookie banner when you first visit the Site. Non-essential cookies (such as analytics) load only after you provide consent, and you can change or withdraw your consent at any time using the cookie settings link on the Site.
Do Not Track and Global Privacy Control. Where required by law, we treat a Global Privacy Control (GPC) browser signal as a valid request to opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information. Because there is no common industry standard for “Do Not Track” browser signals, the Site does not currently respond to them. You can also control cookies through your browser settings; disabling some cookies may affect how the Site works.
6. How We Share Your Information
TIRF does not sell your personal information, and we do not share it for cross-context behavioral advertising. We share personal information only as described below:
- Service providers / processors. We share information with vendors that perform services for us, under agreements that limit their use of the information to providing those services. These currently include:
- Google — website analytics (Google Analytics) and form-spam protection (reCAPTCHA)
- Keela — donor and constituent relationship management
- Mailchimp (Intuit) — email newsletter delivery and subscription management
- PayPal and Stripe — donation and payment processing
- CookieYes — cookie-consent management
- Legal and safety. We may disclose information if required by law, subpoena, or other legal process, or when we believe disclosure is necessary to protect our rights, your safety, or the safety of others.
- Business changes. If TIRF is involved in a merger, reorganization, or transfer of assets, personal information may be transferred as part of that transaction, consistent with this policy.
Each third party listed above maintains its own privacy practices. We encourage you to review their policies:
- Google: policies.google.com/privacy
- Keela: keela.co/privacy-policy
- Mailchimp: intuit.com/privacy/statement
- PayPal: paypal.com/us/legalhub/privacy-full
- Stripe: stripe.com/privacy
- CookieYes: cookieyes.com/privacy-policy
7. Third-Party Links and Embedded Content
The Site links to third-party platforms, including our profiles on Facebook, X (Twitter), YouTube, LinkedIn, and SlideShare. When you follow those links or interact with embedded content, the third party may collect information about you under its own privacy policy. This Privacy Policy does not apply to third-party sites or services.
8. Data Retention
We keep personal information only as long as necessary for the purposes described in this policy. In general:
- Newsletter subscriptions: retained until you unsubscribe, after which your details are removed from our active mailing lists.
- Donor and financial records: retained for at least seven (7) years to meet U.S. tax, accounting, and audit obligations.
- Grant, prize, fellowship, and scholarship applications: records relating to funded awards are retained for up to seven (7) years after the award concludes; unsuccessful applications are retained for up to three (3) years after the review cycle and then deleted or de-identified.
- Contact and inquiry messages: retained for up to two (2) years.
- Analytics data: retained in identifiable form according to our analytics provider’s settings (generally no more than 14 months), and in aggregate form thereafter.
When information is no longer needed, we take reasonable steps to delete or de-identify it.
9. How We Protect Your Information
We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect personal information, and we rely on the security programs of established service providers (including Google, Keela, Mailchimp, PayPal, and Stripe) to help secure the data they process on our behalf. No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security.
10. Your Privacy Rights
a. Everyone
You may update or correct your information; unsubscribe from our emails using the link in any message or by contacting us; and request access to or deletion of your information, subject to legal exceptions. To make a request, contact us using the details in Section 13.
b. California residents (CCPA/CPRA)
If you are a California resident, you have the right to:
- Know / access the categories and specific pieces of personal information we have collected, the sources, the purposes, and the categories of third parties with whom we share it;
- Delete personal information we collected from you, subject to exceptions;
- Correct inaccurate personal information;
- Opt out of the sale or sharing of personal information — note that TIRF does not sell or share personal information as those terms are defined under the CCPA;
- Limit the use of sensitive personal information — we do not use sensitive personal information beyond permitted purposes; and
- Non-discrimination for exercising your rights.
Categories of personal information collected in the past 12 months may include identifiers (name, email, mailing address, IP address), internet/network activity (usage and analytics data), financial/donation information (processed by our payment providers), and professional or education information (in applications). We disclose these categories to service providers for the business purposes described above. We have not sold or shared personal information in the preceding 12 months.
You may submit a request to know, delete, or correct by emailing [email protected]. We will verify your request and respond within the timeframes required by law. You may use an authorized agent to submit a request on your behalf.
c. Individuals outside the United States (including the UK/EU)
If you are located in a jurisdiction with data-protection laws such as the UK GDPR or EU GDPR, you may have the right to access, correct, delete, restrict, or object to processing of your personal information, and to data portability. Where we rely on consent, you may withdraw it at any time. Our legal bases for processing include your consent, our legitimate interests in operating TIRF, and compliance with legal obligations. Because TIRF is based in the United States, your information may be transferred to and processed in the United States and other countries with different data-protection laws. To exercise these rights, contact us using the details below.
11. Children’s Privacy
The Site is intended for a general and professional audience and is not directed to children under 13 (or under 16 where applicable). We do not knowingly collect personal information from children. If you believe a child has provided us personal information, please contact us and we will delete it.
12. Changes to This Policy
We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. When we do, we will revise the “Last Updated” date above and, where appropriate, provide additional notice. We encourage you to review this page periodically.
13. Contact Us
If you have questions about this Privacy Policy or wish to exercise your rights, contact us at:
The International Research Foundation for English Language Education (TIRF)PO Box 332
Interlochen, MI 49643-0332
USA
Email: [email protected]