Effective: June 18, 2018

Introduction and Who We Are

CNFA is a501(c)(3) non-profit organization duly registered in the United States. Our mission is to stimulate economic growth and improve livelihoods by cultivating entrepreneurship. In support of this mission, CNFA’s primary activities are implementing international development programs specializing in agricultural development, researching and advising on agricultural development strategies and initiatives around the world, designing development projects/programs that respond to the needs of local populations, and cultivating relationships with other international, national, and private organizations and firms interested in agricultural development throughout the world.

CNFA is distinct from CFNA Europe, which is separately registered and incorporated in Brussels, Belgium, but shares a similar mission and set of activities and is affiliated with CNFA. This privacy policy does not apply to CNFA Europe.

Your privacy is important to CNFA. This Privacy Policy applies to all websites operated and controlled by Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (“CNFA”) (either “we,” “us” or “CNFA”), its affiliates or any third party agent of CNFA, CNFA vendors and service providers, and other websites, where these terms and conditions are posted (the “Site” or “Sites”). This privacy policy does not pertain to information that is collected offline.

Please read this Privacy Policy carefully because by registering for or using the Site you acknowledge that you have read, understood, and agree to be bound to this Privacy Policy. We encourage you to periodically review this Privacy Policy to keep up to date on how we are handling your personal information.

Please note the arbitration provision set forth below, requiring you to arbitrate any claims you may have against CNFA on an individual basis. EXCEPT WHERE AND TO THE EXTENT PROHIBITED BY LAW, ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS MEANS THAT YOU WILL NOT HAVE, AND YOU WAIVE, THE RIGHT FOR A JUDGE OR JURY TO DECIDE YOUR CLAIMS, AND THAT YOU MAY NOT PROCEED IN A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY.

1. This Privacy Policy explains the following:

  • What information CNFA collects about you
  • How Does CNFA Collect Personal Information
  • How CNFA uses the information you collect about me
  • Our Legal Bases for processing
  • Will I be contacted for marketing purposes
  • Will CNFA share my personal information with anyone else
  • Collection and Use of Information from Children
  • What are your rights with regard to your personal information
  • Your choices regarding the personal information you provide to us
  • International Data Transfers
  • Cookies and Similar Technologies
  • How you can exercise your choices in relation to those cookies
  • Updates to CNFA’s Privacy Policy
  • Security and Retention
  • Dispute Resolution
  • Your California Privacy Rights
  • Links to external websites
  • Assignment
  • How to Contact Us

2. What information CNFA collects about me?

CNFA collects (i) personal information voluntarily supplied by you when you use the Sites, and (ii) tracking information collected as you navigate the Sites. We note that over time, non-personal information could become personal information through regulatory developments, technological advancements, or co-mingling with Personal Information. The types of personal information we collect from you depends on the features you use on the Site.

CNFA may collect personal information if visitors voluntarily choose to sign up for updates, apply for job postings or consultancy opportunities, submit procurement offers, or are interested in volunteering with CNFA, and provide their personal details on the website. In this case, users may receive periodic email (or regular mail) updates relevant to the work of CNFA or communication regarding volunteer, employment, consultancy, or procurement opportunities.

In particular, we may collect any of the following information from and about you: 

  • User Information. We may collect information from you when you sign up to volunteer with CNFA, apply to work for or with CNFA, or receive updates from CNFA. That information may include, among other things, your full name, email address, phone number and other information you provided to us.
  • Email Addresses. We may collect your email address and name if you request information from the Site.
  • Demographic Information. We may collect your demographic information, such as your age, gender, dependents, salary history, education history, city, state and country.
  • Usage Information. We may collect data information about how you and your devices interact with the Site. This could include features you use, the web pages you visit and the search terms you enter. This could also include data information about your devices and the network you use to connect to our services, including IP addresses, device identifiers and data information about the performance of the services you use on the Site and any problems you experience with them.
  • Location Information. We may collect your location information. This information may help us provide recommendations to you based on your location, serve you with advertisements or direct you to a product or service that we believe may be of interest to you.
  • Content and Other Information You Provide to Us. We may collect additional content and information that you voluntarily provide us, such as when you post a comment, submit a complaint or send us feedback.

3. How Does CNFA Collect Personal Information?

(1) Active Collection

As noted above, we collect and store the personal information from you directly, at the time you supply information to us via the Site. For instance, if you sign up to volunteer or contact us with a question, we may store your communications, including any personal information you include in them, so we can effectively respond to you. If you do not want us to collect your personal information, please do not provide it to us.

(2) Passive Collection

We may collect information passively while you are visiting or interacting with the Site. We call this “passive” collection because you may not know that this information is being collected. Here are some examples of the information that is collected via the Site and a description of how this information is used:

  • Internet Protocol (IP) addresses. Your IP address is a number that lets computers attached to the Internet know where to send your information, such as the webpages you view. We use this information to deliver our webpages to you upon request, tailor our Sites to the interests of our users and measure traffic within our Sites.
  • Cookies, web beacons, and other similar technologies. A cookie is a small text file that may be used to collect information about your activity on the Site. For example, when someone visits a page within the Site, a cookie is placed on the user’s machine (if the user accepts cookies) or is read if the user has visited the Site previously.  Web beacons are tiny graphics with a unique identifier, similar in function to cookies, and are used to allow us to count users who have visited certain pages of the Site and to help determine the effectiveness of promotional or advertising campaigns. When used in HTML-formatted email messages, web beacons can tell the sender whether and when the email has been opened. Web beacons are embedded invisibly on webpages. For more information, please see the Cookies and Similar Technologies section below.

By submitting your details, you enable CNFA (and where applicable any service providers we may use) to contact you with information related to the goods, services, information, activities, or online content you select.

4. How CNFA uses the information you collect about me?

CNFA uses your personal information for the following purposes:

  • for “service administration purposes”, which means that CNFA may contact you for reasons related to activity or online content you have signed up for;
  • for internal record keeping;
  • to contact you about any content you provide;
  • to invite you to participate in surveys or research about CNFA or our work (participation is always voluntary);
  • to alert you to special offers, updated information from CNFA or other third parties, or to forward promotional materials.
  • to provide you with information about our activities or online content you have agreed to receive;
  • to send marketing communications customized to your interests and needs in accordance with applicable law;
  • to use IP addresses to identify the location of users, to block disruptive use, to establish the number of visits from different countries;
  • to analyze and improve the activities and content offered by the CNFA website to provide you with the most user-friendly navigation experience. We may also use and disclose information in aggregate (so that no individuals are identified) for marketing and strategic development purposes.
  • to notify you about a material change to this Privacy Policy, if necessary, or to contact you in response to sign-up forms.
  • to protect the rights of CNFA and others. There may be instances when we may disclose your personal information, including situations where we have a good faith belief that such processing is necessary in order to: (i) protect, enforce or defend the legal rights, privacy, safety or property of CNFA, our affiliates or their employees, agents and contractors (including enforcement of our agreements and terms and conditions); (ii) protect the safety, privacy and security of users of our Site(s) or members of the public; (iii) protect against fraud or for risk management purposes;
  • to comply with applicable laws or legal process and/or respond to requests from public and government authorities.
  • for other legitimate business reasons.

5. Our Legal Bases for Processing

We process your personal information per applicable law and with transparency and fairness. Our processing activities are conducted:

  • With your consent;
  • In order to fulfill our contractual obligations to you;
  • For the legitimate purpose of operating our business, including to improve and develop our services, for fraud prevention purposes, and to improve user experience;
  • As otherwise in compliance with the law.

6. Will I be contacted for marketing purposes?

CNFA will contact you for marketing purposes where you have provided us with consent to do so in accordance with applicable law. Please see below for information on how to change your communication preferences, including opting out of future marketing communications.

7. Will CNFA share my personal information with anyone else?

We will use your information within CNFA for the purposes for which it was obtained.

The CNFA may share your personal information to the following categories of recipients:

  • Service providers, helping to administer the services, products, services educational programs and events;
  • Subsidiaries and affiliates to better serve the CNFA membership and its evolving needs;
  • Sponsors and Exhibitors of CNFA events;
  • Third parties, who provide products and services of interest to CNFA members;
  • Companies which may be the result of any mergers, acquisitions, asset sales, joint ventures, etc.;
  • Grantors, who provide funds for CNFA to implement programs;
  • Advertising technology companies, such as Google Analytics, to compile statistics and perform analysis intended to improve our services and serve you with relevant content;
  • Audience Data Providers, who, in certain countries, we may also work with, such as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others, to receive audience based data (such as pixel traffic and conversion data) from them based on non-identifiable information such as IP addresses; 
  • Competent authorities, including law enforcement, in order to comply with applicable laws or court orders.

8. Collection and Use of Information from Children

The Site is not intended for use by persons under the age 16. CNFA does not knowingly collect information from visitors under the age of 16, and, in the event that we learn that a person under the age of 16  has provided us with personal information, we will delete such personal information.

9. What are your rights with regard to your personal information?

For residents of the EU, you have the right to:

  • Obtain confirmation as to whether or not your personal information exists and to be informed of its content and source, verify its accuracy and request its completion, update or amendment;
  • Request the deletion, anonymization or restriction of the processing of your personal information processed in breach of the applicable law;
  • Object to the processing, in all cases, of your personal information for legitimate reasons;
  • Receive an electronic copy of your personal information, if you would like such a copy for yourself or in order to port your personal information to a different provider;
  • Lodge a complaint with the relevant data protection supervisory authority.

You may send your request to privacy@cnfa.org. The above rights are subject to applicable limitations and restrictions. In certain cases, your request may be denied based on a legitimate exception such as where we are prevented from disclosing such information based on legal requirements, fraud prevention or security concerns. For more information or to make a request, please contact privacy@cnfa.org.

Remember that even after you cancel your account, or if you ask us to delete your personal information copies of some information from your account may remain viewable in some circumstances where, for examples, you have shared information with other services. Because of the nature of caching technology, your account may not be instantly inaccessible to others. We may also retain backup information related to your account on our servers for some time after cancellation or your request for deletion, to comply with applicable law.

Marketing Choices: We also give you choices regarding our use and disclosure of your personal information for marketing purposes. You may withdraw your consent at any time to:

  • Receiving electronic communications from us – If you no longer want to receive marketing-related emails from us, you may opt-out of receiving these by following the unsubscribe link in our communications or sending a request to PublicRelations@cnfa.org.
  • Our sharing of your personal information with CNFA affiliates or business partners for their marketing purposes – If you would prefer that we do not share your personal information with CNFA affiliates or business partners for their direct marketing purposes, you may opt-out of this sharing by following the unsubscribe link in the communications or sending a request to PublicRelations@cnfa.org.

10. International Data Transfers

If you choose to provide us with personal information, it will be stored in the US and may be stored in other jurisdictions. CNFA may transfer that information to its service providers, affiliates and subsidiaries, across borders, and from your country or jurisdiction to other countries or jurisdictions around the world. If you are visiting the Site from the EU or other regions with laws governing data collection and use, please note that your personal information is transferred to the US and may be transferred to other jurisdictions. The US does not, and these other jurisdictions may not, have the same data protection laws as the EU and may not afford many of the rights conferred upon data subjects in the EU. By providing your personal information, you acknowledge the following:

  • The use of your personal information for the uses identified above in accordance with this Privacy Policy; and
  • The transfer of your personal information to the United States as indicated above.

11. Cookies and Similar Technologies

What is a cookie?

Cookies are small text files on your device. They are made by your web-browser when you visit a website. Every time you go back to that website, your browser will send the cookie file back to the website’s server. Cookies are useful because they allow a website to recognize a user’s device. You can find more information about cookies at:

www.allaboutcookies.org

and 

www.youronlinechoices.eu

Why does CNFA use cookies?

We use, and allow certain third parties to use, cookies and other similar technologies to operate our Site(s), provide any of our services or other functions and to help collect information. We, or third parties, may use session cookies or persistent cookies. Session cookies only last for the specific duration of your visit and are deleted when you close your browser. Persistent cookies remain on your device’s hard drive until you delete them or they expire. Different cookies are used to perform different functions, which we explain below:

  • Essential. Some cookies are essential in order to enable you to move around our Site and use their features, such as accessing secure areas of the Site. Without these cookies, we cannot enable appropriate content based on the type of device you are using.
  • Browsing and functionality. These cookies allow us to remember choices you make on the Site, such as your preferred language and the country from which you are visiting, and provide enhanced, more personalized features.
  • Performance and analytics. We use our own cookies and third-party cookies to see how you use our Site and services in order to enhance their performance and develop them according to your preferences. In particular, we use:
    • Google Analytics: To help facilitate the delivery of relevant content, we use Google Analytics. Google Analytics uses cookies to report on user interactions on our and others’ websites. We use the information collected for optimizing marketing, refining advertising and/or programming strategies and generally making advertising more effective. You can opt-out of the Google Analytics Advertising Features we use by indicating your preference using the interest-based opt-out link here. Google also provides a complete privacy policy and instructions on opting-out of Google Analytics here. Note that Google’s opt-out mechanism is specific to Google activities and does not affect the activities of other ad networks or analytics providers that we may use.

There are several ways to manage cookies. You may set most browsers to notify you if you receive a cookie, or you may choose to block cookies with your browser. If you block certain cookies, you may not be able to take advantage of the personalized features enjoyed by other users of our Site. We also note that by blocking or deleting cookies which are “strictly necessary,” you will not be able to access certain features of our Site.

In the United States (US), the Network Advertising Initiative also offers a means to opt-out of a number of advertising cookies. Please visit www.networkadvertising.org to learn more. Note that opting-out does not mean you will no longer receive online advertising. It does mean that the company or companies from which you opted-out will no longer deliver ads tailored to your preferences and usage patterns.

12. Updates to CNFA’s Privacy Policy

This Privacy Policy may be updated from time to time so you may wish to check it each time you submit personal information to CNFA. The date of the most recent revisions will appear on this page. If you do not agree to these changes, please do not continue to use the CNFA website to submit personal information to CNFA. If material changes are made to the Privacy Policy, we will notify you by placing a prominent notice on the website. We encourage you to periodically review this Privacy Policy to keep it up to date on how we are handling your personal information.

    13. Security and Retention

    We take commercially reasonable precautions to protect your information. No data transmissions over the Internet can be guaranteed to be 100% secure. Consequently, we cannot ensure or warrant the security of any information you transmit to us and you understand that any information you transfer to CNFA is done at your own risk.

    Once we receive your transmission, we make commercially reasonable efforts to ensure security on our systems. If we learn of a security systems breach, we may attempt to notify you electronically so that you can take appropriate protective steps. By using the Site or providing personal information to us, you agree that we can communicate with you electronically regarding security, privacy and administrative issues relating to your use of the Site. We may post a notice on our Site if a security breach occurs. We may also send an email to you at the email address you have provided to us in these circumstances. Depending on where you live, you may have a legal right to receive notice of a security breach in writing.

    We will retain your personal information for the period necessary to fulfill the purposes outlined in this Privacy Policy unless a longer retention period is required or permitted by law.

      14. Dispute Resolution

      By using the Site, you and CNFA agree that, if there is any controversy, claim, action, or dispute arising out of or related to your use of the Sites, or the breach, enforcement, interpretation, or validity of this Privacy Policy or any part of it (“Dispute”), both parties shall first try in good faith to settle such Dispute by providing written notice to the other party describing the facts and circumstances of the Dispute and allowing the receiving party 7  days :in which to respond to or settle the Dispute.

      Notice shall be sent to:

      Awards & Compliance Unit

      Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA)

      1828 L St. NW Suite 710

      Washington, DC 20036

      Both you and CNFA agree that this dispute resolution procedure is a condition precedent that must be satisfied before initiating any litigation or filing any claim against the other party. IF ANY DISPUTE CANNOT BE RESOLVED BY THE ABOVE DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEDURE, YOU AGREE THAT THE SOLE AND EXCLUSIVE JURISDICTION FOR SUCH DISPUTE WILL BE DECIDED BY BINDING ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS. ARBITRATION ON AN INDIVIDUAL BASIS MEANS THAT YOU WILL NOT HAVE, AND YOU WAIVE, THE RIGHT FOR A JUDGE OR JURY TO DECIDE YOUR CLAIMS, AND THAT YOU MAY NOT PROCEED IN A CLASS, CONSOLIDATED, OR REPRESENTATIVE CAPACITY. Other rights that you and we would have in court will not be available or will be more limited in arbitration, including discovery and appeal rights. Any such Dispute shall be exclusively submitted to JAMS (www.jamsadr.com) for binding arbitration under its rules then in effect, before one arbitrator to be mutually agreed upon by both parties.

      The arbitrator, and not any federal, state, or local court or agency, shall have exclusive authority to resolve any dispute arising under or relating to the interpretation, applicability, enforceability, or formation of this Privacy Policy, including any claim that all or any part of this Privacy Policy is void or voidable with the exception of disputes related to or involving CNFA’s intellectual property.

        15. Choice of Law

        This Privacy Policy has been made in, and shall be governed, construed and enforced in accordance with the laws of the District of Columbia, without giving effect to any conflict of law principles. Notwithstanding the provision in the preceding paragraph with respect to applicable substantive law, any arbitration conducted pursuant to the terms of this Privacy Policy shall be governed by the Federal Arbitration Act (9 U.S.C. §§ 1-16).

          16. Your California Privacy Rights

          California Civil Code Section 1798.83 permits visitors to the Sites who are California residents to request certain information regarding our disclosure of personal information to third parties for their direct marketing purposes. To make such a request, please contact us at privacy@cnfa.org.

          We do not share personal information with third parties for their direct marketing purposes unless you consent to such disclosure, typically by “opting-in” to receive information from a third party. If you do ask us to share your personal information with a third party for its marketing purposes, we will share information in connection with that consent, as we do not share information with any third party (other than our service providers) on a continual basis.

          At this time our Sites do not recognize automated browser signals regarding tracking mechanisms, which may include “Do Not Track” instructions.

            17. Assignment

            In the event that all or part of our assets are sold or acquired by another party, or in the event of a merger, you grant us the right to assign the personal information we have collected from you.

            20. Links to External Sites

            CNFA takes no responsibility for the content of external Internet sites. Other websites that we may link to are owned and operated by third parties, and CNFA has no control over them. The fact that we include links to other websites does not mean that CNFA approves of or endorses any other third party website or the content of that website. We accept no liability for any statements, information, products, or services that are published on or are accessible through any websites owned or operated by third parties.

            21. Contact us

            Your visit to the Site(s) is subject to both this Privacy Policy and our Terms and Conditions, available here. If you have any questions, comments or concerns regarding our privacy practices or this Privacy Policy or practices, please contact us at the postal and email addresses below. All information you provide in any written communication will also be covered by this Privacy Policy.

            Awards & Compliance Unit

            Cultivating New Frontiers in Agriculture (CNFA)

            1828 L St. NW Suite 710

            Washington, DC 20036

            privacy@cnfa.org – 202.296.3920

            CNFA is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization duly registered in the United States.