Privacy - Avant Ministries

Privacy and Use Policy

What This Policy Covers

This policy covers how Avant Ministries treats personal information that it collects and receives on avantministries.org, as well as any other websites operated by Avant Ministries. This notice tells you what information we collect, what steps we take to protect and secure it, how we use and share information, and how you can contact us with question or concerns.

Avant Ministries ("Avant," "we," "us," or "our") is a dba of Gospel Missionary Union, a Missouri non-profit corporation.

Avant Ministries Canada ("Avant," "we," "us," or "our") is a federally registered charity in Canada.

Information Collected

The amount and types of information we collect from you depends on how you use Avant services, what services you use, and what information you choose to make available to us. Personal Information collected may include such things as name, mailing address, phone number, email address, billing and payment information, and other data required to provide certain services and communications.

We collect information from you when you:

Create or register an account, and when you administer your account.
Use online forms to make ministry inquiries, request Avant resources, and/or submit questions and suggestions to our offices.
Subscribe to one or more Avant email lists
Make recurring or one-time contributions, in which case billing and payment information is required in order to process transactions. All transactions are processed over an industry standard secure connection (i.e. SSL/TLS with a minimum of 128-bit encryption).
Apply for employment or membership with Avant. In these cases, considerably more detailed information will be collected, including information of a personal, theological, academic, and professional nature.

Information from Children

Avant does not knowingly collect personally identifiable information from children under the age of 13, or under the age of 16 in the EEA (European Economic Area), with the exception of family members of Avant personnel. If we learn that we have collected personally identifiable information of a child under these ages, we will take reasonable steps to delete such information from our databases as soon as is practical. Parents have the right at any time to request that information collected about their child is removed from our databases.

How Information is Used

Your data belongs to you and not to us. Avant will not sell, less, or rent your personal information to any 3rd party, business or organization. Use of personal information will be limited to the internal operations of Avant staff to fulfill online requests and transactions, and only to further the mission of Avant.

Avant uses your information in order to understand your needs and provide you with the best possible communication and service. Specifically, we may use your information in the following ways:

To identify and authenticate you. We use your identification information to verify your identity when you access our services via a registered Avant account.
To respond to a question, comment, suggestion, prayer request, or other inquiry submitted via a form on an Avant web page.
To provide you with ministry updates, news and information.
To complete an online transaction related to a contribution. Credit card numbers are used only for donation or payment processing and are not retained for other purposes.
To improve our services. We analyze information about how you use services such as our websites and email tools, including information aggregated into site analytics, in order to provide improved digital content and experience.

Information Sharing

Personal Information is shared in the following cases:

With cloud service providers for the hosting of apps and websites
With vendors we engage to assist us in providing you with goods or services, such as donation transaction processing.
When you post content on any Avant page that has a social media sharing feature (such as Facebook or Twitter). Your interactions with these features are governed by the privacy statements of the companies providing them.
Within and between other parts of our Organization, including Avant offices in The USA and Canada, Latin America, and Spain. We are an international organization and may need to transfer certain personal information between countries. If you are in the EEA (European Economic Area), we may need to transfer your data to countries outside the EEA in order to process it. We will only transfer such information outside the EEA with adequate safeguards in place and in full compliance will applicable laws.

Security

To prevent unauthorized access and maintain data integrity, Avant has established physical, electronic and managerial procedures designed to safeguard the information we collect online. We are PCI compliant (Payment Card Industry data security standard) and use SSL (Secure Socket Layer) protocol on our web pages when collecting or transferring sensitive data. We do not retain or store bank account and whole credit card information on Avant servers, even momentarily. This information is passed to a Processor Gateway via Transparent Redirect and is handled by data processing partners with whom we contract services and maintain strict Data Processing Agreements. Transactions meet or exceed the financial security requirements of credit card companies and government regulators, including GDPR.

You can help us protect your personal data by carefully protecting your password and remembering to fully sign out of your account and close your browser tabs and windows when you finish using our site. This is especially important if you access our services on a shared or public computer

External Links

This website contains links to other sites. Avant is not responsible for either the privacy practices or the content of such sites, and no official endorsement or recommendation by Avant should be inferred.

E-mail Policy

Subscription to an email list provided through various Avant websites requires permission of the email address owner. This is done through an opt-in process and recorded to verify that the subscription is valid and complies with anti-spam regulations and best practices. We do not solicit or use rented lists to acquire subscriptions. We do not share your email address with anyone or subscribe your email address to other lists.

Messages sent to subscribers of Avant email lists include contact information such as our postal address, phone number, reply e-mail address and links to unsubscribe or manage subscriptions.

SMS and Messages Policy

Subscription to a text messaging list provided through various Avant websites requires permission of the phone number owner. This is done through an opt-in process and recorded to verify that the subscription is valid and complies with anti-spam regulations and best practices. We do not solicit or use rented lists to acquire subscriptions. We do not share your phone number with anyone or subscribe your phone number to other lists

Messages sent to subscribers of Avant email lists include contact information such as our postal address, phone number, reply e-mail address and links to unsubscribe or manage subscriptions.

GDPR and Personal Information

If you reside in the EEA (European Economic Area), you have specific rights in accordance with GDPR (General Data Protection Regulation), with which Avant will comply. These rights include, but are not necessarily limited to:

The right to know how we collect and use your data, in plain language.
The right to opt out of marketing communications.
The right to receive a copy of the data we have stored about you.
The right to request that we delete your data from our system(s).

Our Commitment

Those who receive or request services, guidance and ministry from Avant missionaries can be assured that reasonable efforts will be made to promote conditions, procedures and decisions that are biblical, lawful, safe, respectful, and provide appropriate confidentiality or privacy. This commitment also applies to work teams, ministry interns, and short-term teams.

For this reason members of Avant will:

Not discriminate on the basis of race, color, and national or ethnic origin.
Only request information for which there is reasonable necessity.
Protect against improper access to information requested.
Operate facilities with appropriate safety, accessibility, and privacy.
Establish with beneficiaries a clear understanding of what may be expected and what may not be expected from the ministry offered.
Use biblical principles in counseling and corrective actions.

Terms and Conditions

You agree that your use of this website is subject to the following Terms and Conditions. These Terms and Conditions may be modified at any time and from time to time. The date of the most recent changes or revisions will appear on this page. Continued access to the website by you will constitute your acceptance of any changes or revisions to the agreement. If you do not agree with the Terms and Conditions, please do not use this website.

The materials contained on the website are provided by Avant Ministries as a service to you for your use on an "as is, as available" basis. You acknowledge that you are using the website at your own risk. Avant assumes no responsibility for error or omissions in these materials. Avant makes no commitment to update the information contained herein. Avant makes no, and expressly disclaims any and all, representations or warranties, express or implied, regarding the website, including without limitation the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of text, graphics, links, products and services, and other items accessed from or via the website, or that the website will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses or other harmful components. No advice or information given by Avant Ministries or any other party on the website shall create any warranty or liability.

Changes to this policy were last made on May 18, 2020

Questions or concerns about Avant's privacy policy can be submitted online or by calling our USA or Canada office at the phone numbers provided on our contact page.