Policies & Procedures

Privacy Policy

This Web site is owned by GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS , a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered ELGIN, ILLINOIS. [Our online properties comprise of, but are not limited to, all pages found under HTTP://WWW.GIRLSCOUTSNI.ORG. This privacy policy applies to these sites and other sites, mobile apps or other online services we operate that link to this policy (collectively, referred to below as the site).]

GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS is committed to respecting and protecting the privacy of our visitors. This privacy policy discloses how we collect, protect, and use information you provide or we collect online, as well as how we protect children's privacy. If our policy practices change in the future, we will let you know by posting our revised privacy policy on our Web site. By using the pages on this site or other services covered by the posted Privacy Policy, you are accepting the practices described in the Privacy Policy.

INFORMATION COLLECTION

Personally Identifiable Information. At our site, we do not collect personally identifiable information from individuals unless they provide it to us voluntarily and knowingly. This means we do not require you to register or provide information to us in order to view our site. GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS only gathers personally identifiable data on our site, such as names, addresses, Zip/postal codes, e-mail addresses, etc., when voluntarily submitted by a visitor. Once collected, we may combine this information with other information collected from external sources.

Non-Personally Identifiable Information. GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS may automatically collect certain technical information from your computer such as your Internet service provider, your Internet Protocol address, your browser type, your operating system, the pages viewed, the pages viewed immediately before and after accessing the Web site, and the search terms entered to get to our site. This information allows us to improve and customize our services. We and our service providers may collect this information using “cookies,” which are small text files that many websites save on your computer, or similar technologies. See the section on “Use of Cookies and Similar Technology” below for more information.

USE AND SHARING OF PERSONALLY IDENTIFIABLE INFORMATION

The personally identifiable information you provide is used by GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS and other entities who are involved in the operation of this site or who provide support for the GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS and Girl Scouts of the USA mission and programs, for general business purposes and for the purposes for which you provided the information. General business purposes include, for example, GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS and Girl Scouts of the USA membership activities, program participation, marketing, promotions, and fundraising activities and communications. The purposes for which you provide information includes our use of your personally identifiable information to process online transactions, purchases, and donations, facilitate participation in Girl Scouts of the USA and GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS programs, promotions and services, or process job applications. We do not sell information you provide to us online with third parties. We may share personally identifiable information with third parties including: (i) with other Girl Scout Councils and Girl Scout troops for administrative purposes relating to a child’s activities with another Council or their troop; (ii) when the person submitting the information authorizes us to share it; (iii) when sharing the information is with a service provider in furtherance of our operations or the operation of the site, for instance, to process a purchase or other transaction you make; (iv) to facilitate participation in Girl Scouts of the USA and GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS programs, promotions, and services, or to engage in fund raising, marketing communications and promotions; (v) to comply with legal processes such as a subpoena or court order or to otherwise protect your or our legal rights; or (vi) for other purposes for which you provided the information. GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS has no control over or responsibility for the data collection and use practices of third parties that process online transactions. For example, if you make a purchase on our site using a PayPal account or similar account of a third party payment provider, certain information is transmitted to the payment provider and is subject to the third party’s own privacy policy.

Please note that Girl Scouts of the USA provides operational support for the site and may collect and use personally identifiable information you provide to the site and other information collected by the site as described in this policy. Girl Scouts of the USA will use any information it collects for the purposes described in this policy and in a manner consistent with its own privacy policy, which is available here. GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS and Girl Scouts of the USA are each responsible for their own information handling practices.

CHILDREN’S PRIVACY

GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS is committed to providing a safe, secure, and fun online experience for children who visit our site. We are dedicated to safeguarding any personally identifiable information collected online and to helping parents and children have positive experiences on the Internet.

We will never knowingly request personally identifiable information from anyone under the age of 13 without prior verifiable parental consent. With parental consent, we may collect information from children under the age of 13 such as: name, address, email address, account information, and user generated content. This information allows us to fulfill a requested transaction and facilitate participation in online programs, keep records, undertake certain marketing activities, or to otherwise customize or enhance the Web site experience for children.

Children under the age of 13 may be able to make certain content such as user generated content visible to others or the public. This could include, for example, a webpage or parts of webpages operated by children that have been designed for group or public viewing. However, absent parental consent, children under 13 would be allowed to display only limited information such as a first name or unique user name or other information that does not allow for online contacting by third parties.

Regardless of what information is displayed, parents can revoke their consent and ask that information about their children be deleted from the site by contacting our offices by phone at 844-476-4463. To do this or to review personally identifiable information collected from children, we must verify the identity of the requesting parent. When a parent revokes consent, we will stop collecting, using, or disclosing information from that child. To respect the privacy of parents, information collected and used for the sole purpose of obtaining verifiable parental consent or providing notice is not maintained in retrievable form by the site if parental consent is not obtained after a reasonable time.

Submissions

GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS welcomes children to learn more about our organization and, where appropriate, participate in polls and surveys, as well as submit comments, artwork, writings, and other submissions for posting on our Web site. For this reason, GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS follows the guidelines for interactive electronic media published by the Children's Advertising Review Unit (CARU) of the Better Business Bureau for pages targeted to children under 13. However, we encourage this be done only with their parent's knowledge and supervision. We also encourage children to use an alias (e.g., "Bookworm", "Skater", etc.), first name, nickname, initials, or other alternative to full names or screen names which correspond with an e-mail address for any activities which will involve public posting.

In keeping with CARU's Principle regarding respecting and fostering the parents' role in providing guidance for their children, we encourage parents to check and monitor their children's use of e-mail and other online activities regularly.

USE OF COOKIES AND SIMILAR TECHNOLOGIES

Visitors should be aware that non-personal information and data may be automatically collected by the GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS Web site through the use of "cookies" or other similar technologies such as web beacons. "Cookies" are small text files a Web site can use to recognize repeat visitors, facilitate the visitor's ongoing access to and use of the site, and allow a site to track usage behavior and compile aggregate data that will allow content improvements. Cookies are not programs that come onto a visitor's system and damage files. Generally, cookies work by assigning a unique number to the visitor that has no meaning outside the assigning site. If a visitor does not want information collected through the use of cookies, there is a simple procedure in most browsers that allows the visitor to deny or accept the cookie feature. “Web beacons” are a small snippet of code embedded in webpages typically used to monitor activity on a webpage and transfer or collect information, such as information about your Internet Protocol address, the URL of the page on which the beacon is located, the browser type that is accessing the site, and the ID number of cookies placed on your computer.

GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS uses "cookie" technology only to obtain non-personal information from its online visitors in order to improve visitors' online experience and facilitate their visit within our site. GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS may use web beacons to improve website services, conduct website analytics, first party advertising relating to us and our sponsors, and to optimize the browsing experience.

We use third-party advertising companies to serve ads when you visit our Web site. These companies may use non-personally identifiable information (that is, not including your name, address, e-mail address, or telephone number) about your visits to this and other Web sites in order to provide advertisements about goods and services of interest to you on this or other websites. Read more information about this practice at http://www.networkadvertising.org and http://www.aboutads.info/choices/ to know your choices about not having this information used by these companies.

LINKS TO OTHER WEB SITES AND SERVICES

This site may be linked to other sites and services that are not maintained by GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS. These Web sites have their own privacy policies, which you should review prior to visiting them. We have no responsibility for linked Web sites and provide these links solely for the convenience and information of our visitors.

OUR SECURITY SAFEGUARD

The safety and security of your online experience is of the utmost concern to us. We take measures to implement reasonable physical, electronic, and managerial procedures to safeguard and help prevent unauthorized access, maintain data security, and correctly use the information we collect online.

Credit Card Safety

Protecting the safety of your credit card information is also important to us. For card transactions we process, we use Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) technology to protect the security of your credit card information as it is transmitted to us. SSL is an Internet encryption technology, and a method of scrambling data as it travels from your computer to our Web site servers. We also encrypt your credit card number when we store your order and whenever we transfer that information to participating merchants.

To make sure you are accessing our secure server before you submit sensitive information, check the document for your browser for indication of an SSL connection (most browsers utilize an unbroken or closed padlock). Verify that SSL is active before submitting sensitive information to our server. To double-check, verify that the URL or Address line of your browser for our site begins with "https."

It is important for you to protect against unauthorized access to your password and to your computer. Be sure to sign off when finished using a shared computer.

Children

If you are under 18, you need parent/guardian permission to use a credit card to make purchases online.

HOW TO CONTACT US

If you have any questions about our Privacy Policy, you can contact us at:

GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS
353 RANDALL ROAD
SOUTH ELGIN, IL 60177

Phone: 844-476-4463
Monday-Friday, 9:00 AM TO 5:00 PM Central Time.

E-mail

You can e-mail us your question at customercare@girlscoutsni.org and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

Thank you for visiting our site.

This Privacy Policy was last updated in OCTOBER 2021.

Terms and Conditions toggle arrow

Terms and Conditions

Welcome to the official Web site of Girl Scouts of Northern Illinois, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization headquartered in ELGIN, ILLINOIS. Our online properties are comprised of, but not limited to, all pages found under www.girlscoutsni.org. These terms and conditions apply to these sites and other sites, and mobile apps or other online services we operate that link to these terms (collectively, referred to below as the site).

PLEASE READ THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS CAREFULLY BEFORE USING ANY OF GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS WEB SITES. By using the pages on this site, you signify your agreement to these Terms and Conditions. If you do not agree to these terms of use, please do not use the site. We reserve the right, at our discretion, to change, modify, add, or remove portions of these terms at any time. Please check these terms periodically for changes. Your continued use of the site following the posting of changes to these terms will mean you accept those changes.

OWNERSHIP AND RESTRICTIONS ON USE OF MATERIALS

Unless otherwise noted, all materials, including images, illustrations, designs, icons, photographs, video clips, and written and other materials contained on the site (collectively, the "Contents") are protected by copyrights, trademarks, trade dress, and/or other intellectual properties owned, controlled, or licensed by [GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS] or Girl Scouts of the USA, respectively.

The Contents of the site are intended solely for personal, noncommercial (other than for the purchase of merchandise from our site) use by the users of our site. You may view, copy, and print the Contents displayed on this site subject to the following conditions:

(i) you use the material for noncommercial use only,
(ii) you keep intact all copyright and other proprietary notices,
(iii) you make no modifications to any materials,
(iv) you do not use the materials in a manner that suggests an association with any of our products, services, or brands, and
(v) you do not download quantities of materials to a database that can be used to avoid future downloads from the site.

For purposes of these terms, the use of any such material on any other Web site or computer environment is prohibited. No right, title, or interest in any downloaded Contents or software is transferred to you as a result of any such downloading or copying. You may not reproduce (except as noted above), publish, transmit, distribute, display, modify, create derivative works from, sell or participate in any sale of, or exploit in any way, in whole or in part, any of the Contents, the site, or any related software. You may not attempt to decompile or reverse engineer any of the software used by GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS as part of the web sites.

REGISTRATION AND ACCOUNT SECURITY

Certain features of the site provide you with the option of setting up an account for which you will receive a user ID and password. User IDs and passwords are confidential and proprietary. It is a violation of these Terms and Conditions for you to: (a) provide any false personal information on the site, or create an account for anyone other than yourself without permission, (b) create another account without our permission if we disable your account, or (c) do anything else that might jeopardize the security of your account. You are solely responsible for any unauthorized use of your user ID and password.

COPYRIGHT AND TRADEMARK INFORMATION

Girl Scouts of the USA has the sole and exclusive right by virtue of its Congressional Charter, 36 U.S.C. § 80301 et. seq., to have and use all service marks, trademarks, emblems, badges, descriptive or designating marks, and other words now or heretofore used in carrying out its program and is the owner of the GIRL SCOUTS name, service mark, and trademark, and of all other associated names, marks, slogans, insignias, logotypes and designs, including but not limited to the distinctive TREFOIL design mark, the GSUSA uniforms and other indicia, the names and marks "Girl Scouts of the United States of America", "Girl Scout Daisies", Girl Scout Brownies", "Girl Scout Juniors", "Girl Scout Cadettes", "Girl Scout Seniors", and "Girl Scout Ambassadors", and such trademarks and service marks as WHERE GIRLS GROW STRONG, FOR EVERY GIRL EVERYWHERE, GIRLSPORTS, and GIRL SCOUT COOKIES (hereinafter collectively identified as the "Intellectual Property"). GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS has been granted permission by Girl Scouts of the USA to use, reproduce and distribute the Intellectual Property solely in connection with Girl Scouting.

All other trademarks displayed on this site or through links to other sites are the property of the respective trademark owners.

CLAIMS REGARDING COPYRIGHT INFRINGEMENTS

Pursuant to the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (17 U.S.C. § 512), [GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS] has implemented procedures for receiving written notification of claimed copyright infringement. We also have designated an agent to receive notices of claimed copyright infringement. If you believe in good faith that your copyright has been infringed, you may submit a notice to customercare@girlscoutsni.org. To be effective, a notice must be a written communication provided to [GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS] and must contain:

1. An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;

2. A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;

3. A description specifying the location of the material that you claim is infringing;

4. Your telephone number and e-mail address;

5. A statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and

6. A statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.

Our designated copyright agent for notice of alleged copyright infringement appearing on the Web site is: [INSERT DMCA AGENT CONTACT INFORMATION FOR THE COUNCIL].

DISCLAIMER OF WARRANTIES

THE MATERIALS IN THIS SITE ARE PROVIDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PERMISSIBLE PURSUANT TO APPLICABLE LAW, GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OR MERCHANTABILITY AND FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS DOES NOT WARRANT THAT THE FUNCTIONS CONTAINED IN THE MATERIAL WILL BE UNINTERRUPTED OR ERROR-FREE, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, OR THAT THIS SITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS. GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS DOES NOT WARRANT OR MAKE ANY REPRESENTATIONS REGARDING THE USE OF OR THE RESULT OF THE USE OF THE MATERIAL IN THIS SITE IN TERMS OF THEIR CORRECTNESS, ACCURACY, RELIABILITY, OR OTHERWISE.

SITE CONTENTS

Information on any site is provided with the understanding that the GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS is not rendering professional advice or recommendations. You should not rely on any information on these pages to replace consultations with qualified professionals to meet your individual needs.

INACCURACY DISCLAIMER

The material in this site could include technical inaccuracies, typographical errors, or omissions. We reserve the right to correct any errors, inaccuracies, or omissions and to change or update information at any time without prior notice.

LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

Under no circumstances, including, but not limited to, negligence, shall we be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, or consequential damages that result from the use of, or the inability to use, any GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS site or a site that is linked to this site, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages. Applicable law may not allow the limitation or exclusion of liability or incidental or consequential damages, so the above limitation or exclusion may not apply to you. In no event shall our total liability to you for all damages, losses, and causes of action (whether in contract, tort including, but not limited to, negligence, or otherwise) exceed the amount paid by you, if any, for accessing this site.

INDEMNIFICATION

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS harmless from and against any and all claims, damages, costs and expenses, including attorneys' fees, arising from or related to your use of the site or the content you post to the site.

USER COMMENTS, FEEDBACK, SUBMISSIONS, AND POSTINGS

GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS may allow you to communicate, submit, upload, transmit or otherwise make available text, images, audio, video, and other content through the site (collectively, the "Submission(s)"), including in the form of comments, feedback, submissions, or other information. By transmitting Submissions on or through the site, you grant [GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS] a perpetual, irrevocable, worldwide, royalty-free, assignable, sublicensable license to use, reproduce, store, modify, display, distribute, prepare derivative works based on, and transmit such Submissions, and you waive any and all moral rights and publicity rights in such Submissions. [GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS] will not be required to treat any Submission as confidential, and will not be liable for any ideas for its business (including without limitation, product, or promotion ideas) and will not incur any liability as a result of any similarities that may appear in future [GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS] business. [GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS] will be entitled to use the Submission for any noncommercial or other purpose whatsoever, without compensation to you or any other person sending the Submission. You acknowledge that you own whatever material you submit, and use of your Submission by [GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS] will not infringe or violate the rights of any third party.

You may not make any Submissions that (i) are or may reasonably be considered to be, harmful, threatening, abusive, harassing, tortious, defamatory, vulgar, obscene, pornographic, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, bigoted, hateful, or racially, ethnically or otherwise offensive or objectionable, (ii) violate any law, statute, ordinance, or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing export control, intellectual property, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination, or false advertising), or (iii) are known to you to be false, inaccurate, or misleading.

[GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS] has the right, but not the obligation, to monitor, screen, block, post, remove, modify, store and review Submissions or any other communications sent through the site, at any time and for any reason, including to ensure that Submissions conform to these terms, without prior notice to you. We are not responsible for, and do not endorse or guarantee, the opinions, views, advice or recommendations in any Submissions posted or sent by users.

REPORTING OF ABUSIVE OR UNLAWFUL SUBMISSIONS OR CONTENT

If you have knowledge of abusive, infringing or otherwise unlawful Submissions or other content on the site, we want to know. Please send an e-mail to info@girlscoutsni.org describing the content or conduct in detail, including the Web site address where the content is found and the date and time viewed, and we will investigate removing this material from the site. For claims regarding alleged copyright infringement, see the contact information in that section above.

LINKS TO OTHER WEB SITES AND SERVICES

This site may be linked to other sites and services that are not maintained by [GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS]. [GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS] is not responsible for the content of those sites. Consequently, we cannot be held responsible for the accuracy, relevancy, copyright compliance, legality, or decency of material contained in sites listed on or otherwise linked to the site. The inclusion of any link to such sites does not imply endorsement by [GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS]. [GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS] makes no representations whatsoever about any other Web site which you may access through this one.

Please exercise discretion while browsing the Internet. These other sites may send their own cookies to users, collect data, solicit personal information, or contain information that you may find inappropriate or offensive. Please keep in mind that whenever you give out personal information online that information can be collected and used by people you don't know. While [GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS] strives to protect your personal information and privacy, we cannot guarantee the security of any information you disclose online; you make such disclosures at your own risk.

We reserve the right to disable links from third-party sites to the site.

JURISDICTIONAL ISSUES

This publication is distributed internationally and may contain references to programs, products, and services that are not available in your country, state, or particular location. These references do not imply that the [GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS] intends to announce or provide programs, products, or services in your country, state, or particular location.

Unless otherwise specified, the Contents on any site are presented solely for these purposes of promoting programs, products, services, and other content available in the United States and its territories, possessions, and protectorates. Those who choose to access a site do so on their own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws, if and to the extent local laws are applicable.

GENERAL PROVISIONS

These Terms and Conditions will be governed and be interpreted pursuant to the laws of the State of ILLINOIS, United States of America, excluding its conflicts of law rules. You expressly agree that the exclusive jurisdiction for any claim or action arising out of or relating to these Terms and Conditions or your use of the site shall be filed only in the federal courts located in ILLINOIS. If any part of these Terms and Conditions is unlawful, void, or unenforceable, that part will be deemed severable and will not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. Possible evidence of use of this site for illegal purposes will be provided to law enforcement authorities. This is the entire agreement between the parties relating to the use of this site.

GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS can revise these Terms and Conditions at any time by updating this posting.

TERMINATION

These terms are effective until terminated by either party. You may terminate these terms at any time by discontinuing use of the site and destroying all Contents obtained from the site and all related documentation and all copies and installations thereof, whether made under these terms or otherwise. Your access to the site may be terminated immediately without notice from us if in our sole discretion you fail to comply with any term or provision of these terms. Upon termination, you must cease use of the site and destroy all Contents obtained from the site and all copies thereof, whether made under these terms or otherwise.

HOW TO CONTACT US

Please see contact information in the relevant sections above regarding reporting copyright infringement or other unlawful content. If you have any comments or questions regarding our Terms and Conditions generally, you can contact us at:

[GIRL SCOUTS OF NORTHERN ILLINOIS]
353 Randall Road
South Elgin, IL 60177

Phone: 844-476-4463
Monday - Friday - 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

E-mail

You can e-mail us your question at customercare@girlscoutsni.org and we will get back to you as soon as possible.

(Last Updated: October 2021) Thank you for visiting our site.