Privacy Policy
Introduction
We value the support of our members, donors, customers, and others who support the National Wildlife Federation including its Family of Organizations comprising of NWF, National Wildlife Action Fund, and its programs, projects and coalitions (“NWF”, “we” or “us”), through visiting our websites, mobile applications or web properties that refer to this Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Sites”) or when you interact with us in other ways including through email, phone calls, or events. We know protecting personal information is important, and we respect your privacy.
This Privacy Policy discloses our collection of personal information, purposes of collection, sources of collection, and measures we use to protect your personal information. Please review the Privacy Policy and contact us as specified below if you have questions. By using the Sites, you consent to the collection, use and disclosure of your information pursuant to this Policy.
NWF is committed to the security and protection of the information we possess and to provide an approach to data protection that adheres to relevant data protection laws and regulations. While these terms explain how we collect and use your information, if you are an individual in a European Union nation or a United States resident, you may request information about our use of your personal information, request to restrict use of your personal information, or request that your personal information be erased from NWF. For additional information about your rights, please see the “Privacy Rights” section below and to make such requests, please send an email to: dataprotection@nwf.org.
Personal Information We Collect or Process about You
Information you provide directly to us
For certain activities, such as when you register, subscribe to our alerts, make a purchase or donation, download our content, contact us directly, or attend an NWF program or event, we may collect some or all the following categories of personal information:
• Contact information, such as your full name, email address, phone number, and address;
• Username and password;
• Photo or other image;
• Payment or credit card information; and
• Any other information you choose to provide to us.
We may combine such information with information obtained across our Sites.
Information we collect automatically
If you visit any of our Sites or if you download any collateral assets from a web property, we may automatically collect and store the following general information: your computer's IP address; web browser type; device properties including unique identifiers; mobile phone carrier; geographic data such as zip code, area code and location; operating system; the date and time you access our site; the Internet address of the website from which you linked directly to our site and/or the exit page in which you linked away from our site or application; this is also subject to identify various pages that you visited while generally browsing on our Sites. NWF and third parties may use cookies, pixel tags, and similar technology on our Sites to collect this information. For more information please reference the “Cookies” section of this Privacy Policy.
We may also receive information about you from other sources, including through third-party services and organizations. For example, if you access third-party services, such as those provided by Meta, Google, Pinterest or X, through the Sites or to share information about your experience on the Sites with others, we may collect information from these third-party services that they collect about you, in accordance with their own privacy policies.
How We Use Your Personal Information
NWF may use your personal information for one or more of the following purposes:
• To fulfill your orders and requests and provide functionality of our Sites;
• To provide you with email or SMS alerts and other notices, including responding to your comments or questions;
• To improve our services and Sites;
• Contact you including for fundraising or promotional purposes;
• Analyze the use of the Sites and user data to understand and improve the Sites and/or NWF engagement;
• Customize the content you see when you use the Sites;
• Allowing you to participate in special programs, activities, events, or promotions;
• To comply with our legal and regulatory options, including where needed to prevent harm or fraud; and
• For any other purposes disclosed to you at the time we collect your information or pursuant to your consent.
How Long We Keep Your Personal Information
We will retain your personal information for as long as is necessary to fulfill the purpose for which we obtained your personal information and any other permitted purposes permitted by law. For example, we will retain and use your personal information to the extent necessary to comply with our legal obligations (for example, if we are required to retain your data to comply with applicable laws), resolve disputes, and enforce our legal agreements and policies.
Sharing Personal Information with Third Parties
We may share your information with:
• NWF Family of Organizations: We may share your information with our Family of Organizations, including but not limited to:
-NWF Affiliates: We share information with our affiliate organizations across the Federation. Our affiliates may be found listed here.
-NWF Action Fund. NWF Action Fund is a separate 501(c)(4) organization affiliated with NWF. For more information about NWF Action Fund see here.
-Garden for Wildlife, Inc. In 2021, the National Wildlife Federation proudly introduced Garden for Wildlife, Inc., a new enterprise distinct from NWF but with a shared commitment to mission. For more information see here.
• Authorized third-party providers: Information is disclosed to third parties who perform functions such as website hosting, data analysis, payment processing, information technology and related infrastructure provisions, solicitation or acknowledgment of charitable gifts, marketing, aggregate analysis and marketing activities as well as professional advisors such as auditors and attorneys.
• Other organizations: From time to time, we may send information to you from other companies and organizations that we believe may be of interest to you or can provide goods or services that will be of use to you, or we may share your contact information with such businesses and organizations.
• Legal purposes: We may disclose information to respond to subpoenas, court orders, legal process, law enforcement requests, legal claims or government inquiries; or otherwise enforce our terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy.
• Business transaction: In the event of any reorganization, merger, sale, joint venture, assignment, transfer or other disposition of all or a portion of our operations or assets, including in the unlikely event of bankruptcy.
• You may volunteer information: If you post information or content on our profile pages, blogs, social media accounts, or offer other user-generated material, such information may become public. You should use caution in disclosing personal information in public areas. We are not responsible for the information you submit in these public areas.
Although NWF takes commercially reasonable steps to require such third parties to comply with the terms and conditions of this Privacy Policy, NWF does not have control of third-parties and/or their technologies. Third parties collect and use information under their own privacy policies.
How do we safeguard your information?
We use reasonable measures to help protect information from loss, theft, misuse and unauthorized access, disclosure, alteration and destruction. We employ comprehensive security policies and procedures, including but not limited to implementing intrusion prevention and detection systems; performing due diligence of our vendors; maintaining up to date software and safeguards; providing regular security awareness training to our employees, and implementing physical security measures.
Cookies
Cookies are pieces of data created by websites you visit and are stored on your local computer or device when your browser accesses our Sites. Cookies can expire after a period of time specified in the cookie, this ranges from days to longer term periods.
Some areas of our Sites require the use of “cookies” to enhance user experience and are essential to the functionality and analytics tracking of the site or system. These sites typically include a cookie management tool for the user to capture their preferences. Regardless, if you have any questions about a Site’s use of cookies, please contact us at dataprotection@nwf.org. If a user rejects a “cookie” or category of cookie, they simply will not be able to use all or part of the Site effectively and may be asked to accept the “cookie” allow the use of cookies within a particular category at a later time.
NWF treats information collected by “cookies” to keep user sessions, remember site preferences, provide single sign-on abilities, personalize relevant content and enhance user experience. NWF may combine this information with other information NWF has about you, and NWF may use that information to improve the services and/or provide customized communications to you.
If you do not want information collected through the use of cookies, you may indicate your selection in the cookie consent tool. If, however, you do not accept all or some cookies, you may experience some inconvenience in your use of our Sites and you may not be able to access some of the features we offer. For example, we may not be able to recognize your computer, and you may need to log in every time you visit. You also may not receive advertising or other offers from us that are relevant to your interests and needs.
We use third-party web and mobile app analytics and optimization services to improve our Sites and enhance the visitor experience by, for example, we may use Meta pixel tags and other similar technologies to, among other things, track the actions of users of the Sites, measure the success of our marketing campaigns, compile statistics about use of the Sites and response rates.
We also use Google Analytics which use Cookies and other similar technologies to collect information about use of the Sites anonymously and report website trends. You can learn about Google’s practices by visiting www.google.com/policies/privacy/partners/, and you may opt out by downloading the Google Analytics opt-out browser add-on, available at https://tools.google.com/dlpage/gaoptout.
Advertisements
NWF reserves the right to use and disclose the collected data for purposes of advertisement by NWF or NWF’s partners and contractors. NWF may use third-party advertising companies to serve advertisements that may be of interest to you when you access and use our web properties, mobile sites and applications based on information relating to your access to and use of the website(s). To do so, these companies may place or recognize a unique cookie on your browser (including through use of pixel tags). If you would like more information about this practice and to learn about your choices in connection with it, please visit http://www.networkadvertising.org/choices/.
In order to opt-out of any targeted or cross-context behavioral advertising using these third-party tools, you may use the cookie consent tool to opt-out of non-essential cookies. [Most of] our Sites will also recognize the Global Privacy Control, which is a browser-based signal that you can use to tell us that you do not want your information used for non-essential purposes. For more information, see: www.globalprivacycontrol.org.
SMS Service Policy
You may receive SMS text messages with links to donate to National Wildlife Federation’s mission. You can cancel the SMS service at any time. Just text "STOP" to the short code. After you send the SMS message "STOP" to us, we will send you an SMS message to confirm that you have been unsubscribed. After this, you will no longer receive SMS messages from us. If you want to join again, just sign up as you did the first time and we will start sending SMS messages to you again. If you are experiencing issues with the messaging program you can reply with the keyword HELP for more assistance, or you can get help directly at 1-800-822-9919, Monday-Friday between 9:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m. EST. Carriers are not liable for delayed or undelivered messages. As always, message and data rates may apply for any messages sent to you from us and to us from you. Message frequency varies. If you have any questions about your text plan or data plan, it is best to contact your wireless provider. Data obtained through this SMS service will not be shared with any third-parties for their marketing reasons/purposes.
Children’s Information
NWF provides a special place on some of our Sites, or sections thereof, for children and we encourage parents and guardians to visit such content with their children.
If you are under 13 years of age or a minor in your place of residence, please ask your legal guardian’s permission to use or access the services. NWF takes children’s privacy seriously, and encourages parents and/or guardians to play an active role in their children's online experience at all times including for participation in the following activities:
• contests or sweepstakes
• subscription to online content
• voting in polls or otherwise expressing an opinion
• participating in reader engagement activities and/or submissions
• sending electronic greeting cards or personalized messages
In any instance that we collect information from a minor, we will retain that information only so long as reasonably necessary for the activity requested, or to ensure the security of our users and services, or as required by law.
We do not knowingly share children's personal information with anyone other than those who provide support for the internal operations of our Sites and our agents (e.g., contractors who provide fulfillment services or technical support to the Sites).
Parents may submit any questions or concerns about our approach to youth privacy, review the information that we have collected from their children online, prevent the further use or maintenance of such information, or direct the deletion of their children's personal information by emailing us at dataprotection@nwf.org.
If you are under 13 years of age, you are not permitted to access the EcoLeaders community. If you are between the ages of 13 and 17, your parent or guardian will be required to provide permission to use the site. NWF takes children’s privacy seriously, and encourages parents and/or guardians to play an active role in their children's online experience at all times. NWF does not knowingly collect any personal information from children below the aforementioned age and if NWF learns that NWF has inadvertently gathered personal data from children under the aforementioned age, NWF will take reasonable measures to promptly erase such personal data from NWF’s records.
Privacy Rights
Depending on your jurisdiction of residence, you may have specific privacy rights, including:
• You have the right to confirm whether we are processing personal information concerning you, and to request a copy of the data that we are processing about you, including specific pieces of personal data that we have collected and maintained and that our processors have obtained in providing services to us.
• You additionally have the right to request a copy of that data in a portable, and, to the extent technically feasible, readily usable format.
• Further, you have the right to request the correction of any inaccuracies in the personal data that we have about you.
• You have the right to delete personal data that we have concerning you.
• You have a right to opt out from the sale of your personal data or, targeted advertising and profiling in furtherance of decisions that produce legal or similarly significant effects, subject to any legal restrictions and upon reasonable notice to us.
• You have the right to appeal any decision that we make concerning your privacy.
• Finally, you have a right not to be discriminated against for exercising your privacy rights. In order to make a rights request or for more information, please contact us at dataprotection@nwf.org.
Updates to the Privacy Policy
NWF reserves the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time as needed. We will post changes here, so please check back periodically. Changes will take effect when posted, and your continued use of the Sites will constitute your agreement to the changes. Thank you.
Contact Information
If you have any comments or questions in connection with this Privacy Policy, or for further information on our personal information processing practices and your rights in relation to your personal information, please contact us via email at dataprotection@nwf.org.
National Wildlife Federation (“NWF”) Terms of Use
Acceptance of Terms Through Use
National Wildlife Federation and its programs, projects and coalitions (“NWF”, “we” or “us”) operate websites, mobile applications and web properties that refer to these Terms of Use (collectively the "Sites"). Please read the following terms carefully. BY USING THE SITE(S), YOU ACKNOWLEDGE THAT YOU HAVE READ AND AGREE TO THESE TERMS, INCLUDING THE AGREEMENT FOR DISPUTE RESOLUTION. NWF may revise these terms from time to time. If you continue to use our Sites after we post changes to these terms, it will mean that you accept such changes. You may find NWF’s privacy policy at the footer of this page.
Accessibility
The National Wildlife Federation is committed to making our Sites’ content accessible and user friendly to everyone. If you are having difficulty viewing or navigating the content on the Sites, or notice any content, feature, or functionality that you believe is not fully accessible to people with disabilities, please call our Customer Service team at 1-800-309-7655 or email our team at info@nwf.org with “Disabled Access” in the subject line and provide a description of the specific feature you feel is not fully accessible or a suggestion for improvement. We take your feedback seriously and will consider it as we evaluate ways to accommodate all of our customers and our overall accessibility policies. Additionally, while we do not control third party vendors, we strongly encourage vendors of third-party digital content to provide content that is accessible and user friendly.
Use of Sites
Some NWF Sites allow users to complete a form or create an account to improve user experience. You agree that any information or registration that you submit is truthful and accurate, including contact information for notices and for your payment information. You agree not to misrepresent your information or identity, including providing false details for a parent or guardian. You agree that we may take steps to verify the accuracy of information you provide, such as if we suspect a violation of the Terms, including verifying contact information for a parent or guardian.
Use of Materials on The Sites
The Sites is owned by NWF. NWF maintains the Sites for your personal, educational, non-commercial purposes. All materials on the Sites, including, but not limited to, artwork, photographs, maps, data, text, trademarks, service marks, and logos ("Content") are the exclusive property of NWF or our contributors and are copyrighted. No portion of the Content may be copied, downloaded, reproduced, reused, distributed, transmitted, or modified for any purpose without NWF's express written permission. Any unauthorized use of the Content may violate copyright laws, trademark laws, and other applicable laws.
To request NWF's authorization for your use of any Content displayed on the Sites, please send a message to: info@nwf.org using the subject "Reprint Permission." NWF's failure to reply to any request to use any Content on the Sites is NOT an implied or explicit permission to use such materials.
Copyright Complaints
NWF respects the intellectual property of others. If you believe that your copyrighted work has been reproduced on the Sites or any NWF-maintained bulletin board, chat room, or list serv in a way that could constitute copyright infringement, please notify us by following our Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement.
Trademark Information
The trademarks, service marks, trade names and logos ("Marks") displayed on the Sites are registered and unregistered trademarks of NWF, or third-party contributors. You may not, under any circumstance, use any Mark for any purpose without the prior written permission of the owner of the Mark in question.
Outside Links
NWF provides hyperlinks from the Sites to third-party sites as a convenience to users. NWF does not endorse such third parties or the contents of any such sites. NWF has no control over, makes no representation or warranty and disclaims all liability with respect to such sites. Third party sites may contain their own terms of service and privacy policies.
Bulletin Boards/Chat Rooms/List Servs
The Sites may include bulletin boards, chat rooms, and list servs (hereinafter "bulletin boards") which allow feedback to NWF and real time interaction between users. NWF does not control the content or files delivered to the bulletin boards. In using these interactive services, you agree that you will not post, transmit, or otherwise distribute or facilitate distribution of any content that:
Is unlawful, harassing, defamatory, libelous, invasive of another's privacy, or tortious, contains content of a sexual nature, or uses vulgar language;
Includes personally-identifying information of another individual;
Violates or is inconsistent with NWF’s Community Commitment policy here
Infringes on the intellectual property or other proprietary right of any party;
Constitutes unauthorized or unsolicited advertising, junk or bulk email, spam mail, chain letters, or any other form of unauthorized solicitation;
Contains software viruses, worms, or any other computer code, files, or programs that are designed or intended to disrupt or damage any software, hardware, or telecommunications equipment or to obtain unauthorized access to any third-party data or other information.
You also agree that you will not collect information about the users of the Sites or use such information for any purpose. In addition, you agree that you will not knowingly solicit or collect personal information from a minor (anyone under 18 years of age). Personal information includes, but is not limited to, name, nick name, address, phone number, email address, or name of their school.
NWF generally does not monitor or edit the content posted by users of the bulletin boards. NWF does, however, reserve the right, in its sole discretion, to remove any content that, in NWF's judgment, does not comply with the foregoing rules, or is otherwise objectionable, inappropriate, or inaccurate. NWF is not responsible for any failure or delay in removing such content.
No Purchases or Transactions by Minors
By ordering a product online from NWF, making a donation, or otherwise transacting with us, you represent that you are 18 years of age or older. If a minor under the age of 18 has ordered a product from NWF without parental permission, the parent or guardian may return the product in accordance with the refund policy.
Taxes
You shall be responsible for the payment of all sales, use, and other similar taxes relating to any online purchase of any product from NWF.
Postage and Handling
You shall also be responsible for the payment of all postage and handling charges relating to the purchase of any product online.
Disclaimer
NWF and their respective directors, officers, employees, and agents (the "NWF Parties") assume no responsibility for, and offer no warranties or representations regarding, the accuracy, reliability, completeness, or timeliness of any Content. Your use of the Sites and Content is at your own risk. Under no circumstances shall the NWF Parties be liable for any damages, including, without limitation, direct, incidental, special, consequential, indirect, or punitive damages, lost profits, lost data, or business interruption arising out of or your access to, inability to access, or use of, the Sites even if NWF has been advised of the possibility of such damages. NWF does not warrant that the Sites will be uninterrupted or error free or that the Sites, the Content, or the Sites’ server are free of virus. If your use of the Sites or the Content results in the need for servicing or replacing property, material, equipment, or data, the NWF Parties are not responsible for those costs.
Without limiting the foregoing, the Sites, the software, products, services, and the Content are provided to you "AS IS" AND "AS AVAILABLE" WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESSED OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, THE IMPLIED WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE. In jurisdictions that prohibit or limit warranty or liability disclaimers, the liability of the NWF Parties shall be limited to the fullest extent allowed by law.
Indemnity
You agree to indemnify, defend and hold NWF, its subsidiaries, and affiliates, and their respective directors, officers, agents, partners and employees, harmless from any loss, liability, claim, or demand, including costs and reasonable attorneys' fees, due to or arising out of your use of the Sites and/or breach of these terms.
General Provisions
NWF may revise these terms from time to time with the revised term taking effect as of the date of its posting. If any term is held to be unenforceable, the unenforceable portion shall be construed in accordance with applicable law to the greatest extent possible and the remainder of the provisions shall remain in full force and effect. NWF reserves the right to terminate your access to all or part of the Sites, with or without notice.
Failure of NWF to enforce any of these terms shall not constitute a waiver of such terms or any other terms. No waiver or consent shall be effective against NWF unless in writing and no such waiver or consent shall be construed as a waiver or consent in any other or subsequent instance.
Procedure for Making Claims of Copyright Infringement
NOTE: This information is only to be used for reporting copyright infringement. All other inquiries, such as requests for technical assistance or reprint permission should be directed to info@nwf.org.
If you believe that you hold a claim of copyright infringement against NWF, please send notice of your claim to the following designated agent:
Service Provider:
National Wildlife Federation
Address to Which Notification Should Be Sent:
11100 Wildlife Center Drive
Reston, Virginia 20190-5362
Attention: Office of General Counsel/DMCA Complaint
Or: info@nwf.org
To be effective, notification of your claim of copyright infringement must be in writing and must include the following information:
1. Description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed.
2. Location where the original or an authorized copy of the copyrighted work may be found. For example, web site URL or name of the book in which the work is published.
3. Identification of the material that you claim is infringing.
4. Location (for example, the URL) where the material that you claim is infringing may be found. You must include enough information that is reasonably sufficient to permit NWF to locate the material.
5. Information reasonably sufficient to permit NWF to contact you, including your name, address, telephone number and email address.
6. 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.
7. A signed statement by you, made under penalty of perjury, that the information in your notice is accurate and that you are either the copyright owner of the allegedly infringed work or are authorized to act on the copyright owner's behalf.
Agreement for Dispute Resolution / Arbitration
(a) IF YOU OR WE HAVE A DISPUTE OR CLAIM (A “CLAIM”) ARISING OUT OF OR RELATED TO YOUR USE OF THE SERVICES OR THESE TERMS, AND THE CLAIM IS NOT RESOLVED BY CONTACTING NWF’S CUSTOMER SERVICE AT INFO@NWF.ORG AND BY FOLLOWING THE INFORMAL DISPUTE RESOLUTION PROCEDURE SET FORTH BELOW, YOU AGREE TO RESOLVE SUCH DISPUTES THROUGH INDIVIDUAL BINDING ARBITRATION OR AN INDIVIDUAL ACTION IN SMALL CLAIMS COURT.
(b) CLASS ARBITRATIONS AND CLASS ACTIONS ARE NOT PERMITTED, AND A CLAIM MAY NOT BE CONSOLIDATED WITH ANY OTHER PERSON'S CLAIM. YOU AGREE THAT YOU ARE WAIVING THE RIGHT TO A TRIAL BY JURY OR TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION, AND THAT ANY ARBITRATION BETWEEN YOU AND US WILL BE SUBJECT TO THESE TERMS.
(c) This agreement for dispute resolution and arbitration shall survive termination of these terms or any subscription or registration that you may have to any Sites or the content hosted on the Sites.
(d) Before commencing arbitration or filing a small claims court action with respect to a Claim, you or we must first send a written notice of dispute (“Notice”). A Notice must be (1) sent by certified mail; (2) addressed to National Wildlife Federation, 11100 Wildlife Center Drive, Reston, VA 20190 Attn: General Counsel (the “Notice Address”) or to the address that we have on file for you; (3) contain your or our representative’s name, address, and email address; (4) describe the nature and basis of the Claim; (5) include any relevant facts; (6) specify the nature and basis of the specific relief sought, including the damages sought, if any, and a detailed calculation of them; and (7) include a personally signed statement from you or us (and not our respective agents or attorneys) verifying the accuracy of the contents of the Notice. The Notice must be individualized, meaning it can concern only your dispute and no other person's dispute.
(e) After receipt of a completed Notice, the parties shall engage in a good faith effort to resolve the dispute for a period of 60 days (which can be extended by agreement). You or we may request an individualized phone or video settlement conference, with both parties attending (with counsel, if represented) at a mutually convenient time and seeking to reach a resolution. If we do not reach an agreement to resolve the issues identified in the Notice within 60 days after the completed Notice is received (or a longer time if agreed to by the parties), you or we may commence an arbitration proceeding or a small claims court proceeding (if permitted by small claims court rules). Compliance with this section’s procedure is a condition precedent to arbitration. If any aspect of these requirements has not been met, a court of competent jurisdiction may enjoin the filing or prosecution of an arbitration.
(f) Any such arbitration shall be governed by applicable rules of American Arbitration Association (“AAA") and will be administered by AAA under the Consumer Arbitration Rules and fee schedule, available here: https://www.adr.org/rules-forms-and-fees/consumer/. If AAA is unavailable or unwilling to do so, another arbitration provider shall be selected by the parties. You or we may elect to hold the arbitration virtually rather than in-person. The arbitrator shall decide all issues, including the scope and enforceability of these terms. The arbitrator may consider rulings in other arbitrations involving different customers but is not bound by those. The arbitrator's decision is binding only between you and us and will not have any preclusive effect in another arbitration or proceeding that involves a different party.
(g) These terms shall be construed and any Claim shall be governed by the American Arbitration Act and interpreting case law and the substantive law applicable shall be the law the Commonwealth of Virginia, United States of America, without regard to conflict of law principles. If the arbitration provision in these terms do not apply to a claim or is deemed to be unenforceable, Commonwealth of Virginia courts have exclusive jurisdiction to resolve any claims or disputes relating to the Sites or the Content, and you hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction of such courts. Additionally, any claim or cause of action you may have with respect to the Sites must commence within one (1) year after the claim or cause of action arises or such claim or cause of action is barred.
NWF EcoLeader Community Guidelines
Welcome to the National Wildlife Federation’s EcoLeaders Initiative Community. The Community is a place where students can:
- Connect with other people interested in campus sustainability and the environment
- Provide feedback on EcoLeader projects and forum posts
- Discuss the latest topics about campus sustainability and the environment
- Share experiences and learn from others
- Gain recognition for leadership skills that are demonstrated through sustainability and environmental efforts
Getting Started!
• The EcoLeaders Community thrives on its members and members’ participation
• Stay involved, make comments on projects, add files and pictures, post in the forums, seek new friends
• Invite your friends and colleagues, the more the merrier!
• Post only information that you are comfortable with others seeing — and knowing — about you and your project
• These guidelines are designed to help make participation for everyone a positive experience.
Netiquette
NWF has shared values of mission focus, collaboration, empowerment, inclusivity, mindfulness, and respect for each other. NWF expects everyone to embody those values when engaging in the Community. How you talk to others in an online Community is not that different from the way you would talk to others in real life. There are some things you should be mindful of in an online environment:
• Posting in all caps is the same as SHOUTING
• Don't use offensive language, be rude, use hate speech, or harass or spam other members
• No selling, solicitation, advertisement, or promotion of products or services is permitted. This is a place to engage with other members in a positive way, not sell your stuff.
• Don't upload copyrighted or illegal materials that don’t belong to you
• When there is a violation of our guidelines below, we may:
1. Provide a warning to the offender
2. Delete some or all of the content
3. Temporarily or permanently terminate the offending member’s account (we don’t want to, so don’t make us)
Community dos and don'ts
DO:
• Be sincere in your contributions. Post with purpose - to inspire, enable or share with fellow EcoLeaders.
• Respect that other people have different points of view, styles, and experiences. Don’t take things personally and get to the ‘must look at pictures of kittens to calm down’ stage.
• Welcome newcomers. We love it when another person joins the EcoLeaders Community and participates.
• Give feedback to your fellow members, and us, in a helpful and constructive manner.
• Lead by example Add positive content that shares your opinion and experience, especially content that you think will be helpful to other members.
• Report problems by using the report abuse or flag function to alert us to problem content or members.
• Keep it legal. Don’t get yourself into trouble by defaming others, plotting illegal activities, or posting other people’s private information.
• Use Common Sense and balance when seeking advice. Make your own inquiries, especially around subjects like health, safety, and legal matters.
• Be safe and smart when sharing personal information and meeting other members. Don’t let people know when your entire family is going to be out of town and where you live. Use common sense when meeting other members. We’d hate to hear of anything bad happening when people meet up, but we can’t be responsible for the actions of each person in the community.
DO NOT:
• Defame, harass, flame or hold grudges. You’ll participate better without a chip on your shoulder.
• Post personal details or private information about any other person (or anything contrary to our PRIVACY POLICY.
• Impersonate another person, including NWF EcoLeaders Initiative staff or authors.
• Advertise commercial products or services – or openly accuse others of the same. We don’t mind if you include links to your personal blogs or websites in your profiles. However, when doing so, please make those links open up in a new window (i.e., insert the [target=”_blank”] tag into your html links. But commercial solicitation, or contributions solely designed to plug your traffic, aren’t acceptable. If you think you spot someone breaking the rules, use the report abuse or flag function.
• Be - or - feed a Troll. Trolls post messages or content deliberately designed to get the blood boiling. Replying to or arguing with a Troll is feeding. The best pest-control is to ignore, and use the report abuse or flag function to alert us to them.
• Use excessively coarse language. Humans swear. But go easy on the sailor speak or we’ll have to tone you down. Remember, even if it’s not offensive to you, it might be to other people.
• Discuss how to commit illegal activity. It’s OK to talk about the existence of these things, but don’t advise how and where to do them.
• Be a know-it-all. Show off your insights, not your attitude.
Prohibition on Discrimination and Harassment. It is the responsibility of all NWF community members to treat each other with dignity and respect when engaging in the NWF community. NWF does not tolerate harassment, discrimination, bullying, intimidation, abuse of authority, or mistreatment of any individual on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, religious views, or other grounds prohibited by applicable law. NWF is an equal opportunity organization.
Prohibition on Sexual Harassment. NWF further will not tolerate in our community sexual harassment of any kind, including, but not limited to, unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and/or other inappropriate verbal or online behavior of a sexual nature.
Reporting and Addressing Violations.* If you see or have been involved in an incident you believe violates the EcoLeader Community Guidelines, or any other applicable EcoLeader and/or NWF policies, please report your concerns.
You may report a concern through NWF’s reporting hotline operated by an independent service that helps us with intake and routing. Visit the NWF Reporting Portal.
NWF will appropriately investigate all reports and maintain confidentiality to the extent possible under the circumstances. Through NWF’s Reporting Portal, you have the option of making anonymous reports. However, NWF encourages reporters to identify themselves and give as many details as possible, since anonymous reports may greatly limit our ability to fully investigate. NWF may take any action it considers appropriate, including but not limited to, issuing a warning, removal or dismissal from programs and events, barring future participation, and/or referring a matter to law enforcement.
Things to Remember
NWF and the EcoLeaders Initiative are not responsible for the content provided by users on the site and the content provided by users is their opinion and not that of NWF and the EcoLeaders Initiative.
Our guidelines will evolve over time and we reserve the right to modify or change these guidelines without notice
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