Privacy Policy

Effective Date: September 8, 2026

Ocean First Institute (“OFI,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) respects the privacy of our supporters, donors, program participants, students and families, website visitors, volunteers, partners, and community members.

This Privacy Policy explains how OFI collects, uses, stores, and shares personal information when you visit our website, make a donation, subscribe to communications, register for or participate in a program, submit a form, complete a waiver or survey, or otherwise interact with OFI.

1. Information We Collect

Depending on how you interact with OFI, we may collect information including:

Name, email address, mailing address, telephone number, and other contact information;
Donation, transaction, and donor-record information;
Newsletter and communication preferences;
Program, event, expedition, field-course, or other registration information;
Age, grade, school, and similar participant information where needed for educational programs;
Emergency-contact, medical, dietary, accessibility, safety, or logistical information where needed to administer a program;
Waivers, permissions, acknowledgments, signatures, and photo or media authorization information;
Information voluntarily submitted through contact forms, program forms, surveys, or other communications;
Optional demographic information collected for program evaluation or reporting where identified on the applicable form; and
Technical information associated with use of our website, such as IP address, approximate location derived from technical information, browser or device information, referring website, pages visited, and website interactions.

OFI seeks to collect information reasonably necessary to administer its programs, communicate with its community, process donations and registrations, maintain safety and security, evaluate its activities, and fulfill its nonprofit mission.

2. How We Use Information

OFI may use personal information to:

Process and acknowledge donations;
Maintain donor, supporter, participant, and organizational records;
Register and communicate with participants in programs, courses, events, expeditions, research experiences, and other activities;
Support participant safety, emergency planning, accommodations, logistics, and program administration;
Process waivers, permissions, and other authorizations;
Respond to inquiries and requests;
Send newsletters and other communications that have been requested;
Evaluate programs and organizational outreach;
Operate, maintain, secure, troubleshoot, and improve our website and online services;
Understand website use and measure outreach or advertising effectiveness;
Maintain appropriate financial, administrative, contractual, and legal records;
Prevent fraud, misuse, spam, and security threats; and
Meet applicable legal or regulatory requirements.

3. Donations and Payment Information

OFI uses third-party fundraising and payment services to accept online donations, including Bloomerang Fundraising/Qgiv and associated payment-processing services.

When you make a gift, OFI and its service providers may collect information necessary to process the transaction, issue a receipt, maintain donor records, and administer the donor relationship.

Payment-card information is processed through the applicable payment provider. OFI does not intentionally collect or store full payment-card credentials directly through its website.

Donor and transaction information may be maintained in Bloomerang for donor records, receipts, acknowledgments, accounting, reporting, fundraising administration, and other legitimate organizational purposes.

4. Newsletter and Email Communications

OFI uses Mailchimp to manage its general newsletter and related email communications.

The newsletter signup on OFI’s website uses a confirmation process in which the subscriber must confirm the subscription through email before becoming subscribed.

The website newsletter form currently requests:

Email address, first name, and last name as required information; and
Additional contact information, such as telephone number or mailing address, on an optional basis.

OFI may also receive contact information through program or event forms. When a person requests newsletter communications through such a form, that information may be transferred or imported into Mailchimp.

Participation in an OFI activity by itself is not intended to constitute consent to receive general newsletter or marketing communications.

Recipients may unsubscribe from newsletter or marketing emails at any time by using the unsubscribe mechanism included in those communications.

5. Programs, Field Courses, and Participant Information

OFI may collect information necessary to administer educational programs, field courses, citizen-science activities, research experiences, vessel activities, expeditions, and similar programs.

For OFI’s summer field courses, registration is administered through Bloomerang. The current field-course program accepts participants age 16 and older.

Depending on the program, registration information may include:

Age, grade, and school;
Participant and parent/guardian contact information;
Emergency-contact information;
Medical, dietary, accessibility, or safety-related information;
Program preferences and logistical information; and
Photo, video, or other media-related information or authorization.

For field-course participants under age 18, a parent or legal guardian is involved in completing the applicable portion of the registration process.

OFI uses WaiverForever for waivers and participant authorizations associated with field courses, citizen-science activities, and individuals participating in activities aboard OFI’s research vessel.

OFI may also use Google Forms and Google Drive for program surveys and other program administration. For example, post-program surveys for shark field courses may include an optional question about race and/or ethnicity.

Information requested through a program form should be used for the program, evaluation, reporting, safety, communication, or other purpose described or reasonably associated with that collection.

6. Children and Youth Privacy

OFI provides educational content and programs for young people, but OFI’s general website forms are not intended to solicit personal information directly from children under age 13.

OFI does not intentionally use its general website forms to create accounts or marketing profiles for children under 13.

When OFI needs information about a minor for a program, OFI uses a process appropriate to the program and the information being collected. This may include involvement of a parent or legal guardian, school, teacher, or other responsible program partner.

OFI does not intend to add a child to its general newsletter or marketing communications solely because the child participated in an OFI program.

If OFI becomes aware that a child under 13 has submitted personal information directly through an OFI online service without appropriate parent or guardian involvement or other authorization, OFI will review the information and take reasonable steps to delete, suppress, or otherwise appropriately handle it unless retention is necessary for an authorized or legitimate purpose.

7. Photographs, Video, and Media

OFI may photograph or record programs, field activities, research, events, or other organizational activities.

Where authorization is required for a minor or particular program, OFI may obtain the applicable parent/guardian, participant, school, or other authorization through registration, waiver, or media-release processes.

Use of photographs or recordings involving youth participants is subject to the applicable authorization associated with the program or activity.

8. Website Analytics, Cookies, and Similar Technologies

OFI uses website analytics and measurement tools, including Google Analytics, and may use Google Ads, Google Tag Manager, and related technologies to understand website use, measure outreach and campaign effectiveness, improve the website, and evaluate important actions such as completed donations.

These technologies may use cookies, identifiers, or similar mechanisms and may collect information such as:

IP address;
Browser and device information;
Approximate geographic information;
Referring websites;
Pages viewed;
Session and interaction information; and
Information about whether particular website actions occurred.

OFI does not intend to send sensitive participant, medical, or payment-card information to website analytics systems.

Your browser may provide controls for limiting or deleting cookies. Third-party services may also provide their own privacy controls.

9. How We Share Information

OFI does not sell personal information for monetary consideration.

OFI may provide personal information to service providers when reasonably necessary to operate the organization, administer a requested service, or perform organizational functions.

These providers may include services supporting:

Fundraising and donation processing, including Bloomerang Fundraising/Qgiv;
Constituent and donor relationship management, including Bloomerang;
Email communications, including Mailchimp;
Participant waivers and authorizations, including WaiverForever;
Forms, document storage, and collaboration, including Google Workspace, Google Forms, and Google Drive;
Website analytics and advertising measurement, including Google Analytics and Google Ads;
Website hosting, maintenance, backup, spam prevention, and security; and
Program, event, course, expedition, payment, or administrative services.

These organizations process information under their own terms, privacy practices, and service arrangements.

OFI may also disclose information when required by law or when reasonably necessary to protect OFI, its systems, participants, visitors, staff, or others from fraud, misuse, safety threats, or other harm.

10. Data Security

OFI uses administrative and technical measures intended to protect personal information against unauthorized access, misuse, alteration, loss, or disclosure.

Access to information should be limited to staff, contractors, volunteers, or service providers who need the information for an appropriate organizational purpose.

No website, electronic transmission, or information-storage system can be guaranteed to be completely secure, and OFI cannot guarantee the absolute security of information transmitted or stored electronically.

11. Data Retention

OFI retains personal information for as long as reasonably necessary for the purpose for which it was collected and for legitimate program, donor-recordkeeping, financial, contractual, safety, administrative, and legal purposes.

OFI does not intend to retain personal information indefinitely when there is no longer a reasonable organizational or legal reason to retain it.

Information that is no longer reasonably required may be deleted, anonymized, archived, or otherwise disposed of consistent with OFI’s operational and recordkeeping practices.

12. Third-Party Websites and Services

OFI’s website may contain links to third-party websites, forms, social-media platforms, educational resources, or independently operated services.

When you provide information directly to a third party, that organization’s privacy policy and practices generally govern its handling of the information.

OFI is not responsible for the privacy or security practices of independently operated third-party websites or services.

13. Your Privacy Choices and Requests

You may contact OFI to:

Update or correct personal information;
Change communication preferences;
Unsubscribe from newsletter or marketing communications;
Ask questions about OFI’s information practices; or
Request deletion of personal information when appropriate and consistent with legitimate program, financial, contractual, safety, recordkeeping, or legal requirements.

OFI may need to verify a request before acting on it.

14. Changes to This Privacy Policy

OFI may update this Privacy Policy when its website, programs, technology, service providers, or information practices change.

When the policy is materially updated, OFI will revise the effective date shown at the top of the policy.

15. Contact Us

Questions or requests regarding this Privacy Policy or OFI’s handling of personal information may be directed to:

Ocean First Institute
3015 Bluff Street
Boulder, Colorado 80301

Email: info@oceanfirstinstitute.org
Website: www.oceanfirstinstitute.org