Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation Privacy Policy

Last updated on April 26, 2023.

Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation (“MHIF,” “we” or “us”) recognizes the importance of the privacy of our community members, donors, research participants and partners who visit our websites. This Privacy Policy applies to our website located at mplsheart.org and to other websites and digital apps owned or controlled by us that display or link or refer to this Privacy Policy (collectively, “Website”), regardless of how you use or access them. This Privacy Policy applies to information provided to or otherwise collected by MHIF through your use of the Website but does not apply to information provided to or collected and held by MHIF pursuant to the research MHIF conducts or other activities of MHIF not conducted through the Website. This Privacy Policy, along with our Terms and Conditions, governs your use of our Website.

This Privacy Policy explains why we gather information through the Website, what information we collect, how we collect it, what we use the information for, with whom we may share the information, how we protect the information, and how you may contact us about use of the information. It also explains the choices that you may make and the rights you may have with respect to Personal Information. 

In this Policy, when we refer to “Personal Information,” we mean information that identifies you or that can be used to identify you, for example by combining the information with other data.  Personal Information includes your name, date of birth, postal address, email address, telephone number, or other direct identifiers. Personal Information does not include anonymous or aggregated data that can no longer be used to identify you, even if combined with other data. The specific definition of Personal Information may vary from one jurisdiction to another. 

This Privacy Policy does not replace any consent form or notice that you may separately receive in connection with MHIF’s use or sharing of Personal Information. MHIF may provide additional privacy notices at the time we collect such Personal Information. For example, we may provide a specific privacy notice to research participants.  This type of an “in-time” notice will govern how we may process the Personal Information we collect at that time.

This Privacy Policy does not apply to MHIF’s processing of employee or contractor information.

BY PROVIDING PERSONAL INFORMATION TO MHIF OR OTHERWISE USING OUR WEBSITE, YOU ACCEPT AND AGREE TO OUR COLLECTION, USE, SHARING, STORAGE, AND OTHER PROCESSING OF THAT PERSONAL INFORMATION FOR THE PURPOSES SPECIFIED IN THIS PRIVACY POLICY.

MHIF may update this Privacy Policy from time to time without prior notice to you. If we make changes that are deemed material under applicable law, we will post the changes on this page of our Website to notify you of the changes. We may also choose to notify you of changes to this Privacy Policy in other ways, such as by email if you have provided such contact information to us. Such changes to the Privacy Policy will become effective when posted and as dated. Unless stated otherwise, our current Privacy Policy applies to all Personal Information collected through the Website. Your continued use of the Website after any changes to this Privacy Policy will indicate your agreement with the terms of such revised Privacy Policy. We encourage you to check for updates by clicking on the Privacy Policy link on our Website.

 

Why do we gather information?

We gather information from you so we can communicate with you, process your donations, enhance and customize your experience using our Website, and inform you of our research, newsletters, publications, events, online opportunities and other updates we believe might be of interest to you. 

We also gather information automatically about you during your use of the Website to improve the effectiveness of our Website, operations, mobile experience, or marketing efforts, to prevent fraud and theft, and to otherwise protect visitors to our Website and business.

 

What information do we collect directly from you and how long do we keep it?

When you subscribe to our newsletters, we collect your name and email address. We keep this information until you unsubscribe or opt-out in accordance with the procedures in this Privacy Policy or for so long as your account is active. When you click on a link in our emails to you, we track that click-through data. You may unsubscribe from these emails by clicking the “unsubscribe” button in them or contacting us at info@mhif.org or 877-800-2729.

When you donate to MHIF through our Website, we collect your name, address, email address and phone number, and amount of donation. We may keep this information as required by law and for an additional period to respond to any inquiries from you. We retain Personal Information collected directly from you in the context of a donation to meet professional obligations, prevent fraud, resolve inquiries or disputes, troubleshoot problems, assist with an investigation, enforce our Terms and Conditions and take other actions permitted or required by applicable law. Our payment processing vendor collects your credit card information or payment account information. This data may be maintained for a period after the payment posts to respond to your inquiries. 

When you submit feedback on a digital application supported by MHIF (e.g. ViV Aortic, ViV Mitral, Valve PPM, PCI), we may collect your name and email address. This data may be maintained for a period of time to respond to your feedback.

 

What information is automatically collected from our Website visitors?

When you visit our Website, certain information is collected automatically, such as IP address, device ID, browser setting, operating system, referring domain, language preferences, mobile carrier, website activity and cookies.    

A “cookie” is a small file stored on your computer by a website which gives you a numeric user ID and stores certain information about your activity on the website. Some cookies only last for the session you are on the Website. Other cookies persist beyond that session, so that, for example, you do not have to re-enter contact information. We use cookies to transact with you, gather navigation information, enhance and personalize your experience, analyze usage patterns, and improve our Website and offerings.

Our cookies generally fall into one of four categories:  Essential, Functional, Analytics and Target.

Essential Cookies are necessary to provide you with products and services available through our Website. If you refuse them, it will impact your ability to access some of the Website’s functions and features.

Performance Cookies help us enhance the performance and functionality of our Website and offerings, but are not necessary for your use. Still, certain functions or features may become unavailable if you refuse them.

Analytics Cookies collect information that is used to help us understand the use of our Website and offerings, the effectiveness of our marketing campaigns, or to help us customize our Website to enhance your experience.

Target Cookies record your visit to our Website, the pages you have visited and the links you have followed, so we can recognize you as a prior visitor and track your activity on our Website and others you visit. These Cookies remain on your device for us to use during your next visit to our Website. In contrast to these “persistent” cookies, some cookies (“session cookies”) are deleted when your browsing session has ended.

We also allow third parties to use Cookies on our Website to collect information about your online activities over time and across different websites you visit. This information is used to provide advertising tailored to your interests on websites you visit, also known as interest-based advertising, and to analyze the effectiveness of such advertising.

If you do not wish to allow MHIF and other third parties to use this information to show you more relevant advertising, you can use a tool created by the Network Advertising Initiative to control your online advertising preferences more broadly.

Apart from these ad-specific choices, there are “do not track” or similar browser choices available to online users. Our Website will not operate any differently when a “do not track” signal is received.

 

What do we do with the information we collect?

In addition to the purposes described in the “Why do we gather information?” section and otherwise above, we may combine the information we collect through our Website, including your Personal Information, with Personal Information we collect about you from offline interactions, for example, interactions by telephone or in person.  We may also combine your Personal Information with information we obtain from other sources, such as public records or websites, or other third parties.

We may also aggregate and/or de-identify information, including your Personal Information, to create information that does not identify you or other individuals, and we may use that information for the above-listed purposes and other business purposes.  

 

With whom do we share the information we collect? 

Our employees and agents may view the information, including your Personal Information, collected through our Website to perform their jobs and service your needs. We authorize their access to your Personal Information on a need-to-know basis to provide you with products or services, or for one of the other reasons listed in this Privacy Policy.

We share the information, including your Personal Information, with our Affiliates, and with vendors and agents acting on our behalf as described in this Privacy Policy in compliance with these terms.  “Affiliates” are those persons or entities directly or indirectly controlling, controlled by, or under common control with the MHIF.

We may release your Personal Information to others (including law enforcement) if we believe such release is reasonably necessary (i) to comply with a government or law enforcement request or judicial process; (ii) to operate this Website; (iii) to process any orders or registrations; (iv) to conduct any promotions in which you participate; or (v) to protect the rights or property of MHIF, its Affiliates, users, customers, recipients, sponsors, or other affected parties.

In addition, we may share aggregate, non-individual information incapable of identifying you or a particular person, with third parties for lawful purposes.

 

Security

We maintain a variety of security measures, including physical, electronic, and administrative safeguards, to help protect Personal Information collected through the Website from loss, misuse and unauthorized access or disclosure. However, no system can be completely secure, so we do not promise, and you should not expect, that your Personal Information, searches, or other communications will always remain secure. In particular, please note that any Personal Information you send to MHIF via email or other Internet transmission is not completely secure (such as from tampering or hacking) or error free. Due to the nature of the Internet, there is a possibility that unsecured (unencrypted) email could be intercepted and read by third parties. MHIF assumes no responsibility for interception of Personal Information that you send in an unsecured (unencrypted) email message or other Internet transmission to and from the Website. Therefore, you should take special care in deciding what information you send to us via e-mail or other Internet transmission. If you have reason to believe that your information has been compromised, please contact us at info@mhif.org

 

Data Movement 

MHIF may maintain the information it collects through the Website, including Personal Information, on computers located outside of your state, province, country, or other government jurisdiction where the data protection laws may differ from those in your jurisdiction. We generally process data, including Personal Information, in the United States. We do not transfer your Personal Information to another country without the existence of adequate security and privacy controls.

 

Links

When you click on links that take you to third-party websites, you will be subject to the privacy policies and terms and conditions of those third-party websites, not ours. We are not responsible for those websites or the actions of third parties. We encourage you to read their privacy policies and user terms and conditions.

 

Children’s Privacy

We are committed to protecting the privacy of children. Our Website is intended for users over the age of 18, and we do not knowingly collect Personal Information from children under the age of 13 through our Website. If we learn that we have collected Personal Information directly from a child under the age of 13 through our Website, we will delete that information.

 

Your Privacy Choices and Rights with Respect to Personal Information

You may update the Personal Information you provide to us through the Website, including your contact information, at any time by following the instructions on the relevant page of the Website or by contacting us at info@mhif.org.

For information about the choices and rights you have with respect to cookies, please see the section “What information is automatically collected from our Website visitors?” above.

 

Users in the European Economic Area or the United Kingdom 

Users in the European Economic Area (“EEA”) and the United Kingdom (“UK”) have additional choices and rights regarding MHIF’s processing of Personal Information. Personal Information of users in the EEA and UK is protected by the General Data Protection Regulation applicable in the EEA (“GDPR”) and the UK’s equivalent data protection laws (“UK GDPR”). This section of the Privacy Policy applies only to users in the EEA and UK.

When processing Personal Information of individuals in the EEA or UK as described in this Privacy Policy, MHIF relies on one of the following legal bases, as appropriate:

  • Your consent;
  • Compliance with a legal obligation of MHIF; or
  • MHIF’s legitimate interests, e.g., conducting its operations, including informing you of MHIF’s activities, raising funds, and marketing activities.

MHIF is located in the United States, and as a result, and as noted under the section of this Privacy Policy on “Data Movement” above, Personal Information about you will be processed by MHIF in the United States.  MHIF may also contract with service providers to process Personal Information on MHIF’s behalf; these service providers will generally be located in the United States or otherwise outside of the EEA or UK. Data protection laws in the United States or other countries may not offer you the same protections as the laws of the country in which you are located when Personal Information about you is collected. When Personal Information is moved outside the country in which you are located, we abide by the requirements of applicable law regarding such movement, which may include reliance on your consent or other appropriate pathways.

Data protection laws in the EEA and UK provide you the following rights with respect to Personal Information processed by MHIF:

  • Access. You have the right to know if we are processing Personal Information about you and, if so, to access and obtain a copy of such Personal Information, as well as information relating to the processing of that Personal Information. This Privacy Policy is providing you with information about whether and how we process your Personal Information.
  • Correction. You have the right to request to have us correct or update Personal Information about you that is inaccurate or incomplete.
  • Erasure. You have the right to request deletion or erasure of Personal Information about you in certain circumstances.
  • Restriction. You have the right to request that MHIF restrict the way it processes Personal Information about you.
  • Objection. You have the right to object to the way that MHIF processes Personal Information about you.
  • Portability. You have the right to request MHIF to transfer Personal Information about you to someone else.
  • Withdrawal of Consent. When we rely on your consent as the basis for processing Personal Information about you, you have the right to withdraw your consent.
  • Complaint. You have the right to make a complaint about our Personal Information practices to your local data protection authority.

MHIF’s ability or obligation to comply with your requests may be limited or qualified by applicable law. MHIF may require evidence of your identity or additional relevant information based on your relationship with us before we are able to act on your request when the information we have is insufficient to accommodate your request. We will respond to you as soon as reasonably possible to advise you of the outcome of your request. To request to exercise one of these rights, contact us using the contact information provided below. 

 

Contact Us

If you have questions about MHIF’s processing of Personal Information or about this Privacy Policy, please contact:

Minneapolis Hearth Institute Foundation
Attention: Privacy Rights
920 East 28th Street, Suite 100
Minneapolis, MN 55407

Email: info@mhif.org

Phone: 612-863-3833

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The Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation® (MHIF) strives to create a world without heart and vascular disease. To achieve this bold vision, we are dedicated to improving the cardiovascular health of individuals and communities through innovative research and education.

Thanks to the generosity of donors like you, we can continue this life-saving work. Please make a gift to support the area of greatest need.