Project Own Privacy Policy

Updated November 2023

This Privacy Policy explains the scope of personal information and other information collected and shared through Project Own, Inc.’s website, www.projectown.org (“Website”), and web application (“App”) for the purpose of providing Project Own, Inc.’s financial services (“Services”).  This Privacy Policy uses the terms “we,” “our,” and “us” to refer to Project Own, Inc. (“Project Own”) and “you” and “your” to refer to users of Project Own’s “Offerings,” which comprise our Website, App, and Services, collectively.  Unless otherwise stated, this Privacy Policy applies only to information we or our affiliates collect, process, or otherwise retain in delivering our Offerings.

Personal Data We Collect

To provide our Offerings, we need to collect certain “Personal Data.”  Personal Data is information that relates to an identified or identifiable individual, whether directly (for example, your name) or indirectly (for example, your phone number).  We collect, process, and retain Personal Data as set out in this Policy. The Personal Data we may collect, process, or retain includes your:

●      identity and contact information, including your name, date of birth, mailing address, telephone number, email address, social security number, driver’s license number, and other government identifiers;

●      demographic information, including your race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, preferred language, disability status, gender or gender identity, family or head of household status and household type, first-time homebuyer status, marital status, number of dependents, education level, rural or urban status, English fluency, and migrant farm worker status;

●      device and network information, including information about the device you use to access the Offerings, such as your IP address, device type and so-called user agent string, browser type, internet service provider, operating system, time stamps, statistics regarding how pages are loaded or viewed, the websites you visited before using the App, and other usage and browsing information; and

●      financial information required to provide our Services, including your current credit score, credit history, total savings balance, savings balance history, savings goal and target date, credit score goal and target date, income, and current housing payments and expenses.

Certain jurisdictions may consider some of the information referenced above to be sensitive.  In such cases, we treat your sensitive Personal Data in accordance with applicable law, including as may require us to obtain your consent before collecting or processing your sensitive Personal Data.

If we update our App or Services to require additional Personal Data, we will notify you and, where required, ask that you acknowledge the updated Privacy Policy.  If we update our Website, we will not request that you agree to the updated Privacy Policy but will update the Privacy Policy on our Website for you to review.  Where local law requires us to obtain your consent before collecting or processing your Personal Data, we will collect or process this Personal Data only after consent has been provided.

How We Collect Personal Data

Personal Data is collected from you when you use our Offerings, when you enter information in connection with an inquiry into our Services, when you register for an account for our Services, or if you work with an organization that has partnered with Project Own and provided that organization your consent to disclose Personal Data to us.  Personal Data may be collected by phone, email, through the App or an online form, during the course of the Services, or through other automated or manual means.

We collect Personal Data from third parties, including credit bureaus and financial institutions, only where you have directed us to do so on your behalf or where you otherwise have provided your consent.  We do not collect Personal Data for the purposes of furnishing a consumer credit report as defined in the Fair Credit Reporting Act.  Accordingly, Project Own does not alter or amend credit reports or other Personal Data obtained from credit reports that we receive according to your instructions.

When you use our Website, we use cookies, web beacons, and similar technologies to record your preferences, track your use of the Website, and collect information for our own analytics and business purposes.  The information that we collect using the above-described technologies may include Personal Data, which will be treated according to this Privacy Policy.  You may choose to disable cookies in your browser or to configure your browser to alert you when cookies have been placed.  Please note that disabling or otherwise blocking cookies may prevent certain Website features from functioning properly, including features required to provide you with the Services.

How We Use Personal Data

Project Own may use Personal Data collected through the Offerings or in the course of delivering Services to conduct basic business operations, including to:

●      fulfill your requests for certain Offerings;

●      solicit feedback;

●      deliver to you administrative notices, alerts, and communications relevant to your use of our Offerings;

●      recommend additional products and services to you that align with your financial goals, if you have opted into receiving such recommendations;

●      detect and prevent error, fraud, and criminal activity;

●      enforce this Privacy Policy and the Project Own Terms and Conditions of Use;

●      analyze usage to improve our Offerings;

●      conduct market research, project planning, and troubleshooting;

●      create aggregated or de-identified data;

●      fulfill contractual obligations and requests for support; and

●       for other purposes consistent with this Privacy Policy, our Terms and Conditions of Use, and as permitted by applicable law.

We also use third-party analytics providers to measure traffic and usage trends on our behalf, and to help us better understand your use of and interaction with the Offerings.  We require these providers to agree to contractual terms obligating them to process your Personal Data only as instructed by us and always in accordance with this Privacy Policy.    

How We Share Your Personal Data

We may share certain Personal Data with third-party companies that provide us with business services on our behalf, including to host features of our Offerings, detect and prevent system errors and fraud, and to send and target email communications and direct mailings.  We may also disclose your Personal Data to third parties when necessary to manage our business, including to fulfill your requests for Services, to meet the terms of any agreement that you may enter into with us or our partners, as an asset during any restructuring or bankruptcy, to detect and report criminal activity, and to comply with applicable law, including a court order, subpoena, or other legal process.  When required by law, Project Own will provide notice when Personal Data is used as described in this paragraph.

How We Protect Your Personal Data

We use appropriate physical, technical, and administrative security measures to help protect Personal Data under our control against unauthorized access, use, disclosure, alteration, and destruction.  These security measures include encrypting Personal Data in transit to help prevent unauthorized access to Personal Data under our control.  However, no system is completely secure or error-free. 

If you believe that your account or other Personal Data have been compromised, please immediately change your password and contact us at privacy@projectown.org.

Third Party Services and Content

Our Website contains links to third-party websites that incorporate social media features.  If you use those features, you may be providing those third-parties with your Personal Data.  Project Own does not operate or control these third-party websites and services, and the manner in which such third parties collect and process your Personal Data is subject to their own privacy policies, which can be accessed from the third party’s website.

Your Privacy Rights and Deleting Your Account

Depending on where you live, applicable law may grant you certain rights with respect to your Personal Data.  Where required by applicable law, and otherwise at our discretion, Project Own provides you with the ability to request a copy of the Personal Data we have collected about you, to restrict or withdraw consent for our ability to process your Personal Data for certain purposes, to ask us to correct any inaccurate Personal Data that you have provided to us, and to delete certain Personal Data that we hold about you.   To exercise these privacy rights, email us at privacy@projectown.org. You may terminate your Project Own App account by contacting us via email at privacy@projectown.org.  Once your request has been processed, we will promptly delete Personal Data associated with your account, except when retention of such Personal Data is required by applicable law.

Children’s Privacy

Project Own’s App and Services are intended for adult use only, and we will ask you to verify that you are at least 18 years old before you may use our App or Services.  We do not knowingly collect Personal Data provided by people under the age of 18 or target our App or Services to people under the age of 18.

Updates to Privacy Policy

We may make changes to this Privacy Policy to take into account new or changing circumstances.  You should review this Privacy Policy periodically.  We have provided the date on which this Privacy Policy was updated last.  Where required by law, we will notify you of material changes to this Privacy Policy.

Questions Regarding Privacy Policy

If you have any questions, comments, concerns or feedback regarding this Privacy Policy, please contact us at privacy@projectown.org.