Privacy Policy

Last updated: May 5, 2026

Grover and Pals NFP (“Grover and Pals,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) values your privacy and is committed to protecting your personal information. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and the rights and choices you have.

By using groverandpals.com or sponsoring an animal through our platform, you agree to this Privacy Policy. If you don’t agree, please don’t use the site.

We are a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN: 92-3542169), incorporated in Illinois.

1. Information We Collect

We collect information in three ways: information you give us directly, information collected automatically as you use the site, and information from trusted third-party services.

Information you provide directly:

Name and email address (when you create an account, sponsor an animal, or contact us)
Billing address — street, country, state, and postal code (collected at checkout for payment processing)
Phone number, if you choose to provide it (for example, on a contact form)
Sponsorship details — which animal you sponsor, sponsorship tier, communication preferences (Monthly Updates, Instagram Shoutout)
Account credentials — username and a securely hashed password
Communications you send us — emails, contact form submissions, and feedback

Information collected automatically:

IP address and approximate location (city/region level)
Browser type, device type, and operating system
Pages visited, links clicked, time spent on pages
Referring website
Cookies and similar tracking technologies (see Section 4)

Information from third parties:

Payment confirmation data from our payment processors (Stripe and PayPal). We do not store full credit card numbers — those are handled by the payment processors directly.
Aggregate analytics data from Google Analytics

2. How We Use Your Information

We use your information to:

Process and manage your sponsorship, including recurring payments, account management, and tax acknowledgments
Send transactional communications about your sponsorship (payment confirmations, account notifications, updates about the animal you sponsor if you’ve opted in, important changes to our services or these policies)
Respond to your inquiries and provide customer support
Improve the site and understand how visitors use it (via analytics)
Comply with legal, tax, and accounting requirements
Protect against fraud, abuse, and security threats
Acknowledge sponsors publicly on our Instagram account, only if you opt in to the Instagram Shoutout option at checkout

We do not use your information for marketing or promotional emails unless you’ve explicitly opted in.

3. How We Share Your Information

We do not sell, rent, or trade your personal information.

We share information only in these limited circumstances:

With service providers who help us operate. These providers have access only to the information needed to perform their services and are contractually obligated to protect it:

Stripe and PayPal — payment processing for your monthly sponsorship
Brevo (via WP Mail SMTP) — email delivery for transactional messages
Google Analytics — site usage analytics (via Site Kit)
SiteGround — website hosting
Other infrastructure providers as needed for security, backups, and operational support

Public acknowledgments. If you opt in to the Instagram Shoutout, your Instagram handle (provided by you at checkout) will be publicly tagged on our Instagram account. You can opt out at any time by emailing us.

Legal requirements. We may disclose information if required by law, court order, or to protect the rights, safety, or property of Grover and Pals, our partner shelters, our supporters, or the public.

Business changes. If Grover and Pals merges with, is acquired by, or transfers operations to another nonprofit organization, your information may be transferred as part of that transition, subject to this Privacy Policy.

4. Cookies and Tracking Technologies

We use cookies and similar technologies to operate the site, remember your preferences, and analyze usage.

Essential cookies make the site function — they manage your account session, your shopping cart and checkout process, and basic site security. These are set automatically.

Analytics cookies (via Google Analytics 4) help us understand how visitors use the site so we can improve it. These collect aggregated, mostly anonymous data.

You can control cookies through your browser settings. Note that disabling essential cookies will break account and checkout functionality.

We do not use cookies to track you across other websites for advertising purposes.

5. Data Retention

We retain your information for as long as needed to provide our services and comply with legal obligations:

Active sponsorship data — retained while your sponsorship is active and for 7 years afterward, to comply with IRS and accounting recordkeeping requirements for charitable contributions
Account data — retained while your account is active; you can request deletion at any time (subject to the recordkeeping requirements above)
Communications and support records — typically retained for 3 years
Analytics data — retained per Google Analytics’ default settings

After applicable retention periods, we delete or anonymize your information.

6. Your Rights and Choices

You have the following rights regarding your personal information. To exercise any of them, email us at info@groverandpals.com:

Access — request a copy of the personal information we hold about you
Correction — ask us to fix inaccurate information
Deletion — ask us to delete your information, subject to the legal recordkeeping requirements above
Opt out of communications — unsubscribe from non-transactional emails at any time (transactional emails about your sponsorship cannot be opted out of without ending your sponsorship)
Update preferences — change Monthly Updates or Instagram Shoutout settings

For residents of the European Economic Area, United Kingdom, or Switzerland (GDPR): You also have the right to restrict or object to processing, the right to data portability, and the right to lodge a complaint with your local data protection authority. Our legal basis for processing is your consent (which you can withdraw), the performance of our agreement with you (your sponsorship), and our legitimate interests in operating the organization.

For California residents (CCPA/CPRA): You have the right to know what personal information we collect, the right to delete it, the right to correct it, the right to opt out of “sales” or “sharing” of personal information (we do neither), and the right to non-discrimination for exercising your rights.

7. Children’s Privacy

Our site is not directed at children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. If you believe a child has provided us with personal information, please contact us at info@groverandpals.com and we will delete it promptly.

8. International Data Transfers

Grover and Pals operates from the United States. If you access the site or sponsor an animal from outside the U.S., your information will be transferred to and processed in the U.S., which may have different data protection laws than your country.

By using the site, you consent to this transfer. For EU/UK/Swiss residents, we rely on appropriate safeguards (such as standard contractual clauses with our service providers) for these transfers.

9. Data Security

We use reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to protect your information, including secure hosting, encryption of data in transit (HTTPS), hashed passwords, and limited internal access. Our payment processors handle card data directly under PCI-DSS standards — we do not store card numbers ourselves.

No method of transmission or storage is completely secure, however, and we cannot guarantee absolute security. If we ever experience a data breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you as required by applicable law.

10. Third-Party Links

Our site may contain links to third-party sites (such as our partner shelters’ websites, our Instagram, or external articles). This Privacy Policy does not apply to those sites. We encourage you to review their privacy policies.

11. Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. Material changes will be communicated to active sponsors by email and posted on this page with a revised “Last updated” date. Continued use of the site after changes take effect constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.

12. Contact Us

Questions, requests, or concerns about this Privacy Policy or your information?

Grover and Pals NFP 137 N Oak Park Ave, Ste 215 Oak Park, IL 60301 Email: info@groverandpals.com