How ECF handles your information.
Education Choice Fund ("ECF," "we," or "us") is a 501(c)(3) public charity (EIN 42-4473313) that operates the website at educationchoicefund.org. This Privacy Policy explains what information we collect, how we use it, who we share it with, and what choices you have.
We take your privacy seriously, and we keep our policies brief because they should be readable.
1. Information We Collect
ECF collects two kinds of information: information you give us directly, and information collected automatically when you visit our website.
Information you give us directly
- Name, email address, phone number, and county of residence (when you fill out our interest forms or join our email list)
- Family interest form: email address, Tennessee county and optional grade band. Scholarship applications may require more information when they open.
- School-level information, including school name, contact, role, enrollment, tuition, and denominational tradition (when a school submits an interest form)
- Church kit request: first name, last name, church, city, role and email address.
- Corrections you submit to our Christian schools directory, including the school in question, the correction itself, and how to reach you about it
- Optional comments or questions you choose to share
- If and when ECF begins accepting donations in 2027: your taxpayer identification number, donation amount, and any school designation, as required by IRC § 25F
Information collected automatically
- Basic technical data such as your IP address, browser type, device type, and pages visited (used for anonymous traffic analytics)
- ECF does not use cookies for advertising or third-party tracking. We use minimal first-party analytics that do not set cookies and do not track individuals.
2. How We Use Your Information
ECF uses the information we collect for the following purposes only:
- To follow up with you about your interest, application, or partnership
- To administer scholarship awards (verifying eligibility, communicating with families, and disbursing funds to schools)
- To send you progress reports about ECF's program (only if you opt in to our mailing list)
- To comply with federal regulations under IRC § 25F, including reporting to the IRS and the State of Tennessee
- To improve our website and program operations
3. Who Sees Your Information
ECF shares information only as follows:
- ECF's founder, board, scholarship committee, and authorized people who serve ECF without pay (limited to those with a need to know)
- Service providers who help us operate (currently: Netlify for hosting, Supabase for database, Buttondown for email). ECF does not accept tax-credit scholarship gifts before January 1, 2027, and will name its payment processor here when it does.
- Schools: when a scholarship is awarded, ECF shares the recipient family's name and award amount with the relevant school for enrollment coordination
- Government agencies: as required by IRC § 25F (IRS) and the Tennessee Education Freedom Scholarship program (Tennessee Department of Education) for compliance and stacking coordination
ECF does NOT sell, rent, or share your information with marketers, advertisers, or any party outside the above list.
4. Children's Privacy
ECF's program serves K-12 students. We collect limited information about minor children, typically grade level, school of interest, and (for some applications) information that might affect eligibility or scholarship matching. ECF does not knowingly collect more information about children than is necessary to administer the program.
For families using the website: ECF's site is intended to be used by parents, guardians, and other adults. If a child under 13 has provided information to us without a parent's consent, please contact us at info@educationchoicefund.org and we will remove the information promptly. ECF complies with the Children's Online Privacy Protection Act (COPPA).
5. Your Rights and Choices
- Access: you may request a copy of the information ECF holds about you
- Correction: you may request that ECF correct any inaccurate information
- Deletion: you may request that ECF delete your information (subject to the records ECF is required by law to keep)
- Email opt-out: you may unsubscribe from our mailing list at any time using the link in any email or by contacting us
To exercise any of these rights, contact info@educationchoicefund.org. We will respond within 30 days.
6. Data Security
ECF takes reasonable precautions to protect your information from unauthorized access, alteration, disclosure, or destruction. This includes using HTTPS for all website connections, restricting database access to authorized people who serve ECF without pay, and using vendors with industry-standard security practices. No system is perfectly secure, however, and ECF cannot guarantee absolute security of information transmitted over the internet.
7. Data Retention
ECF retains personal information for as long as necessary to administer our scholarship program and comply with our legal obligations. Donation records are kept as required by law. Family interest data not resulting in a scholarship application is deleted after 24 months of inactivity, unless you request earlier deletion.
8. Changes to This Policy
ECF may update this Privacy Policy from time to time. The "Last Updated" date at the top reflects the most recent revision. Material changes will be communicated to active mailing list subscribers and posted prominently on this page. Continued use of our website after a change constitutes acceptance of the updated policy.
9. Contact
Questions about this Privacy Policy or our data practices?
Education Choice Fund
Email: info@educationchoicefund.org