Purpose:

Email addresses are collected by Friends of Lesotho for the same purposes as any other address information. However, due to privacy concerns, spam, etc., etc., a policy concerning the use of member email address information has been prepared. The purpose of having a policy is to allay fears of how address information will be used and to guide the Board of Directors when making decisions about this information.

Use of Information:

FOL will provide your personal contact information, including email address, to new PCVs seeking information about the Lesotho experience, and to other FOL members. FOL itself may contact you by email, however this should not be more than a few times per year. If you do not wish to be contacted by FOL by email or to have your email address given to new PCVs, please let us know and your email information will be deleted from our records. FOL will not provide member information to any other organizations, except the National Peace Corps Association when an FOL member joins NPCA through FOL. FOL will forward to members any requests from non-member individuals seeking old friends, etc., allowing them to make their own decision about answering.

The bi-annual membership directory will be distributed to members in paper form only, to minimize the risk of duplication.

Information retained by FOL about non-members will be treated identically to member information.

Web Site Listing:

Email addresses shown on the web site are listed by permission only. The page listing email addresses is password protected.¹ Listing on this page is for members only. Some non-member email addresses are in the FOL database, but only members are allowed to have their email listed on the web site.

Electronic Newsletter Distribution:

Members have the option to receive email notification of newsletters on the web site as an alternative to being sent a paper copy. In deference to those with slower connection speeds, a link to the newsletter will be sent, not the actual newsletter itself. This cost saving measure is intended to conserve funds for our actual work in Lesotho. No member will be sent an email notification unless they specifically ask for it. If the email notification is returned to FOL, the member will be mailed a paper newsletter until a valid email address is received. Once a year, the Annual Report will be mailed in paper form to all members. The purpose of doing one paper mailing per year is to validate postal addresses. Retention of postal addresses is important as a backup to email communication and to allow geographic classification so that new PCVs have a chance to meet someone in their area.

Member Responsibilities:

Spam filters employed by a member’s email provider may trap FOL newsletter notices. Since these trapped emails are not returned to FOL, FOL has no way of knowing whether a member received the notification. It will be the member’s responsibility to monitor this, expecting an email notification in March, June and December each year. Members may check the web site for new newsletters, and are free to contact a Board member for spam testing.

Newsletter notification and other FOL emails may come from numerous sources. As a low-tech, grass-roots organization, from time to time different Board members may take responsibility for sending emails. Few if any emails will originate from the friendsoflesotho.org domain since each Board member, including the web master, typically uses their home email to originate mail.

Summary:

To summarize the policy, FOL will:

• Not release personal information to any other groups, except the NPCA.
• Release personal information to new PCVs seeking information about Lesotho and to other FOL members.
• Contact members about any non-member attempting to reach them, rather than giving the requestor the information.
• Treat member and non-member personal information alike.
• Keep member email information on the web site password protected.
• Attempt to limit transmission of emails to members to only those functions which are of an imperative nature or in some way specific to particular individuals or groups of individuals (i.e., geographic area, year of service, profession, etc.).
• Revert to paper newsletter mailings for any individual having a bad email address in our records.
• Conduct one paper mailing per year to all members to help validate postal address information.
• Not be responsible for email newsletter notifications trapped in member’s spam filters, but will work with any member suspecting such to test and rectify the problem.