Effective Date: June 10, 2022
Welcome to The Clara Abbott Foundation (referred to as “The Foundation”, “Clara Abbott”, “we”, “us”, etc.). Your privacy is very important to us. The information below constitutes our Privacy Policy. It describes what information we collect, explains how we use and share the information we collect, outlines the rights and choices you have relating to the information, and summarizes how we exercise those rights.
Please read this Privacy Policy before using The Clara Abbott Foundation websites or submitting Personal Information to us.
Scope
This Policy applies to information collected while visiting our website, contacting us, applying for assistance, or information previously obtained by The Foundation in relation to the above referenced activities.
We will review and update this Policy regularly in accordance with our data protection obligations. We may amend, update or supplement the Policy from time to time.
What is “Personal Information” according to this Privacy Policy?
“Personal Information” means information that identifies you or could be used to identify you and which is submitted to and/or collected by us. The Foundation may also obtain Personal Information indirectly, such as from publicly available sources (e.g., websites or publicly accessible databases), third-party vendors, and/or third-party partners. We may combine Personal Information from multiple online and offline sources. Examples of Personal Information include but are not limited to the following:
- Contact information and preferences such as name, email address, mailing address, phone number, language preference and electronic signature
- Account information such as any username, email and password that you may select in connection with establishing an account on our website or via the application process
- Biographical and demographic information such as your date of birth, age, marital status, and family demographics such as spouse, children’s names, dates of birth and employment status
- Financial and payment information such as Abbott payroll statements, spouse payroll statements, and/or scholarship recipient payroll statements. We may collect financial information from a credit bureau and other financial information (e.g., assets, bank statements, bills/estimates from creditors/vendors) you provide as part of our services. In addition, we may collect information needed to complete a transaction, like wire instructions, if you receive an award.
- Internet Activity such as your Internet Protocol (“IP”) address, browsing history, your search history and information on your interaction with The Foundation services. For additional information, see “Passive Collection of Information” below
- Health-related information, such as information about a health condition and insurance information
- Other Personal Information collected from Abbott Workday and Abbott Human Resources (e.g., date of hire, date of retirement)
- Communications with The Foundation
If you choose to submit any Personal Information relating to other people, you represent that you have the authority to do so and permit us to use the Personal Information in accordance with this Policy.
How does The Clara Abbott Foundation collect information?
The Foundation collects information in the following ways:
- Personal Information You Submit. The Foundation collects Personal Information that you provide to us via our application process and/or during your interactions with us either online, over the phone, or by email/mail. For example, you may submit your name, postal address, e-mail address, and/or other information in order to receive information about various subjects, apply for financial assistance or scholarships, contact Clara Abbott for customer service needs, or respond to Foundation surveys. You may also share Personal Information with us when you apply for assistance and/or when you interact with us or our third-party partners. To protect your privacy, you should not provide The Foundation with any information that is not specifically requested.
- Information from Public or Third-Party Sources. We may collect Personal Information from Abbott Workday and Abbott Human Resources. We may also collect Personal Information from public sources including, but not limited to, social media and other websites that enable social sharing. Personal information may also be available from government agencies, public or third-party information sources, third-party service providers, or business partners.
- Information Collected through Business Partners. We sometimes work with other organizations to provide you with our services. When that happens, we require that information be protected.
- Passive Collection of Information. The Foundation may collect information about your visits to its website without you actively submitting such information. Information may be collected using various technologies, such as cookies, and web beacons. Cookies are small text files that are transferred to your computer’s hard disk by a website. Web beacons (also referred to as GIF files, pixels or Internet tags) help The Foundation recognize a unique cookie on your browser. Your Internet browser automatically transmits to The Clara Abbott Foundation website some of this information, such as the URL of the website you just visited and the browser version your computer is operating. Passive information collection technologies can make your use of The Foundation’s website easier by allowing us to provide better service, customize our website based on consumer preferences, compile statistics, analyze trends, and otherwise administer and improve The Clara Abbott Foundation website. Certain features of our website may not work without the use of passive information collection technologies. Information collected by these technologies cannot be used to identify you without additional identifiable information, and The Foundation will not connect additional identifiable information with information collected through the use of such tracking technologies. With respect to limiting or disabling tracking technology please see below section “What choices do I have about how The Foundation collects and uses Personal Information about me?”.
How will The Foundation use Personal Information?
The Foundation uses your Personal Information depending on how you interact with us and what services you use. Generally, The Foundation uses Personal Information to provide our services to you and make them better, to respond to your questions and requests, to communicate with you, for security and fraud prevention, and to comply with the law. The Foundation may use certain identifying technologies to allow the website to “remember” your personal preferences, such as sections of the website you visit frequently. We may also use this Personal Information for other business purposes, such as to offer you the opportunity to receive notices regarding The Foundation’s services and products or to invite you to participate in surveys about our services and/or products.
- Provide services: to determine financial hardship and eligibility for our services; to recommend other ways to provide support and create a plan to address your needs in the short and long term, if applicable; to process, if any, your award; to monitor your progress; and to determine any tax or legal obligations, if applicable
- Maintain and customize services: to maintain our websites, and better understand the interests of our clients who use our services; to customize your experience with The Foundation such as recognizing you when you visit our websites, and remembering your preferences; and to develop services
- Communicate with you: to respond to your inquiries; and to send you communications regarding The Foundation’s services
- Communicate with you: to respond to your inquiries; and to send you communications regarding The Foundation’s services
- Communicate with government regulatory and law enforcement agencies and abide by legal obligations: to comply with applicable laws; to comply with The Foundation’s legal and regulatory obligations; to respond to requests from government authorities, judicial requests, and national security situations; to investigate potential fraud; to exercise, establish, or defend The Foundation’s legal rights; and to investigate, litigate, and prosecute users whom we suspect have violated our rules or engaged in behavior that appears to be illegal or harmful to others
- Monitor compliance with our policies and procedures
How will The Foundation use Personal Information?
Personal Information can be accessed by a restricted number of Clara Abbott Foundation employees, contractors, and volunteers, and by individuals or entities with whom we contract or engage with to carry out business activities for The Foundation. We train our employees, contractors and volunteers on the importance of privacy and how to handle and manage Personal Information appropriately and securely.
Your Personal Information will be transferred to, and may potentially be stored outside of, your home country – including in the United States and other countries. Privacy laws in those countries may not protect your Personal Information to the same extent as laws in your home country. However, The Clara Abbott Foundation has adopted processes and practices to ensure a continuing adequate level of protection for your Personal Information. By using our website or engaging with us for any of our services, you are allowing The Foundation to transfer and store your Personal Information outside of your home country.
Does The Foundation share Personal Information with third parties?
As a common practice, The Foundation does not share your Personal Information with third parties, unless it is necessary to carry out a program or activity through a contractor. If The Foundation provides your Personal Information to individuals who, or entities which assist us with our business activities, it is our practice to require those individuals and entities to keep your Personal Information confidential and to use your Personal Information only to perform functions for The Foundation. The Clara Abbott Foundation reserves the right to disclose your Personal Information to respond to authorized requests from government authorities, to address national security issues, or when otherwise required by law.
Does The Foundation share Personal Information with Abbott?
Yes, under the following circumstances, The Foundation will share your Personal Information:
- To validate your Personal Information, if necessary, for The Foundation to perform our services
- If there are any suspected inconsistencies during our interactions with you or per the information collected
- In the event of confirmed fraud
- If requested during an investigation/audit performed by Abbott
Does The Foundation sell Personal Information?
The Foundation does not sell Personal Information or transfer Personal Information to third parties to use for their own benefit; however, we allow certain companies to place tracking technologies like cookies on our websites. Those companies receive information about your interaction with our websites that is associated with your browser or device. Except for this kind of sharing, we do not sell any of your information.
How does The Foundation secure Personal Information?
We employ technical, physical, administrative, and organizational safeguards to help protect your Personal Information, as it is our practice to take steps to secure our services. However, the confidentiality of Personal Information transmitted over the Internet or other means cannot be guaranteed, so we urge you to exercise caution when transmitting Personal Information. Additionally, The Foundation cannot guarantee that unauthorized third parties will not gain access to your information; therefore, when submitting Personal Information to The Foundation, you must weigh both the benefits and the risks.
The Foundation contracts with third parties whose web sites are not controlled by The Clara Abbott Foundation or subject to its Privacy Policy. You should check the privacy policies of such third-party websites before submitting Personal Information.
How does The Foundation protect the privacy of children and minors younger than 17?
Protecting the privacy of children is very important to us. We do not knowingly allow children to communicate with us or use any of our online services. If you are a parent or legal guardian and become aware that your child has provided us with information, please contact us using one of the methods specified below, and we will work with you to address this issue.
What choices do I have about how The Foundation collects and uses Personal Information about me?
You may always limit the amount and type of Personal Information that The Foundation receives about you by choosing not to submit any Personal Information or interact with us via phone, email/mail or website. Some of our services can only be provided to you if you provide us with appropriate Personal Information.
The Foundation’s website may ask whether you wish to opt out or opt into our contact lists for additional services that may be of interest to you. Portions of The Clara Abbott Foundation website that use tracking technologies to collect information do not generally provide you with the ability to opt out of the tracking technologies. However, some Internet browsers allow you to limit or disable the use of tracking technologies that collect information.
For our record-keeping purposes and as required by law, we will retain certain Personal Information you submit in conjunction with grant applications for a specified period of time
How may I update or change my personal information?
You may request to update or change your Personal Information in our current records. Please notify us of your wishes in one of the ways specified below.
How can I contact The Clara Abbott Foundation?
If you have questions about the use or amendment of Personal Information that you have provided to us or you would like to opt out of future communications from The Clara Abbott Foundation or a particular Foundation program, please contact us by clicking on the “Contact Us” link on The Foundation’s website or by e-mailing us at askclara@abbott.com.
How will I know whether The Foundation has updated this policy?
The Foundation reserves the right to amend this Privacy Policy at any time without prior notice to reflect technological advancements, legal and regulatory changes and good business practices. If The Foundation changes its privacy practices, a new Privacy Policy will reflect those changes and the effective date of the revised Privacy Policy will be set forth at the beginning of this Privacy Policy.
The Clara Abbott Foundation has a responsibility for stewardship and the protection of its assets from misuse so as to perpetuate its mission. The Foundation is committed to compliance with the laws and governance to which it is subject as well as with Foundation policies and procedures. Employees, contractors and volunteers of The Foundation have a responsibility to disclose or report any circumstances where The Foundation’s internal controls, independent review function, auditing function, compliance monitoring function, accounting systems or governance policies have been or may become compromised or threatened. This includes actual knowledge, or a reasonably strong belief, of such an occurrence or possibility. This policy applies to all Foundation employees, contractors and volunteers.
No Retaliation
The Clara Abbott Foundation will not tolerate retaliation, whether direct or indirect, against any employee, contractor or volunteer who makes a good faith report or who cooperates with an investigation of a complaint. Under this policy (commonly referred to as a “whistleblower policy”), those who report illegal or improper activity will be protected. Moreover, any employee, contractor or volunteer who engages in such retaliation will be subject to discipline up to and including termination.
Making a Report
If an employee, contractor or volunteer of The Foundation becomes aware of or has a reasonably strong belief that illegal acts or questionable conduct has occurred, they should report this concern immediately to one or more of the following Foundation contacts:
Susan Roach, Compliance Manager
The Clara Abbott Foundation
AP6D-LL
100 Abbott Park Rd.
Abbott Park, IL 60064
Phone: (847) 937-1090
E-Mail: Susan.M.Roach@abbott.com
Maureen Clayton, Vice President/Executive Director
The Clara Abbott Foundation
AP6D-LL
100 Abbott Park Rd.
Abbott Park, IL 60064
Phone: (847) 937-1090
E-Mail: Maureen.Clayton@abbott.com
Mary Moreland, President
The Clara Abbott Foundation
AP6D-2
100 Abbott Park Rd.
Abbott Park, IL. 60064
Written communications should be marked “Confidential – To be opened by Addressee Only.” Reports may be submitted anonymously.
Statement of Policy
As a charitable organization, The Clara Abbott Foundation (“The Foundation”, “CAF”) is committed to integrity and fairness in the conduct of all of its activities. The Foundation desires to avoid any actual or potential conflict of interest between its charitable purposes and operations, and the personal, business or charitable objectives of:
- CAF directors, employees, contractors, or volunteers, as individuals;
- a family member or close personal or business associate of a CAF director, employee, contractor or volunteer; or
- any organization that is directly or indirectly affiliated with a CAF director, employee, contractor or volunteer
Whenever any actual or potential conflict of interest is identified and/or disclosed, the CAF board member, employee, contractor or volunteer must withdraw or remove him or herself entirely from any further discussion or decision regarding the matter in question.
