1 Who We Are

Global Development Project Kenya (also known as Global Hearts Without Borders Network) is a U.S.-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, with operational leadership based in Nairobi, Kenya. We have been extending love and hope across East Africa since 1991.

Our website address is https://gdpkenya.org. We operate programs in clean water, girls’ education, women’s empowerment, youth leadership, humanitarian relief, and child welfare across Kenya and the broader East Africa region.

2 Information We Collect

We collect information from you in several ways — directly when you choose to provide it, and automatically when you use our website. We collect only what we need.

We do not collect sensitive personal data such as racial or ethnic origin, political opinions, health data, or biometric data through this website.

3 How We Use Your Information

We use the information we collect only for the purposes for which you provided it or for closely related purposes that serve our nonprofit mission. Specifically:

• To process your donation and send you a receipt and tax acknowledgment letter
• To keep you informed about our programs, impact, and needs through newsletters and updates (only if you have opted in)
• To respond to your inquiries, prayer requests, or support questions
• To coordinate volunteer placement and missions trip logistics
• To improve our website performance, navigation, and accessibility
• To detect and prevent fraud or spam submissions
• To fulfill legal obligations, including financial reporting as a registered nonprofit

4 Donations & Financial Data

When you make a donation through our website, your payment is processed securely by our third-party payment partners — PayPal and Stripe. We do not store your full credit card number, CVV, or bank account details on our servers at any time.

The information we retain for donation records includes:

• Your name and email address (for receipts and acknowledgment letters)
• The amount and date of your gift
• The program you designated your gift toward (if applicable)
• A transaction reference number provided by the payment processor
• Your billing address (required for IRS compliance and gift substantiation)

Donation records are retained for a minimum of seven (7) years as required by U.S. nonprofit accounting standards and IRS regulations. These records may never be deleted on request where retention is required by law.

5 Cookies & Tracking Technologies

Our website uses cookies — small text files stored in your browser — to help the site function correctly and to understand how visitors use it. We use only the following categories of cookies:

• Strictly necessary cookies: Required for the website to function. These include session cookies, login cookies (for team members), and form security tokens. You cannot opt out of these without disabling the relevant website feature.
• Functional cookies: Remember your preferences (such as display settings) to improve your experience. These persist for up to one year.
• Analytics cookies: Help us understand how visitors reach and use our site, so we can improve it. We use this data in aggregate, anonymized form only.

If you leave a comment on our site, you may opt in to saving your name and email in cookies for one year, so you don’t need to re-enter details next time.

Most browsers allow you to control cookies through their settings. You can instruct your browser to refuse all cookies or to alert you when cookies are sent. However, some features of our website may not function properly if you disable cookies.

6 Third-Party Services

Our website integrates with the following third-party services. Each of these has its own privacy policy, which we encourage you to review:

• PayPal — Donation payment processing. PayPal Privacy Policy ↗
• Stripe — Donation payment processing. Stripe Privacy Policy ↗
• Google Maps / Google LLC — Embedded maps on our website (e.g. Africa reach map). Google Privacy Policy ↗
• YouTube / Google LLC — Embedded video content showing our field work. Videos are loaded only when you interact with them. Google Privacy Policy ↗
• Gravatar / Automattic — Profile image service used in blog comments. Automattic Privacy Policy ↗
• Candid (GuideStar) — Nonprofit transparency platform linked from our site. Candid Privacy Policy ↗

Embedded content from other websites (videos, social media posts) behaves as if you had visited that website directly. Those websites may collect data about you, set cookies, and monitor your interaction with embedded content.

7 Who We Share Your Data With

We share your personal data only in the following limited circumstances:

• Payment processors (PayPal, Stripe) receive your financial data to process transactions securely.
• Email service providers may receive your name and email address to send you receipts, newsletters, or updates you have requested.
• Legal compliance: We may disclose information if required to do so by law, court order, or governmental authority — for example, in response to a subpoena or IRS audit.
• Organizational successors: If GDP Kenya merges with or transfers operations to another mission-aligned nonprofit, your data may transfer as part of that arrangement, with the same privacy protections in place.

We do not sell, rent, trade, or otherwise share your personal information with any marketing companies, data brokers, or unrelated third parties.

If you request a password reset on our website, your IP address will be included in the reset email for security purposes.

8 How Long We Keep Your Data

• Donation records: Minimum 7 years (required by U.S. nonprofit and IRS regulations).
• Contact form submissions: Retained for up to 3 years unless you ask us to delete them sooner.
• Newsletter subscribers: Retained until you unsubscribe. You may unsubscribe at any time using the link in any email.
• Blog comments: Retained indefinitely unless you request deletion, so that follow-up comments can be auto-approved.
• Registered user accounts: Retained for as long as the account is active. Users may request deletion of their account and associated profile data at any time (see Your Rights below).
• Volunteer / missions applications: Retained for the duration of the program relationship and up to 3 years afterward for reference purposes.
• Server / access logs: Automatically deleted after 90 days.

9 Your Rights

Depending on where you are located, you may have the following rights with respect to your personal data. We will honor these rights for all users, regardless of jurisdiction, to the best of our ability:

To exercise any of these rights, please contact us at info@gdpkenya.org or by mail at 2816 Fort Wilderness Trl, Jacksonville, FL 32277. We will respond within 30 days. Note that some data may be retained where required by law, including donation records retained for IRS compliance.

10 Children’s Privacy

Our website is not directed at children under the age of 13, and we do not knowingly collect personal information from children under 13. While much of our mission involves serving vulnerable children in East Africa, we do not collect their personal data through this website.

If you are a parent or guardian and believe that your child has provided us with personal information without your consent, please contact us immediately at info@gdpkenya.org and we will take steps to remove that information.

Photography and stories from our field programs involving children are shared only with appropriate permissions and in compliance with child safeguarding best practices. We follow child protection policies consistent with CAFO (Christian Alliance for Orphans) guidelines.

11 International Data Transfers

Global Development Project Kenya operates across the United States and Kenya. If you are located outside the United States, please be aware that information you provide to us will be transferred to and processed in the United States, where our primary offices and servers are located.

By using our website and providing us with your personal information, you consent to this transfer. We take appropriate steps to ensure that your data is treated securely and in accordance with this Privacy Policy wherever it is processed.

For users in the European Economic Area (EEA) or United Kingdom, we rely on your explicit consent and our legitimate interests as a charitable organization as the legal bases for processing your data.

12 Data Security

We take reasonable and appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal information against unauthorized access, loss, misuse, or disclosure. These measures include:

• SSL/TLS encryption for all data transmitted through our website (HTTPS)
• All payment transactions processed through PCI-DSS-compliant processors (PayPal, Stripe)
• Restricted internal access to personal data on a need-to-know basis
• Regular review of our data collection and storage practices
• Password-protected administrative access to our website systems

While we take these precautions seriously, please be aware that no method of transmission over the internet or method of electronic storage is 100% secure. If you have concerns about the security of your data, please contact us.

In the event of a data breach that affects your personal information, we will notify you as required by applicable law.

13 Changes to This Policy

We may update this Privacy Policy from time to time to reflect changes in our practices, legal requirements, or the services we offer. When we make material changes, we will update the “Last Updated” date at the top of this page and, where appropriate, notify active donors or subscribers by email.

We encourage you to review this policy periodically to stay informed about how we are protecting your information. Your continued use of our website after any changes constitutes your acceptance of the updated policy.

14 Contact Us

If you have any questions, concerns, or requests relating to this Privacy Policy or your personal data, please reach out to us. We take privacy seriously and will respond promptly.

For privacy-related requests, please include your full name, email address, and a description of your request so we can locate and respond to your inquiry accurately.