WERQ TOGETHER Privacy Policy

Effective June 3, 2026 · Last updated June 3, 2026

How we think about your privacy

You have the right to understand how your information is used. We wrote this policy to be read, not to hide things in the fine print. Four commitments guide it:

Transparency. We tell you what we collect and why, in plain language.
Consent. We ask before we collect more than we need, and you can change your mind.
Education. We explain how and why we use your information, including how we advertise.
Trust. We know our community has good reasons to be careful with personal data. We try to earn your trust, not assume it.

What this policy covers

This policy applies to the WERQ TOGETHER public websites, including werqt.org and its sections (such as prize.werqt.org and tryguide.werqt.org), our community resource directory, and any cosmetic domains that forward to these sites (such as transtown.org and transpdx.org). We call these our “public sites.”

What this policy does not cover:

Our internal staff and partner tools at werqhub.org, which are not open to the public.
Other organizations’ websites that we link to or list in our directory. Their privacy practices are their own.

WERQ TOGETHER is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization (EIN 33-4679916) based at 5441 S Macadam Ave #4431, Portland, OR 97239.

What personal information do we collect?

We collect the minimum we need to run our programs, accept donations, sell community products, and stay in touch with you.

Information you give us:

Newsletter and email signups: your name, email address, an optional phone number, and any preferences you share. If you give us a phone number, we may send you text messages, and you can opt out at any time.
Donations: your name, email, billing details, and donation amount. Payment card and bank details are entered directly with our payments processor, not stored by us.
Purchases and sales (merchandise such as t-shirts, the Try Guide, listings, event tickets, and similar): your name, email, billing details, and what you bought. If a purchase ships to you, such as merchandise, we collect a mailing address. Payment details are handled by our payments processor, not stored by us.
Forms and messages: information you choose to share when you contact us, fill out a form, or submit a resource or business listing to our directory.

Information we collect automatically:

Technical and usage data: your device type, browser, general location (such as city or region), the pages you visit, and how you got to our site. We collect this through cookies, log files, and analytics tools described below.

We do not ask for sensitive personal information (such as health, gender identity, or immigration status) on our public sites, and we ask you not to send it to us through these sites.

How do we collect your information?

Directly from you, when you sign up, donate, buy something, or contact us.
Automatically, through cookies and log files when you use our public sites.
From our service providers, such as our payments processor, who confirm a transaction went through.

How do we use your information?

To run our services: set up your newsletter subscription, process your donation or purchase, deliver what you bought, and respond to you.
To communicate with you: send receipts, updates, newsletters you asked for, and information about our programs and events. If you gave us a phone number and agreed to texts, we may also reach you by text message. You can stop texts at any time by replying STOP.
To advertise and grow our reach: show ads to people who may benefit from our programs, and understand which ads and pages are working. See “Advertising and analytics” below.
To improve our sites: understand what is useful so we can make better decisions about content and offerings.
For security and fraud prevention: detect and prevent fraudulent donations, purchases, and misuse.
To comply with the law: meet our legal, tax, and reporting obligations as a nonprofit.

Advertising and analytics

We want to be straight with you about how we advertise.

On our public sites, we use Google Analytics to understand how people find and use our pages, and Google Ads to reach more community members who could use our programs and to raise the funds that keep those programs free. These tools use cookies and similar technology, including third-party advertising cookies, and may show you WERQ TOGETHER ads on other sites you visit (this is called remarketing).

Why we do this: advertising is how a small organization reaches people who need housing help, peer support, and community, and how we bring in donations that keep our work free for the people we serve.

Your choices:

You can opt out of personalized Google ads at Google Ads Settings.
You can opt out of Google Analytics with Google’s browser add-on.
You can manage or block cookies in your browser settings.

Cookies and your choices

Cookies are small text files stored on your device. We use:

Essential cookies that make the site work (for example, keeping a form or cart functioning).
Analytics cookies that help us understand site usage.
Advertising cookies that support the Google Ads features described above.

You can control cookies through your browser settings and through the opt-out links above. Blocking some cookies may affect how parts of the site work. We honor Global Privacy Control and similar browser signals where required by law.

How do we share your information?

We do not sell your personal information, and we do not share it with third parties for their own marketing. We share it only in these situations:

Service providers who help us operate, such as our email platform, payments processor, website host, and advertising and analytics providers. They may only use your information to provide their service to us.
With your consent, when you ask us to share something or agree to it.
To comply with the law, when we believe in good faith that disclosure is required by law, regulation, legal process, or a government request.
For safety, when we believe disclosure is needed to protect someone’s safety or to prevent fraud or harm.
In a business or organizational transfer, such as a merger with or transfer of assets to another nonprofit. If that ever happens, we will post a notice and give you the chance to opt out before your information becomes subject to a different policy.

Current service providers include Mailchimp, Resend, and Squarespace (email and newsletters), Squarespace and Stripe (donations and sales), Squarespace (website hosting), Google (advertising and analytics), and Airtable (where we store and manage contacts, donor records, and directory information). Payment card and bank details are handled by our payment processor and are not stored by us.

How long do we keep your information?

We keep your information only as long as we need it for the purposes in this policy, or as long as the law requires. For example, we keep donation and sales records as long as needed for tax and accounting rules. When we no longer need information, we delete it or remove what identifies you.

Your rights and choices

Unsubscribe from our newsletter any time using the link in any email.
Access or correct the information we hold about you by contacting us.
Request deletion of your information by contacting us. We will act on your request within 30 days. We may keep some information when the law, tax rules, or fraud prevention require it, and we will tell you if that applies.
Opt out of ad tracking using the links in “Advertising and analytics.”
Stop text messages at any time by replying STOP to any text, or by contacting us.

Depending on where you live, you may have additional rights under state privacy laws (for example, in Oregon, California, and other states), including the right to know, correct, delete, and opt out of certain uses. We extend these choices to everyone where we can. To exercise any right, contact us using the details below.

How do we protect your information?

We use reasonable security measures to protect your information, including secure connections and limiting who can access it. No website is perfectly secure, so we cannot promise absolute security, but we work to reduce risk and we respond promptly if a problem occurs.

Children’s privacy

Our public sites are not intended for children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect information from children under 13. If you believe a child has given us information, please contact us and we will delete it.

Links and listings to other organizations

Our sites and directory link to and list other organizations and resources. We do this to help our community find support. A link or listing is not an endorsement, and we do not control how those organizations handle your information. Please review their privacy policies before sharing information with them.

Changes to this policy

We may update this policy from time to time. If we make a meaningful change, we will post a notice on this page and update the date at the top, and we will explain what is changing and why. The most recent version is always the one posted here.

Contact us

If you have questions about this policy, we are here to listen. Reach us at:

WERQ TOGETHER
legal@werqt.org
5441 S Macadam Ave #4431, Portland, OR 97239

We are also happy to answer questions about how we handle your information by email or in a conversation.