Friends of the Poor® Walk (the “Walk”) Policies

By participating in the 2008 Friends of the Poor® Walk, all SVdP Conferences and Councils are subject to compliance with all of the Policies in this document.

BENEFITS
All funds raised by Walkers will be used in direct service to the poor. Through Walker registration and pledges to his/her Walk, Conferences and Councils will receive Walk funds—for use in the respective Conference or Council as designated by each Walker—for direct service to the poor.

In summary, a Walker elects his/her support of a Conference or Council and invites donors/sponsors to pledge.

Pledges paid via the National Council’s secure Friends of the Poor® Walk Verisign® internet credit card procedure will be paid as directed by the Walker, to the designated Conference or Council. Donors may also make paper/cash pledge payments directly to the Walker for his/her chosen Conference or Council.

100% of pledge dollars are paid to the Conference or Council as directed by each Walker. There will be no administrative fees debited from pledge funds.

Conferences and Councils participating in the Walk should be sure that they are correctly registered (name, address, etc.) in the SVdPUSA national member database; incorrect names and addresses will inhibit your receipt of Walk pledge funds.

PROCESS
Walkers can register on-line or with the respective Conference/Council to Walk.

All Walk organizational, planning, media material, and Walker tee-shirts will be provided by National Council (the funds for which are partially derived from the efforts of the National Annual Appeal). Councils or Conferences are encouraged to outreach to their local media and businesses and develop local exposure and local Walk sponsorships/donations.

Walks can be organized and implemented individually by Conferences or Councils, and/or can be coordinated by the Councils into a possibly larger and more lucrative event. Regardless of where the Walker actually Walks, pledges will be credited to respective Conferences and Councils as designated by each Walker. (For example, those who Walk in Louisville on September 27, 2008, at the National SVdP meeting will still collect pledges for the Conference/Council of his/her designation.)

Walkers solicit potential pledgers to agree to donate money for completing the Walk. Pledges are collected immediately at the time of pledging; either on line (credit card donations; see below) or manually, with paper receipt, by the Walker. All paper receipts must be tabulated and forwarded to the local Council. Donor information may be kept with the Conference or Council responsible for the Walk.

All Walk revenue total figures must be forwarded to the National Council in a timely manner, by any Council which participates in the Walk, or which has Conference(s) participating in the Walk.

Pledges are secured by using SVDP’s new online pledge system** at www.svdpfriendsofthepoorwalk.org. By using the online system, pledgers/sponsors and Walkers are literally connected, to:
Secure, collect, and distribute pledges
Provide encouragement
Leave messages
Track pledges
Provide an emergency communication system

Pledger names and information are kept private to the respective Conference/Council beneficiary and Walker.

A paper pledge form system is also available to be downloaded and used.

In the case of the on-line pledge system, the Council simply receives notification of the amount pledged for reporting and accountability purposes.

The National Council will not appropriate any on-line donor information relating to pledges/sponsorships at the Conference or Council level (excepting those directed to the National Council itself).

**Use of your Personal Information: - SVdPUSA Website Policy
Society of St. Vincent de Paul collects and uses your personal information to operate the Society of St. Vincent de Paul Web site and deliver the services you have requested. Society of St. Vincent de Paul also uses your personally identifiable information to inform you of other products or services available from Society of St. Vincent de Paul and its affiliates. Society of St. Vincent de Paul may also contact you via surveys to conduct research about your opinion of current services or of potential new services that may be offered.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul does not sell, rent or lease its customer lists to third parties. Society of St. Vincent de Paul may, from time to time, contact you on behalf of external business partners about a particular offering that may be of interest to you. In those cases, your unique personally identifiable information (e-mail, name, address, telephone number) is not transferred to the third party. In addition, Society of St. Vincent de Paul may share data with trusted partners to help us perform statistical analysis, send you email or postal mail, provide customer support, or arrange for deliveries. All such third parties are prohibited from using your personal information except to provide these services to Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and they are required to maintain the confidentiality of your information.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul does not use or disclose sensitive personal information, such as race, religion, or political affiliations, without your explicit consent.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul keeps track of the Web sites and pages our customers visit within Society of St. Vincent de Paul, in order to determine what Society of St. Vincent de Paul services are the most popular. This data is used to deliver customized content and advertising within Society of St. Vincent de Paul to customers whose behavior indicates that they are interested in a particular subject area.

Society of St. Vincent de Paul Web sites will disclose your personal information, without notice, only if required to do so by law or in the good faith belief that such action is necessary to: (a) conform to the edicts of the law or comply with legal process served on Society of St. Vincent de Paul or the site; (b) protect and defend the rights or property of Society of St. Vincent de Paul; and, (c) act under exigent circumstances to protect the personal safety of users of Society of St. Vincent de Paul, or the public.