Effective Date: October 25, 2026
Who we are
Harbor Association of Volunteers for Animals (“HAVA,” “we,” “us”) is an all-volunteer, nonprofit no-kill cat shelter in Raymond, Washington. This policy explains what personal information we collect through our website https://hava-heart.org and our adoption, donation and volunteer activities, how we use it, and the choices you have.
We do not sell, rent or trade your personal information.
Information we collect
We collect what you give us, plus limited information needed to keep our shelter and website safe.
- Contact and inquiry forms: your name, email, phone number and the message you send.
- Adoption listing sites: if you contact us about a cat through a site such as Petfinder, we receive the information you submit there, such as your name, contact details and message, and handle it under this policy.
- Adoption applications: contact details, home and household information, and other details you provide so we can find a good match.
- Adoption fees and co-pays: transaction details from our payment processor, such as the amount, date and the last four digits of the card.
- Low-income assistance: if you apply for low-income assistance, we ask for proof of income or public assistance, such as a pay stub, benefits statement or approval letter, showing your full name and residential address. We use these documents only to verify eligibility.
- Volunteer and foster sign-ups: contact details, availability, and information you share about your experience.
- Donations: your name, contact details, donation amount and date. Card and bank details are handled directly by our payment providers. We do not see or store full payment card numbers. If you donate through a third-party platform or workplace giving program, such as Facebook or the Washington State Combined Fund Drive, that platform or program processes your donation under its own privacy policy, and we receive only the information it shares with us.
- Email news sign-ups: your email address and name, if you check the box to receive HAVA newsletters.
- Text messages: if you provide your mobile number, we may text you about your inquiry, adoption or volunteering. Mobile information will not be shared with third parties or affiliates for marketing or promotional purposes. Reply STOP to opt out.
- Shelter security: our shelter uses security cameras and an electronic door access system to protect our cats, volunteers and visitors. Footage and access logs are used only for safety and security and are kept for a limited time.
- Cookies: our website uses only essential cookies needed for it to work and to protect our forms from spam. We do not use analytics or advertising cookies.
- Technical information: our spam protection service may process your IP address, basic browser information, and device information when you submit a form.
How we use it
- To respond to your questions and messages.
- To review adoption applications and complete adoptions.
- To coordinate volunteers and fosters.
- To process donations, adoption fees and co-pays, and send receipts.
- To verify eligibility for low-income assistance programs.
- To send occasional HAVA news, a few times a year, if you opted in.
- To keep accurate records required for a nonprofit, including tax and donation records.
- To keep our shelter, cats, volunteers and visitors safe.
- To protect animal welfare, including maintaining our Do Not Adopt list.
- To protect our forms from spam and abuse.
Services we use
We rely on trusted service providers to run the shelter. They process your information only to provide their services to us, under their own privacy policies.
| Service | What it does for HAVA |
|---|---|
| Brevo | Sends our email newsletters to people who opted in. |
| Cloudflare Turnstile | Protects our forms from spam and bots. |
| Createch LLC | Manages and supports all our technology systems. |
| Dreamhost | Hosts our website, including form entries and uploaded files. |
| Givebutter | Processes online donations. |
| Google Workspace | Our email, documents and file storage. |
| GoTo Connect | Runs our phone system, including calls and voicemail. |
| iVolunteer | Manages volunteer sign-ups and scheduling. |
| Make.com | Connects our systems and moves information between them, such as form entries into Salesforce. |
| PayPal Giving Fund | Processes online donations made through Facebook |
| Quickbooks | Our accounting system for donations, adoption fees and other financial records. |
| Salesforce | Our central database. Information from our forms, adoptions, donations and volunteer records is stored here. |
| Slack | Internal volunteer communication, including notifications about inquiries and applications. |
| Square | Processes adoption fees and co-pays. |
| WordPress and WPForms | Run our website and its forms. |
Spam protection. Our website forms use Cloudflare Turnstile to tell real visitors from automated bots. Turnstile may collect information about your browser and device to do this. Its use is governed by the Cloudflare Turnstile Privacy Addendum.
We may also use other tools to manage shelter access and connect these systems. They receive only the information needed for that purpose.
Sharing, retention and security
Sharing. We share your information only with the service providers listed above, with microchip registries and other animal shelters and rescues as described below, or when required by law. We do not share your information with other organizations for their marketing.
Microchip registration. When you adopt a cat from HAVA, we register its microchip with your name and contact information so the cat can be returned to you if it is ever lost. HAVA remains listed as a secondary contact on every microchip, so we can help reunite you with your cat. The microchip registry handles your information under its own privacy policy.
Animal welfare. To protect animals, HAVA may decline an adoption and add a person to our internal Do Not Adopt list. If that happens, we may share the person’s name, contact information and the reason for the decision with other animal shelters and rescue organizations in our area.
Retention. We keep adoption, donation and financial records as long as needed for shelter operations and as required for nonprofit and tax recordkeeping. We keep other information until you ask us to remove it or it is no longer needed. Proof-of-income documents are deleted promptly after we verify eligibility. We keep only a record that eligibility was confirmed.
Security. We protect your information with safeguards we actively maintain:
- Limited access: only volunteers and our IT support provider whose role requires it can see personal information, and permissions in our database are set by role.
- Secure sign-in: volunteers sign in to HAVA systems through a single, centrally managed HAVA account.
- Prompt removal: when a volunteer leaves, their access to HAVA systems is removed.
- Encryption: our website and forms use encrypted (HTTPS) connections, and our core systems are hosted by established providers that encrypt stored data.
- Payment security: card payments are processed by PCI-compliant payment providers. HAVA never sees or stores full card numbers.
- Email protection: our email domain is authenticated to help prevent others from sending email that pretends to be from HAVA.
No system is perfectly secure. If we learn of a breach affecting your personal information, we will notify you as required by Washington law.
Your choices
- Email newsletters: you can unsubscribe at any time using the link at the bottom of any HAVA email.
- Text messages: reply STOP to any HAVA text to stop receiving them.
- Access, correction or removal: you can ask to see, correct or remove the personal information we hold about you. Submit a request through our contact form. We will respond within 30 days. We may need to keep some records, such as donation receipts and adoption records, where the law requires it or where needed to protect animal welfare.
Children
Our website is not directed to children under 13, and we do not knowingly collect their personal information. Adoption applications and volunteer sign-ups for minors require a parent or guardian.
Changes to this policy
We may update this policy from time to time. We will post the new version on this page with a new effective date.
Contact us
Harbor Association of Volunteers for Animals
P.O. Box 243
Raymond, WA 98577