1. EU Information Gathering
Nonprofits
in the United States seeking to gather information from individuals in
Europe should consider that region's privacy guidelines.
The European Union
Data Protection Directive places controls on collection, use and,
transfer of personal information in Europe. The idea is for organizations
to tell individuals what and why the information is being gathered,
and give the individual the right to refuse data collection, unless
required by law or to complete a purpose with which the individual
agrees, according to the Direct Marketing Association (DMA).
Organizations must
obtain consent, implicit consent in some cases, and more formally
or explicitly in others, according to the DMA.
Direct marketers
have three choices when bringing names and information in from Europe,
according to the DMA:
- Establish themselves
in Europe with an agent representing the organization that secures
approval from the local data protection authority;
- If renting
a mailing list from Europe, enter into a contract with the owner
of the list on exact uses of the name and information;
- Join safe harbor
by certifying under EU that your organization will follow the regulations
of the directive.
Following are the
five steps to become compliant with EU safe harbor, according to
TRUSTe, a group that works with organizations on Web site privacy
certification:
- Craft a privacy
policy that includes all of the safe harbor privacy practice principles;
- Provide both
online and offline customer dispute resolution with third party
enforcement of the policy;
- Provide verification
of Web site privacy practices;
- Provide verification
of offline privacy practices;
- Self-security
compliance to the U.S Department of Commerce.
 2.
EuroPartnerships
Foundations have engaged in a range of leadership and partnership activities
with charities, businesses and public authorities at the local, national, European
and global levels.
According to information
from the European Foundation Centre, such partnerships can represent
a very attractive option for the following four principal reasons:
- Foundations
give a human dimension to public actions -- in other words, they
focus on the rule of law and civil society, respect for minority
rights, freedom of the media, tolerance and pluralism and can reach
parts of society that government cannot reach.
- They have the
ability to work in a long-term perspective, unlike government officials,
for-profit companies and fundraising associations facing shorter-term
considerations and needs. Thus foundations are able to experiment
and take risks. In doing so, they are in a position to provide
flexible social venture capital for citizens supporting and acting
through charities and other forms of nonprofit entities to develop
useful models for long-term public action.
- They can enter
into joint funding partnerships wherein every euro of funding goes
to the recipient. Foundations are unique in their financial independence
that is in stark contrast with other nonprofit bodies that do not
have their own resources to cover their administrative costs.
- They can complement
public authorities and the private sector or add resources where
the latter are unable to operate because of legal or other restrictions.
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